Deacon Anthony Gooley, 23 February 2024
Last year, at our Australian Catholics Exploring the Diaconate Retreat on St Phoebe, Deacon Anthony Gooley kindly prepared and presented this reflection on ‘Diaconal Spirituality?’ It was then published in the National Association of Deacons of Australia newsletter. Both have given permission to republish here. Due to its length, this is the second installment of two parts.
A new orientation
Most frequently when we encounter the word diaconos (minister/deacon) and those who are described by that word in the Second Testament (see Colossians 1:7, 24, 25 Paul and Epaphras, Rom 16:1 Phoebe, Phil 1:1 and 1 Tim 3:8-13 which describes deacons generally, and Acts 6:1-7, although the noun diaconos is not used the Seven Greeks do diaconal things) the person or group so described are proclaiming the Gospel, leading communities, and performing other acts of commissioned service. The only two of the Seven we hear about after being given a share of the apostolic ministry, we are told preach, baptise, and catechise. Phillip is simply referred to as the evangelist (Acts 21:8). There is a profound link between those who are diaconos and the ministry of the word and leadership. In the earliest centuries of the Christian era this association is reinforced in the letters and documents we have from earliest leaders and communities and the rituals that we have for the ordination of deacons.
I wish to propose therefore that a special characteristic of the spirituality of the
diaconate should be contemplation of the Gospel. In using this term, I am not limiting the consideration to the four canonical Gospels. I am widening the scope to include all that is handed on in Scripture and Tradition in which the apostolic faith is handed on from one
generation to the next and, which under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit the Church
continues to receive and penetrate more deeply.
Drawing our attention to the rite of ordination of a deacon and the moment when he receives the central symbol of his ministry, the Book of Gospels, we can make this the focus of our new orientation. The bishop hands the book to him saying, “Receive the Gospel of Christ whose herald you have become. Believe what you read, teach what you believe, and practice what you teach.” There are four separate movements to which we need to attend; receive, believe, teach, and practice.
Reception of the Gospel is an act which requires a contemplative sense. The deacon
who is open and receptive to the Word of God is one like Mary who ponders all these things in her heart (Luke 2:19). Lectio divina should be a key element of the spiritual practice of deacons. This lectio should not only take scripture as its source but also doctrine. The same ruminative and meditative process which defines lectio divina with the Scriptures can be used with sources of doctrine such that documents of the Second Vatican Council, especially the four constitutions, with other texts of the teaching office of the Church and theological texts which engage with the faith of the Church. This is a kind of kneeling theology, not an approach to study for its own sake as an intellectual exercise but a deep and prayerful pondering on the Gospel as elaborated in Scripture and Tradition. Reception is much more than an intellectual exercise; it is a work of the heart and the will.
Belief takes us directly to the heart. Our English word creed comes from the Latin, credo, which in turn has its roots in the Greek cardia or heart. When we recite the creed we are not so much making an intellectual assent but a much deeper commitment; I set my heart upon God the Father, I sent my heart upon God the Son and I set my heart upon God the Holy Spirit, who has spoken through the prophets and the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church (or at least that is what we say when we recite the Nicene Creed which we are meant to recite on Sundays). Doctrines are to be received in the heart and the contemplative approach to the reception of doctrine helps get us to the point where doctrine ceases to be a primarily intellectual concept as one more closely related to our being and our fundamental orientations.
Teaching is a core element of diaconal ministry. One cannot speak the word effectively without having assimilated it and treasured it in our heart. Our preaching and our teaching become more powerful the more we have assimilated the Word into our life through active contemplation and deep prayer which accompanies study and preparation.
Practice comes more naturally and is more deeply aligned with the Gospel when we have integrated the Word with our being. Practice is about becoming what we have received, that is Good News or Gospel for others. There can be a kind of practice which is following the rules and keeping the outward observances which might sustain us for a while. We know from the example of many saints and mystics who have gone before us that in the long run we can only be sustained by a reception of the Word in which our motivations, our will, and our desires merge with the heart of Jesus and when his Word has found a home in us.
The triple cross ritual before the proclamation of the Gospel can capture some of this pattern. May your word be in my thoughts, on my lips and my heart. Thought aligns with believe, lips align with teach, and practice aligns with the heart, which is actively receptive to the Word as transformative, calling for deeper conversion of life. The Gospel as a way of living and being.
“Practice comes more naturally and is more deeply aligned with the Gospel when we have integrated the Word with our being.”
Conclusion
If there is something characteristic about the spirituality of the deacon, is it this cycle of
reception, believing, teaching, and practicing which is nurtured through a deeply contemplative commitment to sit with the Word handed on in Scripture and Tradition. A deacon makes time to sit prayerfully, and in silence with the Scriptures, with sources of doctrine and with theological commentary. He wants to go to the source and draw water from a living well. He will want to spend time in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and being in the presence of Jesus in this privileged way. He may take time to sit in contemplation of the daily news media, listening and looking for the signs of the times and reading them in the light of the Gospel. He seeks to be a contemplative in action. Taking the fruits of his contemplation into this life and ministry.
In Acts 6:1-7 we do not encounter the noun diaconos (deacon) but other diacon words. The Greek speaking widows are overlooked in the daily diaconia for which the seven Greek speakers are chosen to remedy. No mention of any material need such as missing food or funds occurs in any Greek manuscript. There is no mention or food or funds in any translation of the passage in any language until the 1940’s. The qualifications for the Seven are that they be men of good repute, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom. That remains the qualification to this day. The widows are neglected in the daily diaconia, that is the ministry of the word, because they are not Aramaic speakers like the apostles. They need some from their own language group (Greek) for this diaconia. Acts 6:1-7 is the Church responding to a new pastoral situation to ensure that all can hear the Gospel and be called to conversion. Diaconal spirituality, if there is such a thing, is in my view at least, about being open to the Holy Spirit, becoming a contemplative living and acting in the world, who acquires the wisdom of God, who is Jesus (1 Cor 1:24). Jesus said, “If a man loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” (John 14:23)
Thank you, Anthony!
Liturgy on the Margins 