Members of Cohort 12 gathered for a group photo in Chaminade University of Honolulu’s Mystical Rose Oratory. (Courtesy Chaminade University of Honolulu)
Hawaii Catholic Herald
Married men (and their wives) and single men who enter the Diocese of Honolulu’s permanent deacon formation program spend five years intensely preparing for the new role they will hold as an ordained minister of the church.
Part of that preparation includes studying for and earning a permanent diaconate education certificate, which fulfills the intellectual dimension of formation required by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, according to Deacon Keith Cabiles, associate co-director of deacon formation and head of the diocesan Office of the Chancellor.
(The intellectual dimension is one of four dimensions that are key to deacon formation; the others are human, spiritual and pastoral.)
In March, the newest group of couples and single men in the permanent deacon formation program, known as Cohort 12, visited Chaminade University of Honolulu where they will be studying for their education certificates.
Seventeen couples and one single man attended a special orientation event March 15, which included presentations by Marianist leaders on campus and Chaminade President Lynn Babington.
“Chaminade has really been the perfect partner for the diocese,” said Deacon Cabiles, who added that the diocese and the university have collaborated since 2010 to help the men and wives fulfill the intellectual dimension.
In addition to the certificates, a number of aspirants — as the cohort members are called in the first two years of the formation program (in the third year they become “candidates”) — are also working toward bachelor’s degrees in religious studies or graduate degrees in pastoral theology. Both husbands and wives are welcome to pursue a degree, Deacon Cabiles said.
When asked why some aspirants would pursue undergraduate or graduate degrees in addition to certificates, Deacon Cabiles explained: “Our program stresses that the primary goal of a man in formation is to continually discern his calling to holy orders. If in that discernment he feels he is called to also seek a degree, our program allows for him (and his wife) to pursue that, as long as it does not interfere with their diaconate journey.”
Intensive program
The certificate program officially begins in the second trimester of the cohort’s first year and is completed by the end of the fourth year, Deacon Cabiles said. It includes courses in Scripture, theology, philosophy, homiletics (the art of preaching or preparing sermons), transformation leadership and several areas of psychology.
To help members of the cohort earn their certificates, the diocese incorporates instruction by Chaminade professors during the men and wives’ in-person formation weekends at St. Stephen Diocesan Center in Kaneohe over the course of the formation program. When the men and wives are not at the weekends, instruction is done online, Deacon Cabiles said.
This helps cohort members who do not live on Oahu (Cohort 12 includes men and wives from Lanai, Maui and Hawaii island) fulfill their intellectual dimension requirement.
The intellectual dimension might not seem like an obvious essential part of deacon formation, but according to the USCCB’s “National Directory for the Formation, Ministry and Life of Permanent Deacons in the United States of America,” “Intellectual formation is a ‘precious instrument’ for effective discernment and ministry.”
“An increasingly educated society and the new roles of leadership in diaconal ministry require that a deacon be a knowledgeable and reliable witness to the faith and a spokesman for the church’s teaching,” the document states.
For some cohort members, fulfilling their intellectual dimension requirement at Chaminade goes beyond the education.
Brandon and Katherine Perea of Hawaii island, who are also in the pastoral theology graduate program, said the orientation offered them new insight into the Marianist order and its work serving marginalized communities.
“In this way, Chaminade’s spirituality embodies what it means to be a deacon — so it’s fitting our diocese facilitates our formation here,” the Pereas said.
The couple said they are looking to help others and expand their service to the community.
“I think I speak for everyone in the formation program when I say we are filled with a restless love for our church and our community,” Brandon Perea said.
Chaminade University of Honolulu contributed to this story.
