DISCIPLE: Two Local Men on Discerning Deaconate

Note: This article is the cover story from the January-February 2022 issue of the DISCIPLE Newsletter. If you are not receiving DISCIPLE in the mail, contact the parish office at 763-497-2745 to register as a parishioner or update your contact information.

On December 4, parishioner Mike Engel was ordained a permanent deacon by Archbishop Bernard Hebda at the Cathedral of Saint Paul. Deacon Mike Engel is a different man than the one who laid prostrate before the altar, then knelt before the archbishop. He has been supernaturally conformed to Christ the Servant. In a profound, new way, his life is no longer his own.

Dozens of friends and family members turned out to support and celebrate the new deacon, including his friend and mentor, Deacon Michael Nevin, who was ordained from St. Michael in 2010. The stories of these two men show the beauty of the diaconate vocation and offer valuable perspective on entrusting ourselves to God’s will, wherever it leads.

The Rookie

Deacon Mike Engel is currently assigned to St. Michael for his final few months of formation after ordination. He and his wife Stacy have four children: Kate, Livi, Bethy, and Peter. Kate is married to Brendan Miller and lives in Alaska; the rest of the Engels live near Deacon Mike’s childhood home on Maple Lake. In addition to serving at the altar, he has launched Reborn Ministry (reborn-ministry.org) to help men recover from pornography addiction.

“I entered the Church in 1994 through RCIA (the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults). We were newly married and just had our first child when people began to ask, ‘Have you ever thought about diaconate?’ I had no idea what a deacon was, but something intrigued me about it. I remember thinking, ‘Yeah, someday that would be great.’ Honestly, I didn’t want to give up my vices, so there was a sense of someday, but not now.”

“Diaconate is not a vocation of old men, but it is a vocation of mature men. God had a lot of pre-formation for me. He had to order my life to that of a simple servant. This involved a reprioritization of what was truly important and what was not. It meant a lot of spiritual growth and even dying to old ways of life. Looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing, but that doesn’t mean those were easy days.”

“Initially, Stacy was very much not ready for this journey. Neither a husband nor his wife need to feel 100% certain they are called, but a sense of peace and trust is essential. Over time, Stacy began to feel more at peace, and eventually, it was she who said, ‘I think it’s time for us to look into this.’ That is when our application was accepted. ... Speaking as a married man (not all permanent deacons are married), the formation process has brought a closeness, unity, joy, and peace to our family not possible without it.”

“Many people do not know what a deacon is, and you can’t discern something you do not know. Next, there’s the fear that I do not have the abilities needed to be a deacon—I am not smart enough or holy enough, or something like that. My response to that is simple: Fear not—you are right!  You could never hope to possess everything needed to stand in the person of Christ the Servant. Remember John 15:16: ‘You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit.’”

“Finally, there’s the question, ‘Am I worthy of a call?’ My response is the same: He will do the good work; can you trust Him? God is not asking you to be ordained right here and now; He is asking, ‘Would you consider taking the next step?’ There are literally hundreds of next steps before ordination, and from my experience, every step that you agree to entrust to God, He rewards a hundredfold.”

The Veteran

Deacon Michael Nevin and his wife Karen have two grown sons, Trevor and Trenton. He is currently assigned to Holy Family Catholic Church in St. Louis Park. Following his ordination in 2010, he served the parishes of Mary Queen of Peace in Rogers, Sts. Peter and Paul in Loretto, and St. Thomas the Apostle in Corcoran. Additionally, he has served as Dean of Students for the Institute of Diaconate Formation at the Saint Paul Seminary, as a member of the Archbishop’s Deacon Council, and as a Master of Ceremonies for the Archbishop. He works full-time as the Director of Pastoral Care for The Glenn Catholic Community in Minnetonka.

“The vocation to the diaconate is not for a man who is searching to have power in the Church. Deacons are often ignored, misunderstood, and utilized poorly by both the hierarchy of the Church and the laity. The role of the deacon is to suffer, as an icon of the true Suffering Servant that he aspires to imitate. This does not mean that it is a joyless vocation—it is filled with joy!—but it is a radical configuring of the man to serve and not be served.”

“Some men realize that God has been calling them for a long time, but I had a different experience. I had a pretty dramatic ‘reversion’ to the Catholic faith and began to study and live the faith very seriously. The Lord was very direct through prayer, letting me know what He wanted from me. After I was certain that God was calling me, I approached my wife and she confirmed the calling. Then we went to a meeting hosted by the Archdiocesan Diaconate Formation Program to get more information. After the meeting ended, we were pretty sure that the time was not right because I needed to mature in my faith and my calling. So I spent the next three years going to daily Adoration, reading scripture, learning about the saints, and studying the faith.”

“The biggest challenge during formation was the schedule. It was a very busy time in our lives: working full-time, being a father to young children, traveling to the seminary, and finding time to study. Even though it was difficult to tend to all those responsibilities, it was incredibly rewarding. My wife was required to attend the aspirancy year with me, and our marriage flourished because we actually were spending more time together than before. The aspirancy year has a special focus on making sure that the man called to Holy Orders has a rock-solid marriage.”

“My best advice for a man who has perceived a possible call to the diaconate is for him to set aside whatever is holding him back and put his trust in God. Some men never explore a possible vocation out of fear that they will be rejected or that they will not be in control of their lives. Some men put it off because they lack fortitude. Whatever the fear or failure is, don’t wait to talk to a deacon or priest and explore it. Just because you talk to someone doesn’t mean that you are committing yourself to being ordained. The Church will help figure out whether there is a calling or not, and it will take time, but it takes a first small ‘yes’ from the man to start the discernment.”

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Do You Hear a Call?

If you have ever considered the possibility of being called to the diaconate, contact Father Brian Park or the Institute of Diaconate Formation today!

Pictured above: Archbishop Bernard Hebda lays hands on Mike Engel; Deacon Mike Engel processes out after ordination; Deacon Michael Nevin serving as emcee at Bishop Andrew Cozzens’s farewell Mass. Photos courtesy of David Hrbacek at The Catholic Spirit.