Diaconal Ordination
Cathedral of the Risen Christ
Bishop James D. Conley
May 22, 2015
Bishop Bruskewitz, Bishop Senior, Father Eickhoff, Fr. Matya, dear brother priests and deacons, beloved seminarians and religious sisters, dear friends in Christ.
It is with great joy that we gather this evening in the Cathedral of the Risen Christ, on the eve of the eve of the Solemnity of Pentecost, to ordain three men to the sacred diaconate. I would like to extend a special welcome to the families of these three men, to their friends, classmates, and loved ones, particularly those of you traveled long distances to be here in Lincoln this weekend.
The Gospel we heard proclaimed a moment ago was taken from the high priestly prayer of Our Lord, Jesus Christ, at the conclusion of the Last Supper, on the night that began his sacred passion. As we come to the end of the season, we would do well to recall these words of Jesus in his prayer to His Father in heaven.
Before he was arrested and crucified, Christ fervently prayed that his beloved apostles would be consecrated in the word of truth, and sent forth into the world as he had been sent forth.
“Sanctify them in the truth; thy word is truth. As thou didst send me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate my self, that they also may be consecrated in truth.”
Today, dear sons, you will be consecrated in truth, ordained as deacons—set apart to be servants of the Body of Christ. First of all, it is an awesome privilege for me to ordain you this evening. Sacred ordination confers an indelible, unchangeable character on you and on your souls—you become ministers of the word, ministers of the liturgy, and ministers of charity.
God willing, you will all become priests one year from now. Tomorrow, I will have the privilege of ordaining eight deacons as priests. We are putting them fully to use tonight in their last ceremony as transitional deacons! God willing, one year from now, I hope to be ordaining you three as priests, along with your classmate, Jim Morin, who will be ordained a deacon in Rome on October 1, in Saint Peter’s Basilica.
But this solemn moment is more than a final step of preparation for priesthood. The sacred ordination you receive today will remain with you forever—as you become priests, you will always remain consecrated to the diakonia—to the holy vocation of Christian charity.
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This evening I would like to make two brief points about your ordination to the sacred diaconate.
The first is that you are now called, and graced, to reveal the person of Jesus Christ to the world in a unique and singular way, in a way that you have been unable to do until now.
In the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the deacon can assist in the fractioning rite of the Most Holy Eucharist. In the fractioning rite, the host is broken into smaller pieces that may be distributed for Holy Communion. There is a practical component to this rite. But there is also a rich symbolic meaning.
St. Thomas Aquinas wrote that the symbolism of this rite is clear. On Calvary, Christ’s body was broken, so that we might have life. The broken host recalls for us the broken body of Jesus Christ—and the distribution of that broken host conveys the grace that flows forth from Christ’s saving passion.
At the Last Supper, Christ broke the bread as he distributed it to his apostles, in the institution of the Holy Eucharist. And on the road to Emmaus, he revealed himself as he celebrated the Eucharist. St. Luke wrote that Christ “was made known in the breaking of the bread.”
You men, who are about to be ordained deacons, will now participate in the fractioning of the sacred host in a unique way. You are called, in a new and mysterious way, to make Christ known – to reveal the living Christ in the breaking of the sacred bread, in the mystery of sacred worship, in the preaching of the holy word of God, and in your lives of charity poured out for your brothers and sisters.
Christ alone is made known in the breaking of the bread. Take that moment as a model for your diaconal ministry.
You are called to reveal the savior of the world. You must do so, dear sons, in humility and in obedience to his word. You must reveal Christ, and Him alone. You must subordinate your own lives, your own egos, your own ambition, your own goals, and your own agendas, in service to Christ and to his Church.
Your promise to live in the celibate state for the rest of lives is a sign of your total consecration in the truth, a sign of your pastoral charity and a sign of your dedication to Christ the Lord for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven, in the service of God and man.
And your promise of respect and obedience to me and my successors, is a sign of the surrender of your will to God, your promise to keep his word, and to be set free as missionary disciples of the Lord in a Church that is in permanent mission.
Today you will be given the grace of holy service to the Body of Christ. Pray fervently that your diaconate might reveal Jesus Christ, present on the cross, in the Church, and in the breaking of the bread.
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My second point is that your ministry of charity must flow directly from the mystery of the Holy Eucharist, and it must invite others to the Eucharistic table of the Lord.
Today’s second reading, from the Book of Acts, recalls the institution of the diaconate in the early Church. Seven men “of good repute, full of the spirit and of wisdom,” were chosen to assist in works of charity—in the daily distribution of bread to the widows of the community. They were ordained for this purpose, in the laying of hands. And as they were ordained, they were configured to Christ—the Suffering Servant—the model of holy diakonia.
But the deepest source of your sacred ordination as deacons is found in the last supper, as depicted in the Gospel of St. John, and in the words of Jesus that we just heard.
John’s entire Gospel is profoundly Eucharistic. Its structure evokes the Passover meal, and it culminates in Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, presented as the paschal lamb, sacrificed and eaten for the salvation of souls. For He is the priest, the altar and the lamb of sacrifice
As we know, unlike the Synoptic gospels, the Gospel of John does not describe the celebration of the Eucharist itself at the last supper in the upper room. Certainly, the Eucharistic celebration is alluded to in the text. And John was an obvious witness to the institution of the Holy Eucharist.
But instead of recounting the scene of the institution of the Eucharist, St. John describes Christ washing the feet of the apostles. Pope Benedict describes the scene this way: “Jesus lays down the clothes of his glory, he wraps around his waist the towel of humanity and makes himself a servant. He washes the disciples' dirty feet and thus gives them access to the divine banquet to which he invites them.”
Christ washes and purifies the disciples in an act of unbounded humility and unbounded charity—and this act prepares them for the holy Eucharistic meal.
Pope Benedict goes on to explain that: “the gift…which we find in…the washing of the feet, is a characteristic of the nature of Christianity in general. Christianity is not a type of moralism, simply a system of ethics... Christianity is first and foremost a gift: God gives himself to us - he does not give something, but [he gives] himself. He constantly remains the One who gives. He continually offers us his gifts. He always precedes us. This is why the central act of Christian being is the Eucharist: gratitude for having been gratified, joy for the new life that he gives us.”
When Christ completes the gift of washing his disciples’ feet, he tells them “as I have done for you, you should also do.”
As Christ has given himself, you should do the same. The Eucharist transforms us, in the great sanctifying process of theosis, so that we can give ourselves as Christ did, freely and completely. And when we give ourselves, in the full measure of Christian charity, we help to invite and prepare others for the gift of the Holy Eucharist.
My dear sons, as deacons we must wash the feet of others in acts of charity, and mercy, and sacrifice. St. John’s Gospel reveals that there is no separation between the gift of the Eucharist and your diaconal obligation of holy and unbounded charity. Christ transforms you in the gift of the Eucharist. And you are called to lower yourselves, in the disposition of humility and charity, so that others might encounter his mercy, and be transformed in the self-gift of Jesus Christ.
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Dear sons, your diaconal ordination today calls you to reveal Christ to the world—in Scripture, in worship, in the “breaking of the bread” and in charity. Remain close to Christ in the Eucharist, so that you might receive the gift of his mercy, and convey that gift to the poor.
By your ordination as deacons, you are called to a life of radical humility, and radical charity, to be consecrated in the truth. The Lord does something great in you, so that you might do something great in Him, through Him, and for Him.
Today, let us give thanks to the Lord for your parents, for your families, your brothers and sisters, your friends - everyone who taught you what it means to love in truth and in deed. Let us give thanks to the Lord for your seminary formators, for your teachers, and for the priests and religious who have helped you to this moment in your lives. Let us give thanks to the Lord for your holy vocations. Let us call upon the Holy Spirit to continue to send you the gifts you need to be holy deacons. And let us give thanks to the Lord for the gift, the example, and the grace of his holy presence in our lives.
