The Scriptural Deacon

  My pastor, mentor, and friend, Fr. Mark Shuey, entered eternal life a few weeks ago. His funeral and burial took place last week. It was a very emotional and moving few days. Led by our bishop, who made the journey down from Parma, we all prayed together as one family in Christ for the repose of the soul of our beloved brother. The Funeral Liturgy and rites are very beautiful and offer the great hope that comes from being faithful disciples of Jesus. Through the prayers of the Church, God comes to those who mourn and offers comfort. Despair is canceled out by the power of the Resurrection and the newness of life that awaits us. Much of modern culture has become uncomfortable with death. We often try to soften it, sanitize it, or put it out of sight. Even our language has changed. We speak of “celebrations of life” rather than funerals, and often the body of the deceased is absent or hidden away. The Eastern Catholic Church, of which I am a member, does something very different. I...

  We often do not realize the value or importance of a relationship or a person in our lives until that person is gone.  Early on Sunday morning, August 9, I received the sad and heartbreaking news that Fr. Mark Shuey had entered eternal life. This was certainly not the way I expected to begin my Sunday morning. As the full weight of the news began to sink in, I thought about the many monumental events in my life that Fr. Mark had been a part of. He married Joanne and me in 2008. From there, he inspired and shepherded my vocation toward the diaconate. He baptized all nine of our children. He was present at my ordination, just as I had been present at and served at both of his ordinations, first as a deacon and later as a priest. Then the full weight of the value and worth of his relationship with me and my family became evident in my heart. With tears and pain, I began to reflect on the immense loss that I would now have to bear, but also on the true joy and blessing it was to...

  Over my life there have been only a handful of sermons that I remember almost word for word. One of them was preached at a funeral. Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church in Rocky Mount was overflowing. Every pew was filled. People lined the outer walls, and many stood quietly in the back of the church. We had gathered to mourn the death of a young man named Kevin. There was every reason to be overcome with grief. Morning light poured through the stained-glass windows, filling the church with color. The only sounds were the muffled sobs of grieving family members and friends. Then Fr. Javan Saxon stepped into the pulpit. Something remarkable happened. He reminded us that death does not have the final word. The hope of every Christian rests in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and His victory over death. That day, that message of hope came through a powerful preacher standing before us. Fr. Saxon was a large man with a commanding voice, yet as he preached, tears streamed down h...

  I have always enjoyed watching older movies. Perhaps it is because many of them were willing to take their time, allowing characters to grow and stories to unfold. One of my favorites is  The Verdict . Released in 1982, it stars Paul Newman in what many critics consider the finest performance of his career. Newman plays Frank Galvin, an alcoholic lawyer in Boston whose life has fallen apart. Once a promising attorney, he has become little more than an ambulance chaser, visiting funeral homes in search of easy cases that can be settled out of court for a quick payday. His addiction to alcohol and his love of money have slowly become the center around which his life revolves. A friend brings Frank a medical malpractice case involving a young woman named Deborah Ann Kaye. Admitted to the hospital to give birth, she was given the wrong anesthetic and left in a permanent coma. The lawsuit is against two prominent doctors, the hospital, and the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, whic...

  Second Sunday after Pentecost (2026) Epistle: Romans 2:10-16 Gospel: Matthew 4:18-23 In this week's Gospel, we hear our Lord's famous call to His first disciples:  "Follow me."  It is a call not only to Peter, Andrew, James, and John, but also to each one of us. It is an invitation to leave behind the cares of the world, to let go of whatever is holding us back, and to truly follow Jesus. This is what the Sundays after Pentecost are all about: growing and maturing as fruitful disciples of Christ. It is one reason why the Roman Church wears green during this season—to symbolize the spiritual growth that should be taking place within each of us. "Follow me." What a simple command from Jesus, yet one that takes most of us a lifetime to fully put into practice. We are told that Peter and his brother Andrew immediately left behind their nets and their former way of life to follow Jesus. Then we hear something even more startling: James and John immediately left...

Not only are we celebrating the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, but here in North Carolina we are also in the middle of Hurricane Florence. Since I do not have enough time to prepare a new sermon or post for this feast day. I looked back and found this homily that I wrote several years ago. Its focus in upon the lordship of Jesus and how it effect our lives, as well as our world. I think it is well worth a read. Just to note: The family and I are doing well. We prayed Vespers last night (nothing like singing "Our Lord I have cried to you hear me", with a two year old screaming at the top of his lungs. Then again I am sure that we sometimes sound just like that to God) and Matins together for the feast. It was rough morning though, I think a bit of cabin fever is already setting in. It will be a long weekend I am sure. I pray that all of you are safe, knowing that God through his divine protection is watching over us. God's blessings to everyone. E...

I have ofter wondered what Peter, James, and John, expected to find when they climbed the high mountain with Jesus. Did they think this was going to be just another one of Jesus' private prayer times or something more? Had they any idea that they were about to stand in the middle of God's Holy Fire? The very Fire of transfiguration and transformation. I think there was growing tension between the twelve disciples at this time in Jesus ministry. Again and again, he is telling and showing them that the pathway to glory travels directly through the heart of the Cross. As our Lord tells them six days before he makes this journey up the mountain , "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." (Matt 16:24-25) But, what are the disciples doing half the time, they are  quarreling   and  fighting about who is the greatest of them. ...