To be read in the all the churches and chapels of the Diocese

on the 29^th Sunday of the Year. 22 October 2000.

My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ

When Pope John XXIII summoned the Second Vatican Council, he directed that it should be a pastoral Council, that is, one which would be concerned with the care of the Church’s members. In his opening address to the Council Fathers, Pope John described the Church as “the loving mother of all”. The Council began to look at the nature of the Church and its role in the world and it set out its present understanding of the nature of the Church in a document called “Lumen Gentium”, which opens with the words, “Christ is the light of all nations”.

The Christian Community has always been a caring community and that care embraced both the spiritual and material needs of its members. In the Acts of the Apostles we read “The faithful all lived together and owned everything in common; they sold their goods and possessions and shared out the proceeds among themselves, according to what each one needed. They went in a body to the temple every day…”[1] However, as the community grew in numbers it became more difficult for the Apostles to proclaim the Word of God and also to attend to the material needs of the community.

To resolve this difficulty the Twelve told the community of disciples to choose  “seven men of good reputation, filled with Spirit and with wisdom” to work alongside them. They then, “prayed and laid hands on them”.[2] Thus was established the Order of Deacons. The deacons shared in the work of the Apostles. The Church has always taught that there are three degrees within the Sacrament of Holy Orders, Bishops, Priests and Deacons. Over the centuries, the Order of Deacon within in the Roman Rite became merely a stepping stone to the priesthood. In the Eastern Churches the Diaconate remained a separate and permanent Order.

In 1964, When the Fathers of the Vatican Council approved chapter three of ‘Lumen Gentium’, they accepted the possibility of restoring the permanent diaconate. Three years later, Pope Paul VI made that possibility a reality. The Church also opened up the order of deacons to married men. This was a departure from the long tradition which demanded celibacy of those receiving the Sacrament of Holy Orders.

The Council documents and the Rite of Ordination of Deacons spell out the role that the deacon plays in the life of the Church. He has three areas of responsibility: the liturgy, the service of the Gospel and works of charity.

His liturgical functions include the celebration of the Sacrament of Baptism. He is also the custodian and distributor of the Eucharist. The deacon can assist at and bless marriages. One of his duties is to bring Viaticum, Holy Communion, to the dying. As an ordained minister of the Church, he can administer and preside over worship and prayer of the faithful. The deacon may also give Benediction.

In his service of the Word, the deacon is to read the Sacred Scriptures to the faithful and to instruct and exhort them, that is, he is to preach. His service of neighbour requires that he be devoted to works of charity and to the functions of administration. The deacon serves as a link between the clergy, of which he is a member, and the laity. It is the role of the deacon to promote and sustain the apostolic action of the laity. It is the nature of the diaconate that the deacon enjoys a special relationship with the bishop directly and not simply through the local priest.

Many of the tasks undertaken by the deacon are already being performed by the laity. If this is the case, then it is appropriate that they should have the help of the sacramental grace which is conferred by the Sacrament of Orders. Sacraments are efficacious signs, that is, they confer, they communicate, the life of grace which they represent. So those who are called in a special way to a service of the Church which is distinct from our baptismal call to service, should receive the grace of the Sacrament of Orders.

Given the enrichment to the life of the Church which the permanent diaconate offers and the opportunities for service that exist within the Diocese, I would invite any man who considers that he might have a calling to serve as a permanent deacon to approach his Parish Priest. It is possible to serve as a deacon while continuing in your present employment.

Already there are many men in Scotland who are deacons or are preparing to be ordained as deacons. Courses already exist for their training. These courses, usually of three years duration and undertaken by distance learning programmes, include elements of academic, pastoral and spiritual formation. Just as in a seminary, these are also years of discernment. Not everyone who enters a seminary is ordained to the priesthood. Candidates or their spiritual directors often decide that they are not, in fact, called to the ordained ministry of the Church.

In this time of spiritual and pastoral renewal, let us ask Almighty God to guide us with the light of the Holy Spirit and inspire us with the example of His Divine Son so that the People of God may be instructed and sanctified through the ordained ministers of the Church.

Given at Oban on the ninth day of October 2000

+ Ian

Bishop of Argyll & the Isles