What is a Deacon?
from a newly ordained deacon!
WWII Movies
I am always excited when a new war movie is released in cinemas. As a former History teacher, a movie on the events of World War II like Saving Private Ryan (1998), Pearl Harbour (2001) or Fury (2014) offers a visual aid in the classroom for students learning about the Allied war efforts, D-Day in 1944 or the war in the Pacific. Plus, there is something thrilling about battle charges, explosions and gunfire which engages the mind of a young student. Hacksaw Ridge, directed by Mel Gibson and released in 2016, portrayed the American war effort against the Japanese in World War II including the Battle of Okinawa. The movie could also offer students in Religion class a powerful example of sacrifice and service based on Christian values. Hacksaw Ridge is based on a true story of Private Desmond T. Doss, played by Andrew Garfield, who won the Congressional Medal of Honour despite refusing to carry a firearm in battle on religious grounds. Not only is this an excellent historical movie, it captures the courage, selflessness and compassion of a man with strongly held Christian values. These qualities are also essential in the life and ministry of a deacon and priest.
“The first to serve”
The word “deacon” is synonymous with “servant”, “service” and “ministry”. The US Marines have a motto “The first to fight”. In the case of a deacon the motto could be “The first to serve”. Deacons are usually married men who with the permission of their wives commit their lives to proclaiming the Gospel, serving the altar, and working in various ministries within a parish or diocese as official ministers of the Church. Although for those to be ordained priests, the ordination to the diaconate signifies the beginning of the final stage in the preparation for priesthood. However, unlike the permanent deacon who is married, the deacon preparing for priesthood will make the promise of celibacy. The office of deacon is far more than just another milestone on the road to priesthood. Usually a candidate for priesthood will serve as a deacon for one year during which he will complete his theological studies or minister in a parish before his priestly ordination. At the diaconate ordination the candidate receives a new identity, as a servant of Christ and the Church. While he will proceed to priestly ordination, in some sense he retains that diaconal identity for he will always be at the service of the People of God, following the example of Jesus the Servant: “I have not come to be served but to serve” (Mk 10:45).
Going the extra mile
Jesus is the diakonos, the servant of all and he explains that the one wishing to be “first” in God’s kingdom must be or become “servant of all” (c.f. Mark 9: 35). Service is at the heart of all discipleship and especially in the ministry of a deacon and priest. In Hacksaw Ridge, Private Doss was ridiculed and isolated by fellow soldiers as the odd-one-out for his pacifist stance. However, he earns respect and admiration when he takes that role as “servant of all” on the battlefield, saving many of his comrades, treating their wounds under heavy enemy fire and bringing them to safety for further medical attention. He relentlessly returns to the battlefield to save another comrade, repeating his mantra of perseverance: “Just one more” – to save one more life! Ministers of the Church are also called to go beyond their comfort zone and continually go that extra mile.
The diaconia of Jesus
A deacon is called to configure his life to Jesus the Servant who emptied himself by suffering on the cross, giving his “life as a ransom for many” (c.f. Mark 10:45). Jesus “lays down [his] life” (John 10:15) in perfect love and obedience to the Father and for the world’s salvation. Jesus anticipates the total, self-emptying gift of his life through the symbolic act of the washing of the disciples’ feet at the Last Supper. Jesus summons his disciples to put this kind of love into practice by giving them the commandment of love and instructing them “to wash one another’s feet” (John 13:14). A deacon shares in the diaconia or service of Jesus.
“Servant of all”
According to the Code of Canon Law, deacons are “empowered to serve the people of God in the ministries of the liturgy, the word and charity” (c.1009 §3). During the ordination of a deacon the bishop instructs the candidate that he will “make himself servant of all”. As a minister of the altar, the deacon will proclaim the Gospel, prepare the altar for the Eucharist, and give the Lord’s body and blood to the community of believers. The deacon’s duties will involve presiding over public prayer, baptizing, assisting at and blessing marriages, giving viaticum to the dying, and leading the rites of burial.
Gift and sacrifice
The same Christian faith which inspired Private Doss’ pacifist view also empowered him to sacrifice himself in serving his country and saving his wounded comrades. Similarly, the deacon commits himself to sharing in Jesus’ self-giving through loving service to the Church and in total fidelity to God, before he embraces the gift of priesthood.
Barry White is a deacon of the Diocese of Meath who was ordained on the 14th August 2021 in St Mary’s Church, Navan. He continues his studies in Canon Law in the Catholic University of Leuven.