A Servant to Servants: Archbishop-designate Golka Meets Archdiocesan Deacons Ahead of Installation
- André Escaleira, Jr.
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
In his remarks to archdiocesan deacons, Denver’s new shepherd expressed profound gratitude for the ministry and service of those configured to Christ the Servant.
With his installation mere hours away, Archbishop-designate James Golka took time to gather and break bread with deacons from across the Archdiocese of Denver on Tuesday evening. Thanking them for their ministry, he recalled the witness of a dedicated deacon of the Diocese of Grand Island, Nebraska.
“He sat right down the first week, and he said, ‘Father Jim, all we want to do is to help you pray,’” Archbishop-designate Golka recalled. “That stayed with me because that was my experience. As soon as I started knowing deacons and trusting deacons and having Mass with them, I prayed the Mass in a very different way. So thank you for letting your priests, presiders and bishops pray a different way at Mass because of what you do.”
Configured to Christ the Servant, the deacon’s vocation is to love their neighbor and bring Christ to them, Archbishop-designate Golka reminded those gathered. In fact, when a deacon enters a hospital room, jail, assisted living facility or any other place where they are called to render service, they bring the Church with them in a particular way.
“I think the most important ministry you do is all the good you do out in the world for charity. And many of you, I'm guessing, do service to God's people that nobody else sees — to take communion to the homebound, visiting jails, all these unique things, where you get to encounter God's people who might otherwise be on the periphery,” he noted. “And I need to thank you from the bottom of my heart because, as your new archbishop, those people are important to me and ought to be for the entire Church.”
(Photos by Dan Petty/Denver Catholic)
Just as the people they serve are not alone, neither are the deacons who do the serving. Their wives, Archbishop-designate Golka noted, are by their sides on the front lines, bringing Christ’s love to those most in need.
“To the deacon wives, you have a unique role to play, and it is so important,” he said. “Christ as servant often gets overlooked, and that's part of what your husband is called to. But if I need you to hear a call to that, too.”
Denver’s newest shepherd encouraged the deacons and their wives gathered, sharing how important he sees their joint ministry to be, and calling them to redouble their charitable service to those in need.
“On some Sunday, if you've already served two Masses and now you're visiting your third assisted living facility, and you're dragging, know what you're doing is the most important thing to do in this archdiocese, and your bishop is ever grateful to you for all that. Anything that I can do to support you in that, I'm all in for that,” Archbishop-designate Golka said.
In short, he continued, “If we don't have you doing your role, this archdiocese is missing something.”
A blessed evening of fraternity, community and encouragement, Archbishop-designate Golka’s first visit with his deacons resonated deeply — especially given just how hectic the days leading up to his installation are.
“This evening was a profound blessing for our archdiocese, gathered as brother deacons and wives with Archbishop-designate Golka and our visiting bishops and priests. We experienced the beauty of communion, fraternity and joyful service at the heart of Christ’s Church,” said Deacon Ernie Martinez, archdiocesan director of deacons. “In Archbishop-designate Golka, we already see the heart of a deacon, and in that shared spirit we stand united, bishop, priest, and deacon, one Church, one mission, like a living triptych of service to God’s people.”
United in a triptych of service, with Archbishop-designate Golka as a servant to servants, the archdiocese is poised on the precipice of an exciting new chapter.
“I’m excited about the possibility of this archdiocese. There is such beauty here. There are so many talents and gifts that God has given that are yet to be mined and invited into the mission. I'm going to ask all of you to help us do that,” Archbishop-designate Golka concluded.
