The Storms of Life and Ministry

By DEACON ROBERT YERHOT, MSW

I recall a huge snowstorm when I was a boy. It was ferocious, to say the least. Snow banks were forming everywhere, and they were deep. Cars were in the ditches. Whiteouts blinded us to what lay ahead. Nonetheless, there was a beauty to it, perhaps more so from my boyish perspective, naïve as I was about the real dangers inherent in it. I felt drawn to the storm. My parents knew better and forbade me from going out in it. As an adult, I now know well such storms can do real damage, and after they have passed, always require more than a little effort removing the snow banks to allow safe passage down the road of life.

Perhaps this is a good meditation for diaconal ministry. There is a enchanting beauty in the storms of life, and we can get caught up in them with the naiveté of a child. We can get caught up in the dangers of life’s storms and foolishly go out into them unprepared and unaware. There is the danger that such storms will do us real harm if we enter into them unprepared.

What is the preparation? The answer is prayer and spiritual direction. Prayer and spiritual direction prepare us to be in communion with God and others in deep and lasting ways so that in the storms of diaconal ministry we can remain focused on Jesus who suffers, and asks us to be present to suffering humanity.

We are called to proclaim to all Jesus and what he has done. This is easier said than done, and requires an ability to tolerate internal and external distresses without becoming blind to the purpose and goal of diaconal ministry: living in relationship with Jesus, being sent by the Father in the power of the Spirit, and readily available to carry out the Father’s will. To live in that way will require we not succumb to the allurements of life’s storms and that we remove a lot of storm debris from our lives. To live that way will require a painful purification from life’s stormy attractions which can do us great harm. To live in that way will require learning necessary skills which will enable us to tolerate the storms of life, refusing their attractive allure, and all the while remaining in communion with Jesus, his Cross, and the People of God who live in the storms of life in the world. We must always be in communion with the Father’s will, especially when storms rage around us beckoning to enter into them. We deacons must be men who are sent by the Father, to bring his people out of the storms of their lives and into the safety of the Church.

Yes, always in communion with the Father’s will. Yes, always in communion with the Church, God’s holy suffering people. Amen!

Deacon Robert Yerhot serves the parishes of St. Mary in Caledonia and St. Patrick in Brownsville.