For Father David Glassmire, pastor of Ascension Parish in Batavia, Veterans Day is about much more than a day off, as it is for many. Instead, it is a day to recognize the accomplishments of all who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces, including himself, as a Navy chaplain assigned to the Marines.

A current student at Christ the King Seminary is taking an opportunity to serve at the Office of Pro-Life Activities to help prepare for the day he becomes a priest.

The calling from God can come in different ways and at different times in life. For Deacon Thomas Mahoney, the calling to the priesthood came after a great personal loss and a major change that led him to trade a 9-to-5 job and business attire in for a more irregular schedule and vestments.

Deacon Lukasz Kopala has a story not very different from other seminarians. He grew up in a traditional Catholic family. He served at the altar as a youth, considered the priesthood while in high school, but held off so he could experience some independence. What sets him apart from the others at Christ the King Seminary is the path he took to get there.

The Diocese of Buffalo welcomed its first transitional deacon from Africa on Sept. 27. The ordination of Daniel Ogbeifun marks a milestone for the diocese, but just another step on one man's faith journey.

Lukasz Kopala, Thomas M. Mahoney and Daniel Ehijiator Ogbeifun all will move one step closer to the priesthood on Saturday, Sept. 27, when Bishop Richard J. Malone ordains them transitional deacons for the Diocese of Buffalo. The ordination will take place at St. Joseph Cathedral, 50 Franklin St., Buffalo, at 10 a.m. The three men, students at Christ the King Seminary, East Aurora, will graduate in May 2015 and will later be ordained to the priesthood.

The Jesuit community in the United States has kicked off the first of several consolidations. On Friday, Sept. 19, the New York Province announced it will begin a merger with the New England Province. Father John Cecero, SJ, the newly appointed provincial for New York, will lead the new Northeast Province.

For one Felician sister, art is a way of expressing feelings, emotions and faith. Sister M. Ann Therese Kelly, CSSF, operates and sells stained glass artwork at her own studio, Illumination Stained Glass Studio, at Villa Maria Convent in Buffalo. Sister Ann Therese, also an art instructor, created stained glass windows found in six local buildings and schools, including Niagara University.

This school year, more children in diocesan schools will be given the chance to pray for the men who have chosen to devote their lives to serving God. The Adopt a Seminarian program, implemented in Mary Queen of Angels Regional Catholic School in Cheektowaga in 2013-14, will be expanding to take place in more elementary schools, ideally all 35 of them, by the third week of September.

There's no place like home for a man with two homes. Father Ryszard Biernat took a trip back to his Polish homeland in July and experienced some sadness and joy with his family. Father Biernat had booked time this fall to spend with his family, but sad news forced him to fly to Poland earlier than planned. He received word that his sister-in-law was losing a battle with cancer.

He is often seen standing at the right hand of the priest, assisting him in the celebration of the Mass, and proclaiming the Gospel. He is wearing a stole over his left shoulder and across his chest, symbolically leaving the right hand and shoulder unencumbered so as to offer service. He is a Roman Catholic deacon, and his ministry dates back to the time of the apostles.

Throughout his 45 years in the priesthood, Father Richard DiGiulio has ministered as a doctor of sorts, diagnosing, treating and healing the souls of wounded people. Burning Bush House of Prayer is his practice. St. Lawrence Church in Buffalo serves as his hospital.

In a time when people need heroes, Buffalo's West Side has its own set of Avengers. Instead of colorful capes, these men wear black. A band of six Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate use Holy Angels Parish as a headquarters while they go out into the community to serve "where there is a need."

Next fall, seniors in Western New York will have the option to spend retirement in a new and luxurious facility. The Brothers of Mercy held a groundbreaking ceremony last week for an upcoming addition to their campus in Clarence. Montabaur Heights will be an independent senior living community offering a wide variety of amenities close to the order's nursing and rehabilitation center.

For most people, staying true to the Catholic faith involves going to Church, prayer and giving back to their communities. For James Grubka of East Aurora, being Catholic is about devoting his time and service to helping seminarians.

A full house at St. Joseph Cathedral in downtown Buffalo celebrated a beautiful day in both weather and spirit, as the diocese welcomed two new priests from A to Z.

Transitional Deacon Bryan Zielenieski's personal journey in faith began as a youth on a dairy farm in Arcade. Now, as he prepares to be ordained into the priesthood on June 7, he is able to reflect on what brought him to this stage, and how he farms and harvests his faith in God by serving others.

Coming back to school at the age of 50 was not a problem for John W. Adams, who just completed six years of study at Christ the King Seminary in East Aurora. "Since I've been here it's very clear that we're all lifelong learners. That's how I feel," he said.

Father Leon Biernat can remember years back, when he was director of Vocations for the Diocese of Buffalo, attending a workshop on communications. He learned to communicate one idea to one group of people in 10 different ways.

Some may have noticed the Catholic Directory now lists representatives from the dozen diocesan vicariates as vicars forane, instead of episcopal vicars as they have been known for nearly 20 years.

The Felician Sisters will sponsor a "Felician Service Day" on Saturday, April 12, to support the Sister Mary Josette Food Pantry at Villa Maria College.

Three Sisters of Mercy from the diocese knew their visit to the Philippines would be anything but routine after Super Typhoon Haiyan battered the central islands of the area with 160 mile per hour winds and walls of seawater last November.

Niagara University's new president has hit the ground running, all the way to Vietnam. Since taking office last August, Father James Maher, CM, has taken the first steps to opening the school to students and educators from Asia.

A vocation is something that we all have. God has entrusted to each person a particular job or task that has not been entrusted to anyone else. God calls us within our own hearts, but also in and through the believing community we call the Church.

Ever since he was a boy, Father Thomas Ribits, OSFS, recalls his love of art, a passion that turned into his life's work.

Father Benjamin Fiore, SJ, has been appointed pastor of St. Michael Parish in downtown Buffalo. He returns to his second home after serving as president of Campion College in Regina, Saskatchewan, for the past eight years.

The seven sisters who make up the Felician leadership team visited the Buffalo Diocese to meet and share news with their fellow sisters. The leadership team presented the latest happenings throughout the North American province to some 140 sisters at Villa Maria Convent in Buffalo in January.

Deacon John Leardon has been appointed director of Deacon Personnel. The husband, father of three, and grandfather of five with another due in May, is a good example of the expanded role of deacons in the Church since Vatican II.

PORTLAND---Pope Francis has appointed the Most Rev. Robert P. Deeley, J.C.D., Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Boston, as the 12th Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland.

The sound of sleigh bells will be heard inside Blessed Sacrament Parish as Father Bill Quinlivan presents his annual Christmas concert on Friday, Dec. 13, 7 p.m., at Father Cotter Hall at the Tonawanda church.

The great generosity of the people of Western New York was very evident in the 2012 Retirement Fund for Religious appeal. For the first time in the history of this 25-year appeal, the Diocese of Buffalo ranked first in the nation, collecting $884,000. Although this amount includes online donations from throughout the United States, more than $775,000 was contributed locally. Approximately $768,000 of this amount was distributed to congregations of women ($631,222) and men ($137,514) religious that serve in the Diocese of Buffalo.

Among the many retired women religious in the Diocese of Buffalo is Sister Norine Truax, RSM, who helped area Catholics develop ways to help children with special needs.

It is a long journey to become a priest, but following his October ordination as a transitional deacon, the end of Bryan Zielenieski's road is in sight.

Bishop Richard J. Malone, chairman of the Christ the King Seminary board of trustees, has named the pastor of the largest parish in the Diocese of Buffalo as the next president/rector of the East Aurora seminary.

Bishop Bernard J. McLaughlin, auxiliary bishop emeritus of the Diocese of Buffalo, will celebrate his 100th birthday at Noon on Monday, Nov. 19, 2012, with a special Mass that will be celebrated at St. John the Baptist Church in Kenmore, where he served as pastor in the 1970s and is now pastor emeritus.

Pointing to the need for a continued pastoral presence in St. Lawrence Parish following the unexpected death of Father Joseph Moreno, Bishop Richard J. Malone has reappointed Deacon Paul and Mary Weisenburger as pastoral administrators, effective immediately. They will remain in place until a new leader of the parish is appointed. There is no timetable for that appointment to be made.

Bishop Edward U. Kmiec ordained three new priests for the diocese at St. Joseph Cathedral in Buffalo on June 2. The new priests, Seán Paul Fleming, Andrew Lauricella and Jeffrey Nowak, are anxious to begin serving the people of the diocese.

"It is with great joy and happiness to announce that Pope Benedict XVI has accepted my resignation and has appointed the Most. Rev. Richard J. Malone, bishop of Portland, Maine, as the new ordinary for the Diocese of Buffalo," said Bishop Edward U. Kmiec. "Bishop Malone is a colleague of mine in the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and we have been acquainted over the years. He comes to Western New York with tremendous experience and a wonderful reputation for being a caring, pastoral bishop and a true shepherd to his people."

On consecutive weekends in June, Bishop Edward U. Kmiec will president over ordinations at St. Joseph Cathedral in downtown Buffalo.

Cloistered nuns choose to live entirely removed from the world, having almost no contact with those outside the walls of the monastery. To some, this might seem daunting and even frightening, but to the communities of cloistered nuns in the Buffalo area, it allows them the space and silence to have a deeper, richer relationship with God.