Welcome Deacon John Freund
Hi, I’m Deacon John Freund, you adults can call me John. To you young folks, I’m Deacon John. My wife of 48 years, Liz, and I moved to Naperville, to be closer to our daughters, we have two, and our granddaughters, we have four. We happen to live pretty close to St. Thomas the Apostle and have been attending here regularly. We have been very impressed by the welcoming atmosphere and the level of participation at the liturgies. It is also encouraging to see families, especially young families, participating at Mass. We liked it so much that we joined.
As I mentioned, I am also a deacon in the Diocese of Joliet. Recently, I have been assigned to St. Carlo Acutis Parish in Crest Hill, a much smaller parish. In 1989 I had a powerful experience of God’s love through a Life in the Spirit Seminar. This baptism in the Holy Spirit changed my life completely and led me to desire to go deeper into my faith, leading me in the next couple of years to diaconate formation. Over 30 years ago I interviewed for acceptance into the diaconate right here at St. Thomas with Deacon Will Worden. I was ordained in 1997, so I have been a deacon for almost 29 years. The ministry of a deacon is a three-fold ministry consisting of Liturgy (Mass, sacraments, etc.), Word (preaching, teaching, evangelization) and most importantly Charity (outreach, prison and jail ministry, nursing home, hospital, etc.). I have been blessed in that I have had the opportunity to participate in many forms of ministry. What has been the most important aspect of all my ministry involvement has been the relationships that have been formed with all my brothers and sisters, young and old. I must warn you that I consider myself one of those “Holy Spirit-filled” Catholics. I desire everyone, as Pope Francis said to, “encounter Christ or allow Christ to encounter you.”
Both Liz and I look forward becoming involved in the life of the community of St. Thomas the Apostle. Together may we make the Kingdom of God more fully present in Naperville, the Joliet Diocese and beyond.
