Florida Catholic | Bishop Barbarito's Column

Live the word in your heart

Homily on the occasion of the permanent diaconate ordination, Cathedral of St. Ignatius Loyola, Sept. 8

SEPTEMBER 28, 2007

Today is a very happy one for our diocese.

We celebrate the ordination to the sacred order of deacon of four fine men — Andrew (Plucinski), Robert (Pope), William (Watzek) and George (White) — who will carry out their ministry in our parishes and diocese. They will proclaim the word of God by their teaching and preaching, but most especially by the example of their lives. They have prepared for this day by much study, prayer and many hours of formal classes.

"Look always to Mary, and she will point you to Christ whom you will announce and proclaim."

We are grateful to them for their willingness to take up this role in the life of the church. We are grateful to their wives and families for their support and sacrifices as they also participate in this work. I want to express deep gratitude to Deacon Denis Demes for his dedication and competence in directing the program of deacon formation. I also thank all those involved in these men’s formation and the seminary of St. Vincent de Paul for their invaluable assistance. We are blessed in our diocese with an extraordinary program of diaconal formation and our ordindands today are testimony of it.

Today is also a most fitting occasion to celebrate this ordination to the diaconate. It is the feast of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary who is truly a model for all vocations and ministries within the church. The church only celebrates three birthdays during the liturgical year — that of the Lord himself, that of St. John the Baptist and that of our Blessed Mother. All other feasts of saints commemorate their deaths, not their births. Mary’s primary role in the life of her son and of the church is recognized from the moment of her own conception in the womb of her mother, Anne.

Legend portrays the announcing of Mary’s conception, similar to that of Jesus and John the Baptist, through an angelic appearance announcing her birth. There is also legend surrounding her presentation in the Temple after her birth in accord with the Jewish law. Aside from that of Christ, Mary’s presentation is the only one celebrated each year in the liturgical calendar. These distinctions enshrine Mary in a unique manner and underline her primary role in the life of the church. In that role, she stands as a model of diaconal ministry to you, my brothers, as you are ordained on the feast of her birth.

Often in medieval art, when the angel Gabriel appears to Mary announcing that she is to be the mother of the Lord, he is portrayed as a deacon. Vested in an alb and deacon stole, and sometimes wearing a dalmatic, the angel brings the message to Mary of her unique role as the mother of God and Savior of humankind. Especially in the art of the Netherlands, these scenes have a eucharistic theme with a table present that represents an altar, and Mary, herself, evoking the image of a tabernacle, holding the real presence of Christ. The “deacon angel” announces, in this depiction of the ministry of the altar, that Mary is to be the bearer of the Word.

This scene of Mary and the deacon is most significant to you four men today as you become bearers of the Word through your willingness to conceive that Word within you through sacred ordination. You will, like the “angel deacon,” announce the Word but, most especially, you will hold it within yourselves and, like Mary, that will be your most important role.

Mary’s unique role was not in being the physical mother of Christ but in living, within the depths of her being, the message of her son. Thus, when a woman says to the Lord, “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that fed you” (Lk 11:27), the Lord emphatically replies, “No, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it” (Lk 11:28). Again, when someone approaches Jesus to tell him that his mother is nearby, the Lord responds, “Whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my … mother” (Mt 12:50).

Mary lived the word fully. This is her greatness. She kept it within her heart and, without ever preaching a word, was and always will be the most powerful preacher of the Gospel. John the Baptist’s preaching paled next to Mary’s silent proclamation!

My brother deacons to be and all my brother deacons, look at the “angel deacon” in the depiction of the Annunciation and then look to Mary. His role is to point to Mary who points to her son. He announces a message. Mary lives the message fully. The deacon’s proclamation of the word of God is only effective when it is lived as in Mary’s life and example. Your proclamation must be Marian — it must be lived in the depth of your being, touching all the aspects of your lives from you families to your occupations.

We all realize, from the beginning, that we will do our best but fail miserably at this. This is where another example of Mary’s life stands before us — we all rely on the grace of God which we do not earn or deserve. Mary accepted humbly from God a grace she did not merit — being the mother of God. We, too, humbly accept from God a grace we do not merit — holy orders. We do our best and realize it all depends on his grace and goodness. Like Mary, we strive to put Christ first and realize it is not about us but about him. It is not our ministry, it is Christ’s. Mary’s Magnificat echoes the joy that comes from this manner of living. “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord … He has looked upon his handmaid’s lowliness (Lk 1:46-48).

My brothers, you are about to undertake a unique role of service within the church. Look always to Mary, and she will point you to Christ whom you will announce and proclaim. The words I will speak to you when I hand you the Book of the Gospels today are words fully lived by Mary, who many times in the medieval depictions of the Annunciation holds the book of Scripture. “Receive the Book of the Gospels whose bearer you are. Believe what you read, teach what you believe, and practice what you teach.” Living holy orders in this manner, you will be “angel deacons” to a world so much in need of good news. You will be true bearers of the Word like Mary.

The Second Vatican Council referred to Mary as the Lord’s “associate of unique nobility” (“Lumen Gentium,” 61). May his closest associate come to the aid of the sacred ministry, which you will soon undertake with her as you are ordained as deacons for the service of the church this day, when we celebrate her birth. She will never let you down.

Return to the Diocese of Palm Beach Front Page