BLET Feature

Spring 2004
Volume 111 - No. 1

Brother, Deacon

Brother Ralph Kornburger of Division 405 serves as a Deacon for Catholic Church

Brother Ralph Kornburger ties being a locomotive engineer and a deacon in the Catholic Church together with a metaphor. To Kornburger, a retired member of BLET Division 405 (Milwaukee, Wisc.), the two rails are comparable to faith and hope and joining them are the ties of love.

Brother Kornburger began his career on the railroad as a fireman for the Chicago & Northwestern in 1966. He was promoted to the position of locomotive engineer in 1969 and joined the BLE in 1991.

Brother Kornburger became a deacon in 1979 after five years of study. A deacon is an ordained minister of the Catholic Church. There are three groups, or "orders," of ordained ministers in the Church: bishops, presbyters (priests) and deacons.

The Second Vatican Council (1962 1965) authorized the restoration of the diaconate as a permanent order of ministry. There are more than 13,000 deacons in the United States alone who minister in this Order permanently.

The Second Vatican Council decreed that the diaconate, when it was restored as a permanent order in the hierarchy, could be opened to "mature married men," later clarified to mean men over the age of 35. This is in keeping with the ancient tradition of the Church, in which married men were ordained into ministry. Also in keeping with ancient practice is the expectation that while a married man may be ordained, an ordained man, if his wife should die, may not marry again without special permission.

Brother Kornburger, who is married, became a deacon because he was looking for meaning in his life and saw this as an opportunity to make sense out of his life while serving other people.

"I assist people in whatever place they are in their lives," Kornburger said. "I let people know that they are still loved by God no matter how bad things might seem at the time."

Kornburger is often present at the big moments in people's lives. He has witnessed marriages, performed baptisms and officiated at wakes. He is also there at the small moments when people think that all is lost.

"I let people know that someone cares about them," he said.

The fact that he has been married and has six children allows Brother Kornburger to advise couples differently than a priest who is not permitted to marry by church rules. He is involved in all stages of preparing couples for marriage - from the initial stages to counseling after marriage, if necessary.

Kornburger has married over two dozen couples in his 24 years as a deacon. Many of these couples have signed a liturgical stole that he wears, including five of his own children and their spouses.

Brother Kornburger and his wife have been married since 1962. In addition to their six children, Ralph III, Jeffrey, Joseph, Cheryl, Christine and Anita; the couple has 10 grandchildren.

"I am enjoying my growing family through participating in their lives," said Kornburger.

When he retired on January 4, 2002, his co-workers held a party for him.

"I always felt fortunate in that my childhood dream of being a locomotive engineer became a lived reality," said Brother Kornburger. "The enjoyment of operating, controlling and being responsible for whatever was attached to the drawbar never lost its luster. The challenge of completing the assignment, as safely and quickly as possible, continued to motivate me to the end."

During his time as both a deacon and a locomotive engineer, he has been given a unique opportunity to interact with people.

"Sometimes when it was quiet at work, my co-workers would open up to me and felt more free to talk with me about things because of my position," Brother Kornburger said. "Inside all of us there is a need to find the deeper meaning in life and we need someone to talk to about that."

Kornburger also believes that when you are operating a train it is like life: You need to trust that the tracks are ahead of you, just like you need to trust that God has laid out the tracks of your life ahead of you.

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