Diaconate
Dachau and the Diaconate: My Father’s Encounter
Deacon John Lohrstorfer Jr. Comments Off on Dachau and the Diaconate: My Father’s Encounter
On April 29, 1945, a young 20-year-old, Pfc. John Lohrstorfer, was assigned as an artillery observer for the 232nd Infantry Regiment of the 42nd Infantry Division, nicknamed the “Rainbow Division.” As he was driving his captain near the vicinity of the Dachau concentration camp in Germany, they received a call to report to the camp Read More
From God’s Heart to Ours
Deacon Stephen F. Miletic Comments Off on From God’s Heart to Ours
The interior life is centered in our hearts, where our deepest longing exists. Our heart’s deepest need is to be loved by God. Divine love is nuptial. The dynamism of nuptial love consists of a continuous self-emptying of love, the divine gift of self to the other. We see this love witnessed in sacramental marriage, Read More
Deacon Cerrato’s Establishment Hypothesis
Stephen Fahrig Comments Off on Deacon Cerrato’s Establishment Hypothesis
When and by whom was the diaconate instituted? By Jesus Christ at the Last Supper, or by the apostles as a response to new ministerial needs in the Church? How are the three degrees of holy orders — diaconate, priesthood and episcopate — related to each other, and what is the basis for their unity? Read More
Women and the Diaconate: A Theological Perspective
Deacon Dominic Cerrato Comments Off on Women and the Diaconate: A Theological Perspective
In 2020, I was one of 10 international scholars selected by Pope Francis to serve on the Papal Commission on Women and the Diaconate. This was preceded by an earlier 2016 commission on the same topic, though the focus was more historic at that time, while the new commission would be more theological. Because that Read More
Words Matter
Deacon Victor Puscas Comments Off on Words Matter
Like a lot of guys, I played baseball in high school. I was what the local college scouts euphemistically called a “defensive specialist.” That was simply a nice way of saying I couldn’t hit. Not yet ready to give up the “glory days” of high school baseball about which Bruce Springsteen famously crooned, I attended Read More
Expectations of Married Deacons
Leon Suprenant Comments Off on Expectations of Married Deacons
We know from the Catechism of the Catholic Church that Christian marriage brings a man and woman together for the rest of their lives, to love each other and their children with the love with which Christ loves his Church. We also know that the Church calls bishops and priests to remain celibate for the Read More
A Future Diaconate
Deacon Anthony Gooley Comments Off on A Future Diaconate
The Second Vatican Council sought to restore the permanent ministry of deacon to the life of the Catholic Church and to address a grave pastoral need. Vatican II imagined something new would emerge. Something that would transform the Church’s missionary drive and renew its culture. A new way of being a deacon. A study of Read More
Living the Sacramental Power of the Diaconate
Deacon Bob Rice Comments Off on Living the Sacramental Power of the Diaconate
All disciples of Jesus Christ have invisible superpowers granted to them through the sacraments. Baptism, for example, gives a person, “the power to live and act under the prompting of the Holy Spirit through the gifts of the Holy Spirit” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, No 1266). Confirmation provides a “special strength” to proclaim the Read More