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

55 NDPD

National Directory for Permanent Deacons

Those who are constituted in the order of the episcopate or the presby terate receive the mission and capacity to act in the person of Christ the Head, whereas deacons are empowered to serve the People of God in the ministries of the liturgy, the word, and charity. 27 55 Priests and deacons are bonded closely together in their common minis try of the Word. All deacons receive the Holy Gospels from the diocesan bishop on their ordination day. This powerful sign of cooperation with the ministry of the diocesan bishop, and its connection to Christ’s own mandate (Lk 24:45-49) places the ministry of deacon and priest within a shared communion of obedience to and love of the Word, which together they labor to proclaim. It is laudatory for priests and deacons to deepen their communion, as brothers in Holy Orders, by way of their shared prayer and reflection on the Word of God. 28 56 Permanent deacons ought to foster fraternal bonds with transitional deacons. Through formal contacts arranged by the diocesan diaconate and vocation offices with the seminary program, in collaborative dioce san and parochial ministries, and in opportunities for shared study and prayer, the Order of Deacons can more clearly be understood and appre ciated among those to be ordained to the Order of Priests. 57 Deacons and priests, as ordained ministers, should develop a genuine respect for each other, witnessing to the communion and mission they share with one another and with the diocesan bishop in mutual service to the People of God. 29 To foster this communion, the diocese might offer opportunities annually for shared retreats, days of recollection, 28 “We, ordained ministers, have received from the Lord, through the mediation of the Church, the task of preaching the Word of God to the ends of the earth. . . . To know Revelation, to adhere unconditionally to Jesus Christ as a fascinated and enamored disciple . . . this is . . . what awaits a permanent deacon, deci sively and without any reservation. From a good disciple a good missionary is born. The ministry of the Word . . . requires of ordained ministers a constant struggle to study it and carry it out, at the same time as one proclaims it to others. . . . Lectio divina, that is, prayerful reading, is one much counseled way to understand and live the Word of God, and make it one’s own.” Cardinal Claudio Hummes, Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, August 10, 2009. 29 DMLPD, especially no. 37. 27 CIC, c. 1009 §3.

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