The Ministries of Deacons in the Archdiocese of New York
Identifying the Deacon
The Ministries of the Deacon
The Ministry of Charity (Love and Justice)
The Ministries of Deacons in the Archdiocese of New York
"Strengthened by sacramental grace, in communion with the Bishop and his group of priests, deacons serve the People of God in the Ministry of Charity (Love and Justice), the Word, and the Liturgy." The Ordinary of the Archdiocese of New York has authorized deacons:
The Ministry of Charity (Love and Justice) [munus regendi]
to minister to the sick, the elderly, the bereaved, the homebound, AIDS victims, the handicapped, alcoholics and drug addicts and patients in nursing homes;
to carry out, in the name of the hierarchy, the duties of charity, for example, directing a food pantry, or working with the members of the St. Vincent de Paul Society in distributing clothing etc.;
to promote and sustain the apostolic activities of the laity;
to serve as chaplains and assistant chaplains in prisons and hospitals in the Archdiocese of New York.
The Ministry of the Word of God [munus docendi]
- to proclaim the Gospel at the liturgy;
- to preach at baptisms, marriages, and wake services;
- to preach at the liturgy when the appropriate archdiocesan preaching faculty has been granted;
- to instruct those preparing for Sacraments of Initiation and Matrimony;
- to instruct and receive converts; to participate in adult education programs, to instruct children in the teachings of the Faith;
- to counsel those who are seeking an annulment as well as those who are separated and divorced in the Church.
The Ministry of the Altar [munus sanctificandi]
- to assist the bishop and the priest during liturgical celebrations in all actions which the rituals assign him;
- to preach the Word of God within the Archdiocese of New York at baptisms, marriages and wake services;
- to administer Baptism solemnly in a parish church and to supply the ceremonies of Baptism in cases where the sacrament had been administered in an emergency;
- to distribute the Holy Eucharist to communicants both during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and outside of Mass on "Communion calls" to the sick and shut-ins; to bring Viaticum to the dying; to self-communicate if no priest is present; and to replace the Eucharist in the tabernacle;
- to expose the Blessed Sacrament at Benediction and to give the blessing with the sacrament;
- to witness a Catholic marriage in a parish church;
- to lead in the communal recitation of the Liturgy of the Hours and in the absence of a priest, to give the blessing at the end;
- to conduct services in church, to officiate at wakes, funerals, and burial services, and to lead groups of the faithful in prayer;
- to direct the Liturgy of the Word, particularly in the absence of a
priest.
"The diaconal ministries, although categorized by ministry, are not to be separated; the deacon is ordained for them all, and no one should be ordained who is not prepared to undertake each in some way. This is not to say that a deacon may not have greater abilities in one ministry, and that, therefore, his ministry may not be marked by one of them more than by the others. But, there is an intrinsic relationship among the three areas of the deacon's ministry if he is to be a sign of the Servant-Christ who redeemed us as Prophet, Priest, and King."
