Deacons Continue the Diaconate of Jesus

The Diocese of Winona-Rochester's newest permanent deacons (pictured with Bishop John M. Quinn) were ordained in August of 2020.

By DEACON ROBERT YERHOT

Deacons are emissaries of God the Father as heralds of the Gospel and continue the diaconate of Jesus the Deacon in the local Church. What are essential aspects of Jesus’ ministry to which deacons are called?

Jesus was sent by the Father into the world yet He remained united and obedient to His Father at all times. Jesus was always contemplating the Father and was faithful in fulfilling His will. Contemplative prayer was a foundational aspect of the diaconate of Jesus. Deacons are called to become deeply immersed into Trinitarian life, which means they must become men of contemplative prayer. The primary vocation of a deacon is to be an icon of Jesus at prayer. This aspect of a deacon’s identity and mission cannot be overstated, and it runs contrary to many misconceptions about the diaconate. The world must clearly see Jesus at prayer when a deacon prays. It must see a man who is attentive and listening to the voice of God within him. The contemplative character of a deacon’s life must be evident when he is assisting at Mass, praying the Divine Office, making a holy hour, and in his active ministry.

A second aspect of the diaconate of Jesus flowed, without contradiction or confusion, from the first: Jesus was sent as an emissary of the Father to suffering humanity, especially the poor and the sick, the ignorant and the hopeless. Like Jesus, deacons, then, must be present to people in need. There is no room for loneliness or isolation in the life of a deacon. He must be permanently available to God’s people. He cannot hide or run, but must humbly stand at the Cross of Christ seen in the lives of wounded and oppressed. Deacons are to live out the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. To a deacon who neglects his prayer life, this active aspect of the diaconal vocation is often experienced as conflicted with a contemplative interior life; to a deacon who prays in a contemplative manner, it becomes a natural, integral extension.

Jesus the Deacon was prophetic and courageous and was not overcome by fear and evil. This points to a third aspect of diaconal ministry that is, I believe, being called forth in a particular way by the Holy Spirit at this time in the life of the Church, and is an urgent and needed aspect of the diaconal ministry.

Deacons must be courageous prophets, convicted by the grace of Holy Orders, and the Gospel, entrusted to them at their ordination. They must boldly proclaim and preach the Gospel and willingly suffer, even die, in doing so. This prophetic suffering is a form of martyrdom. It is not an ancillary aspect of diaconal ministry; it is a primary and necessary aspect of all men in Holy Orders, flowing from diaconal grace, prayer, and ministry to the suffering members of Christ’s Body. Every deacon must be willing to suffer the consequences of preaching and teaching the fullness of the Gospel. Those consequences may be costly. From the very beginning of the Church, deacons died assisting their bishops in proclaiming the Gospel: St. Stephen, St. Lawrence and the deacons of Pope Sixtus are examples. Deacons must be courageous in facing the fears that so many today refuse to face, fears which are fertile soil for the work of the Evil One. Jesus was not afraid to touch the leper or enter the houses of sinners, nor should deacons be! Rather, as St. John Paul II said, they must open wide their hearts to Christ in the lives of the afflicted. They bear the Gospel which all desperately want and need to hear. They must find ways of preaching it to men and women of today.

These core aspects of diaconal identity and mission are rooted in the diaconate of Jesus Christ. By his ordination, every deacon is configured to Jesus the Deacon and is sent forth to continue the work of Jesus Christ. Deacons are so necessary and needed in the Church today. Let us thank God that we have many men who have responded to the call and are now carrying on what Jesus the Deacon began as deacons in the Diocese of Winona-Rochester!

[Deacon Robert Yerhot serves the parishes of Crucifixion in La Crescent, Holy Cross in Dakota and St. Patrick in Brownsville.]