Like most folks my age, though I’m happy to be here, I wonder how I got to be an old man so quickly.  But very often there is still a big kid inside of me.  I had such a good time last week during the Beach Bum Parade.  So, I’m thinking that we need to organize the Saint Michael Defense Force in order to kick the fun up a notch or two for next year.  Talk to me if you are interested in helping to organize the Force.  You could be a Colonel in the SMDF.
 
Last weekend also saw the ordination of 13 deacons at the Cathedral.  Eleven deacons are permanent deacons and two are transitional deacons who will be ordained to the Priesthood next May.  The transitional deacons, Rev Mr. Theodore Agba and Rev. Mr. Peter Lanshima spent Easter Day with me as Walker and Betty Beason hosted us to a wonderful Easter dinner.  I was honored to vest Peter in his dalmatic last Saturday.  After his language studies in Guatemala this summer, I am hoping that Peter will come to preach at our Masses one weekend before he returns to the Seminary for his final year of studies.
 
It was a great joy to have one of the permanent deacons, Rev. Mr. Jason Lanham, assist for the first time as a deacon at our 11am Mass last Sunday.  From the start of his formation as a deacon, I was Jason’s spiritual director.  He and his wife Irene have six children and Jason is still on active duty as a physician at Eisenhower Army Medical Center in Augusta.  I’m not sure how he ever managed to squeeze the master’s degree program required to be a deacon into his busy life.  For the Church I am glad he did.  
 
St. Michael’s Parish has been blessed in the past with the Ministry of Deacons.  I know many parishioners remember with great fondness the work of Deacon Charles Hosti and Deacon Fret Crider.  I hope and prayer that there will be future vocations to the deaconate from our faith community.  There is an information night on June 20 at Sacred Heart in Savannah.  If the idea of this type of service to the Church speaks to your heart, please talk to me.  I’d be happy to go to the meeting with you.
 
Deacons are clerics, they can administer the sacrament of Baptism and serve as the church's witness at the sacrament of Holy Matrimony.  Deacons may preside at various services such as a wake service, and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, and they may give blessings. They cannot hear confession and give absolution, anoint the sick, or celebrate Mass.  Permanent deacons often serve in parish or other ministry as their time permits, since they typically have other full-time employment. They may also act, with permission of the Bishop, as parish administrators. With the passage of time, more and more deacons are serving in full-time ministries in parishes, hospitals, prisons, and in diocesan positions. Deacons often work directly in ministry to the marginalized inside and outside the church: the poor, the sick, the hungry, and the imprisoned.
 
I am happy to have Fr. Dan Melaba sharing most of his summer vacation with us.  Fr. Dan has served on the faculty of St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach, Florida since August 8, 2015. Many of the seminarians studying for the Diocese of Savannah attend St. Vincent de Paul Seminary.  This weekend Fr. Dan is attending an ordination of one of his students in the Diocese of Orlando.  And he will need to head back to the Seminary in June for a couple weeks, but otherwise he will be pretty much around.
 
Fr. Dan and I have been good friends since the days when he was working on his doctoral dissertation at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkley, California.  For five years before heading to Florida, Fr. Dan pastored the faithful of St. Peter Claver Church in Macon, GA.  He is on “loan” from the Diocese of Gboko, Nigeria.  Both Fr. Dan and I joyfully accept dinner invitations from parishioners.   
 
Finally, this weekend we pause as Americans to remember the many brave men and women who have given their lives throughout the history of our country to protect us from danger and harm.  I would invite you to attend the 8:00am Mass on Monday as a special way of honoring them.  I always find these Holiday Masses uplifting because it is evident that those who participate are there because they love the Lord. 

Fr. Jerry Ragan