BOSTON -- Deacon Benjamin Hansberry was a shoo-in for the diaconate. Just ask his mother-in-law.

Deacon Hansberry, 37, grew up in Alexandria, Minnesota, where he was active in his hometown parish and sang in the boys choir. He studied music and philosophy at St. John's University, a Benedictine school (students are known as "Bennies") connected to an abbey where Deacon Hansberry assisted the sacristan. He had always been drawn to ministry in the church, but when he finished graduate school, he was between jobs and not sure what the future held for him and his wife, Sarah. They happened to attend a baptism performed by a deacon and heard the deacon speak about his ministry.

"That planted a seed, when I was in that in-between moment, and after a couple of weeks turning it over in my own heart, I brought it up to my wife," Deacon Hansberry said.

It turned out that Sarah and her mother had already been discussing his becoming a deacon, and they thought he'd be great at it.

Deacon Hansberry was one of four men ordained to the permanent diaconate for the Archdiocese of Boston in a Mass celebrated by Archbishop Richard G. Henning at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross on Sept. 13. Continuing a tradition dating back to the Apostles, Deacon Hansberry was joined by Deacon David Barceleau, Deacon Matthew Bensman, and Deacon Patrick Rauseo.

"I'm excited to see where this ministry will take me, what my ministry in the parish will be like," Deacon Hansberry said, adding that he's "anxious to get started, and hopefully, with the support of God's grace, I'll be able to find ways to serve God's people in the church."

After the Gospel reading, the four ordinands were presented to Archbishop Henning, who elected them for the diaconate. The assembly applauded to show their approval.

In his homily, Archbishop Henning reflected on a biblical scene that he said many people find "disturbing" -- Abraham being commanded by God to sacrifice his beloved son Issac. Why, the archbishop asked, would God order Abraham to do something so seemingly cruel?

"The reason why this passage, which is disturbing, has become so beautiful to me is because I believe now that the passage is prophetic," he said. "Meaning it is revealing the truth of God, which is not readily apparent in the moment."

He said it is a foreshadowing of how God will send his own beloved son to be sacrificed.

"So the Lord now has that gift of his beloved son, not only reigning beside him, but here among us on this earth, still doing that work, reconciliation in the Body of Christ," he said.

He told the ordinands that their vocation of marriage was a "nuptial mystery" like that of the Eucharist.

"On the day of your marriage, you and your wife, you gave yourselves in love and trust to one another," he said. "There's a Eucharistic nuptial reality there. That's the beauty of that sacrament in the life of the church."

By living the vocation of marriage, he said, they witness to Christ's own gift of his body and blood.

"You give yourself away," he said. "You forget yourself. Of course, you know in this mysterious way, you receive yourself back as something more."

He said that now, the church is asking the men to give themselves once again as deacons.

"I know that you had to do a lot of preparation for this day," he said. "You had to learn a lot of lessons, you had to go through a lot of hoops. You had to be tested. But don't let that give you the wrong impression."

The archbishop said that the deacons were not being ordained because they were the best, or because they had simply passed a test, but because God called them.

"It's not about what your capacity is," he said. "It's about your heart."

"You like Issac, you like Jesus, want to offer nothing more, nothing less than yourself. This is the gift, the sacrifice, that touches the heart of God. And that God will lift you up. You will be a part of the body of Christ, exercising a new ministry," he added.

He said that they will always keep their ordination in mind as they exercise their ministry not only in parishes, but in their homes.

"You recall what happens to you here, so that you will continually give that gift of yourself to the Lord and for the sake of his people," he said. "You will know in your heart that truth of his love for you, the love that calls you friends, the one that lays down his life for you so that you might be lifted up and given that gift of eternal life."

After the homily, the ordinands made the Promise of the Elect, promising obedience to Archbishop Henning and his successors. Showing their humble servitude to God, the ordinands lay prostrate on the floor before the altar as the assembly prayed the Litany of Supplication, asking the saints to pray for these men and their ministry.

Archbishop Henning then laid his hands on each ordinand, officially ordaining them to the diaconate.

The newly-ordained deacons each received a Book of the Gospels, reflecting their responsibility to believe, preach, and practice the words written in them.

After the Rite of Ordination, the new deacons joined the archbishop on the altar for the celebration of the Eucharist.

Following the Mass, the deacons were congratulated by a long line of family, friends, and fellow clergy.

Seventy-seven friends and relatives came to support Deacon Kevin Rauseo. He said that his biggest inspirations were his grandparents, his wife Melissa, and his four children.

"I couldn't have done it without them," said the 55-year-old, whose relationship with God began when he was a prayerful young boy in Everett. "They've always picked up the slack on the things I couldn't do at home and the studying and a lot of challenges, but mostly grace, mostly love and mercy. But there were definitely rocky roads at times, but God brought me through."

As he spoke to The Pilot after Mass, Deacon Matthew Bensman held his three-year-old son, Theodore, the youngest of his three children. Deacon Bensman grew up in Ohio and briefly considered becoming a priest, spending some time in seminary.

"I realized that that's not where God was calling me to," he said. "He was calling me to the married life. And I knew that the diaconate would be something that I wanted to explore."

He moved to Massachusetts to be with his wife KellyAnn. The two met in church, and on their first date, he told her that he wanted to be a deacon. She was "a little bit surprised," he said, but she has supported him the whole way.

"It's been long and hard at times, but yeah, we've grown so much together as a family and our faith and stuff through the process," KellyAnn Bensman said.

As a deacon, he is excited to "minister to the people in different ways."

"Those pastoral conversations, and journeying with people and walking along with them," he said.

"It's an unbelievable feeling," said Deacon David Barceleau, 63. "I didn't expect it, but it's the Holy Spirit."

Deacon Barceleau, a native of Lynn, said that he is not the same person he was when he started discerning the diaconate. He credited "God and the Holy Spirit" for calling him to the vocation later in life.

Over 200 friends and family members came to see his ordination.

"It's love," he said. "It's all about God's love, all for the greater glory of God."

He said that he plans to spend his ministry "servicing God, service to the church, service to the people of God."

For now, though, he wanted to "get through today first."