The Vision of a Ministering Church: Personal observations and reflections on the Nature of the Diaconate and Ministry in the Church

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 my previous blog, I discussed at length the first major principle that underlies the ministry of a deacon, namely, that the deacon’s ministry is an extension of the mission of Jesus, the Servant-Healer.  Permit me to comment such a bit more. The deacon is called to proclaim the Good News of God’s saving love for humanity and to transform the world through a pardoning, forgiving, reconciling, and liberating love.  As a result of his calling, the deacon is intimately rooted in the mission of Jesus and in what He said and did in the world.

The second principle, namely, that the deacon’s vocation is an authentic ministry of service will be focus of this presentation.  This service began with a Christian’s baptism into the faith.  As a Christian matures in the faith, he or she becomes aware that service to one another is the calling card of a Christian.  The gift of self identifies him or her as a member of the community.  Through the Sacrament of Confirmation, the Christian is endowed by the Spirit with certain gifts and talents that are used for the benefit of the community.  Jesus would identify the Christian every time when He said, “You know that he or she is my disciple by the way that they love one another.”  This in-breathing of the Spirit encourages us to follow the Lord not only by word but more importantly by deed. 

Through a life-long process of reflection and prayer, the Spirit of the Lord selectively calls out individuals to consider a more serious commitment to service that goes beyond the every-day exercise of our Christian duty.  Until the Second Vatican Council, there was no possibility of a Christian considering a public ministry of service within the Church.  Thanks to the efforts of the Council Fathers, the diaconate as a permanent ministry of service in the Church was revitalized and restored. 

For the past 50 years, men have heard the call and responded generously to the Spirit’s invocation to come and to minister to God’s people through the reception of the Sacrament of Holy Orders.  Through this public witness, the deacon is called to make the mission of Jesus alive, vibrant, and relevant in today’s Church.  The deacon is unavowedly and unabashedly is called to apply his talents and gifts to the struggles faced by those who seem lost, marginalized, and forsaken so that a transformation of our society could eventually be realized by our brothers and sisters within and outside of the Church.  Today we witness such a need on the streets of Los Angeles and other major cities of our great country where the homeless, the sick, the disenfranchised live. 

In our nature, we all struggle to find peace within ourselves, and work for justice, freedom and human dignity.  The potential a deacon has today to address our present societal calamity is real.  He is a man of the community who is likewise an authentic minister of charity (love) who has come not to be served, but to serve our forgotten brothers and sisters in the Lord.    

Deacons’ understanding of their mission and ministry should impel them, individually and collectively, to be more passionate in their defense of human rights and human dignity and more determined in their quest for racial justice and social equality. 

 

The sense of mission and ministry rooted in the person of Jesus...should be the motivating and animating influence in all of the deacons’ endeavors.

It is only with this vision that

            > the salvage of a marriage

            > the care of the elderly

            > the rehabilitation of the addict or alcoholic

            > the outreach to the poor

            > the counseling of an inmate

            > the support to the divorced, remarried, widowed and

            > the instruction of those who prepare for the sacraments

makes any sense. 

It is only with this vision that diaconate programs and services can be raised from the level of the impersonal, the indifferent, the self-serving, the paternalistic, or the condescending to the level of the TRANSCENDENTAL, where the deacon’s life and ministry truly become

            > an effective sign of the compassionate love of Jesus

            > a living testimony to our fundamental Christian beliefs

> that all men and women are brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus

> are bound together in a unity that demands justice and charity.

 

What I am saying is that

            (1) Deacons must understand - intellectually as well as experientially- that EVER-URGENT AND RELEVANT MISSION WHICH IS THEIRS: TO CARRY FORTH THE SALVIFIC WORK OF JESUS CHRIST, UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.

            (2) Deacons must appreciate and rejoice in that unique dignity they have to be LIVING INSTRUMENTS OF THE LORD’S HEALING and LIBERATING LOVE in a Church and society in such desperate need. 

It is clear that deacons are called to be LEADERS IN THE CHURCH and VITAL COOPERATORS with the bishops in advancing the Lord’s kingdom now present among us. 

 

            CAUTION: The nature of this leadership role that the deacon enjoys IS NOT TO BE ACCOMPLISHED by appeal to ONE’S ORDINATION, TITLE, OR POSITION in the Church, thus depending upon AUTHORITY, CONTROL, AND INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURES AND POWER for ministerial effectiveness.

            APPROPRIATE WAY: Theirs is a leadership that is to be accomplished in the manner of JESUS, whose very presence and manner of dealing with people provide a beautiful model of how genuine leadership does not enslave or shackle others but frees, empowers, and enriches their lives. 

            Deacons are to be leaders in the Church by exercising a servant ministry, as Jesus did.    

 

            Deacons must be  personally faithful to the Gospel they proclaim and  willing to share honestly with others their own successes, struggles, and failures in responding to God’s call.

            There is no single style of servant leadership appropriate for all deacons.  As leaders, deacons may be quiet or dynamic, gentle or aggressive, articulate or nonverbal, or prominent or obscure.

            What is basic and essential to their leadership role is that they strive to share that which is best within themselves; they share their own lives and vision of faith with those whom they are privileged to serve, and in doing so 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.