Name: Robert Burns
Age: 43
Spouse: Ashley Elizabeth
Home Parish: St. John the Baptist in Excelsior
Residence: Chanhassen
Profession: U.S. Navy civilian
Place of work: U.S. Navy, Minneapolis
Children: Gianna (8), Owen (5), Isaac (2), Kateri (4 months)
Birthplace: Waconia
Q) What inspired you to pursue the diaconate?
A) A simple question posed by my wife, Ashley: “Have you ever considered being a deacon?” This helped me realize, through prayer, that God had been preparing me through my 13 years of naval service for a deeper eternal calling to serve his Church as deacon.
Q) What made you certain this was your call?
A) I had to step out of formation after my first year when I was deployed for 11 months overseas with the Navy Reserve. In spiritual direction, it was recommended that I give my discernment to the diaconate back to Jesus and upon my return from deployment to ask for it back. While in the desert, the Lord continually reminded me of my calling through multiple encounters with other U.S. military members and even an Italian military officer who were all in various stages of diaconate formation. The Lord did not wait for my return to give the call back to me but met me in the desert.
Q) What aspect of diaconate ministry are you most looking forward to?
A) The threefold ministries of diaconal service enrich and inform each other: service to the altar, to the word and to charity. I am naturally drawn to service to the altar and am excited to serve and support the richness of the Church’s liturgies. The sacramental life of the Church enriches our relationship with the word of God. Thus equipped, we are sent out into the world on missions of charity from which we then return to the altar and his word to be refreshed and renewed. I am excited to see in what specific ways the Lord allows me to serve him.
Q) What areas of ministry are you especially interested in?
A) I am interested in family formation, in particular walking with fathers to help them grow to be faith-filled leaders of their families. In addition, I could see the Lord calling me to minister to the sick and suffering veterans — stemming from my military service and recent experiences with my dad’s stay in the VA hospital.
Q) What role will your family play in your new ministry?
A) I know that my formation and ministry after ordination will be a continual font of grace in my family’s lives. I will continue to support my wife, who is active in pro-life ministry and Catechesis of the Good Shepherd at our home parish. With my children 8, 5, 2 and 4 months, I look forward to helping them discern their giftedness and better guide them in what their service to the Church might look like. I look forward with hope and anticipation to what Jesus has in store for our family.
Q) Where do you see the greatest needs in the local Church?
A) Forming and fortifying the family, ensuring the gift of faith is passed to generations to come.
Q) What part of your formation has been the most rewarding?
A) It is not one thing but a true integration of the four pillars: human, spiritual, intellectual and pastoral that has been so enriching. You realize that they are bound together in order to make a stronger whole. Deacon formation helps to identify your strengths and weaknesses in each area, which is both an encouragement and humbling, creating room for growth.
Q) Who has been a model for your ministry?
A) First and foremost, I have to thank my father and mother, Pat and Margie Burns. They helped lay the foundation of faith through their daily humility, which was reflected in their words and deeds. They are the salt of the earth, and I would be blessed to continue that model as a deacon.
Q) What do you most hope to offer the Church through this vocation?
A) The Lord has blessed me with many gifts and I hope I can freely offer these, but more importantly, to offer my heart to be used as a malleable instrument in the Lord’s hands.
Q) What has been the most challenging part of pursuing this vocation?
A) For myself and my family, it has been integrating formation and a young family. Time management and discerning greater goods over other lesser goods. Also studying St. Thomas Aquinas is not for the faint of heart, let alone while raising a newborn and getting less than adequate sleep. For me, it has been a blessing of humility and forced me to know my weakness and total dependence on God’s grace. Praying often, “Lord, help me to retain what you need so that I can be a useful instrument in your hands.”
Q) What can the Church do to inspire other men to answer the diaconate calling?
A) I think promoting Deacon Discernment Day is a great way to present what a deacon really is in a clear and concise manner. Attending one of these days was instrumental in my calling. Personal invitation at the parish level and encouraging men to pray about if the Lord is calling them to the vocation as deacon. This will assist the Holy Spirit in his work.
Q) What advice would you give another man discerning the diaconate?
A) If you feel the pull to the diaconate in prayer, take action! Take concrete steps to find out more, enroll in the Catechetical Institute, go to a Deacon Discernment Day and find some deacons to talk to. Knock and trust in God’s providence to open and close doors.
