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Deacons Understanding Diaconal
Ministry |
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References |
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| 1) The essential role of those in sacred orders is to lead the Church in carrying out the mission of Christ. Three ordained ministries coordinate all other ministries and services by which the Church exists, lives and acts. The role is, to apply the words of St. Paul, “to equip the saints, that is, the whole community for the work of ministry, the building up of the Body of Christ.” (Eph 4: 12) Bishops, in a special way, preside over and govern the particular Churches, aided by the presbytery. The role of the deacon is to be a helper of the bishops and priests and, graced by the sacrament to proclaim by their very lives the Church's call to the service of others. [1] | 1. Permanent Deacons in the United State - Guidelines on Their Formation and Ministry - Bishops' Committee on the Permanent Diaconate National Conference of Catholic Bishops, 1985. (PD) Paragraph 15. | |
| 2) The diaconate had its origins in apostolic times and flourished in the first four centuries of the Church's history. Later, for very complex reasons, the diaconate went into decline. In the Eastern church, the deacon's liturgical roles were fully retained, though the role of serving the needs of the community was gradually obscured. [2] |
2. PD, Paragraph 18 |
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| 3) The diaconate is an ordained ministry. It belongs to those central ministries of
leadership to which Jesus Christ has entrusted the fundamental task of assuring that the
Church become and remain the authentic sacrament of salvation. In a ordination, a
Christian blessed with the ability to minister is chosen from among the members of Christ
to occupy an office and to fulfill a role representative of both Christ and the Church. In
this sacrament, a bishop lays hands upon a man and, in the name of the Church, prays God
to empower him with the gifts of the Spirit that will enable him to fulfill his particular
role. [3] “Grant to him the grace given to Your first martyr Stephen, whom You called before all others into the service of tills ministry, and graciously enable him to serve well and to please You in the office which You have given him in Your goodness, for those who serve well prepare for themselves a good position. Show Your servant to be perfect in all things.” “O God, our Savior, You established the law of service for Your Apostles by Your incorruptible voice. You chose the first martyr Stephen as the first deacon. You proclaimed him the first to fulfill the office of deacon, as it is written in Your Holy Gospel, ‘If anyone wishes to be first, let him be your servant. Matthew 20:2 7 and 23:11).’” [4] |
3. PD, Paragraph 13
4. Byzantine Service of Ordination to the Diaconate |
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| 4) The diaconate is a distinct order within the ordained ministry of the Church. The bishop, as successor to the apostles, presides over the local diocesan Church. To him is entrusted the primary responsibility of faithfully and integrally preaching the Word of God, of ministering the mysteries of God in the sacraments, and of governing the people of God. Within a diocese, priests assist the bishop as his representatives in and to the local communities of faith. They do so through the ministry of Word and sacrament and by guiding the communities in fidelity and charity. [5] |
5. PD, Paragraph 23 |
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| 5) In communion with the bishop and priests, deacons are ordained for a distinct ministry, which is indicated by their name: they are ordained, says the ancient tradition (repeated at Vatican II), for service. The function in all three areas of the Church's life: in the transmission of the Word, in the celebration of the sacraments, and the community's active love. [6] |
6. PD, Paragraph 24 |
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| 6) To say, as the ancient tradition does, that deacons are ordained for service is to look at the needs of the Church and its members for the proper role of the diaconate. From the beginning, this has been the deacon's proper mark. Ancient descriptions of the deacon's task included a very broad range of specific charitable activities in which deacons are involved. This same orientation toward concrete service, especially of the most needy, neglected, and marginalized among Christ's brothers and sister, has also been visible in many of the ministries undertaken since the diaconate was restored. Thus, concern for social ministry in the local Church is related to the long history of diaconal service. [7] |
7. PD, Paragraph 25 |
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| 7) The deacon is also a representative symbol of the inner connections among the three great areas of the Church's life; Word, sacrament and service. The ancient tradition appears to indicate that it was because the deacon was the servant at the table of the poor that he has his distinctive liturgical roles of gathering the gifts and distributing communion at the Table of the Lord. Similarly, there is a reciprocal correspondence between his role as a proclaimer of the Gospel and his role as an articulator of the needs of the Church in the general intercessions. In his formal liturgical roles, the deacon brings the poor to the Church and the Church to the poor. He thus symbolizes in his roles the grounding of the Church's life in the Eucharist and the mission of the Church in the loving service of the needy. In between the worship of God in the liturgy that recalls Jesus Christ's redemptive service and the worship of God in everyday life where Jesus Christ is again encountered in the needy. [8] |
8. PD, Paragraph 28 |
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| 8) The Deacon's primary roles of service to the Church and the people of God are found in the Ministry of the Divine Liturgy, the Ministry of the Word and the Ministry of Service. | ||