The future of the church in north Texas starts at home, Bishop Edward J. Burns told a room full of participants gathered for a Diocese of Dallas Synod listening session on “Vocations and Ministerial Formation” in the St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church parish hall on Jan. 28.
Vocations
The Diocese of Dallas is truly an incredible and faithful Catholic community, full of volunteers, teachers, diocesan and parish ministry staff members, and clergy serving our diocese every day. We are blessed in the Diocese of Dallas and you will often hear Bishop Burns share that as the Diocese continues to grow so does the urgency in raising funds so that we can keep pace with our responsibilities.
Calling it a privilege and an honor, Bishop Edward J. Burns ordained 17 men as permanent deacons for the Diocese of Dallas during a Mass celebrated May 21 at St. Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Church in McKinney.
He calls it a stirring, that visceral feeling that God was calling him to do more. He first felt it 16 years ago but as he looks back to that time, he knows he wasn’t ready. Chris Schraeder of McKinney, one of the 17 candidates scheduled to be ordained to the diaconate on May 21, said he feels ready now.
A former Southern Baptist who converted to Catholicism nearly 30 years ago is scheduled for ordination into the diaconate on May 21. Daryl Avery, a Texan since birth, is one of 17 permanent deacon candidates and calls St. Monica in Dallas his parish home.
The Christian vocation is for all members of the church to work together and show that one human family united in love is not a utopia but is the reason God created humanity, Pope Francis said.