Word to the Wise
Sunday, May 14, 2017 - 5th Sunday of Easter - A
[Acts 6:1-7; 1 Pet 2:4-9; John 14:1-12]You are "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may announce the praises" of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. [1 Peter]
Two of the lasting changes from the Second Vatican Council find an echo in the scriptures for this Sunday. The first, in the Acts of the Apostles, refers to the creation of the service of the diaconate. The story is both humorous and very theological. It is humorous to me because when the apostles were faced with hostile Greek-speaking widows, they ran for cover by creating the position of deacons so that they (the apostles) could "devote themselves to prayer and the ministry of the word." This position fell out of use and was revived by the Council. I was a "transitional" deacon for a year before my ordination to the priesthood. The Permanent Diaconate is a whole different reality and now we rather take them for granted as a regular part of Catholic life. I give a lot of retreats for Permanent Deacons (or candidates for that vocation) and their spouses, and I can testify to the strength of their faith and their dedication.
The second lasting change is more subtle but is related to the first. This is the "recovery" of the baptismal priesthood that every baptized person is called to exercise! One reason that the Permanent Diaconate fell out of use in the first place was that their tasks were folded into the ministerial ordained priest's role. By centering all worship on the priest and bishop, the diaconate became simply a step on the way to ordained priesthood. At the same time, any notion of a layperson as priest was diminished. The council "recovered" this sense of baptismal priesthood and we actually experience this at any sacramental event, especially the Eucharist. All of us present offer the Eucharist. The offertory procession is important for that reason. Yes, the priest presides and is given the role of invoking the Holy Spirit in the transformation of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ, but he does not do this on his own.
Pope Francis has been bluntly confronting what is known as "clericalism," a notion that the priesthood confers a personal status of superiority that sometimes arises when the Roman collar gets too much emphasis. The broadening of the ministry in the church to include not just bishops and priests, but Permanent Deacons, Eucharistic Ministers, Catechists, etc. is a wonderful reality. The Greek-speaking widows would agree! AMEN
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