Q: Once ordained, what are the responsibilities of a Permanent Deacon?
A: The Directory for … Permanent Deacons states, “The Sacrament of Holy Orders marks deacons “with an imprint (‘character’) which cannot be removed and which configures them to Christ, who made himself the ‘deacon’ or servant of all.” Then it goes on, “For this level of Holy Orders, Christ calls and the Church asks the bishop to ordain deacons to be consecrated witnesses to service. In his post-synodal exhortation The Church in America, Pope John Paul II makes his own the words of the bishops of that gathering: “We see with joy how deacons ‘sustained by the grace of the Sacrament, in the ministry (diakonia) of the liturgy, of the word and of charity are at the service of the People of God, in communion with the Bishop and his priests.’” Once again, the Directory envisions a three-fold mission, or ministry of the Deacon; 1) assistance at the liturgies 2) proclamation of the Gospel, including preaching when appropriate and 3) the ministry of charity (such as prison ministry, food pantries, pregnancy centers and the like.) The deacon is the ordinary minister of the Sacrament of Baptism and of Holy Communion, particularly of the Chalice of the Precious Blood, he can assist at Holy Matrimony, administer sacramentals, give certain blessings and viaticum to the dying.