On June 3, Bishop John Folda ordained Seth Skjervheim as a transitional deacon at the Cathedral of St. Mary in Fargo. This summer, Deacon Skjervheim will serve St. Therese the Little Flower Church in Rugby where he’ll be able to preach both at daily and weekend Masses and baptize. He will complete his seminarian studies during the coming school year with the expectation of being ordained a priest next summer.
Father Kyle Metzger, Vocations Director for the Diocese of Fargo, says Deacon Skjervheim’s upcoming year will be a busy one, as he completes his final steps before the priesthood.
“When he returns to seminary for his final year, he returns as a deacon. He will also be assigned to a parish to visit on the weekends to preach and enter into parish life. At the seminary, he’ll assist with daily exposition and benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, given that he is now an ordinary minister of Holy Communion. Deacon Seth will also have a series of practicum classes preparing him for priestly ministry. He’ll ‘practice’ hearing confessions, forming his capacity to comfort and challenge a penitent in this important sacrament. He’ll even ‘practice’ celebrating Mass. Although a seminarian has been to Mass literally thousands of times, celebrating a Mass is actually a wildly different experience. There are words to be spoken, gestures to be made, altar servers to direct, a homily to be delivered, etc. So keeping this all together calmly and prayerfully in one’s mind literally takes practice.”
The year prior to priestly ordination also includes planning for his first Mass as a priest, which often takes place at the seminarian’s home parish the day after the ordination. For Deacon Skjervheim, that's St. Alphonsus Church in Langdon. Oftentimes, extended family attend the ordination and first Mass, and afterwards, a reception. This means that Deacon Skjervheim will likely be planning a family celebration similar to a wedding reception.
“In addition to his parish ministry and his practicums and planning his first Mass, Deacon Seth also still has a full load of theological coursework to complete, often including final comprehensive exams,” said Father Metzger. “So Deacon Seth will have a full year, but what helps provide the energy and motivation is knowing that the end of the time includes the sublime sacrament of his priestly ordination.”