The National Directory for the Formation, Ministry, and the Life of Permanent Deacons in the United States (Ascension)

NDPD 39

National Directory for Permanent Deacons

contexts of the diaconal ministry . . . represent a unity in service at the level of divine Revelation: the ministry of the word leads to ministry at the altar, which in turn prompts the transformation of life by the lit urgy, resulting in charity.” 41 “As a [participant] in the one ecclesiastical ministry, [the deacon] is a specific sacramental sign, in the Church, of Christ the Servant. His role is to ‘express the needs and desires of the Christian communities’ and to be ‘a driving force for service, or dia konia ,’ which is an essential part of the mission of the Church.” 42 The ancient tradition appears to indicate that, because the deacon was the servant at the table of the poor, he had his distinctive liturgical roles at the Table of the Lord. Similarly, there is a reciprocal correspondence between his role as a herald of the Gospel and his role as an articulator of the needs of the Church in the Universal Prayer. The service of char ity is twofold: it is ministering to both the spiritual and physical needs of others. “This charity is both love of God and love of neighbor . . . . All around us many of our brothers and sisters live in either spiritual or material poverty or both. So many of the world’s people are oppressed by injustice and the denial of their fundamental human rights. Still others are troubled or suffer from a loss of faith in God, or are tempted to give up hope.” 43 Today especially, “the ministry of deacons is particularly valuable, since today the spiritual and material needs of man, to which the Church is called to respond, are greatly diversified.” 44 As Pope Ben edict XVI reminds us, “Charity is love received and given.” 45 The dea con thus symbolizes in his roles the grounding of the Church’s life in the Eucharist and the mission of the Church in her loving service. The deacon’s service begins at the altar and returns there. The sacrificial love of Christ celebrated in the Eucharist nourishes him and motivates him to lay down his life on behalf of God’s People.

41 42 43 44

DMLPD, no. 39. BNFPD, no. 5.

ADUS, nos. 3-4, italics original.

DMLPD, no. 38.

45 Pope Benedict XVI, Encyclical Charity in Truth ( Caritas in Veritate ) (Washington, DC: USCCB, 2009), no. 5.

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