Saint Frances Cabrini Parish

Father Kleppner - August 12, 2007

The Power of Belief

A man was lost while driving through the country. As he tried to read his map, he accidentally drove off the road and into a ditch. Thankfully he wasn’t injured, but his car was stuck deep in the mud of the ditch. The man spotted a farmhouse down the road a few miles and decided to walk down and ask for help.
The man knocked on the door and an old farmer complete with suspenders with a Southern drawl said, “Can I help you?” The man explained his situation to the farmer. The farmer pointed to an old mule grazing the nearby grass, “Old Henry can get you out of that ditch.” The man looked at the old, beaten up mule and was puzzled. The mule looked like it was at least 100 years old. How could it possibly pull his car out of the ditch? The old farmer just continued nodding and said, “Yep, Old Henry can do the job.” The man figured he had nothing to lose so he took the farmer up on his offer. The man, the farmer and Old Henry headed out to the ditch.
Upon their arrival at the ditch the farmer took Old Henry and hitched him up to the car. Then he snapped the reins and shouted, “Pull, Jack! Pull, John! Pull, Peter! Pull Henry!”
Sure enough the old mule pulled the car up and out of the ditch. The man was amazed. He thanked the farmer and Old Henry and said, “Why did you call out all of those other names before you called Henry?” The farmer grinned and said, “Old Henry is just about blind. As long as he believes he’s part of a team he doesn’t mind pulling.”
Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple area and to breaking bread in their homes. They ate their meals with exultation and sincerity of heart, praising God and enjoying favor with all the people. And every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.
– Acts 2:46-47

CONGRATULATIONS TO JOE BASKO AND HIS FAMILY
Last Sunday at St. Mary of the Assumption Parish in Glenshaw, Joe Basko of our parish, together with 46 other aspirants for the deaconate, was admitted to Candidacy. This makes Joe and the 46 other men official candidates for ordination to the deaconate. This rite was celebrated in a beautiful liturgy by Most Rev. William J. Winter, S.T.D., Retired Auxiliary Bishop of Pittsburgh.

The Rite of Admission to Candidacy

deferred until ordination to the diaconate, the Rite of Admission to Candidacy is to be celebrated as soon as possible after the aspirant is admitted. In this rite, the one who aspires to ordination publicly manifests his will to offer himself to God and the Church to exercise a sacred order. In this way, he is admitted into the ranks of candidates for the diaconate. “Enrollment among the candidates for the diaconate does not constitute any right necessarily to receive diaconal ordination. It is a first official recognition of the positive signs of the vocation to the diaconate, which must be confirmed in the subsequent years of formation.”
Because of its public character and its ecclesial significance, this rite should be celebrated in a proper manner, preferably on a Sunday or feast day. Special consideration should be given to the inclusion of the candidate’s wife and children, as well as the cultural traditions represented.
National Directory for the Formation, Ministry, and Life of Permanent Deacons in the United States

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