I Will Be Wth You

 



Today we have a guest blogger, Arlene Muller. Arlene B. Muller, OSF, is a Professed Secular Franciscan, lector & Extraordinary Minister at St. Pancras Church, Member of St. Margaret's Choir, and Itinerant Speech/language Therapist.

The scripture readings can be found at http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/071719.cfm

In today's first reading from Exodus Moses encounters the LORD for the first time in the burning bush & receives the call from God to go to Pharaoh & lead the Israelites out of Egypt.

Moses immediately questions God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh & lead the children out of Egypt?" And God responds "I will be with you...."

God did not answer Moses in what I would consider the expected way. I think Moses, like me and, I would assume, like most people, was looking for God to tell him what talent or ability or skill or experience, etc., would QUALIFY him to do this mission & give him some affirmation to give him confidence in himself, like "I've seen that you are a good leader". I think that in a similar situation I would look for affirmation of the qualities God or anyone else would see in me to give me confidence in my ability to do whatever job it mission it is.

Instead God's response was "I will be with you." Of course, what we need most of all in our lives, especially in a mission, & especially in a difficult, challenging mission, usually something we either have never done before or something similar to what we have tried to do before but failed, is God's Presence with us to help us. And Scripture is full of examples of God promising to be with us, usually with an admonition not to be afraid. (Some have suggested 365 examples, one for each day of the year.)

Here God is telling us that He has not necessarily called us because of something in us and that it is not because of something in us that qualifies us that will make us successful in performing what He has called us to do. Rather, it is His PRESENCE with us, always helping us, always guiding us, and always giving us what we need when we ask Him and rely on Him, that will cause us to complete the mission He gave us to His satisfaction.

Here is a reminder--a humbling and trust-building reminder that God usually does not call the qualified, but instead He qualifies the called. Whether it is leading the people out of Egypt, obeying God's call to a vocation to the priesthood, diaconate, consecrated religious life, marriage and parenthood, the celibate single life, a particular career or ministry, or caring for an elderly parent, when we obey God and trust Him to be with us to help us, even though it may be very difficult at times, He can and will enable & empower us to accomplish things we would never have imagined.

Today's Gospel confirms this, because in Matthew 11:25-27 we hear Our LORD JESUS giving thanks to the Father for revealing to the childlike what He has hidden from the wise and learned. So what God looks for in us has less to do with our ability and more to do with our availability. May the LORD help us to grow in our ability to trust and rely in Him more than in ourselves.

The Good Samaritan

The readings for Sunday, July 14th, 2019, the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time, can be found at http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/071419.cfm

The gospel reading assigned for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary time is probably one of the most famous ones in scripture. It's of the Good Samaritan. Our Lord was challenged by a scholar of the law with the question, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" (Luke 10:25). Jesus throws it right back to him and asks, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?” (Luke 10:26). The scholar rightly answers with,  “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27). Jesus indicates that this is the correct answer. But the scholar, wanting to prove himself, asks, "Who is my neighbor." That's when our Lord tells of the Good Samaritan.

How does this story of the Good Samaritan apply in this day and age? The Samaritans were hated by the Jews. We have in our own time those people that seem different to us and makes us feel uncomfortable with. Foreigners that we feel don't belong here. People fleeing their homes for whatever reason to seek peace in our country.

I was challenged recently about my strong feelings on how immigrants should be entering our country. I'm in favor of doing it through legal means and following the laws of the United States. I still feel that way, but my challenge is this: how do we respect the immigration laws of the United States while at the same time showing mercy and compassion to those who feel they have no other way of getting to the United States but through illegal means? How can we show compassion to them while at the same time respect the laws of the United States? That's my struggle.

Let's pray for the people of the United States who deserve safe and stable borders, and for those who want to come to the United States to be able to find the way to get here in a way that's good for them and beneficial to the well being of the United States.

The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ

The scripture readings for today can be found at http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/070719.cfm

In today's gospel reading we hear of Jesus sending out the 72 disciples to share the good news of God's love and salvation. Jesus gives some pretty challenging instructions: "Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way. " (Luke 10:4) This challenges the disciples to have complete trust that God will take care of them during their travels in spreading and sharing the Good News.

What challenges do we have in sharing the Good News of the Gospel? We, like the disciples in today's Gospel, are commissioned to bring the Good News to those in our lives. We are to bring the love of God to those in our families and those we work with. There will be people that will be open to the Good News of God's love for them. And then there are those who reject this message. In either event, be joyful in those that accept God into their lives, and pray for those who may reject God for whatever reasons they may have. Trust that God will work through all we do to share His love with others.

Let us, with St. Paul, say "May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ..." (Galatians 6:14).

The Vision of a Ministering Church, part IV

 

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.

 

 

Corpus Christi

Today's Scripture readings can be found at http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/062319.cfm
Today the  church celebrates the feast of Corpus Christi, otherwise known as the Body of Christ. At the Last Supper our Lord instituted the sacrament of His Body and Blood. In the gospel of Matthew, we read, "While they were eating, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and giving it to his disciples said, 'Take and eat; this is my body.' Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, 'Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins.'" (Matthew 26:26-28)

This scripture, coupled with Jesus' teaching in the Gospel of St. John, chapter six, we have the teaching of the Real Presence of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. In the form of Bread and Wine, after consecration at Mass, Jesus is present, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity.  In John, chapter six, we read:  "I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” (John 6:51).

We, as Catholics, are able to receive our Lord at each Holy Mass we attend. What a beautiful gift this is. Jesus goes on to say in John, "For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink." (John 6:55). As our Lord teaches, the Sacrament is more than just a symbol. The Sacrament is Our Lord, truly present.

As a result of our Lord being truly present in the Blessed Sacrament, let us be truly ready to receive Him by frequent use of confession. Our souls, like our homes, should be clean and ready to receive such a special guest as Our Lord.

As you approach the Blessed Sacrament at Mass today, be truly grateful that you and our Lord are becoming truly united spiritually. Offer Him your prayers and concerns to ask for whatever help you feel you or your family needs. Place all your concerns into His loving hands as you receive Him Holy Communion. Then rest assured that our Lord will be with you in all your cares and concerns.

Remembrance – Bernice Muller

The mother of a dear friend of mine passed away and I was privileged to have been the deacon at the funeral mass. Arlene, the daughter, asked me to share this reflection on her mother's beautiful life. Please pray for the repose of the soul of Bernice Muller.

 

Remembrance – Bernice Muller - Funeral – June 21, 2019

By Arlene B. Muller

My Mom’s role model was St. Therese of Lisieux.  When Mom was a child attending St. Pancras School, she was told about her, given holy pictures of her and was immediately drawn to love and emulate her.  Mom’s favorite teacher who became a lifelong family friend, Sister Miriametta Zehnter, O.P., gave Mom a very special gift when Mom was 11 years old: a picture of St. Therese with a relic of Therese’s First Holy Communion dress.  Mom has now handed down this gift to her great-grandniece, Angelica Therese, who has just turned 11 years old, whose mother—my goddaughter Alicia—named Angelica Therese to honor my Mom and her devotion to St. Therese.

St. Therese’s life and writings teach us that ordinary people can become saints by trusting and relying on JESUS with childlike faith and by continually demonstrating love for God and love for people by small acts of service and sacrificial love and overlooking insults and annoyances.  As a young woman St. Therese read 1 Corinthians 12 but did not find her spiritual gift, and then she continued on to read 1 Corinthians 13, St. Paul’s teaching on love, and exclaimed “My vocation is love!” As St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who also was inspired by St. Therese of Lisieux, said, we cannot do great things but we can do small things with great love.  This sums up my Mom’s life perfectly.

Mom initially considered becoming a Carmelite nun like St. Therese. As a high school student Mom was preparing to become a Dominican sister like several of her friends.  Sister Miriametta was going to be her sponsor and Mom was going to take the religious name Sister Ann Therese.  She longed to become a teacher and “teach the little ones”, and she would have been a gifted teacher.  But her mother, my Grandma, was an emotionally needy person and this was the late 1940s, prior to the reforms of Vatican II, when even sisters in teaching orders were not allowed to come home.  Because of Grandma’s needs Mom sacrificed her desire to become a sister and cared for my Grandma, who could be very difficult and demanding at times, tirelessly and lovingly until my Grandma died at age 88 in 1984.

Not long after Mom sacrificed her desire for religious life and the teaching profession, the LORD showed Mom that He had other plans for her by bringing my Dad into her life.  Mom and Dad fell deeply in love and were married on May 27, 1950, 46 days shy of Mom’s 21^st birthday, and they were devoted to loving and serving each other, loving and serving God, and loving and serving family and even friends they treated like family together throughout 64 years of marriage until my Dad died on August 16, 2014 at the age of 91. Mom and Dad were only able to have one child—me—and although you might not believe it by looking at me now—I was initially fragile and underweight, and Mom never stopped her concern for me even when our roles became reversed and I became one of her 3 caregivers when she was in her late 80s and I was in my 60s.  I could ask for no better mother and no better friend than my Mom! She loved me deeply, took wonderful care of me, worried about me, taught me, helped me with homework, gave me the freedom to pursue my career goals and ministries, and was always my closest confidant, encourager and cheerleader.  If given the opportunities Mom could have become a gifted teacher, writer and singer, and I feel sad that she never had the chance to fulfill her potential, but she joyfully accepted her role as full time homemaker mother and caregiver for other family members and made use of her gifts in little ways, like writing poems for people’s birthdays and singing hymns while ironing as well as in the congregation at Mass, became a wonderful cook and baker, and encouraged me to fulfill my potential in my work and my Church ministries.

After Grandma died Mom became a Special Minister of Holy Communion, and my Dad became one a few years later.  Together they distributed Holy Communion at Sunday Mass at St. Pancras and brought Holy Communion to shut ins for over 20 years.  Mom found great joy when a community of Discalced Carmelites moved into a nearby monastery.  For several years Mom and Dad attended a 7:30AM weekday Mass at the Carmelite monastery. Dad became an altar server.  Mom cooked soups and baked cakes for them.  These were joyful, fruitful years for them.

Several years ago my Mom had a dream in which Our LORD JESUS appeared and asked for help in suffering for the sins of the world and asked her to agree to suffer “in many small ways”.  I later told Mom she should have asked the LORD to define His terms, because her suffering seemed to become a lot worse than we could have expected.  Initially it was a pain in her shoulder that began on Ash Wednesday and ended on Good Friday.  Then Mom developed back pain for which cortisone injections provided little help.  We don’t know when Mom developed breast cancer because she had stopped having mammograms at age 80. But Mom’s pelvic fracture in March 2015 without a fall was suspicious, on May 31, 2016 a CAT scan revealed cancer in the bones of her spine and pelvis, and in June 2016 Mom was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer that had metastasized to her bones.  After hospitalization and rehab Mom required 24/7 care at home, and, thank God He brought Mom’s devoted aides, Mary & Bernadette, into our lives.  Miraculously Mom lived 3 years past a stage 4 cancer diagnosis and even rallied from an ankle fracture in 2018 after rehab at Dry Harbor and walked with her walker better than ever.  However, suddenly a few weeks ago Mom took a turn for the worse and a CAT scan showed greater metastasis in her bones. These last 3 weeks Mom became increasingly weak, and in the last few days of her life Mom was hospitalized and suffered from a fractured left femur, a UTI, pneumonia, an infection in her blood, and swollen hands, arms, legs and feet filled with fluid.  Her arms and hands were bruised and stuck with many needles from numerous blood tests and attempts to keep in her IV so she could get antibiotics and other medication.  She could not eat or drink because she had been aspirating food and fluids.  Therefore, she was unable to receive Holy Communion, but it seemed likely that soon she would be feasting on the Heavenly Banquet.  During her last hour of life Mom struggled for each breath, even with at least 7 liters of oxygen administered through an oxygen mask, as Mary held up her head and I stroked her arm and we both spoke lovingly to her until she stopped breathing and was pronounced dead.

I have serious struggles with Mom having to suffer as much.  In my human nature I feel that a woman who devoted her life to loving service of God and others should have had little or no suffering.  But I also see a parallel between Mom’s final agony as her hands were pierced and she gasped for each breath with the final agony of Our LORD JESUS in His death on the cross.  Like St. Therese and other saints my Mom was being conformed to CHRIST in His Passion.

But just as the cross was not the end for CHRIST, Mom’s suffering and death are not the end of Mom. My Mom has passed from death to eternal life and is with the LORD, with Our Lady, with her model, St. Therese of Lisieux, and with my Dad and other family members and friends who have gone before us marked with the sign of faith.  Since God has promised in Romans 5:1-5 that hope will not leave us disappointed, I am hoping that Mom could now tell us that all she suffered was all worth it because of the joy she has now.  Though I cannot physically see Mom’s face, hear her voice or touch her, Mom is not gone. Those we love who are in heaven are never really far from us because love never dies, and the intimate bond between us is not broken. Although in a different way we cannot fully comprehend, Mom lives forever in heaven and in our hearts.

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.