Deacons and All the Baptized Called to Suffering

 

Yesterday was a big day for three of our parishioners. It was a big day for Steve Whan and Marty Cayer, who received diplomas in pastoral ministry from St. Mark’s College, having completed their academic studies for the permanent diaconate.

It was a big day for our longtime parishioner Angus Reid, who was presented with an honorary doctorate in sacred letters at St. Mark’s convocation, where he was acknowledged for his many contributions to Catholic education and the wider community.

And it was a big day for me as well. Seven other men preparing for ordination as deacons next month were also awarded their diplomas at the graduation ceremony and one his master's degree; as director of the archdiocese’s permanent diaconate program, I have been involved with all nine since they began their formation.

Not to mention the fact that I taught them all their favourite subject canon law!

I was like a proud father during the convocation, although I was on the edge of my seat until they announced Steve’s name.  The program had misspelled his name, and I was wondering if what would happen if they called Steve Wham to the stage.

Happily, they got it right.

This morning Angus Reid is already in Toronto, but all nine of the diaconate candidates are in church with us, and I welcome them warmly on behalf of all of us at Christ the Redeemer. We need to keep them in our prayers as they prepare spiritually for the Sacrament of Holy Orders on October 7.

And, of course, our deacons and future deacons owe a prayer or two to this parish community, which has supported the permanent diaconate program in many ways since Archbishop Miller asked me to start it ten years ago.

With less than a month to go before their ordination, I thought I would preach a happy, lighthearted homily today that would encourage the ordinands and help the congregation look forward to the ministry of deacons soon to be a part of parish life.

But today’s readings didn’t give me the chance. There’s simply nothing lighthearted about them. Whether from the perspective of ordained ministry or the vocation of all the baptized, the messages of Sacred Scripture this morning are entirely serious.

Jason Costa, whom many parishioners remember from his time in the parish office, now runs the Permanent Diaconate Office with me, in a most efficient fashion. On Thursday he came to me with a powerful article on the diaconate and suggested we might give the Archbishop a copy to help him with his ordination homily next month.

I took one look at the title and told Jason to forget it—the last thing the candidates would want to hear about at the ordination Mass was a reflection on “The Diaconal Call to Spiritual Martyrdom: Suffering as the Foundation of the Servant Mysteries.” (Deacon Robert T. Yerhot, Josephinum Diaconal Review Spring 2021 51-57)

But what have we just heard in today’s Gospel? “Whoever wants to become my follower, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

And notice something very important. The first part of today’s Gospel is a conversation with the inner circle of disciples. But Jesus calls the crowd to him before he delivers the key message. It’s not “whoever wants to be my apostle, or my deacon, or my priest” but “whoever wants to become my follower.”

As Mary Healy writes, “the conditions that Jesus is about to outline apply not only to some of his followers but to all without exception.”

Jesus doesn’t want us to be in any doubt about the cost of discipleship. As Dr. Healy says, “to be a Christian is not something that happens by default or cultural heritage: it is a personal decision that must be made with the utmost sincerity and resolve—and with at least a partial grasp of the implications.” (The Gospel of Mark, 168)

Inviting others to that personal decision, or making it ourselves, is Christ’s imperative call. And it’s not easy.

We try to make it as easy as possible, by providing parishioners with a straightforward way to invite people by bringing them to Alpha. The Upper Room conference taking place here at CTR next Saturday helps us become proclaimers of the Gospel in as effective and non-threatening ways as possible.

But nothing we do can eliminate the suffering that disciples will always face.

In some ways, you might think that our permanent deacons have it easier. Since they’ll be known as ordained ministers—professionals, if you will—their coworkers and family members and fellow parishioners won’t be annoyed by their efforts to share the Gospel; they won’t be written off as quickly.

Or are we sure about that? St. John Paul said that deacons “are called to participate in the mystery of the cross, to share in the Church’s sufferings, to endure the hostility she encounters in union with Christ the Redeemer.”

He goes even further: “It is this painful aspect of the deacon’s service that makes it most fruitful.”

The article on the diaconate that Jason handed to me says that “the central question for the deacon is always ‘Will I embrace this suffering to which I am called by the Father as martyr, as witness? Will I, in obedience, be sent in his name, as his envoy, to herald that Gospel that is entrusted to me, or will I avoid it by withdrawing and with using distracting activity?’” (Yerhot, p. 54)

In light of this morning’s Gospel, can we not say that this is the central question for every follower of Jesus? Isn’t it just another way of asking whether we are willing to take up our cross? Whether we are willing to put this life in second place for the sake of the Good News and all it promises?

Dear future deacons, and dear diaconal wives and family members, the Church is entering into a new era of suffering. Through ordination, the deacon enters in a special way not only the suffering of the Church, but of that of Jesus himself.

It’s enough to make you think twice about showing up at the Cathedral on October 7.

The fact is, while the deacon’s call has a special intensity and special challenges, the Sacrament he receives in Holy Orders provides him with special strength and graces.

And that’s not all. In the final analysis, it’s not just ordination that demands suffering: it’s baptism. All the baptized are called to a redemptive suffering. 

Pope Emeritus Benedict has said that “the task of proclamation and the call to suffering for Christ are inseparably together.”

Dear deacons-to-be, we’ve worked hard to prepare you for the task of effective proclamation. Dear parishioners, a key focus at Christ the Redeemer has been preparing each of you for effective sharing of the faith.

Only Christ can prepare you for suffering for the sake of the Gospel. Let us ask him now for that grace, and for the grace to think not as humans do, but as God does.