By John Fee
A pastoral letter, “The Deacon: Icon of Jesus Christ the Servant,” has been issued by Bishop Alexander K. Sample for the Diocese of Marquette. In the letter, Bishop Sample not only provides a look to the future of the diaconate in the diocese, but also explains the ministry of deacons in Church history and reflects on theology concerning these members of the clergy.
Calling the restoration of the diaconate as a permanent ministry a “source of tremendous grace and blessings for the Church,” Bishop Sample said there have been, nonetheless, some “misunderstandings and misinterpretations of the essential identity of the permanent deacon.” To address these issues, a study committee was formed in 2009. The findings of that study informed the bishop’s pastoral letter.
Deacon Don Thoren of Marquette, who was ordained 10 years ago, found the letter to be a confirmation of the role of deacons in the Church. “It’s not like he’s reining us in; it’s the bishop affirming what we do,” Deacon Thoren said. “We’re all behind the bishop.”
“We’re just servants,” said Deacon Thoren who has been very active in prison ministry for 30 years. “We are so fortunate to have Bishop Sample.”
A profound understanding of “diakonia,” or service, is needed to grasp the role of deacons.
The ministry of today’s deacons includes “service to the poor, the imprisoned, to the sick and to those who are abandoned and lonely, the modern day ‘widows and orphans.’ (cf. Acts 6),” Bishop Sample wrote.
Looking to the history of the diaconate, Bishop Sample noted that as the work of the Apostles became too demanding, men of “good repute” who met certain qualifications were allowed to share in the daily ministry of the Apostles, including serving at table. However, Bishop Sample explained that Scripture shows us deacons also preached, baptized, served the Church community and “began to have a liturgical function.”
Even though by the second century deacons were firmly established in carrying out key functions in the Church, societal and power issues began to diminish their role. Bishop Sample wrote that abuses of power and conflicts with the order of priests contributed to the decline of the diaconate as a permanent order around 400 A.D., and by 800 A.D. the diaconate had become a transitional step to the priesthood in the Latin Church. The diaconate remained a permanent ministry and order in the Eastern Churches.
The permanent diaconate was formally restored after Vatican II by Pope Paul VI in 1967 “in response to a concrete reality in the life of the Church,” Bishop Sample wrote. With remote communities lacking regular priestly ministry, and the need for ministers to celebrate certain sacraments such as baptisms and weddings, as well as to preside over funerals and serve as ordinary ministers of Holy Communion, the restoration of the order offered the “sacramental grace of diaconal ordination resulting in a more fruitful ministry.”
All Christ’s disciples are called to holiness and evangelization, yet some are also called to holy orders. Bishop Sample wrote, that through sacramental ordination, the presbyterate and episcopacy (priests and bishops) are called to participate in the priesthood of Christ. “A deacon is ordained to be a servant of Christ to his people, and a humble aid to the ministry of priests and the bishop.”
Bishop Sample notes that of the deacon’s threefold ministries of the Word, the liturgy and charity, his distinctive call is to charity. “The heart of diaconal ministry is the inseparable link between the deacon’s liturgical service at the altar and his service to the poor in the community.
“Because he stands with a foot in two worlds, the permanent deacon’s ministry and witness is distinctly in the world of work and society,” Bishop Sample wrote.
A man who is contemplating a calling to the diaconate should first consider whether he has “set as his life’s goal a steady growth in the Holy Spirit towards oneness with God in Christ Jesus and His Church.” Bishop Sample wrote that the potential diaconate candidate should also discern, “If married, does his wife share with him this heart’s desire?”
Upon acceptance into the diaconal formation program, prospective deacons will be required to pray the Morning and Evening Prayers of the Divine Office of the Church (the Liturgy of the Hours). It is strongly encouraged that the wives of those who are married also join them for at least part of the prayers, as the entire family of a married deacon is especially called to growth in holiness.
“The permanent deacon’s family in the heart of the parish will model what a Christian family is,” wrote Bishop Sample. “Only God’s help through family prayer, undertaken steadily and daily, can support such a difficult task in a culture that is corrosive to Christian family values.”
Upon ordination, a deacon becomes a member of the clergy and hierarchy of the Church and is no longer a member of the laity. Bishop Sample wrote, “Although recognizing that his primary ministry as a deacon is to be one who serves in the image of Christ the Servant, due respect should be afforded him as a sacred minister of the Church.
“The pastor and all priests serving in the parish or mission must recognize the deacon as a collaborator in ministry and as one who shares with them in the Sacrament of Holy Orders,” Bishop Sample wrote. “The deacon, for his part, must remember that the pastor is the one whom he helps and serves under the authority of the bishop.”
To make sure deacons are able to balance family and work obligations with those undertaken through their ordained ministry, agreements will be drawn up. Annual reviews will address areas of accountability and allow adjustments as ministries change.
“Permanent deacons are not ordained for any particular parish, even their own,” Bishop Sample wrote. “They are ordained for service to the Church… under the authority of the Bishop. Deacons must therefore be prepared for the fact that their assignment could change as the needs of another parish or the diocese arises.”
With permission of the rector of the church, all deacons of the Diocese of Marquette will have faculties to preach everywhere in the diocese, unless limited on an individual basis. However, it was noted that this is a faculty and not a right and priests should normally deliver the homily at Mass. Lay persons may not give the homily.
However, preaching is not necessarily limited to homilies at Mass. In the liturgical and ecclesial contexts, preaching opportunities occur at wake services, the funeral liturgies outside of Mass, Sunday celebrations in absence of a priest, during the Liturgy of the Hours, and other prayer and liturgical services.
“Preaching on the part of the permanent deacon, taken in the broadest sense, encompasses many things,” Bishop Sample wrote. “A permanent deacon ‘preaches’ first of all by the witness of his life, especially in the marketplace through his teaching and witness to those he encounters in the daily regimen of his life and work. Finally he exercises his role as teacher in the various catechetical roles that he fulfills within the Church.”
Among the entrance requirements to join the diaconal formation program are active involvement in the Church, demonstrated active service, and being prayerful and inclined to further spiritual formation. A candidate must be at least 35 years old, no older than 60 at the time of ordination and have completed at least two years of college. If married, be married only once and for at least five years in a stable and sacramental marriage (candidates cannot be divorced) and willing to remain celibate if his wife precedes him in death. If widowed, have at least two years to heal and recover from the loss; if single, enjoy a stable, settled life with a history of healthy relationships and be willing to accept the gift of a celibate life. Those with a history of substance abuse or grave addictions should be free from such behaviors for at least five years and continue to participate in a “recovery” program.
Additionally, “there must be a clearly identified specific need in the community, authenticated by the bishop in consultation with the pastor, for which the man would one day be ordained to service. Without such a genuine need being identified, a man will not be admitted into the aspirancy program,” Bishop Sample wrote.
“I’m happy that the bishop has come out with this document because it imposes a discipline on us,” said Deacon Terry Saunders of Escanaba. “Discipline is sorely needed in our world.”
Ordained just one year ago, Deacon Saunders is the newest permanent deacon for the diocese.
“Today’s a new day and the Church is moving forward, and the Holy Spirit is going to guide us,” Deacon Saunders said.
For more information, including the full text of the pastoral letter click here...
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