THE MINISTRY OF DEACON - 1

When good Pope John XXIII called together the bishops of the Catholic Church, a few visionaries imagined the possibility of new ministries for the life of the church. The groundbreaking meeting, known as the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), reflected on the meaning of being a church. Bishops debated, discussed, and put their understanding of church on paper. The result was a document called Lumen Gentium, literally "the light of the nations." This statement on the meaning of the church was promulgated on November 21, 1964.

One of the new items the bishops decided upon was the ministry of deacon in the church. The ministry of deacon, the word literally means "assistant," would be restored and was envisioned as a vital contribution to the church and to the world. The deacon would join the priest (officially called a presbyter) and the bishop in the threefold office and ministry of leadership. Deacons, priests and bishops exercise distinct roles of leadership in and for the church. Each develops a spirituality that is shaped by the gospel and by ideals of service.

The deacon serves by assisting the baptized community as we live the priestly call of Jesus Christ in our gatherings for public prayer and in our commitments to serve the world. In short, the deacon is often in a privileged position of being able to bridge the sanctuary and the streets. The deacon ministers when the priestly people of God worship at the Lord's Table. He ministers when the church serves at the tables where people eat human anguish and bread crumbs.

Pope Paul VI established the general norms to restore the ministry of deacon in 1967. A year later the bishops of the United States asked to restore this ministerial office in our country. Four deacon formation programs were set up within six months. (Every ministry requires an initial and an ongoing formation program).

In the next twenty years nine thousand deacons would be ordained and would begin public ministry in the church. Immediately deacons began to serve the practical needs of people. These included ministry to the aged, to abused children, to alcoholics, battered women, the bereaved, the blind and the deaf, the disabled, the divorced, drug addicts, the dying, the homeless, the ill, prisoners and their families, refugees, the rural poor, street people, and victims of racial and ethnic discrimination. Deacons served in their parishes and neighborhoods, in their dioceses, and in the nation.

In short, deacons serve the people of God in the ministry of the liturgy, of the word, and of justice and charity. They are bridges between the laity from whom they have come and the clergy of which they a now a part. Deacons accompany lay women and men. They contribute to the animation of ministry in a parish. They assist the laity who are involved with the mission of Jesus Christ in the world. They appreciate the demands that people face in their work, in their homes, and in their personal lives. Deacons are uniquely qualified to bring a sense of integration to the variety of activities that make up a Christian household and parish because they, too, have to live with obligations and commitments to their families, their work and their local church.