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A Theological Framework for Deacon Formation and Ministry In an age characterized by change, it is challenging to provide a theological framework for the identity and ministry of the deacon. Although the Church has given faithful witness to its hierarchical nature in the revitalization of the diaconate as a ministry in its own right, the precise place of the deacon in the contemporary Church often remains unclear. Without a theological framework, the identity and ministry of the deacon are sometimes defined in terms of expediency or usefulness rather than in terms of integral partnership in the Sacrament of Holy Orders.
The identity
of the deacon – like that of a priest or bishop – is rooted in the nature
and mission of the Church itself, which the Second Vatican Council described
as the universal sacrament of salvation (Lumen Gentium 1ff). This
description provides a theological beginning point for reflection upon the
deaconate: the People of God, a community of faith, who are themselves the
visible, tangible witness to God’s saving presence in the world. Church as Place and Means of Salvation Sinners though they be, the People of God are that “place” where God’s saving love is embodied in the world. The gift of salvation, or fullness of life in God, is not an abstract reality to be found in a “spiritual” relationship separated from lived reality. The essence of the Judeo-Christian tradition is the recognition that God’s saving presence is disclosed at the heart of human experience. God is encountered from within this experience (salvation history) and is witnessed to in visible ways by those whom that Life has touched and transformed. In each believer, as well as in the community of believers, testimony is given to God’s saving presence in the world. Subsequently, the response in faith of the individual believer simultaneously celebrates and nurtures the faith response of all others. At the heart of Christianity is the proclamation and celebration of the Good News that God’s work of salvation has taken specific, historical and definitive shape in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. In Jesus we have come to know and experience the fullness of God’s saving plan. The community of those baptized into Christ, therefore, becomes the “place” where God’s salvation is given explicit, focused expression in the world, not just as an accomplished deed but also as a living means of encounter with the saving love of God. This is the fundamental significance of baptism: the formation of a community of faith established by God Christ Jesus for the salvation of the world.
The very nature of God’s unconditional love makes necessary the historical, visible expression in Jesus Christ. So, too, the nature of Church is such that it must make itself visible and tangible in the world. Herein lies the “necessity” of ordination. Faithful to this reality, the People of God call forth from their midst those individuals identified to give concrete expression to the very essence of the Church. The Church “sets apart” (ordains) those individuals of manifest faith whose call and personal presence exemplifies and fosters its nature and mission. Hierarchical ordination is born of the human necessity of the Church to be nourished by tangible, personally embodied signs and to express itself through them. The ordained remain one with the People of God: yet for them (and the world) they serve as living sacramental signs of a ministry and mission possessed by the entire Church. On the one hand, ordination is the commissioning by the community of a specific individual to fulfill functions considered as vital for the community’s life and growth. On the other hand, ordination is the acceptance and commitment by the ordained person to carry out those very functions on a stable basis in the name of the Church. Accordingly, as a person as well as a minister, the deacon is set aside by the Church through prayer and the laying on of hands for the particular ministry of service. As an ordained minister, the deacon is appointed by the Church to carry out that ministry as one who manifests the necessary qualifications to exercise this ministry and is committed to serve in union with the bishop, the shepherd of the local Church. Although historical abuses of ministry have at times confused the all-important relationship of service between the ordained person and the rest of the Church, the identity and ministry of the ordained is still to be found in their relationship to the whole Church. Whether it is to episcopacy, presbyterate or deaconate, ordination itself is foremost a call to servanthood: to assist the community and the world to hear the Good News and to make practical response to it. Thus, ordination is both a call to personally “make Church happen” but also to engage others in the work and mission of the universal Church. Regardless of its particular historical manifestation, the common element of the authority or ‘power” of ordination is primarily one of personal presence – personal embodiment of the presence and ministry of the Church itself. Ordination is more than a designation of individuals for tasks made necessary by a community’s need for order, function or leadership. Rather, ordination publicly establishes individuals as sacramental signs of what the entire Church does and is called to be in Christ. The presence of these individuals prophetically calls the members of the Church to be faithful participants in the very Church to which the ordained give sacramental witness.
For historical reasons
rooted in Jewish faith and social traditions at the time of the foundation
of the Church, the sacramental expression of the ministry and mission of
Christ and his Church has taken on the institutional forms we now recognize
as episcopacy, presbyterate, and disconate. In these three distinct but not
separate manifestations of the sacramental nature of the Church the reality
and continuity of God’s saving love has been assured from the beginning of
the Christian era until the present time (apostolic office). Church is
embodied in these individuals. Church is made present in them. Church is
assured in them. Diaconate must be understood within the communal and sacramental nature of the Church. With other believers the deacon remains a fellow believer; yet for them the deacon is the embodiment or sign of the reality of the call to all in the Church to serve. Likewise, with the priests and the bishop the deacon shares in the mission and ministry of the universal Church, but particularly its ministry of service. By revitalizing the diaconate as a permanent ministry, the Church sets in focus a dimension of Church without which Christian witness in the world would be weakened. Ordination gives the deacon no greater authority or more responsibility for ministry than any of the baptized; but it does make of him an embodied sign of what all are called to be. Ordination is no mere reception of powers, enabling the deacon to be free-lance or lone minister of the Gospel. The deacon cannot act on his own, but must always minister in union with and for the Church. The ministries of the laity and the ministries of the hierarchy are not exclusive of one another; rather, they form a common (though distinct) expression of the life and mission of the Church. The deacon is neither separate from nor substitute for the legitimate responsibility of the common call to ministry given to all in baptism. As with priesthood, historical developments have both clouded and enhanced the sacramental witness of the diaconate. At certain times in history deacons have been recognized as integral ministers in the hierarchical Church. At other times deacons have not been understood as integral to its life. Subsequently, an historical study of the diaconate would identify great variance in those activities and responsibilities entrusted to them. What deacons have done over the centuries has changed as the Church has adapted its presence and service in the world. Who deacons are in essence as those who embody the service dimension of Church, however, has remained the same. (Ad Pascendum #1ff) Our contemporary experience of the diaconate has been limited. Until recently, diaconate has been experienced largely as a step toward the priesthood, which itself was perceived to be a hierarchical level short of episcopacy. This understanding of diaconate was based on the notion that the presbyter (priest) was the foremost sign of Christ’s presence in the community (alter Christus). A matured understanding of the significance of the meaning of Christian Initiation, particularly baptism, has caused the Church to expand its understanding of ordination. Returning both to its historical roots and the fundamental dynamics of the sacramental nature of the Church, the Second Vatican Council revitalized the diaconate but left its function undetermined. (Lumen Gentium #29). In so doing it was faithful to its pastoral intention of bringing the Church back to its clarity of witness as the universal sacrament of salvation. The Church recognized the diaconate as a legitimate and necessary element in the hierarchical nature of the Church. (Ad Pascendum #16) Seeking the clarity of the Church in its servant role in the world, the Church recognized the diaconate as a necessary witness to the Servanthood of Christ – a role which is as necessary as presbyteral or Episcopal presence.
Returning to its
fundamental identity as a community of salvation in and for the world, the
Church’s reinstatement of the permanent diaconate was a recognition that the
Church cannot be true to its mission without a permanent, recognizable
expression of its mission as servant. Herein lies the fundamental reason
for the ordination of deacons; the deacon is to be that one who with the
full authority and legitimacy of Church brings its diaconal nature or
servanthood to concrete, sacramental expression. The deacon fosters the
living of the mission of the Church. In that sense the traditional image of
the deacon as the eyes and ears of the bishop assumes rich significance,
since the deacon is be the one who sees and hears the needs of the world and
brings them to the Church for attention and ministry. Thus, the deacon is
more an animator of service within the Church than a mere extension of its
presence as a service agent. (Ad Pascendum, Intro.)The diaconate gives
expression to that aspect of ecclesial presence whereby the Church must be
seen and experienced as being in the world (though not of it), listening to
and caring for its cries for fulfillment. Diaconal Functions When he revitalized the diaconate, Pope Paul VI appealed to individuals to listen to that call of the Spirit within them which called them to become identified in themselves with the servant nature of the Church. Even at this point in time, however, the Church did not have a specific description of the functions of the deacon. History had developed a relatively well defined list of functions for the priest and bishop, but not for the deacon. The beginning years of the revitalized diaconate, therefore, understandably have been characterized by a tendency to establish its functional identity in relationship to the ministries of the presbyterate and the episcopacy. The deacon, for example, is permitted to baptize, witness marriages, preach and catechize (Lumen Gentium 2). The unfortunate element in this is the tendency to reduce the definition of the ministry of the deacon relationship to what can or cannot be done vis-à-vis the functions of the priest or bishop rather than recognizing that the sacramental ministry of the deacon primarily is expressed in the service of charity and justice. Thus, the contemporary expression of the deacon’s ministry has tended to be that of liturgical minister. This disproportional identification of diaconal ministry with liturgical or quasi-priestly functions confuses the necessity of the diaconate and exposes it to understandable questioning in terms of expediency and usefulness. Even in providing this functional identity, the Church has not designated a set of ministries specific to the diaconate except to provide the broad identification of the ministries of Charity, Word and Liturgy (NCCB Guidelines). The very ordering of these ministries, however, is significant – giving primary focus in the deacon’s ministry to charity and justice. In a sense, the Church’s description of diaconal ministry is given in an historical vacuum and reflects a limited understanding of the nature and practical shape of ministry which might flow from sacrament of service to the world. It is obvious that since its revitalization, diaconal ministry has endured the pain of rediscovery. To the extent that the diaconate continues to look for its identity and acceptance in a presbyteral or Episcopal mode its search is misdirected. The diaconate is uniquely and essentially a sacrament of the Church’s vital element of service. Thus, its identity and even its function must be found in the nature of its relationship to people in the daily situations of the market place. Although all actions for the betterment of the Church and the world might well be characterized as service, the function or service of the deacon should be that which gives clarity to the role and identity of the deacon as sacrament of Church. Not all things which could be done by the deacon should be done by the deacon if they confuse the nature of the sacrament. Likewise, the focus of diaconal ministry is more one of being a servant, and less one of providing services. Christian service is not just the performance of actions which only satisfy a job description. It is a way of living, a way of emptying of self for the sake of the growth and development of others. More than observing the accomplishment of work, the people of God need the incarnate witness of this kind of service. They need to see service taking personal shape in others precisely where they live and work. They value and need the personal witness that Church exists, not for success and status, but for a saving relationship to others. The deacon personally embodies this call to service of all the baptized. The deacon’s presence is prophetic insofar as it animates service among the people of God, calling them to greater faithfulness to their common Christian responsibility. Herein might be more clearly seen the significance of the “grace of the sacrament”. The presence of the deacon is at the same time both a visible sign and the invitation of the Church to live the Gospel in the marketplace. The ministry provided by the deacon thus most clearly can be seen in these elements of service v The deacon must be known for service – in practical ways, but more importantly, in attitude and readiness to help others. The deacon’s pervasive mode of being in the world must be one of servant; he cannot be just a busy doer of things. v The deacon must manifest a spirituality which cherishes and nurtures the capability of being one whose identity is comfortably one with the Church and in that sense brings Church to others; the grace of the sacrament is found in his person. v The deacon must be one who truly serves, one whose identity in the Church is validated in recognizable acts of service – yet acts of service which reflect the servant nature of the Church as existing for the life and salvation of the world; the deacon is to be less a maintainer or a preserver, and more an animator of service among others. v& The deacon must be flexible in his ministry, always willing to stretch and be stretched, because service to the needs of people changes as the shape of the world changes. v The deacon’s ultimate measure of faithfulness to his identity is the extent to which others are inspired or led to engage in the ministry of service themselves (service to the work of the Church); his presence must inspire others to service; in fact, his very presence is a reminder that to be Church is to serve, to be for others.
Implications for Deacon Formation 1. Participants need to manifest evidence of personal maturity; a sense of self identity. 2. Formation for the deaconate cannot take place in isolation from the deacon candidate’s other primary responsibilities (marriage and family). 3. Participants need to manifest evidence of identification with and participation in the life and ministry of the Church at the level of shared baptismal ministry. 4. Participants need to exhibit a history (“reputation”) of service, showing more extensive evidence of participation in Church service than simple liturgical or parochial functions. 5. The community of the faithful (pastor, parish council, etc.) should have a measurable voice in the selection of individuals preparing for the deaconate. 6. Formation must focus on the practical functions of diaconal ministry as well as the theoretical and theological. 7. The primary focus of formation should not be the completion of academic studies – even though these are necessary – but on readiness for ministry measured against well-determined criteria necessary for effective diaconal ministry. 8. The mode of formation needs to be oriented in a personal fashion, helping the individual discover and enhance his unique way of presence in service to others. 9. Although formation may need to prepare deacons for traditional ministerial functions, it should also nurture skills in relating to people in daily life situations. 10. Formation needs to enable the deacon to articulate the faith and tradition of the Church as expressed in the Second Vatican Council and the Magisterium. 11. The deacon needs to be comfortable with a spirituality and ministry of presence. 12. The deacon needs to be able to give evidence of understanding the Christian faith and Catholic tradition, particularly manifesting sensitivity to the Gospel’s application to the contemporary setting.
Implications for Ministry
Approved: The Most Reverend William S. Skylstad Catholic Bishop of Spokane Date: October 29, 1990 Revised: May, 1993 |
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Office of the Diaconate |
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