Mass of Recommitment

PATERSON  Bishop Serratelli was the principal celebrant of a Mass of Recommitment for 85 permanent deacons who serve in the Diocese in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist here — a special liturgy that also commemorated the 50th anniversary this year of the restoration of the Permanent Diaconate by Pope Paul VI.

Before the Saturday morning Mass, deacons vested in the Bishop Frank J. Rodimer Center adjacent to St. John’s, walked in line to the front of the cathedral and then processed into the cathedral. The deacons sat on one side of St. John’s while their wives and other family members sat on the other for the liturgy.

After his homily, Bishop Serratelli led the deacons in renewing the following three promises that they made at their own ordinations: “to be consecrated for the Church’s ministry by the laying on of the bishop’s hands and the gift of the Holy Spirit; to discharge the Office of Deacon with humble charity in order to assist the priest order and to benefit the Christian people; and to hold fast to the mystery of faith with a clear conscience … and to proclaim this faith in word and deed, according to the Gospel and the Church’s tradition,” according to the ordination rite. Following the Mass, there was a reception for the deacons and their families in the Bishop Rodimer Center.

“This Mass was an opportunity to gather with Bishop Serratelli and renew our promises to serve him, our home parishes and, perhaps, other ministries in the Diocese,” said Deacon Peter Cistaro of St. Peter the Apostle Parish, Parsippany, the director of the diocesan Office of the Permanent Diaconate. “It’s also an opportunity to be in the company of deacons from the various ordination classes, for permanent deacons to be recognized as ordained ministers and for our parishes to better understand our roles,” said Deacon Cistaro, who was ordained to the permanent diaconate in 2009.

In a recent letter to invite priests and permanent deacons to the Mass, Bishop Serratelli called the 50th anniversary of the restoration of the Permanent Diaconate “a cause for celebration and thanksgiving for such an important gift to the Church.”