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> Vocation: Calling > Being a Deacon
Joe Lang - On Being a Permanent Deacon Blessings, my name is Joe and I, along with my wife Rae-Lynn and our four children, live and minister in the Regina. I was ordained to the permanent diaconate on September 3, 1999. The word deacon comes from the Greek word "Diakonia" meaning servant or service and once linked with Christ we understand the diaconate as a function of Christ as servant for the kingdom of God and so the diaconate can be a powerful reflection of Christ's ministry.  During my ordination Archbishop Peter Mallon offered me the Book of the Gospels with these words: "Receive the Gospel of Christ whose herald you are. Believe what you read, Teach what you believe. Practice what you teach." With these words I was ordained permanent Deacon to service in the three areas of: Word, Sacrament, and Charity. A Deacon is a minister of the Word. He proclaims the Gospel at Mass, and he may preach the homily. At Resurrection parish here in Regina I take my rotation with our Pastor Fr. Stephen Bill preaching at the Sunday Liturgies and preaching and assisting at the many liturgies celebrated at our Catholic schools, especially at Miller High School where I now teach full time. My ministry now centers on teaching and sharing our faith at Miller High School with the many gifted and searching students there. I continue to help at the parishes as much as I can through weddings, baptism, funerals and preaching. All of this is a proclamation of the Good News of Jesus Christ in word and deed: evangelization! A Deacon is also a minister of the Liturgy. As a Deacon, I am called to assist the Bishop or Priest at Mass. I am an ordinary minister of the Eucharist and a minister of Baptism. I witness and bless marriages, officiate at wakes, funerals (without mass) and burial services. In effect, a Deacon performs many priestly functions except celebrating Mass, hearing confessions, and anointing the sick although I do visit many people who are ill. My primary role is to be a servant to the community and to remind the Church that her ministry is that of service to the Christ. Most importantly, a Deacon is a minister of Charity. Traditionally characteristic of the ministry of the diaconate is to serve those in need. In the parish, this means addressing those who are poor both spiritually and physically including the sick, the dying, those in mourning and those in some form of distress/anxiety. The Gospel impels us to serve the poor and needy. Without a response to the Gospel we become a community that has compromised the meaning and the message of Jesus. I continue striving to be of service to my growing young family, my parish community and to my diocese. It is a challenge to balance the call of the parish and teaching with my call to be with Rae and the kids. But by the grace of God things always seem to work out. Please remember my family in your prayers as they enable me to go out into the fields of the Lord. I firmly believe that the ministry of the Diaconate is foundational in our church today – a powerful presence and reminder of Christ “the” Deacon. It is not meant to replace the priesthood, neither is it meant to displace the rightful role of the service of all the Baptized. It is a deep assertion that we who call ourselves Christians are called to be servants.
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