“Those who serve well as Deacons gain good standing and much confidence in their faith in Christ Jesus…(they) must hold fast to the mystery of faith with a clear conscience.” [1]
The Pastoral Epistles of St. Paul are not only of great historical interest in relation to the Early Church, but like all Scripture, they reveal the Word of the Holy Spirit in which we can hear the voice of the Lord himself and perceive his abiding presence in the Church. These short and perceptive letters, addressed to Timothy and Titus, two of St. Paul’s disciples and close collaborators, reveal to us not only the inner life of the first generation Church but connect us to the Church as it is lived today in the Third Millennium.
Initially these Pastoral Epistles were written by Paul to encourage and affirm his collaborators in their ordained ministry and to strengthen the primitive Church against certain erroneous and false doctrines which had arisen within the early Christian community.[2] We can see in this, a similar situation with our own day and Paul’s insistence that Sacred Scripture be accepted as truly inspired by and proceeding from the Holy Spirit is most helpful in the New Evangelization of today.[3] Paul refers to the good deposit of Faith handed down by the Apostles, which must be safeguarded with the help of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us.[4] There can be no doubt that these brief Letters from Paul to Timothy and Titus, in spite of their down to earth and practical application to Church life, are also very universal in scope. God is described as the Lord who desires all to be saved and to come to the knowledge of truth.[5]
It is within these Pastoral Epistles that we learn of the role of Holy Orders in meeting the threats to Faith in the early Church and for the first time in Scripture the threefold orders of Bishop, Priest and Deacon are presented to us as a pastoral and administrative structure rooted in the ministry of the Apostles as witnesses to the Resurrected Lord and proclaimers of the Good News. Just as Paul presents the basic elements of Catholic belief, namely Scripture and Tradition, as a doctrinal unity, so too the threefold orders of Bishop, Priest and Deacon are presented as a unified pastoral ministry.
It is within this sense of unity in Holy Orders that I wish to address the need in these days to activate the Permanent Diaconate within our Diocese. This third order within Holy Orders will open up further possibilities of pastoral service within our local Church.
[1] Cf 1 Timothy 3:9-13
[2] 2 Tim 1:6-8
[3] 2 Tim 3:14-17
[4] 2 Tim 1:14
[5] 1 Tim 2:4
For more information about the Permanent Diaconate Program, please contact the Pastoral Centre at (250) 479-1331 or email chancery@rcdvictoria.org.
The decision to move forward with a program of studies and formation for the Permanent Diaconate is the result of a number of years of discernment and discussion among clergy and laity during the period of preparation for our Diocesan Pastoral Plan which was inaugurated in 2010.[1] During the many months of preparation for the Diocesan Pastoral Plan, in surveys and in the focus groups, a desire for the Permanent Diaconate was expressed and, indeed, individual men approached the Diocese about discerning this vocation. Although not stated explicitly in the finished report[2] on the Diocesan Pastoral Plan that the Permanent Diaconate would be a goal, there was much said about expanding vocational outreach and furthering the new ecclesial structures advocated by the Second Vatican Council.[3] As discernment continued in our Diocese, other dioceses in British Columbia were also bringing the question of the Diaconate forward as a possibility.[4] During this Year of Faith (2012-2013), concrete proposals for such a program were formulated through our Council of Priests and a small committee was struck to guide the process under our Vicar General.
It soon became evident that certain challenges relative to the Diaconate would need to be met in our Diocese. First of all, even though there have been a few Permanent Deacons working in the Diocese in years past, there has not been a strong tradition of Deacons as such, nor has there been a Diaconate Formation Program in our Diocese. Another concern is the lack of resource capacity for such a program in our local Church. Furthermore, both clergy and laity would need catechesis on the Diaconate itself and how it would function within our community and what pastoral tasks it would undertake.
I am very grateful that our Diocese has found a way to meet these and other challenges by designing a program that is modest in scope and cost effective. Information on the Permanent Diaconate Program including application forms have been distributed to parishes. A Discernment Committee will review the applications and make recommendations to the Bishop for acceptance. A Formation Team in the Diocese will oversee the spiritual formation component of the program and a four year academic program available on line from Newman Theological College in Edmonton will be undertaken in the Diocese. Since the Permanent Diaconate is also open to men who are married, wives are encouraged to participate in the program to the degree that they are able. There can be no doubt that married men, living their marriages as a Sacrament, bring the gifts of fidelity and permanency to the Diaconate, much to the benefit of the Church. Pope John Paul II has stated: “By facing in a spirit of faith the challenges of married life and the demands of daily living, they strengthen the family life not only of the Church community but of the whole of society.”[5]
[1] Pastoral Letter: Diocesan Pastoral Plan 2010-2015
[2] Report of the Diocese of Victoria Pastoral Planning Committee – Mission, Priorities, Goals and Actions
[3] Pastoral Letter: Religious Education and Vocations p. 10ff; Stewardship, Administration and Finance p. 13
[4] Archdiocese of Vancouver inaugurated a program in February, 2011
[5] John Paul II, Address to the Permanent Deacons of the United States, 19 September, 1987, m.5.
For more information about the Permanent Diaconate Program, please contact the Pastoral Centre at (250) 479-1331 or email chancery@rcdvictoria.org.
Turning now to the vocation of the Permanent Diaconate itself, we must remember that, as the third tier of Holy Orders, it was restored to the Church by the Second Vatican Council after nearly 1500 years of slow decline, then absence. Pope Paul VI responded to the recommendations made by the Council to restore the Permanent Diaconate, and established the general norms governing the Diaconate and approved the Rite of Ordination.[1]
In essence, the Order of Deacons was given to the Church under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit so as to serve the People of God and assist them in fulfilling their Baptismal commitment. Just as Jesus came “not to be served, but to serve”,[2] so the Deacon embodies the ideal of every follower of Christ, to be “one who serves”.[3]
The beginnings of the Diaconate can be found in the Acts of the Apostles 6:1-6 where the Apostolic Community selects seven men from among the Baptized, formed in wisdom by the Holy Spirit to serve the needs of the community in practical ways. In St. Paul’s First Letter to Timothy we read that Deacons “…must be dignified, not deceitful, not addicted to drink, not greedy for sordid gain, holding fast to the mystery of Faith with a clear conscience…Thus those who serve well as Deacons gain good standing and much confidence in their faith in Christ Jesus.”
[1] Pope Paul VI, Sacrum Diaconatus Ordinem—General Norms for Restoring the Permanent Diaconate in the Latin Church, June 18, 1967
[2] Mt 20:28
[3] Lk 22:27
For more information about the Permanent Diaconate Program, please contact the Pastoral Centre at (250) 479-1331 or email chancery@rcdvictoria.org.
To say that Deacons are called to witness to, and to embody the Christian life, means that they are called to further the pastoral mission of the Church as are all the Baptized, by participating in: Koinonia (community), Liturgia (worship and Sacraments), Kerygma (proclamation and teaching), and Diakonia (pastoral care and Christian social engagement). The Deacon is to build up the community in love; to assist the priest in Liturgy and undertake the specific Liturgical roles assigned to him; he is to teach the Faith and Evangelize; and he is to serve those in need.
This last role, the Diakonia, is central to the vocation of the Deacon from which the title itself is taken. We learn from the Pastoral Epistles and from the Acts of the Apostles that Deacons had an important role of Service in the early Church.[1] Indeed, the Deacon shares in the Sacrament of Holy Orders and is therefore a Sacramental sign of Christ the Servant.
Specifically, the Deacon participates in the Church’s mission by fulfilling three munera, Latin for works or responsibilities: the munus docendi which is Evangelization and instructing the people; the munus sanctificandi, namely the life of prayer, the administration of Baptism, the custody and distribution of the Eucharist, the assisting at and blessing of marriages, presiding at funeral rites and the administration of sacramentals; and the munus regendi, the work of charity and assistance and guiding the Church’s charitable activities.[2] Of course, the particular way these munera are enacted depends on the particular situation and needs within the local Church.
Since the Permanent Deacon is ordained and is a sign of Christ the Servant, he must serve in close collaboration with the Bishop and all members of the Presbyterate. Through his ordination he is brought into a new relationship with Christ through the Holy Spirit and is meant to perform his duties within the context of the whole Diocese and in close association with the Baptized as they fulfill their rightful place within the mission of the Church both at the Diocesan level and in the local parish.
In fraternity with the Bishop and Priests and in communion with the whole People of God, the Deacon has many areas of ministerial involvement, depending on his gifts and talents and with the specific needs of the Diocese: Outreach Ministry; Catechesis for both adult and children; Marriage and Baptismal Preparation; Chaplaincies for prisons, care homes, universities and colleges; Youth Ministries; Ministry to First Nations; Outreach to the disadvantaged and marginalized.
[1] Acts 6:1-6
[2] Congregation for Catholic Education/Congregation for the Clergy, Directory for the Ministry and Life of Permanent Deacons, (#3) Feb. 22, 1998