This Sunday Bishop Noonan will celebrate the 11:30 Mass and confer the sacrament of Confirmation. Deacon Walt will assist him as Deacon at the Mass and will also preach at the Saturday 5 p.m. Mass. As you know, when Deacon Walt is occupied at two of the Masses it is usually Deacon John Gravois who preaches at the other two Masses, giving me a weekend off. However, Deacon John is going to step back for a time to follow up on the care of his heart, which is not a new problem. We expect to see him and Martha at Mass from time to time (although they are now in a new home in Deland) but he will not have to keep to a schedule. Please pray that he will soon be restored to full health and activity. Meanwhile we will have the help of Deacon Joe Gassman who will preach today at 7:30 and 9 a.m. Deacon Joe has recently moved from Brevard County to become Director of the Permanent Diaconate Office of the Diocese and he has kindly offered to assist us with homilies when needed. Please welcome him and his wife Judy.
We were reminded of the importance of the ministry of deacons in the first reading last week (Acts of the Apostles 6: 1-7) which described the establishment of the diaconate, the order of deacons, in the Church. The context is Jerusalem in the months after the Ascension, when the twelve apostles had the joy of seeing many new people, both former Jews (Hebrews) and former Greek-speaking pagans (Hellenists), joining the Christian faith. The reading records a little argument between the Hellenists and the Hebrews about how much their people were getting at the dally distribution of food to the needy. This made the apostles realize that they were neglecting their spiritual duties because they were giving so much time to administration, and so they chose seven men “filled with the Spirit and wisdom” and ordained them to the ministry of service (
diakonia in Greek) in order to free the apostles for their main task of “prayer and the ministry of the word”.
Deacons quickly became an important part of the structure of the early Church and were even identified as leaders by the enemies of Christianity. It was not long before the first deacon, Stephen, was arrested and stoned to death; and in the third century Lawrence, who was in charge of the Pope’s treasury and care of the poor of Rome, also met a gruesome martyr’s death. Over the centuries, however, this ministry of permanent deacons was lost, so that for years the only men ordained as deacons were seminarians in the last stages of preparation for priestly ordination. It was Pope Paul VI who restored the permanent diaconate, that is the practice of ordaining as deacons men (single and married) to serve the Church who were not candidates for priestly orders; a few dioceses have chosen not to have permanent deacons but the Diocese of Orlando has had such men working in the parishes for nearly forty years and they have been a huge support to the priests.
The ministry of the deacon in the Catholic Church is described as one of service in three areas: the Word, the Liturgy and Charity. The deacon's ministry of the Word includes proclaiming the Gospel during Mass, preaching and teaching (for example, Deacon Walt runs the program for parents who want to have their children baptized). His liturgical ministry includes various parts of the Mass proper to the deacon, including being an ordinary minister of Holy Communion and the proper minister of the chalice when Holy Communion is administered under both kinds. The ministry of charity, going back to the origins, involves service to the poor and marginalized and working with parishioners to help them become more involved in such ministry. Deacons, like priests and bishops, are ordinary ministers of the sacrament of
Baptism and can serve as the Church's witness at the sacrament of Holy Matrimony (except when there is a Nuptial Mass). Deacons may preside at funeral rites not involving a Mass (e.g. in the funeral home or at the graveside) and can give
Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. They cannot hear confession and give absolution, anoint the sick, or celebrate Mass because those are sacraments specifically reserved to priests, but deacons have a very worthwhile ministry and we certainly appreciate their service.