Gulf Pine Catholic

Gulf Pine Catholic

•

July 28, 2017

Sacred Order of Deacons ‘a visible sign of the

Church’s service to the local Christian Community’

Deacon Gayden Harper preaches the Gospel at Our Lady of Victories Church

in Pascagoula.

DIOCESE OF BILOXI -- Permanent dea-

cons serve a vital role in the Church. “In the

Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, the

Second Vatican Council reestablished the dia-

conate as a ‘proper and permanent rank of the

hierarchy.’ The Sacred Order of Deacons is a

visible sign of the Church’s service to the local

Christian Community,” said Deacon Gayden

Harper, diocesan director of Pastoral Services.

“Our ministry of Word, Liturgy and Charity/

Justice is linked directly to the missionary

dimension of the Church. Priests and deacons

are seen as complementary but subordinate par-

ticipants in one apostolic ministry bestowed by

Christ upon the Apostles, with Peter as their

head, and continued through their successors,

the bishops, in union with the Roman Pontiff.”

According to the United States Conference

of Catholic Bishops, a deacon is an ordained

minister of the Catholic Church. There are three

groups, or “orders,” of ordained ministers in the

Church: bishops, presbyters and deacons.

Deacons are ordained as a sacramental sign to

the Church and to the world of Christ, who

came “to serve and not to be served.”

The entire Church is called by Christ to serve, and

the deacon, in virtue of his sacramental ordination and

through his various ministries, is to be a servant in a

servant-Church.

All ordained ministers in the Church are called to

functions of Word, Sacrament, and Charity, but bish-

ops, presbyters and deacons exercise these functions in

various ways. As ministers of Word, deacons proclaim

the Gospel, preach, and teach in the name of the

Church. As ministers of Sacrament, deacons baptize,

lead the faithful in prayer, witness marriages, and con-

duct wake and funeral services. As ministers of Charity,

deacons are leaders in identifying the needs of others,

then marshaling the Church’s resources to meet those

needs. Deacons are also dedicated to eliminating the

injustices or inequities that cause such needs. But no

matter what specific functions a deacon performs, they

flow from his sacramental identity. In other words, it is

not only WHAT a deacon does, but WHO a deacon is,

that is important.

“The Fathers of Vatican Council II stated, ‘In her

whole being and in all her members, the Church is sent

to announce, bear witness, make present, and spread

the mystery of the Communion of the Holy Trinity.’

This missionary mandate is the obligation and sacred

right of the Church,” Deacon Harper said. “As minis-

ters of charity and justice, the deacons of the Biloxi

Diocese are responding to this missionary mandate of

the Church Fathers. The Deacon Community leads the

Prison Ministry in the Biloxi Diocese, with 18 deacons

serving the 12 adult and juvenile detention facilities,

jails, and prisons of the diocese.”

The formation period of this proposed class would

begin in September 2018 and conclude June 2022.

During the first year, the class would attend 8 hours of

classroom on the third Saturday of each month. During

years 2-4, the class would attend classroom sessions on

the third weekend of each month, Friday evening

through Sunday. The 4-year program consists of

approximately 750 hours of classroom and field forma-

tion prior to conferral of Holy Orders, periodic Deacon

Board review and concurrence by the Bishop of Biloxi.

There are currently 39 active deacons in the Diocese

of Biloxi and 9 men are currently studying to be

ordained to the permanent diacon-

ate in 2019.

Requirements:

“Ideally, it is preferable (but not

mandatory) that applicants be

between the ages of 35-55,

although the upper age can be

waived with good cause,” Deacon

Harper said.

“The applicant, if married,

should have a stable marriage

within the Church of no less than

five years, employed, and a visibly

active member of parish life within

a parish of the Biloxi Diocese for a

period of five years. He should

have the ability to comprehend

academic studies at the college

graduate level, be willing to dis-

cern the theological understanding

of diaconal ministry and develop a

specific spirituality which flows

from the theological understand-

ing.”

Deacon Harper said wives play a crucial role in the

formation process. “This importance cannot be over

stated. Marriage requires an interpersonal giving of

self, a mutual fidelity, a source and openness to new

life, and a support in times of joy and sorrow. Lived in

faith, this ministry within the domestic Church is a sign

to the entire Church of the love of Christ and forms the

framework of the married deacon’s unique gift within

the Church,” he said.

“The deacon and his wife must be a living example

of fidelity and indissolubility in Christian marriage. A

deacon and his wife, both as a spiritual man and woman

and as a couple, have much to share with the bishop and

his priests about the Sacrament of Matrimony. A dia-

conal family also brings a unique presence and under-

standing of the domestic family.”

For those reasons, attendance at one of the informa-

tional sessions is mandatory not only for husbands, but

also for their wives. It is also imperative for anyone

who is interested to discuss with his pastor.

For more information, call the Diocese of Biloxi

Office of Pastoral Services at (228) 702-2107.

Pray for an increase of vocations to the priesthood,

to the diaconate, and to the religious life, especially

in the Diocese of Biloxi