PROCESS OF DIACONATE FORMATION
I. Theological Overview of the Diaconate
Christian existence is a sharing in Jesus Christ, the only Son of the Father, who came to redeem the world by confounding evil through his total obedience to the Father as one who came not to be served but to serve. Jesus willing ransomed his life for the sake of the world out of obedience to the will of the Father. In Christ Jesus sin is forgiven and the effect of sin on the human person is mediated through the Love of Christ for each person, who is created in the image and likeness of God. This is the diakonos (service) of the Father and Christ Jesus who is the perfect Servant of the Father. Each Christian is baptized into the diakonos of the Father, which is to serve Christ and his Church. One of the divine graces received at baptism is the power for service. The Apostles became “slaves” to Christ in the same manner that Christ is a slave to the Father. The sacerdotal nature of the priest is Christ the Eternal High Priest, and the deacon is icon of Christ the Servant of all. Together they collaborate in service to the bishop for the pastoral care of the people of God. As Minister of the Church the deacon is configured to Christ, not to confect the Eucharist or forgive sin but to serve the Church as icon of Christ the Servant of all. Deacons are the visible sign of the Church’s Ministry of Diakonia, as Pope Benedict XVI observes in his first encyclical, Deus Caritas Est.
The ministry of deacon is therefore a ministry of service to the Church. And because the bishop is the fullness of Christ to the local church, the deacon is in service to the bishop and under his direction collaborates with the priest for the pastoral care of the faithful of the local Church. The deacon is Minister of the Word, Liturgy and Charity (including Peace and Justice) – sharing in the prophetic, priestly, and kingly mission of Christ. The Ministry of the Word includes proclaiming the Gospel and teaching the doctrines and traditions of the Church. The deacon also provides direction and oversight to catechists and the faithful who teach. Deacons prepare people to receive the Sacraments. At the Mass deacons proclaim the Gospel of Christ and instruct the faithful on the meaning of Scripture by preaching. As Minister of Liturgy deacons assist at Mass, may preside over the Rite of Baptism, witness the Sacrament of Matrimony, preside at Communion services, funerals, and Benediction, administer sacramentals and blessings. The Ministry of Charity is the Church’s expression of our Lord’s outreach to the poor, sick, the hungry, those in prison, the afflicted and marginalized. Deacons are the Church’s visible minister of peace and justice, confronting human injustice and protecting the dignity of the person from conception to natural death.
