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Friday, March 29, 2024

To-be Deacon Cooley: ‘My greatest gift I can offer the Church is my “yes”‘

Sarah and Eric Cooley DAVE HRBACEK  |  THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

The director of pastoral care at St. John the Evangelist in Little Canada, Eric Cooley, 41, and his wife, Sarah, have four children. Drawn to service, Cooley said he felt called to ordained ministry but also to marriage. As he prayed about it, the idea of being a deacon arose and continued to grow over the years. A parishioner of St. Peter in North St. Paul, he is scheduled to be ordained a permanent deacon for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis Dec. 7 at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul. The Catholic Spirit asked him via email about his vocation. His answers were edited for clarity.

Q. What inspired you to pursue the diaconate?

 A. I have always been drawn towards service, even as a child. As I became more serious about my faith in college, I felt drawn to ordained ministry but also felt that Sarah and I should be married. As I prayed about it, being a deacon came up for the first time and the idea continued to grow over the years.

Q. What made you certain this was your call?

A. Not only did I feel drawn to be ordained as a deacon, other people would suggest it to me. This included friends, fellow parishioners and clergy. As we continued to think and pray about it, we reached a limit discerning on our own and felt called to discern through formation. It’s not something we could figure out on our own, but with the guidance of those involved with formation it became clear.

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Q. What aspect of diaconate ministry are you most looking forward to?

A. In the person of Christ the servant, I look forward to embodying the flow of God’s grace from the eucharistic celebration to the faithful and likewise bringing their needs back to the same altar as an offering to our Father. I value being a bridge for others to Christ. Through listening to their hopes, dreams and struggles, I seek to convey that our God is deeply interested in them as persons.

Q. What areas of ministry are you especially interested in?

A. I really enjoy the liturgy and being able to help the faithful pray well is essential. If we pray and worship well, then we live well. Also, there is a great need to reach those who have become isolated due to the inability to attend Mass. Ensuring that they have access to the sacraments and stay connected to the Church is important.

Q. What role will your family plan in your new ministry?

A. I am a husband and a father — this vocation doesn’t cease with being ordained. These relationships inform all that I do, and I love being married and a dad! In the same way, I don’t cease being a deacon when I am at sport’s practice or a birthday party with my family. Both vocations mutually complement each other.

Q. Where do you see the greatest needs in the local Church?

A. The attack on the family within our culture is staggering. Supporting people as they work at their marriages and being parents is crucial. The evil one likes to whisper the lies that we are all alone and not good enough in each of our ears, leading to isolation and despair. Bringing the light of the Gospel into these real situations is imperative.

Q. What part of your formation has been the most rewarding?

A. It was impressed upon us that being a deacon is not about what you do — the functions can be carried out by others, whether it is the priest at Mass or the laity in the works of charity. Being a deacon is about who you are — your being. Unpacking this reality and learning to trust our Father more deeply has been more consoling and nourishing than I could have ever imagined.

Q. Who has been a model for your ministry?

A. There have been many deacons that I have watched and learned from, and for their witness I am extremely grateful. Even more fundamentally is the model of our Blessed Mother. Mary’s “yes” not only in the big moment of the annunciation, but the everyday grind of daily life has been a model and inspiration.I find myself turning more readily to her intercession.

Q. What do you most hope to offer the Church through this vocation?

A. My greatest gift I can offer the Church is my “yes.” By seeking to live in abandonment to the God who knows me more deeply than myself, I become an available conduit for his interaction with others and the image of Christ the servant of the Father.

Q. What has been the most challenging part of pursuing this vocation?

A. It has been a challenge to figure out how to integrate family life with the demands of formation.  Whether it is homework after the kids are in bed, lining up babysitting when Sarah and I both needed to attend, or most especially when I was gone on retreat, this took much prayer, discernment and trial and error to figure out what works for us.

Q. What can the Church do to inspire other men to answer the diaconate calling?

A. Proclaim with confidence, “Do not be afraid!  The Lord’s plan is infinitely better than any plan you can come up with on your own. Do not be afraid to answer the still, small voice within. Say yes to him in the small moments and let him guide you wherever e wills.

Q. What advice would you give another man discerning the diaconate?

A. If you are at all like me, you want to know with certainty that this is what God is calling you to do before you apply. This doesn’t work. Being called to holy orders is to be called into a place of vulnerability. It is an invitation to trust our Lord with the plan. Don’t’ worry about the big picture, come and let the Church discern with you.

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