Newspaper Page Text
The Southern Cross, Page 4
Thursday, February 17, 2000
A Jubilee celebration of the permanent diaconate
By Deacon George Foster
T he National Conference of Catholic Bishops
has declared Sunday, February 20, as a day to
honor permanent deacons for their ministry to the
Church. The day of recognition corresponds to
events planned by the Congregation for the Clergy
and the International Diaconate Center.
Dario Cardinal Castrillon-Hoyos, Prefect of the
Congregation of the Clergy, wrote in his letter to
all bishops, “During this participation in the
Jubilee, special emphasis will be given to the pro
motion of the identity of the sacred order (of dea
con) and the fruitfulness of their ministry in effec
tive communion with the local and universal
Church.”
Cardinal Castrillon-Hoyos was referring to
events planned for deacons from throughout the
world in Rome during the Jubilee Days in
February. While a number of deacons will make a
pilgrimage to the Vatican for the celebration, the
vast majority will not be able to make the trip,
thus prompting the request for recognition on the
diocesan and local level for all deacons.
In the Diocese of Savannah there are currently
28 deacons in active ministry, and six have retired.
Encouraging all bishops to acknowledge the min
istry of the deacons, Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas, the
Chairman of the Bishops’ Committee on the
Diaconate, wrote to the United States bishops,
“There is no substitute for your personal involve
ment in whatever way these faithful and faith-
filled deacons are affirmed for making visible, in a
special way, the servant ministry of the Church.
This is certainly a ministry to celebrate this
Jubilee year.”
The diaconate has its roots in the earliest days of
the Church. From the Greek word diakonia, which
means service, those chosen became an integral
part of the ministry of the Church. The need for
such an office developed very early in the
Christian Church.
In Saint Luke’s writings about the early Chris
tian community we see a communal existence—
people coming together as followers of Our Lord.
They were called “The People of the Way,” and it
became necessary to appoint those who would
assist in looking after the poor.
The Jewish Christian community in Jerusalem
after Jesus’ resurrection was made up of
Palestinian Jews who spoke Greek (thus the
Hellenistic influence), and those who primarily
spoke Hebrew or Aramaic. As related in Acts 6:1-
6, the Hellenistic complained that the Hebrews
were neglecting the Hellenistic widows in the
daily distribution of food. The Twelve proposed
the election of the Seven to the whole assembly of
disciples. The reason the twelve gave is that it
would not be right for them to give up preaching
the word of God to serve tables. The Seven then
were chosen by the Church to be of service and
commissioned for the work by the Twelve with
prayer and the laying on of hands (ordination).
In June of 1967, Pope Paul VI issued the first
norms for the reinstitution of the permanent dia
conate in the Latin Church. And on August 15,
1972, the Apostolic Letter Ad pascendum clarified
the conditions for admission and ordination of
candidates to the diaconate.
Since that time over 12,000 men have been
ordained to the Permanent Diaconate in the United
States. The diaconate is an office of service—an
office of charity. The greatest example of this is
found in the Gospel according to John, chapter
13. This chapter deals with the Last Supper and
the washing of the feet of the Apostles. In verses
12 through 16, our Lord said to them, “Do you
understand what I have done to you? You call me
Master and Lord, and rightly: so I am. If I, then,
the Lord and Master have washed your feet, you
should wash each other’s feet. I have given you an
example so that you may copy what I have done
to you.” In other words, be of charitable service to
others-—diakonia.
In our diocese, the first class of deacon candi
dates was formed in 1976, and on June 3, 1979,
17 men were ordained to the Order of Deacon by
Bishop Raymond Lessard.
By the laying on of hands and prayer, the dea
cons are commissioned to preach, baptize, per
form marriages, wakes, and funerals outside Mass,
and to conduct liturgies such as Benediction,
Novenas and communion services.
The deacon also has a very specific function
during the celebration of the Eucharist. He is to
proclaim the gospel of our Lord Jesus, recite the
prayers of reconciliation, prepare the gifts for the
celebrant, and call the people to embrace in peace
and give the dismissal. But the predominant focus
of the deacon’s ministry is service.
In May 1985, Bishop Lessard ordained the sec
ond class of men in the diaconate.
Bishop J. Kevin Boland has sent a letter to all
the deacons of the diocese thanking them for their
many years of dedicated service to the diocese and
to God’s people. In his letter he also expresses to
the spouses and children of the deacons his per
sonal gratitude, and that of the Catholic faithful of
the diocese, for their support for their husbands
and fathers.
The bishop also sent a letter to all the priests of
the diocese to express publicly to their congrega
tions what a positive impact the deacons have
made over these past 20 years of dedicated dia-
conal ministry to the diocese, and encouraged
them to publicly recognize deacons for that ser
vice.
Currently there are 17 men studying for the dia
conate. The formation period leading to ordination
is four years.
Deacon George Foster is Director of the Office
of the Permanent Diaconate for the Diocese of
Savannah.
Life Notes: Project Rachel
A business card for God
By Donna Hunt
have an active imagination. My
husband claims it is overactive,
which causes me to have some very
unusual thoughts. The latest was
“Does God carry a business card?”
At first I thought this was just a
silly notion, but the more I reflected
on it, the more I realized that it was
not so silly. We are God’s business
card. Every time we encounter
another person, we are passing on
his card. The question is how effec
tive are you as God’s representa
tive. Do those you encounter keep
God’s business card, or toss it
away? A business card contains
information on the who, what and
where of a business. As God’s busi
ness card, we must know the who,
what and where of his business. Are
you prepared to explain our faith or
help someone in need at any
moment?
I realized that I cannot help
everyone I meet, but I can get them
in contact with someone who can. I
keep a business card with the tele
phone numbers of our Christian
outreach, Crisis Pregnancy Center
(CPC) and Project Rachel, a
Catholic post-abortion outreach and
a host of other agencies. I do this
now because I found myself in a
situation that I was not prepared for,
and therefore not a good representa
tive for God. I was in a doctor’s
office when I heard a woman ask
for her medical records so she could
go to an abortion center. The
woman was nearly hysterical and
would not listen to me or any one
else in the office. I only wished that
I had the telephone numbers for the
CPC in our area handy. She would
not sit still until we looked one up.
A few weeks ago I was at a meet
ing. Over lunch a woman had said
her Catholic granddaughter had an
abortion and the grandmother said
she wished she knew of a someone
to help her. This time I was ready
and gave her the Project Rachel
number. I do not know if she ever
called, but to paraphrase Mother
Teresa, our job is not to be success
ful but to be faithful. Are you a
faithful “business card”?
If you .would like a Project Rachel
business card and information,
please send a self-addressed
stamped envelope to Donna Hunt,
P. O. Box 288, Bonaire, GA 31005,
or put the Project Rachel number in
your wallet along with the numbers
of other outreach programs in your
area. The Project Rachel number is
1-800-706-8586.
Donna Hunt is a member of
Sacred Heart Parish, Warner
Robins.
MONASTIC
EXPERIENCE
Vocation Retreat
An opportunity to explore Benedictine monastic life
March 10-12, 2000
Saint Bernard Abbey, Cullman, Alabama
No cost. No obligation.
For information or registration, contact:
Vocation Director, St. Bernard Abbey,
Cullman, Alabama 35055
Telephone: (256) 734-8291, ext. 144