Throughout this Jubilee Year 2025, the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown joins the universal Catholic Church in celebrating “Pilgrims of Hope.”
Among the many ministries that highlight hope is the Permanent Diaconate.
Here in the diocese, permanent deacons, with the prayerful support of their wives, are engaged in various ministries including, but not limited to, parish ministry, prison ministry, and hospital ministry.
The diaconate community is also committed to reaching out to those around the world who are less fortunate, oppressed, living in poverty, and being persecuted for their faith.
Among the diaconate community’s foreign outreach efforts is the “Brick Yard Children.”
There are 20,000 brick kilns across Pakistan with an estimated 3.5-4 million people working in the kilns as bonded slaves—many of them Christians.
Driven by poverty and need, these people take out loans or cash advances to pay hospital fees or get a sibling married, for example.
In return, they are told to work on brick kilns until they can repay the amount borrowed.
Children as young as four years old work in the brickyards to help their families pay down debt.
The family is given a quota of 1,000 to 1,500 bricks and is paid the equivalent of $1.50-$1.75 US dollars per day. The children do not attend school.
It is the diaconate community’s desire to bring education to these children, and the community’s goal is to create a school.
A new venture is providing the children with books on prayer, the Catechism, and other basic subjects that are otherwise denied to the children.
In recognition of their contributions and tireless efforts here in our diocese and beyond, Bishop Mark recently provided the following reflection for the Diaconate Community.
Hope and the Ministry and Life of Deacons – Bring the Hopeless to Hope
I recently read an online reflection written by Rev. Andrew Rampton, a priest of the Anglican Church of Canada and pastor of a parish in Hamilton, Ontario. The reflection focuses on the life and ministry of St. Jude the Apostle. Rampton explains that when we hear his name, we often think of the devotion to this saint as patron of hopeless causes. However, he did not acquire that title because he was hopeless. St. Jude refused to allow hopelessness to be a dominant power in his life. St. Jude is an example for deacons, priests, and bishops who are called to bring hope to the hopeless and remind the world that with God, all things are possible.
Bringing hope to the hopeless through various activities, programs and relationships is an important dimension of diaconal ministry. The Catechism of the Catholic Church published by St. John Paul II (n. 1818) explains that hope responds to the aspiration to happiness which God has placed in the heart of every person. It takes up the hopes that inspire human activities and purifies them so as to order them to the Kingdom of heaven. Hope keeps us from discouragement and sustains us during times of abandonment so that we may be preserved from discouragement while being led to the happiness that flows from charity. It is in this sense that deacons are to be signs of hope, comfort, and Good News to the world.
In the manner of St. Jude, there may be times for deacons to be signs of discomfort and hard news, which is also a good thing. In their life and ministry, deacons will make some in the Church uncomfortable because it is their God-given charism to carry the light of hope into the darkest corners of this life and to inform us, the Church, about what they have found. Their search for hope informs us so that we can respond according to our own vocations. It strengthens us so that none of us become complacent in living our vocation. Just ask St. Jude, who reminds us that there is so much more. It’s called hope. Bring it with you and always be ready to share it with others.
St. Jude is the Patron Saint of hope and impossible causes. He is one of Jesus’ original apostles and is known for his faith and courage in spreading the Gospel. How is St. Jude a symbol of hope in your life?
