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

NDPD 146

National Directory for Permanent Deacons

their participation . . . based on a realistic assessment of their energy, family time, and resources.” h. Recognize that “what the Church does and how it does it [together] affect the unity, well-being, health, and stability of families. Church leaders need to be more aware of how the Church’s policies, pro grams, ministries, and services can either help or hinder families in fulfilling their own basic responsibilities. Church leaders need to see themselves as partners with families.” 56 146 Individuals do not enter into formation alone. Those who participate in diaconal formation, married or unmarried, come with their families. They come as members of a family, known as the “domestic Church,” where life is shared and nurtured. They come from that primary com munity, where God is first discovered and known, and enter into a new and wider community that can expand their love and deepen their faith. They come with their experiences of faith and personal life. 147 Each participant must explore ways to keep his family life as a pri ority in the face of the growing demands of formation and ministry, which include issues of age, faith, health, economics, employment, and relationships. The Married Participant 148 In deciding to pursue a possible diaconal vocation, a married man must comply with the wishes of his wife, in a spirit of mutual commitment and love. A wife is an equal partner in the Sacrament of Matrimony and is an individual person with her own gifts, talents, and call from God. A man’s diaconal formation can be a unique and challenging situation and oppor tunity for his wife. She should be involved in the program in appropriate ways—remembering, however, that it is the husband who is responding to a call to the diaconate. The Church has determined that a married man

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FP, 10-11, 46-47. See DMLPD, no. 61; BNFPD, no. 27.

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