Ministry of Love and Justice (Charity)
So vital was the ministry of charity that deacons were entrusted with all the worldly assets of the Church to distribute them as necessary to the needy. One of the greatest stories that illustrate the ministry of the deacon in the ancient Church is that of St. Lawrence of Rome. Along with St Stepphen (the first Martyr) and St. Francis of Assisi, he is one of the three great deacon saints of the Western Church. Tradition tells us that St. Lawrence was roasted to death on a gridiron, and that his famous dying words were said to be, "Turn me over, I'm done on this side." But the circumatances leading up to his martyrdom tells us much about the role of the deacon.
In 257 ADE new laws were enacted in Rome against the Church. The Prefect of Rome learned that deacons were responsible for safeguarding and distributing Church assets, so he sent for Lawrence and demanded that he turn over the treasures of the Church. Lawrence asked for three days to gather the wealth. He went about the city gathering the poor and the outcast, the widows and the orphans, the sick and the homeless supported by the Christian community. He took them before the pagan Prefect and declared: "These are the treasures of the Church." Lawrence paid for these actions with his life. (today the Italians, with their characteristically ironic humor, celebrate the Feast of St. Lawrence with barbecues!)
By the end of the first millennium, the Order of Deacons had died in the Western Church. Ordination to the diaconate became a step along the read to priestly ordination, along with other ancient roles such as lector and acolyte. There were many interesting theories as to why this happened, but it is snotable that the Eastern Church retained the permanent diaconate all throughout its history. .
Even in the Western Church some still lived the life
of a deacon, such as St. Francis of Assisi, who after his ordination as a deacon, declined to be ordained a
priest, and lived as a deacon for the rest of his life.
The Council of Trent (1545-1563) ordered the restoration of the permanent diaconate but the decree was
never implemented. The restoration of the permanent diaconate by the Second Vican Council (1962-1965) was the result
of extensive theological, historical and pastoral scholarship, originating primarily in Germany, on the need to
emphasize the servant role of the Church. The leaders of this movement were a group of priests who developed their
thoughts while imprisoned in the Nazi concentration camp at Dachau. For decades they championed the restoration
of the diaconate as necessary for the full life of the Church.
Based on the extensive historical and theological work on the Order of Deacon prompted by the witness
of these priests, the Council decided to restore the permanent diaconate. While the bishop is an icon of Christ the Shepard,
and the priest is an icon of Christ the Priest, the deacon is the icon of Christ the Servant. The deacon must seek
out the poor and the outcast in the community. He ministers to their needs and brings them to the Christian Community for
continued care. To ensure that the faith community is disposed to welcome the outcast, the deacon is called to remind
the faithful of their Christian responsibility to service and justice and to assist in carrying out this responsibility.
The deacon ensures that the Church Community is a welcoming place for all. By personal service among those
on the margins of society, the deacon becomes intimately familiar with their needs as he is intimately familiar with
the Christian Community. Thus he lives in two worlds, seeking to bridge the gap between the comfortable and those in
need of comfort. To those whom society deems less then -- the poor, the immigrant, the imprisoned, the divoirced and
remarried, and all those alienated from society and the Church for what ever reason -- the deacon brings the
compassion of the Church, and to the Church Community he presents these for who God has a special and ask the community
to welcome them.
