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Diocese of Ogdensburg

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“Become fire!” We are looking for men who are not half-hearted but whole-hearted, willing to lay down their lives for others…. We need men who actually believe that sainthood is possible… We need men burning with ardent and gentle zeal …. We need men who understand that a vocation to priesthood begins at the burning bush, before the majesty of God himself.” Are you that man?

Looking to apply?  Click here for Application Forms

The Installation of Lectors and Acolytes took place at the Pontifical College Josephinum on December 8, 2020. Pictured is Seminarian, Lukas Gruber, as he is installed as an acolyte and Seminarian.

Meet our Seminarians ...

The Family - Heart of Vocation ...  
click here to see some of ours!

  Newly ordained transitional Deacon John Kennedy Ojuok and Deacon Matthew Conger. 
God willing, our next new priests!  

Newly ordained permanent deacon, 
Deacon Donald Wilder.

Vocation Director, Father Christopher Carrara, speaks to the recent graduates from the Pontifical College Josephinem.

We welcome Deacon Fernando Solomon to our Diocese for a pastoral year at the Catholic Community of Moriah.  

Three seminarians received their diplomas from the Pontifical College Josephinem from Bishop LaValley at the annual summer seminarian workshop. They missed graduation due to the COVID shutdown.

At the annual summer seminarian workshop, Leagon Carlin was installed to the order of acolyte by Bishop LaValley

Seminarians in their first and second years of study in the School of Theology at the Pontifical College Josephinum were installed as lectors or acolytes, respectively, on November 1, 2019, the Solemnity of All Saints. The Most Reverend Frederick F. Campbell, Bishop Emeritus of Columbus, was the principal celebrant of the Mass held in Saint Turibius Chapel. The newly installed lectors are commissioned to proclaim the Word of God in the liturgical assembly and to catechize the faithful. Acolytes are entrusted with the duties of attending to the altar, assisting the deacon and priest at Mass, and distributing Holy Communion as an extraordinary minister.

Permanent Diaconate

In 1968 Pope Paul VI, as a result of the Second Vatican Council, reinstituted the office of Permanent Deacon within the hierarchy of the Church. Since that time, more than 17,000 Permanent Deacons have been ordained to service within the Catholic Church in the United States. Within the Diocese of Ogdensburg today, there are 91 such men serving the needs of God’s people. 

The formation program for diaconate begins with the Formation For Ministry program, a two-year program leading to being commissioned as a lay minister for work in the parish. If a man feels called to become a deacon, there are an additional four years of study and spiritual formation leading to ordination. 

Do you have a sense that God may be calling you to this special ministry? Start by visiting with your pastor. He can lead you through the discernment process. For more information, you can contact the Co- Directors of Deacon Formation:  Deacon John Drollette (jdrollette@rcdony.org)

Consecrated Life

What is consecrated life?

The term “consecrated” has its roots in Latin and is often translated as “dedicated, devoted as sacred” or “set apart.” A person who is living a “consecrated life” is someone who has dedicated his or her life to God in imitation of Christ and publicly professes poverty, chastity and obedience.

Types of consecrated life:

- Religious life – Religious life is a form of consecrated life that consists of men and women who make specific vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience to a religious community. 
- These communities can consist of sisters, nuns, brothers, monks, or religious order priests. The Diocese of Ogdensburg is blessed to have a number of religious communities serving within its boundaries. 
- Consecrated virgins and widows
(consecratedvirgins.org)
- Secular Institutes
 (secularinstitutes.org) 
- Hermetic life 
- Societies of Apostolic Life - members are men or women who live in common without religious vows. They pursue the apostolic purpose of the society and lead lives as brothers or sisters in common according to a particular manner of life. The members strive for the perfection of charity through the observance of their constitutions. There are also societies in which the members embrace the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience by some bond defined in their constitutions. Societies of apostolic life can be clerical or lay, male or female.

The vocation of a religious brother

Franciscan friars conventual

Marriage

The following are excerpts from the Diocese of Ogdensburg’s FAMILY CATECHESIS FOR THE SEVEN SACRAMENTS:

The Sacrament of Matrimony: The Catholic Vision for Marriage  

"What is marriage? It is a true and authentic vocation, as are the priesthood and the religious life. Two Christians who marry have recognized the call of the Lord in their own love story, the vocation to form one flesh and one life from two, male and female." (Pope Francis, Meeting with the Young People of Umbria, October 4, 2013)   

Marriage Preparation

A question that confronts us: Are couples really prepared for marriage and the life that follows it? 

The three stages of marriage preparation – remote, proximate, and immediate . According to St. John Paul II's exhortation   Familiaris Consortio, marriage preparation is to be seen and put into practice as a gradual and continuous process beginning with the family, the domestic church.   

Remote Marriage Preparation

is a lifelong process that occurs in the family, the domestic church. Christian parents are the first and most important witnesses and educators of their children in the growth of faith, hope and charity. Remote preparation begins “in the womb” and continues throughout childhood, adolescence, and up to the period of engagement. It is based primarily in the family with the assistance of the Church. During this period of preparation, children learn to give and receive love through spiritual and catechetical formation focusing on vocational choices.

Proximate Marriage Preparation  (8-12 months before the wedding).

Proximate marriage preparation builds the foundation for marriage by providing a more specific preparation for the sacrament, presenting marriage as an interpersonal relationship of a man and a woman that has to be continually developed over a lifetime. The Church wants couples to take time to reflect on the holiness of their vocation and on the importance of the step they are about to take. The diocesan marriage preparation program, Pre-Cana, is held at various times in many of the deaneries.

http://rcdony.org/pre-cana.html

Immediate Marriage Preparation  (10 weeks before the wedding). 

Immediate preparation for the celebration of the Sacrament of Matrimony is a part of the larger pastoral responsibility to assist the Christian faithful in preparation for marriage and to support them in living out this sacrament. This preparation should take place in the weeks immediately preceding the wedding. This stage of preparation should include: catechesis on the Rite of Marriage, Liturgy planning, (that is, choice of readings, music, blessings), rehearsal planning, completion of all paperwork and canonical requirements.

Single Life

Perhaps the most misunderstood of the “states of life” is that of the single life. Unfortunately, it gets the least attention as well. All of us, whether married, ordained or consecrated religious, begin as a single person. For many, single life is a transition to something else. However, there are some who choose to be single; they are single by intention, not by accident. Those are the ones truly called to this state of life. While they do not make public vows or promises, these single people are dedicated to the work of Jesus Christ in the world.