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On Saturday, June 14, 2003, in St. Joseph's Cathedral, I
ordained six excellent men to the Permanent Diaconate:
Philip Amantia Sr., Paul Emerson, Mark Nowak, Thomas
Scherr, Paul L. Snyder III, and Stephen Swinarski. A
capacity congregation offered praise and thanksgiving to
God from hearts filled with respect and appreciation for
such wonderful blessings on our diocese.
The restoration of the Permanent Diaconate has been one
of the auspicious developments coming from Vatican
Council II. "Permanent" distinguishes it from the
"Transitional Diaconate," which is a step to ordination
to the priesthood. (We also rejoice this year with the
ordination to the Transitional Diaconate of five superb
men, who, please God, will be ordained to the priesthood
next year.)
The Diaconate was an extremely important factor in the
early centuries of the Church. We trace its origin to
the sixth chapter in the Acts of the Apostles, when
Stephen, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas,
and Nicholas of Antioch were chosen by the community and
ordained by the Apostles. Tremendous leaders emerged in
the Diaconate: St. Lawrence, the third century
administrator and martyr in the Church of Rome; St.
Ephrem, the fourth century theologian, poet, and doctor
of the Church. St. Francis of Assisi himself was a
deacon.
The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church in the Second
Vatican Council reestablished the Diaconate "as a proper
and permanent rank of the hierarchy." Pope Paul VI
implemented this restoration as "a driving force for
the Church's service or diaconia toward the local
Christian communities, and as a sign or sacrament of the
Lord Christ himself, who 'came not to be served but to
serve'" (Mt.20:28).
The very word "diakonia" in Greek means service
or ministry. In the ordination to the Diaconate we see
that service having the power of Holy Orders, the grace
of the sacrament.
Various documents of the Church in recent decades have
addressed the Permanent Diaconate. Especially important
were the Basic Norms for the Formation of Permanent
Deacons and the Directory for the Ministry and
Life of Permanent Deacons, promulgated as a joint
text by Pope John Paul II in 1998. Following up on these
documents, the United States Conference of Catholic
Bishops indicated strong approval in our recent June
[2003[ meeting for a National Directory for the
Formation, Ministry, and Life of Permanent Deacons in
the United States. That document will go to Rome for
final confirmation.
For 26 years now we have had ordinations to the
Permanent Diaconate in our diocese. This ordination
configures the deacon to Christ's consecration and
mission. The deacon exercises his service in the
threefold ministry of the word, of the liturgy, and of
charity.
The Permanent Deacon may be married or celibate, and
most often he will have secular employment and be
raising a family. Service is paramount. The deacon's
service in the Church's ministry of word and liturgy
would be very much lacking if his exercise of the
Church's ministry of charity and justice did not
accompany it. Pope John Paul II affirms this conviction
in the Permanent Deacon's ordination: "This is at the
very heart of the diaconate to which you have been
called: to be a servant of the mysteries of Christ and,
at one and the same time, to be a servant of your
brothers and sisters. That these two dimensions are
inseparably joined together in one reality shows the
important nature of the ministry which is yours by
Ordination."
The deacon then is called to exercise special works of
charity and justice, particularly on behalf of the poor.
He has specific responsibilities in assisting the priest
in the celebration of the Eucharist. He has other
liturgical responsibilities: to baptize solemnly, to
witness marriages, to bring Viaticum to the dying, to
preside at wake ceremonies and burials. The deacon can
preside at the liturgies of the Word and Communion
services in the absence of a priest. He may officiate at
celebrations of the Liturgy of the Hours and at
Exposition and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. He
can conduct public rites of blessing, offer prayer
services for the sick and the dying, and administer the
Church's sacramentals, as designated in the Book of
Blessings.
We are blessed in our diocese with the presence and
service of 106 permanent deacons. Virtually all the
Deacons have parish assignments, but in addition we have
been appointing them to other specific responsibilities:
hospital ministry, correctional facilities, nursing
homes, soup kitchens and food pantries, children's
homes, family life ministry, Charismatic Renewal,
Eucharistic Adoration Societies, bereavement ministry,
retreat ministry, parish administration, coordination of
the Permanent Diaconate, and direction of the formation
programs for the Permanent Diaconate.
We are profoundly grateful to our deacons for the
dedication, skill, and spirituality they bring to the
exercise of their ministry. We are deeply appreciative
as well of their wives and family members for their
invaluable collaboration with and support of the
Permanent Deacons.
I believe that we are on the threshold of a vast
expansion of ordained service and work for the Church
through the Permanent Diaconate. We need more candidates
of high caliber to offer themselves for this ministry.
If you have some indication of this vocation, please
speak about it with your pastor or call our Office for
the Permanent Diaconate (716-847-5542). Please pray and
encourage others to consider very seriously vocations to
both the priesthood and the Permanent Diaconate.
In the Rite of Ordination to the Permanent Diaconate,
the bishop places the Book of the Gospels in the hands
of each deacon and says: "Receive the Gospel of
Christ, whose herald you now are. Believe what you read,
teach what you believe, and practice what you teach."
This commission is also our prayer, in gratitude, for
all our deacons. |
