Another topic I plan to touch on with some regularity is the diaconate and its place in my work as well as its place in the Catholic Church. The perfect place to begin is with a question all deacons hear with some regularity: What do deacons do? I always appreciate this curiosity, which gives us a chance to share a bit of ourselves with our parishioners and gently teach them something about the Church.
With a smile, I tell the person asking that I like to answer this question by posing another question: Who are deacons? I explain that what we do as deacons flows form who we are, so it is important to start with who rather than what. We cannot talk about how we fit into our parish and diocese without thinking about that first.
Practically speaking, first, deacons are men. They are ordained and have received the Sacrament of Holy Orders. They are ordained to the Order of the Diaconate. Thus, deacons are clergy in the Catholic Church.
Our Diocesan Guidelines for Deacons adds to those basics that: “A Deacon’s identity is rooted in his faith as a follower of Jesus Christ. He is a person committed to the Gospel. In discerning the invitation of Our Savior, the Deacon comes to examine the call to ordained ministry … This is not a position of power but rather the means by which he can serve. All are called to proclaim the Gospel but a Deacon has made a formal, public vowed commitment to live as a witness. The Deacon represents the care, love, forgiveness and teaching of Holy Mother Church (Diocese of Columbus Guidelines for Deacons, p. 58).”
In addition to care, love, forgiveness and teaching, I want to add mercy to that list. The word mercy has a deep and broad meaning. Specific to deacons, through their care and love for others, they are a sign of God’s love in action, a love that reaches out to meet human needs and seeks to alleviate misery and suffering. Mercy is more than just sympathy. It is also a genuine compassion for the suffering of others that drives the deacon to take action and help those who suffer, as well as calling and leading others to make the same efforts.
Our diocesan guidelines also say: “A Deacon is a sign to the Christian community as well as the broader world. Within the Church and the world, the Deacon is a sign of commitment to the Gospel and the service it teaches. He is a sign of the Gospel and Christ’s Church in life. It is out of this identity that a Deacon serves (Guidelines, p. 58).”
These qualities point to a key role of functioning as an intermediary within the Church. A classic dictionary definition of an intermediary is someone or an organization that is neutral and acts as a go-between, facilitating communication, negotiation or a transaction between two or more parties who may otherwise struggle to connect with each other. Intermediary can also refer to something that acts as a middle step or means between two things.
These definitions point fairly well to who deacons are, but there’s more to this because of the Sacrament of Holy Orders and ordination to the diaconate. A deacon is an ordained cleric who is meant to exist both in the world of the laity as well as in the world of clergy. This is intentional on the part of the Church.
In a 2022 talk to deacons of our diocese, the Most Rev. Earl K. Fernandes, Bishop of Columbus, said to us: “Pope Paul VI described it as an ‘intermediate order’ between sacerdotal orders and the Christian faithful. Theologically, the deacon is other than the bishop and his priests, and other than the laity. While distinctly other, the deacon is nonetheless directly related to both the clergy of a higher grade, in virtue of ordination, and the laity, by virtue of not sharing in the presidency of the assembly. He stands not only in the unique position as other but is also among the People of God. (Bishop Fernandes, August 6, 2022).
I remember when I first started formation back in 2002, Deacon Tom Johnston, the Associate Director of the Diaconate Office at the time, said to us: “Everything a deacon does can be done by someone else.” It surprised me to hear him say that, and it was definitely food for thought and prayer. Think about that for a moment. Everything a deacon does can be done by someone else. So, we’re not needed for what we can do.
Knowing this, the Church, in her wisdom, still has the order of the diaconate for a special reason, and it’s that otherness that Bishop Fernandes cited that shows the why of the diaconate. Ordained men set aside for a wonderfully unique and powerful purpose: intermediaries among all God’s people called and striving to be both agents of and shining examples of service, care, love, mercy and more who inspire and lead others to service in Jesus Christ.
That is the essence of the who of deacons – their being – and the vocation of the diaconate. From that flows much, much more that I will describe from time to time in future columns.