Persons, places and things: Deacons make a difference

By Barb Arland-Fye
Editor

While attending Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids for his undergraduate studies, my son Patrick attended Mass at St. Ludmilla Catholic Church where he met a deacon whose homilies and pastoral approach made a lasting impression. Both the deacon and the pastor conveyed a sense of welcome that inspired Patrick to return weekly.

A few years later, after graduating from St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Patrick met another deacon who made a lasting impression, Deacon Matt Levy. He began his ministry at Our Lady of the River Parish in LeClaire and Church of the Visitation in Camanche in 2020, just a few months before the COVID 19 pandemic upended all of our lives.

Deacon Matt always extended a warm, genuine welcome to Patrick and our older son, Colin, when they arrived for Mass and said goodbye with the same sense of appreciation. The deacon treated other members of our parish, and newcomers, too, with the same effusive greetings and farewells. (Our pastor, Father Apo Mpanda, also is a “people person” who conveys the message that every person matters.)

“Deacons are ordained as a sacramental sign to the Church and to the world of Christ, who came ‘to serve and not to be served,’” according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. “The entire Church is called by Christ to serve, and the deacon, in virtue of his sacramental ordination and through his various ministries, is to be a servant in a servant-Church.”

In my role as editor of The Catholic Messenger, I have the privilege of witnessing the deacons of our diocese living out their servant roles in a servant-Church and they inspire me, as do their wives who support and encourage them. Deacon Matt and his wife, Lisa, are among them.

Deacon Matt fixed a flat bicycle tire for me, helped move Patrick into his first rental house, and invited him to Easter dinner when our son was unable to join us in the Twin Cities. Deacon Matt converses and listens intently to Colin, even when our son with autism says something off the wall! The deacon also helped my husband Steve launch a project on Mondays during Lent for older parishioners to enjoy a home-cooked meal.

Deacon Matt and Lisa volunteered as buddies for Night to Shine, a prom for persons with special needs. “We know we serve the King of the Universe, and by doing so, we serve the kings and queens of the Quad Cities area,” the deacon told the guests during last year’s event.

Ordained to the diaconate in 2002 in the Diocese of Peoria, Illinois, Matt said, “When I asked God ‘Why me?,’ God would answer with a gentle whisper, ‘Why NOT you?’ The truth is that a calling is not just a onetime event. Every day when I wake up I pray for strength and courage to answer the call to diakonia,” Deacon Matt said in his deacon profile for The Catholic Messenger.

On July 1, Deacon Matt Levy began his new diocesan assignment as parish life coordinator and deacon for St. Andrew Parish in Blue Grass. Our Lady of the River Parish piggybacked on our annual hog roast with a farewell sendoff for Deacon Matt and a birthday party for Father Apo. The celebration drew 160 people, whose laughter and chatter filled the parish hall.

“It’s been an honor and privilege to serve the parishes of Our Lady of the River and Church of the Visitation. They have taught me so much and have made me a better deacon,” Deacon Matt told me. “I hope to be light to my new parish as they have been light to me.”

(Contact Editor Barb Arland-Fye at arland-fye@davenportdiocese.org)