2 Things a Deacon can't do

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It all comes down to the Church (rite) as to what a deacon can and can not do.

A deacon does have a role in the Divine Liturgy/Mass but a priest is needed for the consecration.

In the Western Church, a deacon can preside at marriages as it is the couple that confers the sacrament of marriage, the priest or deacon is a witness. They can also baptize and give blessings.

In the Byzantine Churches a deacon does not preside at a marriage as it is the priest that confers the sacrament there. There are no vows shared in the Mystery of Crowning. They also do not baptize as all the Mysteries of Initiation are done at ones. An infant is baptized and chrismated (confirmed) and then recieves First Eucharist at the Divine Liturgy that follows. They also can not give blessings.
 
Can anyone here recommend some books for one who aspires to be a deacon? I already subscribed to Deacon Digest. Anything else? I have a couple of books, but I’m looking for more sources.

Warm regards,

Plato
 
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Brendan:
Sort of…a priest could say the Mass, while a deacon witnesses the Marriage. 😉

Yea, I know it’s nit picking, but it’s my hope that I would be able to witness the marriages of my nieces and nephews whenever they get married.
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That’s going to be how it will work with my son. Hubby will witness the vows, while a priest celebrates the Mass.

Brendan, I can’t wait til you are ordained! Make sure we get an invite, okey dokey? 👍
 
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Plato:
Can anyone here recommend some books for one who aspires to be a deacon? I already subscribed to Deacon Digest. Anything else? I have a couple of books, but I’m looking for more sources.
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There are several books I would recommend. First, Deacon Bill Ditewig’s 101 Questions & Answers on Deacons (Paulist Press, 2004), Theology of the Diaconate, Deacons Owen F. Cummings, William T. Ditewig, Richard R. Gaillardetz (Paulist Press, 2005), Deacons and the Church, Deacon Owen F. Cummings (Paulist Press, 2004), finally, there’s Ministry and the Family of the Permanent Deacon, Dottie Mraz, (Liturgical Press, 1997). This last one is especially good for a wife since it describes Dottie’s role as her husband discerned his call, went through formation, servged as a deacon and, finally, became the first deacon in the Diocese of Cleveland to die.

Deacon Ed
 
Deacon Ed:
There are several books I would recommend. First, Deacon Bill Ditewig’s 101 Questions & Answers on Deacons (Paulist Press, 2004), Theology of the Diaconate, Deacons Owen F. Cummings, William T. Ditewig, Richard R. Gaillardetz (Paulist Press, 2005), Deacons and the Church, Deacon Owen F. Cummings (Paulist Press, 2004), finally, there’s Ministry and the Family of the Permanent Deacon, Dottie Mraz, (Liturgical Press, 1997). This last one is especially good for a wife since it describes Dottie’s role as her husband discerned his call, went through formation, servged as a deacon and, finally, became the first deacon in the Diocese of Cleveland to die.

Deacon Ed
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Thank you Deacon Ed - 👍

Plato
 
Well, I put submitted my application for the diaconate program in my archdiocese. I have the support of my pastor and wife. Pray for me, please, that God help us all discern whether this is waht he is calling me to.

God bless to all +

Plato
 
The “functionalism” that Deacon Lansing mentioned is unfortunately quite prevalent in the US today.

Deacons are “configured to the servant Christ” who came not to be served but to serve and offer His life as a ransom for all.

To be a deacon is to be a servant of the people. The diaconate (in the Latin church) is primarily about serving others, especially the marginalized and overlooked. Liturgical and sacramental tasks flow from this service, this diaconia.

Consider: for the one hour you might see a deacon assisting at Mass, most people do not know that he has spent nine or ten hours that week bringing Holy Communion to the sick or homebound, assisting in shelters or food banks, visiting inmates in jails, counseling couples that are preparing for marriage, or teaching students or adults about the Church, for instance.

Too many people think of the diaconate as a response to the priestly shortage. That is missing the mark entirely – we need deacons more today than at any time; but not because of a shortage of priests, *but rather because we have a shortage of deacons! *

During the fourth century the presbyterate began to assume the ministries of the diaconate, eventually convincing the Church that there was not a need for the diaconate other than as a final stepping-stone to the presbyterate. In these last days, the Council Fathers saw it proper to restore the diaconate as a permanent order.

Deacons are now returning to the works of charity and service that they were originally commissioned for. Priests should welcome this, and them; for they have nothing to fear.

Men that approach the diaconate as some sort of “booby prize” or “second choice” (I can’t become a priest because I’m married, so I’ll just look into the diaconate later on) should not be accepted into formation nor promoted to Sacred Orders. Directors of diaconate formation programs and bishops are well aware of such men.

In the end, it is really this simple – if priests live their lives with fervor, prayer and diligence more men will be attracted to the priesthood. And, in similar fashion, if deacons lives their lives with fervor, prayer and diligence more men will be attracted to the diaconate as well.

The functions that a deacon performs are just a side-effect of the person he is. Diaconia is about loving others in humility.

God bless you all,
PS: Although I can’t file very well, and do not drink coffee, I can cook - and do so for the staff regularly, usually Continental cuisine.*
 
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FrCorey:
well, my deacon can’t file or make coffee at all.
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They are not faster than a speeding locomotive, but can usually outrun the parish secretary, a FAR more useful skill. :rolleyes:

And they generally can’t leap tall building in a single bound. A good running start is generally required 😉
 
well, my deacon can’t file or make coffee at all.
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😃 Hah!!! This reminds me of the time Pope John XXIII was asked “How many people work in the Vatican?” and his reply was “About half of them”
Yep… the title of this thread leaves it open to many possibilities.
 
Diaconia

I love your response as one who has recently discussed the diaconate with a priest and deacon.Service service and more service. Humility is a great cornerstone
 
A careful reading of the Book of Blessings will demonstrate that there are a few blessings which are reserved to a priest or a bishop. Examples would include the doors of a church, the sacred vessels used for Mass, an altar (consecrated only by a bishop). Generally, deacons can give blessings of people, sacramentals, etc. Usually, when a priest is present, a deacon would defer to him; e.g. when a parishioner asks for the blessing of a rosary after Mass. However, a pastor may generally prefer the parish deacon to directly handle these requests.
 
If one is to view the office functionally, Lumen Gentium #29 outlines the functions of the office
It is the duty of the deacon, according as it shall have been assigned to him by competent authority, to administer baptism solemnly, to be custodian and dispenser of the Eucharist, to assist at and bless marriages in the name of the Church, to bring Viaticum to the dying, to read the Sacred Scripture to the faithful, to instruct and exhort the people, to preside over the worship and prayer of the faithful, to administer sacramentals, to officiate at funeral and burial services.
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G&S:
A careful reading of the Book of Blessings will demonstrate that there are a few blessings which are reserved to a priest or a bishop. Examples would include the doors of a church, the sacred vessels used for Mass, an altar (consecrated only by a bishop). Generally, deacons can give blessings of people, sacramentals, etc. Usually, when a priest is present, a deacon would defer to him; e.g. when a parishioner asks for the blessing of a rosary after Mass. However, a pastor may generally prefer the parish deacon to directly handle these requests.
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I don’t believe this to be correct.

From the Catholic Encyclopedia at New Advent.com :
( newadvent.org/cathen/02599b.htm )

"The solitary case in which one inferior to a priest is empowered to bless, is where the deacon blesses the paschal candle in the ceremonies of Holy Saturday. This exception is more apparent than real. For in the instance referred to the deacon acts by way of a deputy and, moreover, employs the grains of incense already blessed by the celebrant. Priests, then, are the ordinary ministers of blessings, and this is only in the fitness of things since they are ordained, as the words of the Pontifical run: “ut quæcumque benedixerint benedicantur, et quacumque consecraverint consecrentur” (That what-ever they bless may be blessed, and whatever they consecrate shall be consecrated). "

Correct me if this is incorrect.

Thanks
Brian
 
The Book of Blessings is an official liturgical document and clearly lists the blessings a deacon may give. The Paschal Candle issue is probably an old one. As a deacon of twenty years, that’s the first I’ve heard of that one. Otherwise, for example, how could a deacon even administer baptism which requires the blessing of the water, give the nuptial blessing and bless the rings, or preside at Benediction?
 
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friarpark:
I don’t believe this to be correct.

From the Catholic Encyclopedia at New Advent.com :
( newadvent.org/cathen/02599b.htm )

"The solitary case in which one inferior to a priest is empowered to bless, is where the deacon blesses the paschal candle in the ceremonies of Holy Saturday. This exception is more apparent than real. For in the instance referred to the deacon acts by way of a deputy and, moreover, employs the grains of incense already blessed by the celebrant. Priests, then, are the ordinary ministers of blessings, and this is only in the fitness of things since they are ordained, as the words of the Pontifical run: “ut quæcumque benedixerint benedicantur, et quacumque consecraverint consecrentur” (That what-ever they bless may be blessed, and whatever they consecrate shall be consecrated). "

Correct me if this is incorrect.

Thanks
Brian
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The deacon can be an ordinary minister of the blessings of persons and sacramentals (see Lumen Gentium 29), as regulated in the Book of Blessings.

Both deacons AND priests are ‘deputies’ to the bishop in these matters and bless through his authority. If the bishop (the ‘comptetent authority’) so delegates this authority to the deacon, the deacon can bless.

It is common for Bishops to authorize the deacons to bless in the Roman Church, but not in the Eastern Churches.
 
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Brendan:
The deacon can be an ordinary minister of the blessings of persons and sacramentals (see Lumen Gentium 29), as regulated in the Book of Blessings.

Both deacons AND priests are ‘deputies’ to the bishop in these matters and bless through his authority. If the bishop (the ‘comptetent authority’) so delegates this authority to the deacon, the deacon can bless.

It is common for Bishops to authorize the deacons to bless in the Roman Church, but not in the Eastern Churches.
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Thanks for the correction. I also asked the wife of one of our deacons and she assured me that deacons can bless things such as rosaries. I didn’t have a chance to go into more detail, but I see that I was wrong earlier.

Brian
 
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