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                                                        "Here I am Lord, I come to do Your Will."

                                                                                                                        Psalm 40

 
                                                                        The Calling to be a Deacon

The Deacon is a man of faith called by the Church to serve God and God's people as an official representative of the Church in loving service to others. He is a witness to the serving Christ. Sacramental ordination to the diaconate is a sharing in the ministerial priesthood of Jesus Christ and in the Church's ministry of service.
                                                                                                                                                                                               The call to be a deacon involves a love of the Word of God and a desire to serve. The diaconate is one of the three ordained ministries in the Roman Catholic Church. It is open to men who are single or married.  Most deacons are married, have families and have secular occupations, while offering diaconal service to the Church and to society. The ministries of the deacon are Love and Justice, the Word of God, and the Liturgy.  Their ordination puts them in a new relationship with the Church that requires them to serve people by aiding them as they journey to union with God.  The Deacons' first responsibility is to their families and their second is to witness in their workplaces.  The diaconate is primarily a ministry of services, especially to the poor. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
A deacon must be sensitive to the needs of men and women and ready to give of himself by responding to the needs of everyone especially the poor and the alienated. His identity is that of a servant.

While bishops, priests, deacons, and laity often perform similar functions, a deacon is ordained to the Ministry of Charity, of Word, and of Liturgy. Priests and deacons are collaborative associates of the bishop, and both are under the direction of the bishop.

By ordination the deacon:
  • is called to diaconal service which effects a new relationship to the Holy Spirit.
  • is publicly acknowledged by the Church as one called by the Spirit for the good of the entire community of believers.
  • is united in a fraternity of service and sacramental ministry to the bishop and all ordained priests and deacons.
  • publicly commits himself to the responsibility of communicating God's word and announcing His Kingdom in and through the Church.

    Whether married or single, the majority of deacons continue to support themselves through their own profession or occupation. By continuing in their occupation, Deacons have the opportunity to bring the presence of Christ to the marketplace in a unique way. They become a valuable sign and symbol of Christ and the Church serving the world, thereby helping to eliminate any separation between the Church and the world. Ordinarily, Deacons offer their ministry freely to the Church and receive no monetary compensation for their service.
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                                                       The Role of the Deacon
    • Proclaims the Gospel, preaches, evangelizes and catechizes in the Church, the community, and the marketplace.
    •  Witnesses through actions and lifestyle the redemptive service fulfilled by Jesus Christ.
    • Represents and promotes what the community of faith is called to be -- a community of service.
    • Baptizes, witnesses marriages, assists at Eucharist, leads prayer, brings Viaticum, administers the Church's sacramentals, and connects the Church's worship with its mission of loving service to the poor and needy.
    • Has a special responsibility to identify to the church particularly those who are without power or voice at the margins of society. He is to inspire and mobilize the whole community's response, not only to meet immediate needs but also to address structural and institutional causes.
     
                                                Reflections on the Diaconate

    In simple terms, a deacon is a man who is called to a ministry of service.

    That is what attracted me to this ordained vocation.  Like priests and bishops, he receives the Sacrament of Holy Orders.  At the same time he is “one among us”, a man who has been called forth to live the Christian life visibly as the image of “Jesus the Servant”.

     He is an ordained person living in the lifestyle of the laity.

    The diaconate ministry is more clearly understood when one looks at who the deacon is, rather that what a deacon does. Christian service as a deacon is not just the performance of actions that satisfy a job description of a deacon.  It is a way of living, of emptying the self for the sake of the growth and development of others. 

    The grace of the Sacrament of Holy Orders is found in the person rather than what he does.

    When Pope Paul VI restored the diaconate, he spoke of the need of the deacon to be the “interpreter of the needs and desires of the Christian communities, the animator and promoter of the Church’s service and a sign or sacrament of Jesus Christ himself who came not to be served but to serve.”

    Diaconate is service. 

    by

    Deacon Frank Iannarino

    Ordained 11 November 1989

    Saint Joseph Cathedral

                                                                                                                              Diocese of Columbus

     
                Catholic Resources to Learn More about the Diaconate

    Diaconate Office, Diocese of Columbus

    http://www.colsdioc.org/Offices/DiaconateOffice/tabid/128/Default.aspx

     
                Who to Contact for More Information About the Diaconate