Deacons: servants of the body of christ

Homily for the permanent diaconate ordination, Sept. 12, Cathedral of St. Ignatius Loyola

Posted: 09.14.09

Today we will ordain our brothers David, Mark, Peter and James to the diaconate for the service of the Diocese of Palm Beach. They will receive the sacrament of holy orders and join an especially fine college of deacons in our diocese in becoming servants of the people of God. They have prayed and studied for several years to prepare for this day and we are all delighted that it has arrived. We are deeply grateful to Deacon Dennis Demes, the director of our diaconate formation program, and to St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary for the fine formation they have provided for these men. We are blessed in our diocese with an extraordinary program of diaconate formation and I cannot express sufficient gratitude to Deacon Dennis and the seminary for this program, which is considered the ideal among diocesan programs. We are also very grateful to the ordinands’ wives and their families for the special role they have played in their formation and which they will continue to have in their future ministry.

These four men are to be ordained as deacons during the 25th anniversary year of our diocese. We have centered our celebration on the Eucharist as the very heart of the life of our diocese. Our soon-to-be ordained deacons will become more intimately involved with the mystery of the Eucharist, especially as they assist more closely at the altar. As ordained deacons, David, Mark, Peter and James will be ordinary ministers of the Eucharist, feeding God’s people with Christ’s body and blood. One of the questions I will ask them today in the rite of ordination is, “Are you resolved to shape your way of life always according to the example of Christ, whose body and blood you will give to the people?” The more they become ministers of the Eucharist through their personal living of the Gospel, the more effectively will they assist at the altar and minister the body and blood of Christ to others.

The Gospel proclaimed for today’s ordination Mass takes place at the celebration of the first Mass, the Last Supper. At the Last Supper, the Lord hands over his body and blood in the Eucharist. St. John recounts for us Jesus washing his apostles’ feet at the Last Supper as a sign of service that is to be imitated as coming from the Eucharist. Perhaps Jesus carried out this gesture in response to an argument which had broken out among the apostles at the Last Supper after the very institution of the Eucharist. As they frequently did, they were arguing as to which one of them was the greatest. While St. John does not mention it, St. Luke tells us of this argument, as incredible as it may seem, in his account of the Last Supper. It is likely that the apostles did not fully comprehend what Jesus had done in handing himself over in the breaking of the bread, and so Jesus tries to get them to comprehend by washing their feet.

How appropriate are the words of Jesus, as recounted by St. John, for our ordinands, who are to be servants of the Body of Christ: “Do you realize what I have done for you? You have called me ‘teacher and master’ and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so as I have done for you, you also should do” (Jn 13:12-15).

How appropriate also are the words of Jesus, as recounted by St. Luke, in regard to the apostles’ argument: “But the greatest among you be as the youngest, and the leader as the servant. But who is greater: the one seated at table or the one who serves? Is it not the one seated at table? I am among you as one who serves” (Lk 22:26-27).

The sacrifice of Jesus washing his apostles feet pales next to the sacrifice of his laying down his life and giving his body and blood to be our food in the Eucharist, which the apostles could simply not comprehend. The deacon’s service at the altar and his giving the body and blood of Christ must lead to a deeper realization of what Christ does for us in the great gift of the Eucharist. This is truly service at the altar.

My brothers to be ordained, your leading others to a deeper appreciation of the gift of the Eucharist is also united to your service at the altar through your preaching of the word. Today you will be entrusted with the privilege of proclaiming the Gospel and expounding on its meaning through your ability to preach in the name of the Church. This is a great privilege but also a great responsibility. Like your distributing the body and blood of the Lord, your most effective proclamation of the word is your living of it. The word of God must become more and more a part of your life. You must continue to reflect upon the word and the teaching of the Church so that you may effectively proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. You must preach in the manner you live, with great love and compassion, but also with conviction and clarity. You must proclaim, in the words of the title of the recent encyclical of our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, “Charity in Truth.”

Our Holy Father recounted a beautiful incident in the life of Pope Paul VI regarding the privilege of the proclamation of the Gospel. In responding to a question from a deacon during a gathering of clergy in Rome last year, the pope told how the Book of the Gospels was enthroned each day during the time of the Second Vatican Council. Pope Paul VI, so moved by this ceremony, asked those arranging the particulars if he could enthrone the Gospel himself. However, he was told that the enthronement of the Gospel was not the role of the pope but that of the deacon. Reflecting on this, he wrote in his diary the following very moving words: “But I am also a deacon, I continue being a deacon, and I would like to also experience this ministry of the diaconate, placing the word of God on its throne.”

My brothers, you are to be ordained deacons not only during our diocesan 25th anniversary centered on the Eucharist, but also during the Year for Priests. This is particularly significant as you become servants of the Eucharist. Your ministry is one that is closely associated with that of the priest, which is born from the Eucharist. In the second reading today from the Acts of the Apostles, we read how the first seven deacons were chosen in order to assist the apostles in carrying out their ministry. Your assistance to the priests of our diocese in the parishes and ministries to which you are assigned is a rich and necessary one as our priests carry out their sacramental and charitable ministries. United with them in the sacrament of holy orders, you give a unique support to priests through your ministry, which is complementary to ours as priests.

In reminiscing on the enthronement of the Gospel at the Second Vatican Council, Pope Benedict XVI reflected on how the ministry of the deacon not only complements, but emphasizes the ministry of the priest. Furthermore, the deacon and the priest are motivated by the same desire to spread the good news of Jesus Christ and so share in a common spirituality. Last month, in a letter to permanent deacons on the feast of St. Lawrence, Cardinal Claudio Hummes, the Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, stated: “To you one can equally apply what the pope has said to priests for the Year of Priests that is necessary ‘to work in favor of this pull of priest toward spiritual perfection, upon which, above all, depends the efficacy of their ministry.’”

The words of the first reading from the prophet Jeremiah today certainly have particular significance for you who are about to be ordained deacons. Jeremiah was questioning the role God had chosen for him in being a public proclaimer of God’s word. He was hesitant, doubtful and certainly fearful. However, God reminded him that he had chosen him and would remain with him despite Jeremiah’s limitations. My brothers, have no fear as you undertake your new ministry, as the Holy Spirit will be with you. Just as he was an intimate part of the choosing of the first seven deacons, he is an intimate part of your choice and your ordinations today.

In a few minutes I will ask you, “Are you willing to be ordained for the Church’s ministry by the laying on of hands in the gift of the Holy Spirit?” After the imposition of hands today, you will be ordained by the following words of the consecratory prayer: “Lord, send forth upon them the Holy Spirit that they may be strengthened by your sevenfold grace to carry out the work of the ministry.” My brothers David, Mark, Peter and James, the Holy Spirit will be with you and you have no need to be afraid. Continue to shape your lives upon the example of Christ and to grow in knowledge of his word, and you truly will be servants of the body of Christ, especially as the people of God.

My friends, pray for and support these deacons as they are ordained and begin their ministry of service. May they lead all of us, by their ministry and example, to realize more fully the great gift of the Eucharist which makes us one.

Return to the Diocese of Palm Beach Front Page