(Editor’s note: The following is Bishop Lucia’s homily from the Ordination to the Sacred Order of Deacon held April 25 at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.)
Dear candidates for ordination!
Dear sisters and brothers in the Risen Lord!
Shortly before returning to His Father, Jesus commissioned His disciples to go forth to all the world. First, they were to preach the Gospel. Second, they were to baptize believers into the Church, His body on earth. Third, they were to confirm, as a living sign of the Gospel, the love of God for the human family.
To accomplish this mission to the nations, Jesus gave His disciples a special commission and the gift of the Holy Spirit to aid them in the work of the Church on earth. Today, after a period of extensive formation, these husbands, fathers, sons, brothers, and fellow believers have come to dedicate themselves to the service of the People of God as deacons of the Roman Catholic Church in the parishes of the Diocese of Syracuse.
Pope Benedict XVI, in speaking of such service, shared these words in an ordination homily: “In this situation, the Church looks to Jesus Christ, who became deacon for us. He, the Lord of the world, became a deacon, a servant. He set the table for His disciples and he washed their feet … If the Church wants to be the Church of Jesus Christ, she needs the representation (the re-presentation) of the deacon Jesus Christ.”
To this end, brothers and sisters, two main tasks of the deacon, according to Church tradition, are the proclamation of the Gospel and the service of charity. Yet, to do so, a deacon must primarily be a daily hearer of the Word of God through the Scriptures of the day and the Liturgy of the Hours. The deacon can only communicate the Gospel vividly if he meets Jesus there and allows the Word to instruct his own life. Pope Gregory IX wrote to St. Elizabeth of Hungary (a great servant of the needy and one of my favorite saints): “Like Mary in Bethany, gladly stay at the Lord’s feet. Listen to him. Do not go away until the warm south wind of His mercies wafts through the senses of your garden.”
Furthermore, sisters and brothers, being called to the charity of Christ necessitates one being anchored in the deepest mystery of the Eucharist. Pope Benedict notes: “In the ancient Church, the ministry of the chalice, of the Blood of Jesus Christ, was assigned to the deacon in the Eucharist as a sign of this dedication to suffering out of suffering and the transforming love of Jesus Christ.”
My dear ordinands, through your daily living and service, you will seek to extend Christ, the Word of God made flesh, to those you meet along the way. In truth, your ministry is all about being a manifestation — an icon — a window — through which Christ, the deacon, can be seen here and now!
Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Mark, the Evangelist, chosen by God to fulfill the crucial office of giving the Gospel to the world for the salvation of all because God desires not the death of a sinner but that he might turn from his wickedness and live. History only provides minimum knowledge about Mark, but we can be certain of one thing: for him, Jesus was central; He was everything.
It is known that Mark was a disciple of the Lord Jesus under the tutelage of both St. Paul and St. Peter, although not without its difficulties. This fact is significant because it can be a temptation to throw in the towel when things go awry, especially early on in ministry. Mark could have easily given up after the embarrassment of having to leave Paul and Barnabas in the middle of Paul’s first missionary journey. He could have just gone home and said to heck with it!
But for Mark, the message of the Gospel was just too compelling; he had to keep sharing it. He didn’t let his missteps and past mistakes define him, and kept trusting in the Lord and His perfect plan for his life. This is a message all of us need to hear, but especially today, I want our deacon candidates to keep it uppermost in their minds.
Dear Ronald, Kurt, Jan, John, Stephen, James, David, Paul, Michael, and Kenneth:
You must be like those once chosen by the Apostles for the ministry of being a living Gospel for all people to hear: men of good reputation, full of wisdom and the Holy Spirit. Firmly planted and grounded in faith, you are to show yourselves without blemish and beyond reproach before God and others, as is proper for the ministers of Christ and the stewards of God’s mysteries. Do not allow yourselves to be turned away from the hope of the Gospel for “The God of all grace who called you … will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you …” (1 Pt 5:10). Hold fast to the mystery of faith with a clear conscience and express by your actions the Word of God, which your lips proclaim, so that the Christian people, brought to life by the Spirit, may become a pure offering accepted by God, and so that you yourselves, when you go out to meet the Lord on the last day, may be able to hear Him say: “Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord.”
A final counsel that I hope you will remember from this day forward: “The holiest moment of the church service is the moment when God’s people — strengthened by preaching and sacrament — go out of the church door into the world to be the Church.” Amen.
