By Deacon Anthony Gooley
THE Directory for the Ministry and Life of Deacons (23) says that, “The principal function of the deacon … is to collaborate with the bishop and the priests in the exercise of a ministry which is not of their own wisdom but of the word of God, calling all to conversion and holiness.”
Bishops, priests and deacons are calling every woman and man to the same kind of holiness we have recently celebrated in the canonisations of Popes John XXIII and John Paul II.
That is one of the great insights from the Second Vatican Council: that every Christian is called to the exact same holiness.
Holiness is not a job for holiness experts but ordinary folk like you and me.
There are far more saints in the Church who have never been canonised than there are canonised ones.
In your own parish you may attend Mass with one of them.
When we look back over the history of the saints many of them were people with faults and failings just like us but they manifested holiness worth imitating in spite of this.
Priests, bishops and deacons are in need of seeking holiness and the mercy of God no less than anyone else in the Church.
Some of them are great saints and some great sinners but if they are true to their vocation they will find holiness.
Like priests, deacons are commended to all by their conduct, their preaching of the mystery of Christ, by transmitting Christian doctrine and by devoting attention to the problems of our time (23). That is, they are not commended to all simply because they are ordained, but by the ministry of the Word to which they are called to be faithful.
They have the Word of the Lord to hand on and not their own word.
A deacon “prepares for such a ministry by careful study of Sacred Scripture, of Tradition, of the liturgy and of the life of the Church”.
Some of this preparation will happen during initial formation, when he undertakes a degree in theology along with formation in prayer, pastoral ministry and his own human formation.
All clergy are called to ongoing formation on a daily basis.
The careful study, which is referred to in Directory 23, means continuous pondering on the sources of faith and holiness.
Deacons should feast on and ruminate on the Holy Scriptures each day and study the Holy Tradition in which is handed on the catholic and apostolic faith in which he hopes to be formed and to form others.
Transmission of Christian doctrine is not just handing on some static truths and phrases from the catechism but being deeply aware that he stands within a tradition of handing on faith that takes us back all the way to Abraham, our Father in faith.
It is as if he stands in the midst of a flowing stream of Holy Tradition which reaches him from its source and flows on past him, giving life and energy to others.
The Gospel is proclaimed in the midst of the hopes and anxieties of women and men of our time. Jesus remains for us a Living Word who speaks to the problems of our time.
Clergy need to be attentive to these times so that the Gospel can shed light and help us find holiness in the midst of this world’s concerns.
At his episcopal ordination the deacon holds the Book of Gospels over the head of the man to be ordained a bishop reminding him that he is under the authority of Christ who is the only head of the Church.
It is a sign to the Church that we are all under that same obedience of faith which claims a hold on the bishop.
The sacred deposit of revelation is found in Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition.
“In interpreting and applying the sacred deposit, the deacon is obliged to be directed by the Magisterium of those who are ‘witnesses of divine and Catholic truth’, the Roman Pontiff and the bishops in communion with him, so as to teach and propose the mystery of Christ fully and faithfully.” (23)
Magisterium means, today, the teaching authority of the bishops collectively.
Catholics believe that the fullness of the apostolic authority and therefore the authentic interpretation of revelation is a function handed on in the ministry of bishops.
Individual bishops, including popes, who are Bishops of Rome, can and have erred in faith, in witness to the moral life and in the use of authority as a power to dominate others, all contrary to the Gospel.
What we believe therefore is that to the Order of Bishops is granted this authentic authority and apostolic ministry.
It is a ministry which the Church can never lose because it is willed by Christ as part of the essential constitution of the Church.
In their preaching and teaching, therefore, deacons need to hand on what has been handed on by the Order of Bishops as the authentic Catholic faith.
Clergy are not handing on their own speculations or personal faith journey or struggles, but the faith of the Catholic Church, when they act in their public ministry of preaching and teaching.
Like all Catholics, in their private life, there is a personal journey of faith with its share of doubts and questions, but that is not public ministry.
They are issuing a call of conversion to Christ and his Gospel.
In following the way of the Gospel is to be found holiness for every person. In the authentic Catholic faith and the celebration of sacraments are found the tools for holiness.
Holiness is about being transformed into the image of Christ who is the teacher of the Church. Through proclaiming Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition the deacon facilitates an encounter with Christ and his transforming word.
This encounter is not with their own wisdom, but the Living Word of God.
Rev Dr Anthony Gooley is a theologian and a deacon in the Archdiocese of Brisbane.
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