The People of God will soon celebrate the Ordination of candidates to the Sacred Order of Deacon (both transitional and permanent in rank). How blessed is the Church to have these men respond so generously to the Lord’s call to serve the faithful in their ministries of word, altar and charity.
Pope St. John Paul II especially noted the varied diaconal ministries in his speech to the deacons of the United States on September 19, 1987 in Detroit, Michigan. He said: “With the whole Church, I give thanks to God for the call you have received and for your generous response…. In the midst of the human condition it is a great source of satisfaction to learn that so many permanent deacons in the United States are involved in direct service to the needy: to the ill, the abused and battered, the young and old, the dying and bereaved, the deaf, blind and disabled…and many others.
Some years later, Walter Cardinal Kasper (2003) articulated major diaconal concerns in his book, “Leadership in the Church: How Traditional roles can serve the Christian Community Today.” His Eminence stated, “Even the simple observation that the diaconate is a fundamental and essential ministry in our church today is enough to provoke heated emotional debates.”
Today, some two decades later, we do have a better understanding of the person “deacon,” but there remains a need to clarify the theological understanding of the deacon and his ministerial role in the modern Church.
Being a deacon for the past 36 years, I have a great love for this ministry and have a great desire to help others understand the deacon’s identity and ministerial role in the church today.
To shed light on the role and ministry of the deacon, I refer to an article written by His Excellency Bishop Howard Hubbard, entitled The Vision of a Ministering Church in which His Excellency shared a few personal observations and reflections on the nature of the diaconate and its ministry in the church today.
In this article, Bishop Hubbard points out that there are three major principles that underlie the ministry and identity of the deacon (transitional or permanent). They are: (1) The deacon’s mission is intimately rooted in the mission of Jesus by his proclamation of the Good News of God’s saving love for humanity; (2) The deacon’s vocation is an authentic ministry of service, wherein deacons are called in a public fashion to apply their unique gifts and talents to the struggle for peace, justice, freedom, human rights, and human dignity both within and outside of the Church.; (3) The focal point of the deacons’ mission and ministry is the human person who has been created by God with a dignity that is unique, sacred and inviolable.
The Church recently acknowledged the 50th anniversary of the restoration of the diaconate since the Second Vatican Council. CARA (The Center for Applied Research) reported that there are 36,000 deacons worldwide and approximately 19,000 deacons serving almost every (Arch)dioceses in our country. The diaconal ministry is alive and well, even though the number of men responding to the call of the Lord has dwindled.
Unfortunately, today’s culture promotes rationalism and atheism in a very violent and turbulent world, The deacon, however, stands in the midst of this chaos as a dedicated, religious-minded cleric to give witness to the gospel values and to evangelize those who are seeking the Lord in their lives.
May the saintly deacons of our church: St. Stephen, St. Philip, St. Vincent, St. Francis, St. Ephraim, St. Lawrence become role models of service, selfless love, and evangelization to our newly ordained deacons as they go about their ministry to the widow, orphans and all those in need of Christ’s love and mercy.
(Deacon Anthony P. Cassaneto, Ph.D., is currently serving as a deacon at St. Lawrence Parish in Shelton and is former director of the diaconate office of the Diocese of Bridgeport.)
