The Deacon as Minister of Sacrament -- Part I

Ordination brings the ordinand into a new set of responsibilities in service of the People of God.  This is usually referred to as a participation in the triple munus (function) of Word, Sacrament and Charity.  Before Christmas we looked at the role of the deacon as a minister of the Word of God.  Now I want to move into some reflection on the deacon as a minister of sacrament.

To do that, of course, we need to understand what we mean by "sacrament."  So, here's a very, very brief "Sacraments 101".

1) Theologian Joseph Martos has referred to sacraments as "doors to the sacred" and that's a pretty good phrase.  The underlying understanding of sacrament in the Catholic sense is that a sacrament "connects" the human and the divine.  Another theologian, Robert Taft, SJ, once tried to describe a "symbol."  He evoked Michelangelo's famous painting of the creation of Adam from the Sistine Chapel.  Taft points out that God's finger, stretched out toward Adam, and Adam's finger, stretched out toward God, do not touch; there is a gap.  For Taft, a "symbol" CONNECTS the two.  In many ways, this can also describe our sense of sacrament as that which connects the human and the divine.

2) Prior to the Second Vatican Council, theologians began describing a deeper sense of sacramentality than most people appreciated.  The bishops at the Council adopted much of this language in their own documents.  So, in addition to the seven sacraments of the church, we first speak of Christ himself as the most fundamental sacrament of all: Christ IS the connection between God and humanity.  The Church itself can be understood as a sacrament of our encounter with Christ, and then the seven sacraments of the church represent special encounters with Christ.  We also speak today of the "sacramental principle": that understanding that all of God's creation can serve as vehicles of God's life.  That's why we make such liberal use of ordinary things like water, wine, bread, oil, touch and so on.

3) Finally, the word "sacrament" itself comes from the Latin word sacramentum.  A sacramentum in the Roman Empire was the oath of enlistment taken by a new recruit into the army, and early Christian writers began referring to Christian initiation as a sacramentum.  For those of us who have served in the military, this analogy works very, very well!  Consider what happens when a person enlists in the military: That person swears a solemn oath, after which his or her old civilian clothing is taken away.  The person is given new clothes -- a uniform -- which communicates the person's new status.  This uniform identifies the person's relationship to others (their relative rank and specialization, for example), and without any words at all, the simple fact that the person is now in service to an authority other than himself. 

Now look at early Christian baptism: The catechumen states his or her intent to a new relationship with God.  The person's old, "civilian" clothes are taken away and the catechumen, naked, enters the baptismal pool where the "sacramentum" (oath) is taken; we call it the Creed today!  Then the neophyte is led from the pool, and given his new "uniform" of a white garment which marks the person as a new person in Christ.  No longer acting on their own authority, they are now Christ's and have been immersed into the very life of the Trinity.  Now part of God's own life, the neophyte is led fro

m the pool to the Eucharistic table to complete his or her initiation.

It is against this sense of "sacrament" that we can now turn to the role of the deacon in the sacramental life of the Church.

Welcome Back!

I hope everyone is enjoying a wonderful Christmas Season.  I have deliberately not been posting much out of respect to the Holy Season.  However, I will begin a new series shortly, probably later today, so check back soon!

I will be moving into the deacon's ministry of Sacrament.

God bless,

Bill

Christmas Greetings

May Almighty God bless you and your families in a most special and joyful way during this season of Christmas.



Deacon as Minister of the Word of God, Part III

There is a well-known saying, often attributed to St. Francis of Assisi: "Preach the Gospel; use words if necessary."  This wonderful insight reminds us that the Good News of Christ is to be proclaimed to every creature in our words and in our actions.  To return to the "Deacon's Charge" from the ordination ceremony: "Receive the Gospel of Christ, who Herald you now are.  Believe what you read, teach what you believe, and practice what you teach."  This is the charge given to Heralds of Christ in the world today.

We have reflected upon the deacon and his role of proclaiming the Gospel and on his responsibilities as a preacher at Mass.  Now we turn our attention to other dimensions of the deacon's service as a minister of the Word; specifically, in this posting, the deacon's role as an official teacher of the church.  The deacon's catechetical role flows from the same charge given to him by the bishop.  While some deacons do not consider themselves teachers, and a few might even argue loudly that they are not!  However, that doesn't change the fact that the church sees all ordained ministers as teachers, and as with most things the deacon does, his responsibilities as teacher flow from his relationship to the bishop, who is the prime teacher of the faith in the diocese.

We can always learn so much from looking at the days of the early church.  In this case, we can gain some interesting insights from the great bishop Augustine of Hippo and his relationship with deacons; in two particular instances, they were not even deacons of his own diocese!  The first example is that of Augustine and a deacon from Carthage named "Deogratias".  The deacon had written to Bishop Augustine to ask his advice.  His own bishop had asked him to take charge of the catechetical formation of new converts in the Church at Carthage, and the deacon turned to the famous teacher and bishop for advice.  "What should I teach these catechumens?"  In response, St. Augustine composed a document which comes to us as perhaps the earliest catechetical document in the history of the church, "De Catechizandis Rudibus" ("On the Catechesis of the Unlearned").  For our purposes, it is significant to see that the deacon is clearly associated with taking the leadership in catechesis on behalf of his bishop.

Our second example is similar.  In this case, still another deacon from Carthage, this one named "Quodvultdeus" writes to Bishop Augustine informing him that the bishop of Carthage has asked the deacon to preach the Lenten homilies, and the deacon asked for Augustine's advice (I like to think that Quodvultdeus heard from his buddy Deogratias about how helpful Augustine had been to him!).  In this case, however, we don't have a document from Augustine in answer to the deacon's question; but we do have the deacon's homilies!  So it is possible to study them and discern Augustinian influence.  But again, for our purposes here, it's illuminating to see that the deacon is again taking on preaching/teaching responsibility on behalf of his bishop -- and that this is seen as a normal activity of the deacon.

So, for our reflection today, those of us who are deacons can ask ourselves how well we handle our catechetical responsibilities.  First, do we embrace them eagerly and passionately as a constitutive component of our ministries?  Second, do we continue to seek opportunities for ongoing formation, just as our predecessors turned to a master teacher for advice?  Third, how well do we teach, helping others find the practical applications of the Gospel in every day life.  Such ministry is part and parcel of the charge given to us at ordination.

Deacon as Minister of the Word of God, Part II

Another aspect of the deacon's service tot he Word of God is that of preaching, including preaching the homily during the Eucharist and at other sacramental and liturgical celebrations.  The basis for this ministry is found in the Code of Canon Law (for the Latin Church; a similar canon exists in the Code of Canons for the Eastern Catholic Churches):

Can. 764 Without prejudice to the provisions of can. 765, priests and deacons, with the at least presumed consent of the rector of a church, have the faculty to preach everywhere, unless this faculty has been restricted or removed by the competent Ordinary, or unless particular law requires express permission.

Let's take a closer look at this canon and what it means.

1) Notice that this canon extends the faculty to BOTH priests and deacons.  Unlike other canons which refer specifically to priests, and still others which apply specifically to deacons, this canon speaks to both orders.  So, the legal basis by a which a priest (other than a pastor) as well as a deacon preaches at Mass flow from the same law.

2) Notice that the faculty extends "everywhere"; whether I'm in Washington, DC, Peoria, Illinois or Monterey, California or Rome, Italy, the law says I have the faculty to preach.

3) Significant, of course, is the subordinate clause about "with the at least presumed consent of the rector of a church".  The PASTOR (not just any priest, but the priest who holds the office of pastor) may legitimately restrict the preaching of any priest or deacon within his pastoral jurisdiction.  The law also says that the Ordinary (usually the diocesan bishop) may also restrict or remove this faculty.  But notice that these restrictions must be made explicit; otherwise, the deacon (and priest not the pastor) HAVE the faculty.  For example, let's say that the document conveying diaconal faculties (this document is called a "pagella") to the deacon does NOT include the faculty to preach.  What does this absence mean?  Given c. 764, it means that the deacon HAS the faculty to preach and that it is not restricted or has not been removed by the bishop.  If the bishop does not want a particular deacon to preach, he has to put that in writing.

4) Furthermore, if the pastor of the place decides he doesn't want the deacon or another priest to preach within his jurisdiction for whatever reason, I would strongly recommend that this restriction be communicated to the bishop.  The bishop (and in this case, the law itself) extends faculties to priests and deacons with the presumption that they will be exercised for the good of the People of God.  If this is not going to be the case, then the bishop should be informed.

5) Liturgical law (contained in the General Instruction on the Roman Missal and in the other praenotanda to the various sacraments) also contains regulations regarding preaching.  With regard to the deacon preaching at Mass, the GIRM notes that the deacon preaches "on occasion".  The norm is for the priest-presiding to preach, but he may also ask the deacon to preach the homily.  This has caused no little confusion: just what does "on occasion" mean?

Some pastors have interpreted this too mean "rarely" or "only in extraordinary circumstances."  This is not correct.  What the Holy See was trying to correct were abuses in some parts of the world (not so much in the US) in which priests were never preaching, but turning over that responsibility to others (deacons or lay people).  However, given the law we've already examined, the deacon IS an "ordinary" preacher and, while we don't preach at EVERY Mass, we should certainly preach with certain regularity.

Finally, and perhaps most important of all, diaconal preaching should have its own unique character.  Deacons can bring their own experience of family and professional life to bear in their homilies.  Just as priests can offer insights from the perspective of their own experience, so too can deacons.  This goes much deeper than simply telling parishioners what he and his family did on vacation!  Rather, the deacon can offer insights about the practical challenges of living out the Word of God in school, on the job and in the family.  He can also highlight what he has experienced in his own ministries of charity, and the very real needs of the people he is serving in prisons, hospitals, on the streets and in soup kitchens.  This desire to encourage uniquely diaconal preaching is reaching new maturity.  Just over the last two years, I have assisted three graduate students completing doctorates in ministry who wrote about this very topic.  Two were written by deacons and one by a priest. 

More to come. . . .

People traffickers kill Orthodox deacons in Sinai Desert | Christian News on Christian Today

Here's is a graphic example of deacons living out their charge to be heralds of Christ.  Remember the bishop's charge to deacons in the Latin rite?  "Believe what you read, teach what you believe, and practice what you teach."

These deacons, and so many others, were truly "practicing what they taught."

People traffickers kill Orthodox deacons in Sinai Desert Christian News on Christian Today

Martyrdom is not simply historical; it is as current as today's news.

Deacon as Minister of the Word of God, Part I

I just began a series of columns for Today's Parish which are going to sketch the participation of the deacon in the three-fold ministry of Word, Sacrament and Charity.  As I ended my "10 Points to Ponder" here last week, I spoke of the need for balance in each of these three areas of ministry, but for now let's just consider the deacon's role as minister of the Word of God.

The "Word of God," of course, is Jesus, the Christ.  At the deacon's ordination, the newly-ordained deacon comes before the bishop who presents him with the Book of the Gospels and charges him with the words: "Receive the Gospel of Christ, whose herald you now are.  Believe what you read, teach what you believe, and practice what you teach."  Of all the things the bishop COULD tell the new deacon, I find it very significant that this is the deacon's major charge.

There are many dimensions to being a Herald of Christ.  We saw one this past Sunday in the person of John the Baptizer, one of the original "heralds of Christ."  Not a bad model for the deacon, either!  Of course, one of the most obvious heraldic roles for the deacon is in his proclamation of the Gospel in the midst of the Eucharistic assembly (the "Mass").  Some people seem to think that this is just some kind of liturgical function that is "permitted" to the deacon, in a way to give him something to do at Mass.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Rather, the church ties the Gospel DIRECTLY and INTENTIONALLY to the ministry of the deacon.

The deacon -- as servant to and for the People of God -- proclaims Christ in the Gospel in order to sacramentalize the servant-character of the Gospel itself.  The Gospel not only delivers "good news"; that good news is also a call to service, a call to action.  As the Church teaches, this ministry is diaconal, NOT an act of the presider.  In fact, the rules surrounding this part of the liturgy are quite illustrative.  When a deacon is present and assisting, he IS the minister of the Gospel.  Period.  This is not one of those optional things which either the priest, deacon, or another minister may do.  This one is for the deacon.  If there are 500 bishops and priests present, it is still the responsibility of the deacon.  In fact, have you ever seen the pope proclaim the Gospel at Mass?  Nope.  Here's some more: In a concelebrated Mass, if there is no deacon present and serving (and why not, I have to ask?), the priest-presiding is STILL not the first choice to proclaim the Gospel in the deacon's absence.  Rather, one of the concelebrating priests is to proclaim the Gospel if there is no deacon.  Only when there is no deacon, and no concelebrant, is the priest presiding to proclaim the Gospel; he is, literally, the last choice.

And yet, we still have some priests who will simply tell the deacon before Mass, "I'll do the Gospel today, since I'm preaching; I have some things I want to stress in the reading that tie into the homily."  I wonder: What if he were going to preach on the FIRST reading (usually from the Old Testament).  Would he go to the lay person who is assigned to read that day, and tell her, "I'll do the reading today, because I want to stress some things that tie into the homily."  I certainly hope not!  There's a reason why each of us has different roles in the liturgy, and the church is clear: each of us is to to "solely but completely" what is ours to do.

There are other dimensions of the Deacon as Minister of the Word of God, but I'll save those for the next postings. 

By the way, the picture to the right is of your humble blogger proclaiming the Gospel on board the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) during a visit to our son who is stationed on board.  Mass is celebrated in the forecastle (the "foc's'l") between the anchor chains.  For liturgical purists, there was no dalmatic available; sorry!