Privileges of a deacon
Q. Often, I have been at a Mass where the deacon reads the Gospel, which is fine. But then, sometimes, the deacon goes on to give the homily while the priest watches. This disappoints me and makes me feel that the deacon is overstepping his bounds. Why should a deacon, rather than the priest, comment on church teachings? Is this a new function in the church today? (Missouri)
Q. Our parish recently had a baptism at a Mass, with both a priest and a deacon on the altar. When it came time for the baptism, the deacon went to the (baptismal) font and performed the ceremony. I was under the impression that a deacon could baptize only if a priest were not available. Has this been changed? (Richmond)
A. (Let’s answer both questions here.) Although the permanent diaconate was restored by Pope Paul VI in 1967, the questions above would seem to indicate that even today, half a century later, there is still some confusion about a deacon’s role. Deacons can baptize, witness marriages, perform funeral and burial services (outside of Mass), distribute holy Communion and preach a homily. They cannot celebrate Mass, hear confessions or administer the sacrament of the anointing of the sick. They are obligated each day to pray the Liturgy of the Hours. Deacons were first appointed in the earliest days of the church with the special ministry of serving the poor.
There are two kinds of deacons: transitional deacons, who are seminarians in the final stage of their training for the priesthood, and permanent deacons. Permanent deacons, ordained after several years of theological preparation, may be single or married. They often have secular jobs but also assist parish communities at liturgies and in service ministries such as visiting the sick or counseling families.
When joining the priest at Mass, a deacon normally introduces the penitential rite, reads the Gospel and the prayers of intercession (petitions), helps in distributing Communion and proclaims the dismissal rite.
When a deacon baptizes or preaches, there is no requirement that a priest be unavailable. The church’s Code of Canon Law, in No. 861, for example, says simply that “the ordinary minister of baptism is a bishop, a presbyter or deacon.” Sometimes when a deacon baptizes or accepts wedding vows, it is because he has a particular relationship with those receiving the sacrament but that is not necessary.
Often in parishes that have a deacon, the deacon preaches the homily on a regular rotation (perhaps once a month, perhaps at one Mass each weekend). Parishioners have often commented that a deacon, especially if he has a family, can share a different perspective.
Pastorally, when a deacon is scheduled to do a baptism, wedding or funeral service, it is best for the priest to advise the family in advance — since many still expect that a priest will officiate.
God and birth defects
Q. I have several very devout and pious friends who believe that God creates children with birth defects to become his “victim souls” because God needs suffering in order to make up for what was lacking in the suffering of Christ in the work of redemption. They quote to me the account of the man born blind in John 9:3 and Mother Teresa, who once said that suffering is the kiss of Jesus. Does God really do this? Ever? (Newton, N.J.)
A. I do not support your friends’ explanation. God can do anything he wants; he doesn’t “need” human suffering to complete the work of redemption. If God decided that what Jesus did was sufficient in itself, that would surely be within the divine prerogative.
Having said that, I do not claim to know why the Lord allows children to be born with birth defects. That is one aspect of the “problem of evil,” which has triggered theological discussion and debate since the dawn of creation — and without a solution that totally satisfies.
One need only look at the Book of Job in the Old Testament; though Job had lost nearly everything he valued in life — family and friends, health and crops — and still failing to understand, he chose simply to continue to trust in God. “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Jb 1:21).
So the ultimate and honest answer to the question is: “We don’t know.” For as long as we remain on this side of heaven, we simply do not know how to reconcile God’s goodness with the fact that much of his creation is wounded and broken; but we trust that the reasons will be revealed once we enter the peace of God’s presence.
Part of the explanation, theologically, is that sickness and imperfection, disease and death were not part of God’s original plan but came through the disobedience of the earliest human beings. To me, though, the most helpful thought is that human beings move forward on the path of goodness and work out their salvation through their special kindness to those who are vulnerable. (I have seen it in my own family with my parents’ tender care for my sister, who died of multiple sclerosis at the age of 28.)
I believe this is part of what is meant in the Gospel of John, when Jesus says that the man was born blind not through his parents’ sins or his own, but that “the works of God might be made visible through him”
Made for communion