Convocation speakers inspire deacons to respond with listening hearts
October 22, 2025 at 1:23 p.m.
Bishop O'Connell addresses the deacons at the end of Mass. UPDATED Oct. 22, 2025Permanent deacons may not always have the resources they want, but they always have the peace of Christ, Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., told them during his homily at the Mass for the annual Deacon Convocation Oct. 17-18 in Princeton.
“You bring that peace into homes, hospitals and hearts. You proclaim the kingdom not just with words, but with your lives – through service, compassion and presence,” he told deacons and their wives gathered for the convocation at the Princeton Marriott in Forrestal Oct. 18.
“You often labor quietly, without fanfare,” Bishop O’Connell said. “Like Luke, you remain faithful, present, steadfast. And like Paul, you may sometimes feel deserted or overlooked. But hear Paul’s words: ‘The Lord stood by me and gave me strength.’ That is our anchor. Not recognition, but divine presence.”
Redemptorist Father James Dowd was keynote speaker for the Oct. 17-18 Deacon Convocation. EmmaLee Italia photo
PHOTO GALLERY: 2025 Diaconate Convocation
Flowing from the Heart
Redemptorist Father James Dowds, keynote presenter for the convocation, has served in parishes, the military chaplaincy for both the U.S. Navy and Marines, and education ministries throughout his 40 years as a priest. His talks, peppered with personal anecdotes and practical spiritual suggestions, centered on the theme “Jesus, the Perfect Model of a Loving Servant,” and how the response of a servant-hearted deacon must be daily renewed.
“The prospect of modeling our servant ministry has to flow from … being firmly anchored in the heart of Christ – otherwise we become mere functionaries,” Father Dowds said. “God calls us not once, but again and again; we are never finished … God is omnipresent in this moment we call now. The question is, are we awake? … It’s a gradual process in becoming who God has called us to be; in our Catholic tradition, we call this conversion.”
Redemptorist Father James Dowds, the convocation’s keynoter, left, enjoys conversation with Msgr. Thomas Mullelly, episcopal vicar of Clergy and Consecrated Life and director of seminarians.
He told the deacons that people are not always looking for advice or direction: “Sometimes they just need mercy. May the Lord Jesus continue to satisfy our hungry hearts so that we can be delicious food for others.”Father Dowd emphasized that to be effective ministers of the Gospel, deacons must model Martha’s sister, Mary, and sit at the feet of Jesus to listen.
“Listening is not passive. It’s hard work,” he said. “There’s a line in the Rule of St. Benedict, and it says, ‘Listen with the ear of your heart.’ … We are like the ground that the seed is falling on – we want to be good soil … What a holy privilege it is to be good soil, for someone to try to find a place of refuge; how human and holy it is for us to be able to get out of ourselves in order to become a conduit of grace for another.”
Regroup and Renew
Deacon James Alessi, ordained in 2011 and ministering in Incarnation-St. James Parish, Ewing, said Father Dowd was “speaking on topics that are really relevant to me personally now, with my parents.” As the sole caretaker for elderly parents, he said he also appreciated how the convocation gave him the opportunity for fellowship and renewal. “I feel more relaxed now.”
“We need to strive to be the heart of Jesus,” was the takeaway for Deacon Gene Kotowski, serving as deacon since May 2022 in St. Joan of Arc Parish, Marlton. He said he enjoyed the fellowship with other deacons.
Deacon Moore Hank, deacon for the parishes of Hopewell Valley (St. James, Pennington; St. Alphonsus, Hopewell; and St. George, Titusville), pointed to a story Father Dowd told about holding a dying newborn, adding: “I really felt that – because how often are we [deacons] in those situations where we’re holding someone – a child, a baby, or an adult – walking with them.”
Deacon Ed Buecker, who serves in St. Dominic Parish, Brick, said, “This seminar is a wonderful chance to hear from someone who understands the work that we do, and how sometimes we get caught up in running from one place to another … [Father Jim] captured how heaven is here and now – we keep forgetting that – and how God is love and not fear… we just have to be reminded.”
During breakfast Bishop O’Connell greets Deacon Robert and Barbara Vidal of St. Mary Parish, Barnegat.
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Bishop O'Connell addresses the deacons at the end of Mass. UPDATED Oct. 22, 2025Permanent deacons may not always have the resources they want, but they always have the peace of Christ, Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., told them during his homily at the Mass for the annual Deacon Convocation Oct. 17-18 in Princeton.
“You bring that peace into homes, hospitals and hearts. You proclaim the kingdom not just with words, but with your lives – through service, compassion and presence,” he told deacons and their wives gathered for the convocation at the Princeton Marriott in Forrestal Oct. 18.
“You often labor quietly, without fanfare,” Bishop O’Connell said. “Like Luke, you remain faithful, present, steadfast. And like Paul, you may sometimes feel deserted or overlooked. But hear Paul’s words: ‘The Lord stood by me and gave me strength.’ That is our anchor. Not recognition, but divine presence.”
Redemptorist Father James Dowd was keynote speaker for the Oct. 17-18 Deacon Convocation. EmmaLee Italia photo
PHOTO GALLERY: 2025 Diaconate Convocation
Flowing from the Heart
Redemptorist Father James Dowds, keynote presenter for the convocation, has served in parishes, the military chaplaincy for both the U.S. Navy and Marines, and education ministries throughout his 40 years as a priest. His talks, peppered with personal anecdotes and practical spiritual suggestions, centered on the theme “Jesus, the Perfect Model of a Loving Servant,” and how the response of a servant-hearted deacon must be daily renewed.
“The prospect of modeling our servant ministry has to flow from … being firmly anchored in the heart of Christ – otherwise we become mere functionaries,” Father Dowds said. “God calls us not once, but again and again; we are never finished … God is omnipresent in this moment we call now. The question is, are we awake? … It’s a gradual process in becoming who God has called us to be; in our Catholic tradition, we call this conversion.”
Redemptorist Father James Dowds, the convocation’s keynoter, left, enjoys conversation with Msgr. Thomas Mullelly, episcopal vicar of Clergy and Consecrated Life and director of seminarians.
He told the deacons that people are not always looking for advice or direction: “Sometimes they just need mercy. May the Lord Jesus continue to satisfy our hungry hearts so that we can be delicious food for others.”Father Dowd emphasized that to be effective ministers of the Gospel, deacons must model Martha’s sister, Mary, and sit at the feet of Jesus to listen.
“Listening is not passive. It’s hard work,” he said. “There’s a line in the Rule of St. Benedict, and it says, ‘Listen with the ear of your heart.’ … We are like the ground that the seed is falling on – we want to be good soil … What a holy privilege it is to be good soil, for someone to try to find a place of refuge; how human and holy it is for us to be able to get out of ourselves in order to become a conduit of grace for another.”
Regroup and Renew
Deacon James Alessi, ordained in 2011 and ministering in Incarnation-St. James Parish, Ewing, said Father Dowd was “speaking on topics that are really relevant to me personally now, with my parents.” As the sole caretaker for elderly parents, he said he also appreciated how the convocation gave him the opportunity for fellowship and renewal. “I feel more relaxed now.”
“We need to strive to be the heart of Jesus,” was the takeaway for Deacon Gene Kotowski, serving as deacon since May 2022 in St. Joan of Arc Parish, Marlton. He said he enjoyed the fellowship with other deacons.
Deacon Moore Hank, deacon for the parishes of Hopewell Valley (St. James, Pennington; St. Alphonsus, Hopewell; and St. George, Titusville), pointed to a story Father Dowd told about holding a dying newborn, adding: “I really felt that – because how often are we [deacons] in those situations where we’re holding someone – a child, a baby, or an adult – walking with them.”
Deacon Ed Buecker, who serves in St. Dominic Parish, Brick, said, “This seminar is a wonderful chance to hear from someone who understands the work that we do, and how sometimes we get caught up in running from one place to another … [Father Jim] captured how heaven is here and now – we keep forgetting that – and how God is love and not fear… we just have to be reminded.”
During breakfast Bishop O’Connell greets Deacon Robert and Barbara Vidal of St. Mary Parish, Barnegat.