Deacons honor ‘familiar face’ that greeted them on spiritual journeys

Security guard Lorraine Mascher, the woman who for more than 15 years was the first person many saw when they visited the diocese’s St. John Neumann Pastoral Center, Piscataway, was a welcoming presence to all.

But for the men in formation for the permanent diaconate, who began their first year of meeting intermittently and then twice weekly met for four years at the pastoral center until their ordination, her face — warm and friendly with a kind smile — and quick wit that followed, was a constant presence, reminiscent of family.

“She meant so much to our diocesan family, but especially to those people whom she saw on a weekly basis, which was you,” said Father Timothy A. Christy, diocesan vicar general and moderator of the curia, addressing the deacons who gathered in the pastoral center chapel for the March 31 blessing of liturgical stoles made in her memory.

The men, who came to know and befriended the security guard over the years, collected donations and purchased two deacon stoles, one white and one green, made at Holy Rood Guild in Massachusetts. Each with a tag on the inside in her remembrance, the stoles were donated to the diocese for use by its deacons who have occasion to assist at liturgies taking place in the pastoral center chapel, just steps away from the front desk where Mascher once sat, greeting visitors. Since the donations collected exceeded the cost of the stoles, the deacons also presented the family with a gift and a Gregorian Mass card for the celebration of thirty Masses on thirty consecutive days for the repose of her soul.

Mascher, a beloved sister, mother, and grandmother, died Dec. 12, 2020, the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, through whom the diocese was consecrated only the year before. Fittingly, she was remembered under the banner of Our Lady, who was known to have said: “Let not your heart be disturbed… Am I not here, who is your Mother? Are you not under my protection? Am I not your health? Are you not happily within my fold? What else do you wish? Do not grieve nor be disturbed by anything.”

Speaking to Mascher’s family members who were present for the blessing — among them her twin sister, Eileen, who also once worked as a security guard at the pastoral center; her sister, Barbara; her daughter Catherine; and her granddaughters — Father Christy said, “We certainly loved Lorraine and certainly you have suffered a great loss and so have we. So, it’s appropriate that we gather for this blessing and for these words of memoriam because it’s so significant to recognize that in God’s Kingdom, nothing is lost. In fact, we discover each other more fully when we turn to the Lord in faith.”

In her time working at the pastoral center, it is estimated that Mascher saw nearly 150 candidates from eight different classes pass through the diaconate formation program for the diocese, said Deacon Stephen F. Kern, director, diocesan Office of the Diaconate.

Deacon Kern was one of the men who came to know Mascher during his own formation before he was ordained to the permanent diaconate for the diocese in June 2010.

“Lorraine really was a friend to everybody in the diocesan center. She was a friend of everyone in the building, but she had a very special fondness for the deacon candidates, who came here so often throughout the time she was here and their five years of formation,” said Deacon Kern. “They were, in her words, ‘Her boys,’” he said with a laugh.

Reflecting on the diaconate formation process, which he acknowledged can be trying at times, Deacon Kern remembered Mascher. “Through all those years, through all the angst and distress over papers, exams and reading, through all the late nights and through all the bad weather, Lorraine was a friendly face. She was the go-to person for a light-hearted chat or an irreverent quip.”

“Pope Francis has emphasized, in the past, the word ‘accompaniment,’ how important it is that we as a Church accompany others on their spiritual journeys,” he said. “Lorraine, in her own way, certainly accompanied those men in their journey to be ordained deacons and so speaking for those deacons, who were ordained over the last 15 years, we miss Lorraine terribly, but we are grateful to God for her own unique brand of ministry: her ministry of presence.”

Smith is director, diocesan Office of Communications.