It was a very special weekend for the Diocese of Lancaster. On Saturday morning John Millar, one of our Allen Hall seminarians, was ordained deacon in the Cathedral Church of St Peter in Lancaster, on the diocesan feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. And the following day Sr Margaret Atkins made her final profession as an Augustinian sister in the community at Boarbank Hall.
There are many different reasons why the Lord calls people to diaconal/priestly ministry and to religious life, and the different forms of consecration take on different meanings for the individual, and for the Church and the world – often changing over time. But one of the meanings (not at all exclusive to Orders or to consecrated life) is to give a particular form of example to the Christian community and to the world.
This is phrased beautifully in the Prayer of Consecration at the Diaconal Ordination:
May he excel in every virtue: in love that is sincere, in concern for the sick and the poor, in unassuming authority, in self-discipline, and in holiness of life. May his conduct exemplify your commandments and lead your people to imitate his purity of life. May he remain strong and steadfast in Christ, giving to the world the witness of a pure conscience. May he in this life imitate your Son, who came not to be served but to serve, and one day reign with him in heaven.
Many congratulations to Deacon John and Sister Margaret. May their example and prayers inspire many others to serve Christ as his ordained ministers and consecrated religious.
Bridges and Tangents 
Congratulations indeed to both of them. The Prayer of Consecration is so beautifully and richly worded!
My congratulations as well. In reading the Prayer of Consecration, I am thinking of the Sisters of Saint Francis de Sales, who teach at my daughter’s school. In getting to know the Sisters this first year of school, I am learning a little about the life of the Religious, and have a great respect for their work. The balance of being a “regular person” as well as a Religious is something great indeed. No matter what the vocation, one is still man.
I haven’t heard of them – I presume they are distinct from the Visitation Sisters, founded by St Francis de Sales and St Jane de Chantal. It’s great they are thriving and appreciated.
Father Stephen: They are the Oblate Sisters of Saint Francis de Sales, founded by Father Louis Brisson and Mother Frances de Sales Aviat.