Do this in memory of me.
Luke 22:19

With praise and thanksgiving to Almighty God,

the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas

joyfully announces the ordination of

Deacon Shawn Philip Tunink

to the Sacred Order of the Priesthood

through the laying on of hands

and the invocation of the Holy Spirit

by His Excellency Joseph F. Naumann, D.D.

Archbishop of Kansas City in Kansas

Saturday, May 24^th, 2008 at 10:30 AM

Cathedral of Saint Peter

416 North 14^th Street

Kansas City, Kansas

Reception to follow in the Parish Hall

Relying on the help of the Lord God

and our Savior Jesus Christ,

we choose Shawn, our brother,

for the Order of the Priesthood.

Thanks be to God.

From the Rite of Ordination of a Priest

Fr. Tunink will celebrate his first Holy Mass

Sunday, May 25^th, 2008 at 10:00 AM

Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center

1631 Crescent Road

Lawrence, Kansas

With this weekend's celebration of the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, the Christmas season comes to its official liturgical end. I've been doing my best to live in the spirit of Christmas these past weeks and will continue to do so throughout this year. As the liturgical season comes to and end and we move (briefly this year) into Ordinary Time, I wanted to say thanks to all my family and friends that sent me Christmas cards. Perhaps you may wonder if it even matters if you send one. Well, I can assure that each card is special to me. Much more than presents, Christmas and the entire Christian life are about relationships. Some of you I got to see this last month in person; for others, just your card brought us closer. In case you really were wondering what happened to the Christmas card you sent me, here is a picture of the door to my room at seminary...

It took a bit of rearranging here and there, but I think I got them all up there (check for yours!). Perhaps you're wondering now where I got such and idea. For comparison, here is a shot of my family Christmas tree back home...

Note the cards hung around the doorway on the right. So, if you're wondering where I got the idea, my dad has made this a Christmas tradition for as long as I can remember. The other part of the tradition is watching him retape the cards that fall each day throughout the season. I asked him this year where he got an idea like this. He said that his dad always did it, so he carried it on. That sounds like a pretty good reason to me.

Here's a tradition from my mom's side of the family. My grandpa made this little stable out of trees he cut himself. It took a lot of work to find just the right size trees. I got one of the greatest presents ever a few years ago when my grandpa made me a stable just like this. I will always treasure it. My mom developed the tradition of spreading out the manger scene on a little artificial hill each year. You'll notice that the camel on the right has no tail. That was my contribution to the tradition, or so I'm told. I was too little to remember, but apparently I'm responsible for the camel's lack of posterior appendage.

And so this ends Christmas for another year. I hope you enjoyed a little sampling of a couple Tunink family Christmas traditions. I was in Bethlehem for Christmas last year...which was nice. But, it was nice to be home again this year. Thanks again for the cards and may the peace of Christmas remain in your hearts the whole year through.

Yesterday was a day of great excitement here at the seminary as 17 of my classmates were ordained deacons. Most of these are from the Archdiocese of Chicago. The count is now down to just 3 weeks until my own ordination. As I prepare for this I have encountered more than a few people who have questions about just what a deacon is. When I refer to my upcoming ordination, even my own family members sometimes think of my ordination to the priesthood coming up in May. So, I thought it might be nice to provide a little info about deacons.

The word “deacon” comes from the Greek word “diakonos” which generally means “servant, minister, or helper.” Incidentally, in case you’re wondering why you often see the term “diaconate” used in referring to deacons, you can see now that this term is just derived more closely from the original Greek, “diakonos.” Given the origin of the word, it is not surprising then that some of the major functions of a deacon include being a servant, minister, and helper; he serves the poor and the sick, ministers during the Liturgy, and is a helper especially to the order of bishops, but also to the priests.

Most Catholics are familiar with the seven sacraments of the Church that you probably memorized when you were a kid. It is then helpful to understand that one becomes a deacon through the reception of the sacrament of Holy Orders and this is done through ordination. Perhaps you’re saying, “I thought priests were ordained and received the sacrament of Holy Orders.” Well, that’s also true. You see there are actually three “degrees” of this one sacrament. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) explains:

“The divinely instituted ecclesiastical ministry is exercised in different degrees by those who even from ancient times have been called bishops, priests, and deacons.” Catholic doctrine, expressed in the liturgy, the Magisterium, and the constant practice of the Church, recognizes that there are two degrees of ministerial participation in the priesthood of Christ: the episcopacy and the presbyterate. The diaconate is intended to help and serve them…Catholic doctrine teaches that the degrees of priestly participation (episcopate and presbyterate) and the degree of service (diaconate) are all three conferred by a sacramental act called “ordination,” that is, by the sacrament of Holy Orders. (CCC 1554)

So, in answer to a common question, yes, I will be ordained twice. I will first be ordained a deacon and be sacramentally configured to act in the person of Christ the servant (in persona Christi diaconae). In May I will then be ordained again to share in the priesthood of Christ and act in the person of Christ the head (in persona Christi capitis). Both events are ordinations and reception of different degrees of the sacrament of Holy Orders.

The Catechism goes on further to explain the function of deacons:

"At a lower level of the hierarchy are to be found deacons, who receive the imposition of hands 'not unto the priesthood, but unto the ministry.’” At an ordination to the diaconate only the bishop lays hands on the candidate, thus signifying the deacon's special attachment to the bishop in the tasks of his "diakonia." (CCC 1569)

Deacons share in Christ's mission and grace in a special way. The sacrament of Holy Orders marks them with an imprint ("character") which cannot be removed and which configures them to Christ, who made himself the "deacon" or servant of all. Among other tasks, it is the task of deacons to assist the bishop and priests in the celebration of the divine mysteries, above all the Eucharist, in the distribution of Holy Communion, in assisting at and blessing marriages, in the proclamation of the Gospel and preaching, in presiding over funerals, and in dedicating themselves to the various ministries of charity. (CCC 1570)

One of the key things to note here is that this sacrament is permanent. Just like in baptism and confirmation, the sacrament leaves a permanent mark or “character” on the soul such that one will forever be a deacon. Even though I will go on to be ordained a priest (and yet again be permanently marked, this time as a priest), there is a real sense in which I will also always be a deacon. In this way a priest is reminded of his calling to be a servant, even as he exercises the “headship” of priestly ministry.

Although the practice for a long time now has been to ordain men first as deacons before being ordained priests, this was not always the case. The order of the diaconate is its own proper ministry and not merely a step on the way to priesthood. It was for this reason that the Second Vatican Council decided to restore the ancient practice of ordaining men as deacons who would not later be ordained priests. These deacons are often called “permanent deacons.” While the Church in the west only chooses priests from among those committed to celibacy, married men can be ordained as permanent deacons.

In the past 40 years since the end of Vatican II the presence of deacons assisting in parishes has increased greatly such that many people are now familiar with this ministry. As mentioned above, some of the most obvious things a deacon does include assisting at Mass by proclaiming the Gospel and occasionally giving the homily. Deacons also can preside at marriages and funerals (outside of Mass) and can baptize. I will get a chance to exercise several of these on the day after my ordination as I will serve as deacon of the Mass for the first time and preach my first homily. I also have the great pleasure of getting to baptize my nephew later that afternoon. Finally, one of the most noticeable consequences of ordination to the diaconate will be that it is at this time that I officially become a cleric, a member of the clergy. This means that I need an entire new wardrobe as I will then be required to dress as a cleric, wearing the Roman collar. At least it makes it easy to decide what to wear each day!

I hope this helps a little in learning more about deacons. I will do another post that describes what goes on at the ordination and what it all means. This will hopefully be particularly useful to those of you who will be coming to my ordination in just 2 weeks, 5 days and 23 hours (but who’s counting?).