2024 marks the 50th Jubilee of the Permanent Diaconate here in the Archdiocese of Denver. Through preaching, service, worship and prayer, deacons serve the people of God in unique ways through their various ministries and lives. This article is one of a series of articles the Denver Catholic will publish in 2024 which will feature local deacons and/or a diaconal ministry. There are many Deacon Saints who were martyred for their faith. In this year of Jubilee, the deacons of the Archdiocese of Denver are asking for prayers through the intercession of Saint Euplius of Cantania, deacon and martyr. Learn more about this Deacon Saint here.
It took Deacon Huan Nguyen a while to make his way home to the Catholic Church. In fact, he was married to his Catholic wife for 28 years before his conversion process really began!
The shift began in the face of a harrowing diagnosis for his mother: she had terminal cancer.
“Before I came to discover my vocation to the permanent diaconate, God first called me to a conversion from Buddhism to Catholicism after 28 years of marriage with my Catholic wife,” Deacon Nguyen said. “Because of my mother’s terminal illness of cancer, I started to initiate, to ask God whether he is the true God, he is the healer, if he can heal my mom, and how to know more about him.”
In the process of seeking, he found himself at the Westminster Public Library, where he picked up a book called “How Do You Know About God?”
He said that, after reading the book, he was led to a deeper, more personal relationship with the Lord, especially through Eucharistic adoration in the adoration chapel at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Northglenn. In this personal encounter, Deacon Nguyen could feel God’s “love for my mother, suffering in pain. I felt his love for my sinfulness.”
Deacon Nguyen continued to seek and grow closer to Jesus, eventually being baptized. The grace of the sacrament burst forth in his life, leading him to a powerful prayer of surrender.
“At one time, at my home, I knelt down in front of the crucifix and said to God that I wanted to return his call. I wanted to be his true servant,” he shared, echoing Mary’s fiat: “May it be done to me according to thy word.”
From there, he got involved in the music ministry at his parish, playing guitar and leading praise and worship music. But God had more in store for him.
“My call to be God’s servant was intensified. My passion to serve others and desire to return his love helped me to enter the permanent diaconate,” Deacon Nguyen said.
He was ordained in 2019 alongside thirteen other men and now serves at Nativity of Our Lord Parish in Broomfield. There, he assists with funerals, RCIA/OCIA, altar server training, annulments, visiting the sick and evangelizing fallen-away Catholics.
In short, his mission is focused on sharing the divine love that he himself encountered in the adoration chapel years ago.
“I often share the love of God with others and also let them know that they’re being loved by God as sons and daughters,” he said.
“It is a true, rewarding calling and a gift from God to enter the permanent diaconate,” Deacon Nguyen concluded.
