We have a Deacon!

     This week I received a letter from Bishop Rhoades assigning Deacon Paul Stoyell-Mulholland to our parish. I am grateful to Deacon Paul and his wife Barbara for accepting to serve at our parish. We welcome them to St. Thérèse, Little Flower and wish them many blessings as they serve our parish. Those who experienced the ministry of Deacon Greg Gehred would already be familiar with the ministry of a deacon. But I am aware not many of our parishioners know who a deacon is and what they can and cannot do. Let me explain:

Who is a deacon?

     A deacon is an ordained clergy who has received the sacrament of Holy Orders. Holy Orders is “holy” because it has a sacred character and is “ordered” because it is structured, tiered with increasing levels of responsibility. For instance, a deacon can preach and baptize, but cannot offer Mass or hear confessions; a priest can offer Mass and hear confessions, but cannot ordain; a bishop can ordain, and perform every priestly function because he possesses the fullness of Holy Orders. These ministries give “holy order” to the Church.

     The above sums up the three degrees of the sacrament of Orders. Bishops, as successors of the apostles, enjoy the fullness of the sacrament. They occupy the third degree of the sacrament of Holy Orders. Priests occupy the second degree of the sacrament of Holy Orders. They are collaborators with the bishops, and like bishops, are configured to Christ the head. They share in the offices of teaching, sanctifying and governing the people of God. For their part, deacons occupy the first degree of the sacrament of Holy Orders and are configured to Christ the servant. 

     A deacon could either be transitional or permanent. A transitional deacon is a seminarian training to become a priest. Ordination to the diaconate is the step before being ordained to the priesthood. On the other hand, a permanent deacon is not necessarily on the path to becoming a priest. He may be either single or married and could take up secular employment. Deacon Paul is a permanent deacon. 

     A deacon is not like other liturgical ministers like altar servers, extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion or lectors. Whereas these are commissioned to function in these capacities, a deacon is ordained by a bishop. An altar server or lector may rescind their commission and no longer serve as such. A deacon, because he is permanently configured to Christ the servant by the sacrament of Holy Orders, cannot rescind his ordination. He may decide not to exercise this ministry, but the sacrament of Holy Orders validly received cannot be undone. 

     A deacon’s ministry is tripartite in nature: Word, Liturgy and Charity. A deacon assists in the proclamation of the Gospel, preaching, leading the universal prayer at Mass, preparing the altar for the liturgy of the Eucharist, the distribution of Holy Communion and in the ministry to the poor as described in Acts 6:1–6. 

What can deacons do?

     Certain sacraments are reserved for bishops or priests and some others are shared with deacons as the ordinary ministers. A deacon can baptize, witness marriages (with delegation from the proper pastor), preach during a liturgical celebration, expose the Blessed Sacrament for adoration and bless the people with it, distribute Holy Communion (but cannot consecrate it), and conduct funerals. Deacons have the power to impart many (but not all) types of blessing in accord with the liturgical books. 

What can a deacon not do?

     A deacon, because he is not a priest, cannot celebrate Mass or consecrate bread and wine to become the Body and Blood of Christ.  He cannot hear confession or absolve anyone of sins. A deacon cannot administer the anointing of the sick. These are reserved to priests as the ordinary ministers.

     Finally, the above in no way exhausts who a deacon is and what this ministry entails. However, it gives some picture of the things our deacon, Paul, would be doing here at our parish. He will be a great help to me in sharing the pastoral responsibilities and I look forward to getting to know him and his family better and benefiting from his ministry. I ask that you all make them welcome. 

With blessings from my heart,

Fr. Julius