Our vocation holy hour for October was blessed by the presence of Deacon Greg Kandra, of the Diocese of Brooklyn and author of the online blog, “The Deacon’s Bench.” Despite the nor’easter that was announcing its arrival this evening, our chapel held a good group of Residents, Little Sisters, friends and seminarians from Immaculate Conception Seminary in Douglaston. Deacon Greg read from the gospel of Matthew recounting how Jesus called his first disciples. “In that moment, what began as an ordinary day became extraordinary; those first apostles could not have known when they got up that morning how radically and completely their lives would be changed.” Deacon went on to explain how vocations disrupt the ordinary when we “let God take the keys and take us where He wants.”
September 11th was like that. What had started out as a beautiful but ordinary autumn day for so many was anything but. For Greg Kandra who was on his way to work as a news producer at CBS, it turned out to be the beginning of his journey to the permanent diaconate. A chance meeting with an English deacon at the Trappist Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers, GA defined
Greg Kandra’s seeking of God’s Will in his post 9/11 life. At the end of their meal together the deacon pointed to him and said, “You should be a deacon!” In his homily Deacon Greg went on to talk about the freedom that comes from surrender and how he wished that more people would experience it. And that is precisely why we come together to pray for vocations on the 4th Wednesday of every month. In a world filled with opportunities and challenges there is none greater than that of giving your life to Christ!
Holy Hour