|
Deacon Richard discusses symbols.
All smiles - recently ordained Deacon
Richard Billela (left) assists newly
appointed Bishop Crispin at the
farewell Mass.
From the Fall 2011 Edition of Clippings Magazine
by Bill Lawrence
Dick Bilella is a healthy, serious gentleman with a ready smile and an adventurous Navy experience during the Vietnam war that took him from Puerto Rico to Pakistan, including stops along the way in
Madagascar, Ethiopia, the Red Sea, Ceylon, and Sri Lanka. As a petty officer on the destroyer USS Rich, he rounded Cape Horn at the tip of Africa on the very day the US landed a man on the moon.
His mother came to America from Campagna, Italy when she was eleven years old. His father worked in a Pathe News movie lab during World War II in NY City, and was involved in making highly classified films for the government in Washington, D.C.. Dick and his wife Joann graduated from Huntington High School. They have two boys, both in their thirties. Dick went to Pratt Institute where he earned a Bachelor degree in Food Service and Management, then an MBA at Adelphi, and later took a Master’s degree in Pastoral Arts at the seminary in Huntington.
Q: Why didn’t you become a priest?
A: Because I wanted to marry and have children. Becoming a deacon has been a real joy to me.
Dick has worked for the Saga Company in N.Y. City, a national supplier of food to colleges, universities and nursing homes. He also was a house painter for ten years on Long Island, although his interest in painting was not confined to matching colors on aluminum siding. He is a serious student of painting, creating works in oil on canvas, some of which he has sold. He and Joann are frequent visitors to the Met in NYC, particularly to view works by Edward Hopper and Van Gogh, also at the Whitney.
Q: How do you prepare a homily you deliver as a deacon?
A: It’s not easy, but I enjoy it. First I read the appropriate Scripture, let it incubate, and add some research. Then I write, edit, and make notes. I’m also reading appropriate Christian literature as a preparation.
Q: What do you think a good homily should be?
A: It should be conceived in prayer and delivered in song.
He has delivered that on many Sundays, as many of you who have heard him know.
|
