About two years ago my son gave me a small bonsai tree for Father’s Day which I named “Firdinand.” For most of the first two years I just handled the basics: sunlight, water and protection from freezing. The tree survived and basically looked like a little shrub.
As I looked at it more closely, I could see that the underlying shape of the trunk and major branches resembled a small weathered tree. For it to reach its full potential, I knew it needed significant additional attention. Through the bonsai process, I began reflecting on how the care of these trees may be like deacon formation. The formation process requires significant change and growth while gaining new things and letting go of others. One must be willing to be shaped and guided in a new direction of growth. It is not easy, but it is essential.
Bonsai trees become root bound in their small pots. The pot becomes essentially full of roots with no room to grow, and at this stage the soil is depleted of nutrients. In a rather drastic procedure, Firdinand was removed from the pot, the roots were separated and about half of the root material was trimmed away. This allowed room for new soil and room for new healthy roots to grow.
As people we too become root bound. We become overly attached to our lives, our possessions, our patterns of thinking. Our habits leave us no room for new growth or the chance to put down different roots. Our soil becomes stale and lacks the nutrients of new ideas and new attitudes.
Ongoing spiritual formation requires a willingness to undergo these changes in our lives. While the changes may at times feel drastic, once completed there is a freshness and a new energy that allows for personal and spiritual growth into a new perspective.
When most plants are repotted, they are usually placed into a different, larger pot. Most of the time, however, bonsai trees are placed back into the same pot, and to keep it safe and secure in the pot, it is wired firmly in place. This is how Firdinand was repotted.
This repotting process parallels diaconate formation, as deacons do not prepare to move into a new place for their ministry – they serve in their homes, workplaces, neighborhoods and parishes. They are expected to bloom where they have been planted. Perhaps at times the bishop may decide to switch pots and assign them to a different parish, but for the most part they serve where they already live. Rather than rely on their own roots to hold them secure, deacons rely on Church teaching and their faith to form a firm foundation and support them in their journey and in their ministry. 
The upper part of the bonsai tree needs special attention. One must look beyond the bushy, compact growth to look for underlying existing characteristics and the potential that lies within. In the formation process and in spiritual growth we ourselves, and those who are assisting us, must look beyond the external deeply into the core – to the trunk and major branches – to see where there is strength, beauty and potential. This inward, internal looking is not easy, but the information obtained guides the remainder of the process and the eventual outcome. We must understand fully what we are, before we can become something different and – hopefully – something more.
Once the tree is closely examined and its major characteristics and potential determined, it is time for pruning. Like the roots, this is a significant procedure, as about 40-50 percent of the growth is removed. As the gardener, it was a bit scary for me, and for the tree, perhaps a bit painful. Each snip of a branch was significant, permanent and irrevocable, and contributed – for better or worse – to the final outcome.
Similarly, in the formation process, we have to prune our lives in order to grow in the direction God is calling us. There was no way we could do all the things we had been doing before we began formation, as well as taking on all that is required for formation. We have to give up previous activities, and things that seemed important earlier are no longer as necessary. Some dead and diseased branches – sinful or inappropriate behaviors, attitudes or patterns of thinking – need to be trimmed away as well.
The end result does not look the same. What was a formless bush-plant now begins to look like an ancient weathered tree. A directionless and stagnant life now has a new direction and appearance.
Once the tree is trimmed, one can more easily assess what else needs to be done. Firdinand appears to have survived the root-trimming, repotting and aggressive pruning. One of his main branches curves behind him and is not very visible. Using some aluminum wire, I will gradually but inevitably change the direction of this branch so that it will be more consistent with the habit of a tree and will show its beauty and potential more clearly. In formation and spiritual growth, even after aggressive pruning of our attitudes and activities, we still need continual and gradual shaping so we can grow in the desired direction and achieve our fullest potential.
One aspect of the art of bonsai is placement of the tree. One wants to place it in an area where its full potential can be appreciated, and also where it will get the sun, rain and air it needs to flourish. Extending out from a dry-stack stone wall I had built, a single stone serves as a display shelf for Firdinand. There he has support and protection, sun and rain, but he is also visible to all who pass by. Deacons must also not hide their light under a bushel. In formation we are preparing to be active and visible servants – the hands and heart of Jesus for others in the world. In addition, we must position ourselves to receive the grace and power of God through prayer and participation in the sacraments and through the Holy Spirit, so that we can grow and flourish.
Of course, the process is not complete. Periodically I will need to repeat these steps to keep Firdinand healthy and growing in a way to achieve his optimal potential as a bonsai tree. If (God and the bishop will it) I hope to be ordained to the permanent diaconate. Just like the bonsai tree, I will need continued pruning, reshaping, growth and grace – formation will not end but will require ongoing effort, close attention, and the assistance and guidance of others.
Bonsai and deacon formation are significant, sometimes difficult and challenging processes to find and bring out the best characteristics of the individual in a healthy, growth-oriented manner.
May we all benefit from the ongoing loving attention and work of the Master Gardener.
Dr. John P. Langlois is a member of St. Eugene Parish in Asheville and a candidate for the permanent diaconate.