The word deacon (diakonia) means service — in ministry to others — and that service most often starts at home. In this three-part series, the Florida Catholic will introduce you to three diaconate families and explore how this vocation impacts lives.

ORLANDO | Both brothers-in-law were away from the Church. God found them and not only drew them close, but called them into the diaconate. Deacon Wilmar Rojas was ordained in 2018 and Deacon John Rivas in 2024.

“If (God) comes to clean a house, He’s going into every nook and cranny. He’s not going to leave anything unholy. I always banked on that,” said Deacon Rojas of the conversion of heart his family experienced.

Deacon Rojas’ wife, Martha, was “culturally devout.” She grew up Catholic and spent much time participating in church activities with her best friend. “But when we got married, I drew her away from it, unknowingly,” Deacon Rojas recalled. “We moved to Orlando and thought, this is how you live in the U.S.”

The couple would return to Colombia every summer and Martha would reconnect, participate in prayer groups, come back on fire, then return “to the same coldness here — just work, work, work.” Every year she would invite him to join the prayer group. “I didn’t want any of it,” he said.

One summer, everything changed. The ladies prayed over him and with him. He recalled feeling hot, crowded and uncomfortable. They asked if he ever professed Jesus as his Savior. “It felt very Protestant. So, I said, ‘no,’ not realizing any time I went to the Mass and professed the Creed, I did,” he said. Repeating after them, he invited the Lord into his heart and began crying.

After hours of praying, one of the women told him, “The Lord needs you. The Lord wants you and has a plan for you. When you go back home, you’re going to get an invitation to go to a community.”

“It was like a veil had been removed for me,” Deacon Rojas remembered. “I had been checking the boxes, but right there and then I realized I had never felt the Lord like this in my life.”

The couple returned and became involved in their parish. They went to Renovación Conjugal, a marriage retreat, and later Deacon Rojas participated in a Juan XXIII retreat, thanks to his mother, Gloria Rojas, the family’s strongest prayer warrior. It was another brick in the foundation the Lord was laying.

Soon after, Father David Scotchie asked him to consider the diaconate. By then, Deacon Rojas had seen God at work in his life so clearly, he gave his full surrender.

His sister, Leidy Rivas and her husband, John, frequently took Deacon Rojas’s children during diaconate formation weekends. The two noticed the changes in the Rojas family.

One day, Leidy confided in her brother. “I feel like I’m missing something, but I can’t quite put my finger on it. We have everything the world says we should have, but I still feel like there’s a hole.” Pausing, she said through tears, “I remember he simply answered, ‘The only thing you’re missing in your family, in your marriage, is for Christ to be in the center of it.’”

“Well, how do I get Him here?” she asked. He told her to start praying for John, for their children, for herself and to start going to Mass.

“I started falling in love with the liturgy and the Word of God,” she said. She enrolled her children in faith formation and continued faithfully for two years, going on her own Juan XXIII retreat.

“At the time, I was not on board with any of it,” acknowledged Deacon Rivas. “I fell into a kind of atheism and my wife and I were at odds with each other because she was on fire. So much so that we almost got divorced over it,” he said.

Leidy was convinced if her husband would go to a Juan XXIII retreat, he would also have a change of heart. “I knew (the Catholic Church) was where my heart was. There was no turning back for me,” she said. “There was a voice inside of me that kept saying, ‘Just be patient. Keep doing what you’re doing and trust in me.’ I knew it was obviously a risk. But I also knew Johnny’s heart, deep down.”

Encouraged by Father Jorge Torres, Deacon Rivas agreed to go on two conditions: That someone would go with him and “if (he) came out of the retreat the same person with the same beliefs, then (they) were never to speak about God in (their) household again.”

“The trust my wife had was ever inspiring,” said Deacon Rivas looking back.

At the retreat, he spent time on his knees during Eucharistic Adoration. “I opened a door to my heart, my mind. A lot of those questions I had about God’s existence, our history and many things were answered,” he said. “I lost all doubt. Any type of argument the world taught me was no longer relevant,” he said.

In tears for days afterward, he regretted what he put his family through. “I realized Christ was the way forward and the direction I needed to take my family,” he said. “Leidy saved my life and my soul. Obviously, God put her in my path as an instrument to bring me where I am.”

As God would have it, at a celebration for his brother-in-law, Wilmar, John met Deacon Alan Espinosa who pulled him aside telling him, “I’ve only ever asked two people this question, but have you ever thought about becoming a deacon?” Taken aback he immediately said, “No.” “That wasn’t on my radar at all. It came out of nowhere from a man I just met.” He shrugged it off thinking, “That’s Wilmar’s thing.”

God persisted through Deacon Espinosa for two years. Then, at a Rise Up Men’s Retreat, Deacon Rivas found himself at a diaconate table, originally not scheduled to be there. Again, a man he did not know asked him to consider the diaconate.

“I went to Adoration and I was on my knees,” said Deacon Rivas. “I had a distinct feeling God was saying, ‘What are you waiting for?’ Tears began to flow. I wondered, what am I waiting for? Is it impossible for two distinct people in a family to have a vocation?” Recalling bishop brothers Gregory and Stephen Parkes, he realized it was possible.

During the six years of formation, the brothers-in-law would check in, but their journeys were their own. Deacon Rojas said his focus was to remain authentic and try to live by example. Deacon Rivas took notice.

Deacon Rivas said his favorite ordination photo is that of his and Deacon Rojas’ embrace. “It’s unspeakable,” said Deacon Rivas. “It’s this beautiful connection of the pains, the joys, the beauty that you go through in this process… It makes it extra special when it’s a family member… It was this beautiful sense of comfort and peace. It’s a feeling of solidarity with each other and the example we’re setting for our generation and future generations.”

Reflecting on their journeys, Deacon Rojas said, “It’s all been a puzzle coming together into the perfect picture the Lord has weaved into our family. And the fact there are two deacons in the immediate household is a cherry on top.”

By Glenda Meekins of the Florida Catholic staff, September 19, 2024