Hi everyone! Last week and this week (Holy Week!) are pretty full for me. I won't be able to update as regularly as I would like, but I will try to post a couple of times!

Instead of a reflection, today I will share a bit about myself and about the process involved in preparing for the priesthood.

Tonight I will be installed as a Lector. Last year I was installed as an acolyte, and I received candidacy a few months before that. This is the last ministry I will receive before I become able to receive ordination (God and Bishop willing) to the diaconate in May 2018!

Vatican II abolished the minor orders and tonsure as the process for becoming a priest, and put in place a simplified system. Lector and Acolyte were retained as a sort of office within the church, and every candidate for ordination must have served in the roles for a "suitable" amount of time. The Rite of Candidacy, which makes one a candidate for ordination, is similar in many ways to tonsure, but without the fancy haircut!