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

NDPD 69

National Directory for Permanent Deacons

grow in their commitment to the person and mission of Christ the Servant. A married deacon is encouraged to develop prayer time with his wife and family. Prayer 69 The spiritual life cannot be nurtured nor maintained without a habit of prayer. In addition to the requirement that a deacon pray daily the offices of Morning and Evening Prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours, he should foster his love of the Lord through the practice of mental prayer. Blessed Luis of Grenada describes the process: “Once [people] have made some progress in the spiritual life and have acquired some devotion, their love of God prompts them to find ways of expressing their sentiments in a more personal and intimate way. . . . As one’s devotion increases, the type of prayer practiced habitually by the indi vidual will likewise rise from vocalized prayer to mental prayer and eventually to contemplation.” 56 To help cultivate such a life of prayer, the deacon should reflect daily on Sacred Scripture, employing the steps of lectio divina often. If possible, it is recommended that he attend daily Eucharist. The deacon should frequently receive the Sac rament of Penance and devote time to spiritual reading. 57 Simplicity of Life 70 Deacons are charged at ordination to shape a way of life always accord ing to the example of Christ and to imitate Christ who came not to be served but to serve. Therefore, deacons are called to a simple lifestyle. Simplicity of life enables a cleric “to stand beside the underprivileged, to practice solidarity with their efforts to create a more just society, to be more sensitive and capable of understanding and discerning reali ties involving the economic and social aspects of life, and to promote a preferential option for the poor.” 58 The prophetic significance of this

56 Luis of Grenada, Pathways to Holiness , trans. and adapt. Jordan Aumann, OP (New York: Alba, 1998), 107. 57 See, for example, CIC, c. 276. 58 PDV, no. 30.

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