By Joe Pisani

Seven men, with seven different livelihoods but one calling to serve the Lord as permanent deacons, came together at a pontifical Mass recently and were called forward by Bishop Frank J. Caggiano.

They knelt and placed their hands on the Bible he held as he said, “Take this Book of Holy Scripture, be faithful in handing on the Word of God, so that it may grow strong in the hearts of His people.” Each man then gave his assent by stating “Amen.”

This Rite of Institution of Lectors celebrated at St. Augustine Cathedral on November 8
was a milestone in their formation program. The bishop reminded them the responsibility of lector demands more than merely reading Sacred Scripture. They must understand the text they read and reveal the Word of God to those around them.

The bishop then gave a Bible to each candidate as they promised to live out the bishop’s admonition. The men, who are over halfway through their journey to ordination, must receive the ministries of lector and then acolyte and exercise both for a time so they “may be better disposed for the future service of the Word and the Altar.”

While lay persons are given the faculties to proclaim the Word of God during the liturgy, the seven candidates will exercise the ministry in a permanent way. This is also known as the Rite of Reader.

The candidates who were instituted as lectors were Joshua M. Auxier, Daniel Durante, Frantz Lauture, Jorge P. Ordonez, Mark D. Renzi, Alexander Russo and Nicholas E. Salazar.

In his homily, the bishop asked, “If you were told it was the last day of your life, what would you change?” What would have the greatest urgency? Asking forgiveness? Or speaking words of love, of kindness and of encouragement that had never been said?

“You see, my friends, if you and I had only this day left to live, our entire life could change because suddenly we would be seeing it in the very prism of what our life is all about,” he said.
He told the faithful the day will come unexpectedly, as in the parable of the foolish virgins, when “we give our lives as an offering to God.”

“On that day, when we enter into the mystery of death, our entire life will be revealed,” he said. “And we should ask ourselves, ‘What will we offer him? He who has given us this great gift.”

Jesus promised us at baptism that He would bring us into his kingdom to be with him forever, and the bishop said, “He has asked us to engage in the preparation for the day of fulfillment in prayer, in sacrifice, in charity and in service. He also feeds us in the celebration of his Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity so that we will be ready for the moment of great promise.”

The foolish virgins who were not ready were locked out of the wedding banquet.“The question for us is: Is our life on the path where we too may be locked out?” Bishop Caggiano asked.

He also stressed the importance of reading and studying Sacred Scripture. “Christ is present in his Word,” he said, “and when we reflect, study and pray over it, allow it to become part of our lives, then we will not be like the foolish virgins for we will not be drowsy, but always focused on the promise the Lord has given us.”

Bishop Caggiano told the candidates, “You are being installed not to do something. You are being installed to be something. To be heralds of God’s Word.”

He also invoked his patron, Saint Francis of Assisi, who once told the Franciscan brothers to begin every day giving thanks for the gift of the day and acting as if it was the last day God would give them.

“So today, if it were the last day God gave us, what would change? Do you and I have the courage to admit what needs to change? The time to do it is now,” he said.

Following the homily, he called forth the candidates and performed the institution of lectors rite.

“What a blessing to gather at the cathedral during Sunday Mass with Bishop Caggiano to witness these seven men, surrounded by their wives, family members and friends, take this important step in their formation as deacons,” said Deacon John DiTaranto, Director of the Diaconate.  “Since their acceptance into the formation process, I have watched them grow in the characteristics representative of men being called to the diaconate, most especially humility and their willingness to serve others.”

Frantz Lauture said: “It feels just amazing to enter this Rite of Reader because you are getting to the point where you can proclaim the Word. It’s important to serve our God and proclaim his Word. I couldn’t have done this without my wife Emmanuella and our family.”

Jorge Ordonez said it was a milestone in his life. A native of Ecuador, his parents spilt when he was young and the first time he worshiped was when he received his First Holy Communion at 15. “Later I felt like I hit bottom, but the Lord brought me back after I went on a retreat,” he recalled, adding, “Since then, I haven’t been able to get rid of God, and today I am just excited and blessed to be able to proclaim his Word.”

Nicholas Salazar said he was encouraged ten years ago to consider a vocation to the diaconate, but it wasn’t until recently when the topic came up at his parish of St. Mary’s in Norwalk that he decided to enter formation.

“Being given the opportunity to proclaim the Word of God is a tremendous privilege,” he said. “This is the inspired Word of God, which can penetrate the minds and hearts of people.”

The candidates for the Rite of Reader were:

Frantz Lauture lives in Stamford with his wife, Emmanuella, and their three daughters, Caelle, Alicia, and Laura. He immigrated to the United States from Haiti in 1983. Frantz is an member of the Quasi Parish Notre Dame du Perpétuel Secours, where he advocates for the Haitian community and supports his parish. For the past 31 years, he has worked for the United States Postal Service, where he serves as the executive plant manager in Hartford.

Joshua M. Auxier is married to Mira, and they have a daughter, Alessandra. Joshua is a litigation attorney practicing out of Westport. He earned his juris doctorate degree from the George Washington School of Law after getting his bachelor of arts in political science from Indiana University. He is a member of the St. Luke Parish in Westport, where he has served as a leader of the Men’s Group, a lector, and an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion and started a Bible study group.

Daniel V. Durante was born and raised in Brooklyn. He has three grown sons, Yaakov, Michael and Daniel. Yaakov, a music ministry pastor, is married to Melissa, and they have two sons, Jacob and Zachary. Michael is a professional guitarist and tours with his band. Daniel is a commercial pilot studying to be a flight instructor. Daniel Sr. is senior vice president for a property management company in New York City. He established and directs a program that has been serving inner city youth since 2001. He is a senior altar server and extraordinary minister of Holy Communion. 

Nicholas E. Salazar was born and raised down south before moving to the Midwest for college.  He serves as a master of ceremonies in his home parish, Saint Mary of Norwalk, where he and his family have been attending Mass for nearly 20 years. He holds degrees in philosophy, law and classics, and teaches Greek and Latin at an independent school in Fairfield County. He lives with his wife and children in Stratford.

Alexander Russo and his wife, Gerri, have five sons and nine grandchildren and are parishioners of St. Michael the Archangel Church in Greenwich. Alexander is active in several diocesan ministries, including the Ministry of Accompaniment, and has served on the boards of the Seton Collaborative and the St. John Paul II Center for Communications. He is also a member of the Blessed Michael McGivney Guild, which supports seminarians, and has served on the board of Veritas Catholic Network. He is a Knight of the Order of Malta and an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion. A partner at a venture capital firm, he previously served as CEO of several global technology companies and holds law degrees from Fordham Law School and NYU School of Law. 

Jorge P. Ordonez, 47, was born in Ecuador. He moved to the United States in his early teens and attended middle school, but did not complete high school. At 40, he returned to school and earned his GED, which allowed him to enter the diaconate program. He and his wife Johana have three children. They recently became grandparents. He owns a small home improvement business and is a self-taught musician, who occasionally plays at Mass and with his parish prayer group at St. Peter Church in Danbury.

Mark D. Renzi was born in Providence, RI and attended the Our Lady of Providence Preparatory Seminary High School. He graduated from Clark University in Worcester, Mass., and received his dental degree from the University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine. He is a general dentist at Dental Associates of Connecticut in Newtown.  He and his wife, Kristen, have three children and have been parishioners of St. Rose of Lima in Newtown since 1999. At St. Rose, Mark is a member of the Friday Morning Men’s Prayer Group, the Currency Engineers, the Altar Angels and the Knights of Columbus Council 185.