Bishop Howard J.
Hubbard’s article, The Vision of a
Ministering Church: Personal
observations and reflections on the Nature of the Diaconate and Ministry in the
Church
A
Commentary
Deacon
Anthony P. Cassaneto, Ph.D., Ed.D.
In the 2011 Pastoral Letter, The Deacon: Icon of Jesus Christ the Servant, Bishop Alexander K.
Sample, Bishop of Marquette, stated in the Preface, “there have been some
misunderstandings and misinterpretations of the essential identity of the
permanent deacon that have led to some confusion regarding his ministerial role
in the life and mission of the Church.”
As a result of these misunderstandings, a Diaconate
Committee was formed in the Marquette diocese to address (1) the essential
identity of the [permanent] deacon in the life of the universal Church; and (2)
the essential role of the [permanent] deacon within the diocese.
The Identity crisis and the lack of understanding
regarding the ministerial role of the deacon by the clergy and the laity were
identified in the two National Studies conducted on the Diaconate in 1981 and
1994. Despite the fact that these issues
were known and debated for many years, some in the Church continued to question
why do we need deacons? What does the
deacon do that is different? Recall that
the Church was at the same time empowering the role and ministry of the laity,
Christifidelis Laici. As a result, the
identity and role of the permanent deacon remained unclear despite the many
books that had been written on the diaconate since its restoration.
I do believe that Bishop Hubbard’s Vision of a Ministering Church lays out
for those in ministry and for the clergy and the laity a clear understanding of
what must be present in the vocation call of the deacon. Bishop Hubbard identifies the deacon and his
ministerial role in his three principles, namely, that the deacon must be the
servant-healer who sees his vocation as an authentic ministry of service. What is most important is that the deacon
applies his talents and gifts to every person who is made in the image of God
and has a dignity that is unique, sacred, and inviolable. These understandings clearly help to identify
the deacon and his role and ministry in the Church.
Permit
me to expand a bit more on the second major
principle that underlies the ministry of a deacon, namely, that the deacon’s
vocation is an authentic ministry of service.
This principle lays the foundation for a clear understanding
of the identity of the deacon. When the deacon has a positive attitudinal
disposition to service, then it is possible to identify him outside of the
liturgical realm as a servant committed to serving the needs of others. In fact, his positive attitudinal disposition
helps to reinforce his spiritual attitude.
Walter Cardinal Kasper in his book, Leadership in
the Church: How traditional roles can serve the Christian community today, comments:
The renewal of the
diaconate is first of all a spiritual task.
The basic spiritual attitude of the deacon must make it clear that the
Christian
path is not an ascent
or a triumphal march in glory, but a path
that looks downward,
following Jesus Christ, who descended
from heaven. This “downwardly mobile career” is described
in
the Christological
hymn in the Letter to the Philippians
(2:6-11), which prescribes
the basic Christian virtue, as the
spiritual tradition
teaches, namely, the attitude of humility,
which is a
willingness to serve. This must a fortiori be
the basic attitude of
the deacon (p. 39).
The third and final principle that Bishop Hubbard
stipulates is the deacon’s mission and ministry is
focused on the Human Person who has been created by God with a
dignity that is unique, sacred, and inviolate.
The defense of human dignity has been the preeminent and perennial task
of the Church in its teaching and social witness over the centuries.
From what has been said thus far, it is clear that
deacons must become part of a “person-centered” tradition that extends from St.
James’ exposition to the early Christian community on the nature of selfless love
to contemporaries like St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Dorothy Day, Adolfo Perez
Esquivel (recipient of the Noble Peace Prize) “who have made a vocation of
demonstrating the congruence of catholic belief with service to the poor,
oppressed, and spiritual hungry.
Father
Timothy J. Shugrue is his document entitled, “Service Ministry of the Deacon” (BCPD,
1988) stated,
The deacon is expected to be an agent
of service, one who
Is personally and directly involved in
satisfying the
immediate and real needs of
people. The entire range of
Corporal works of mercy should be
integral to a deacon’s
Repertory as a minister of the Church…It
should be public
and identifiable, without violating either the
dignity of the
one(s) being served or the humility of simply
fulfilling
a duty of ordained ministry (p.41).
In
my discussion of Bishop Hubbard’s first principle, “the
diaconate is an extension of the mission of Jesus, the Servant-Healer” I
mentioned that deacons should develop an affective
maturity, namely, to embrace agape (selfless love) which should become the
driving force of one’s ministry. The
minister appreciates the importance of love in his or her own life and
struggles against his or her own sense of selfishness. St. John Paul II’s in Redemptor hominis stated,
One
cannot live without love. He or she
remains a being that is
Incomprehensible for himself or
herself, his or her life is senseless,
If love is not revealed to him or her,
if he or she does not encounter
Love, if he or she does not experience
it and make it their own, if
One does not participate intimately in
it (§ 80).
Richard
P. McBrien in his book, Ministry: A theological, Pastoral Handbook (1987)
poses this question: “Is it really too much to expect that those who present
themselves for the service of the Church should be people of virtue?” He defines virtue literally as a “power”
(from the Latin word, virtus). “It is
a power to realize some moral good and to do it joyfully and with perseverance
in spite of obstacles.” (pp. 55-56).
In
his analysis of ministry, McBrien treats the qualities and spirituality of the
minister according to Bishop Peter A. Rosazza, auxiliary bishop of
Hartford. Among the qualities that a
minister of the church must have are the theological virtues (faith, hope, and
charity (love)) which form one of the four criteria that constitute what is
meant by Christian holiness. “Every
minister must be an example of it. The
more public the ministry and the greater its responsibility for the life and
mission of the church, the greater the call to Christian holiness” (p. 54).
Here
are some of McBrien’s thoughts on the theological virtue of charity
(love). He stated that “charity enables
us to participate in the life of God who is Love (1 John 4: 8, 16)….Love is
possible only for personally mature people, namely, those who can accept
themselves and others for who and what they are. Jesus reminded us that we
cannot really love our neighbor unless we first can love ourselves” (p. 59).
Further,
according to McBrien, every minister of the Church, regardless of the ministry
he or she exercises or aspires to exercise, must be a loving person, ready at
all times to sacrifice his or her individual interests to the needs of others” (pp. 50-60).
This
last of these three principles espoused by Bishop Hubbard implies that deacons
are to be living instruments of the Lord’s healing and liberating love in a
Church and society that is in desperate need.
Likewise,
they are called to be servant-leaders in the church and society. Walter Cardinal Kasper in his book, Leadership
in the Church: How traditional roles can serve the Christian community today
(2003) states:
The church is alive where the corporal
works of mercy are
performed: feeding the hungry, giving
drink to the thirsty,
clothing the naked, etc…The church is
likewise alive
where the spiritual works of mercy are
performed: correcting
sinners, teaching the ignorant, giving
good counsel to those
in doubt, praying for the living and
the dead (p.27).
Diaconia
is an essential and foundational dimensions of
the church and a central aspect of the
bishop’s mission.
The bishop commissions deacons to
perform this task
and gives them a share in his own
office; in this way
they represent Jesus Christ, the good
shepherd and deacon.
Their diaconal ministry should inspire
and enkindle
others, encouraging them and
strengthening them so
that they too will imitate Jesus by
serving their brothers
and sisters, by sharing with them and
helping them
through the spiritual and corporal
works of mercy, thus’
building up the community of Jesus
Christ and realizing
Its unity in their lives.
The ecclesiology of communion makes
the ministry of
the permanent deacon a necessity. He represents Jesus
Christ, for he too is the good
shepherd who goes in
search of the strayed sheep, takes it
on his shoulders,
and brings it back to the flock—and is
willing to lay down
his own life in the attempt (p. 31).
The goal of diaconal activity is…not
simply help, but
the empowering of life, so that those
who lie
prostrate may get to their feet…In
some situations,
the deacon can and must become the
public advocate
of the weak and powerless and of all
those who have
no other voice…(p. 40).
Spiritually motivated, well-trained
deacons employed
in meaningful tasks are a necessity
for the church
today.
They are neither substitutes for a parish
Priest nor social workers. They represent the
deacon Jesus Christ ..bringing into
our world the
love of God which the Holy Spirit has
poured out
Into our hearts (Romans 5:5). They are pioneers
of a new “civilization of love.” They are a blessing
for the church and for the people
entrusted to us (p. 44).
According
to His Excellency, Bishop Hubbard, “what is basic and essential to deacons’
leadership role is (1) that they strive to share that which is best within
themselves; and (2) they share their own lives and vision of faith with those
whom they are privileged to serve, and in doing so, they inspire others to
discern their own gifts of mind and heart and make their own commitment to
follow the pilgrim journey to God’s Kingdom.”
This
concludes my presentation on Bishop Hubbard’s three basic principles. I do
believe that they help to identify the deacon as well as provide a direction in
which the deacon functions as a minister in the Church. God bless.
I love to hear from you about these principles.
Deacon
Anthony Cassaneto
Selective Bibliography
Brockman, N. (1976). Ordained
to Service: A Theology of the Permanent Diaconate. Hicksville, NY: Exposition Press.
De Grocco, J. (March 22,
2004). The Ministry of the Deacon. America,
190 (10), 19-22.
Donovan, William, T. (2000) The
Sacrament of Service: Understanding Diaconal Spirituality. Alt Publication:
Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Hubbard, H., H. (1985). The Vision of a Ministering Church. In Bishops’ Committee on the Permanent
Diaconate (Ed.), Diaconal Reader
(pp. 76-92). Washington, D.C.: United States Catholic
Conference.
Kasper, W. (2003). Leadership
in the Church: How traditional roles can serve the Christian community today. New York: A Herder and Herder Book – The
Crossroad Publishing Company.
McBrien, R. P. (1987). Ministry:
A Theological, Pastoral Handbook.
San Francisco: Harper & Row.
Shugrue, T., J. (1988). Service
Ministry of the Deacon. Washington,
D.C.: United States Catholic Conference.
