ARCHDIOCESE OF PHILADELPHIA

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Bishop Thomas,
Dear brother Priests,
Dear Deacons and those to be ordained this morning,
Dear Wives and Families of these chosen men,
Dear Candidates still preparing for the Diaconate,
Dear Friends in Jesus Christ,

The Acts of the Apostles present to us this morning the names of the first deacons of the Church. They are individually recorded and listed one by one: Stephen, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicholas of Antioch. There were seven of them—chosen for the office of assisting the Apostles in a role of special sacramental service in the early ecclesial community.

Today the Church has selected another group of men called by God to this same work. This time there are eight of them. Their names are equally important to God and to His Church: Ernest W. Angiolillo, Patrick J. Diamond, William W. Evans, Michael J. Kolakowski, Francis C. Lally, Charles G. Lewis, John J. Pileggi, Huan C. Tran.

Their identity as deacons is linked to the Church’s role of service, which, in turn, is linked to the servanthood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Savior of the world.

This ordination today takes place, therefore, under the sign of service. It is service that we are celebrating: the special service characteristic of the diaconate.

There are deacons in the Church only because Jesus Christ came to serve and because service is Christ’s legacy to His Church. In the words of the Servant of God Pope John Paul II: "The service of the deacon is the Church’s service sacramentalized." "By your ordination," he went on to tell the permanent deacons of the United States, "you are configured to Christ in his servant role. You are … living signs of the servanthood of the Church."

What a magnificent Gospel we have this morning! Jesus speaks those words which are at the origin of all service in the Church: "This is my commandment: love one another as I love you." And then He shows to what point they are applicable: "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends." On this your ordination day, dear brothers, you must not miss the meaning of Christ’s challenge. You are called to lay down your lives in a special form of service. The service that you are called to render as deacons of the Church is a sacramental service. It is a ministry of the word, a ministry at the altar, a ministry of charity.

In regard to your witness to God’s word, Saint Paul tells us clearly this morning. "...we do not preach ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves for the sake of Jesus."

Your ministry places you at the altar, close to the Bishop and his priests in the Eucharistic Sacrifice. It is from the altar that you will derive strength and power to go out and bear witness not only to the truth but also to the charity of Christ. For every Christian there is a close link between worship and service. For you this link is a seal of your identity as a sacramental minister of the Church.

Your ministry of charity will require zeal and the ingenuity to discover the needs of God’s people and to help fulfill them: the needs of the poor, the sick and suffering, the homeless, those uninstructed in the faith, those in need of love, those languishing in despair, all those in need of Christ.

Pope John Paul II put it this way: "… it is a source of satisfaction to learn that so many permanent deacons in the United States are involved in direct service to the needy: to the ill, the abused and battered, the young and old, the dying and bereaved, the deaf, blind and disabled, those who have known suffering in their marriages, the homeless, victims of substance abuse, prisoners, refugees, street people, the rural poor, the victims of racial and ethnic discrimination and many others."

Dear brothers to be ordained deacons: these are your people; these are your friends. So many of your brother deacons have preceded you in seeking out those in need. With the power of Christ’s charity they have knocked on doors, broken down barriers of long-standing aversion, penetrated closed spaces and entered into the lives of many brothers and sisters, bringing with them Christ Himself and His sanctifying and uplifting Gospel of justice and peace, of truth and life.

For the effectiveness of your ministry we know that there is, however, a necessary condition. The humble Christ wants His minister of service to be endowed with holiness of life. That is why the Church prays for you today in these words, at the moment when she invests you with the dignity and sacramental character of the diaconate: "May there abound in them every Gospel virtue: unfeigned love...the purity of innocence, and the observance of spiritual discipline."

It becomes crystal clear in the context of the ordination liturgy that your lives of service require union with God. For this reason your success requires prayer: the prayer of praise, adoration, reparation and intercession. Your fidelity to the sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist will fortify you to persevere in generous service and to live your sacred commitment joyfully to the end.

You present yourselves for ordination today accompanied by your wives. Your sacramental service as deacons will be integrated with your vocation to a state of life which is that of Christian married love. At every turn you will be challenged to contribute to the transformation of family life according to the Gospel. This will be a special part of your service to the Church.

In speaking of the married deacon, Pope John Paul II stated: "He and his wife, having entered into a communion of life, are called to help and serve each other.… [T]he nurturing and deepening of mutual sacrificial love between husband and wife constitute perhaps the most significant involvement of a deacon’s wife in her husband’s public ministry in the Church. Today especially this is no small service. In particular, the deacon and his wife must be a living example of fidelity and indissolubility in Christian marriage before a world in dire need of such signs."

Dear brothers to be ordained: every dimension of your lives is a challenge to be faithful, a challenge to serve. Jesus Himself has left you the example of how to serve faithfully. In receiving the gift of ordination to the diaconate, you are confirmed as living signs of the servanthood of Christ’s Church, living signs of the Christ who serves.

Your vocation will involve team work. The team is the Church. Your co-workers are all the faithful, your fellow parishioners, all your brothers and sisters in the community. In a special way you are linked with the priests in their ministry and with your Bishop. No act of service in the parish or the Archdiocese is beneath your dignity. No need in the Church is outside the sphere of your sacramental service. Christ wills to continue His role of servanthood in you.

To preserve the spirit of your ordination, you must always remember today’s Gospel. You must remember Christ’s words: "No one has greater love than this to lay down one’s life for one’s friends."

Dear brothers: Mary the Mother of Jesus, herself the Servant of the Lord, will help you to serve faithfully in the name of her Son. She will teach you how to lay down your life with Jesus. On this your ordination day, I invite you to consecrate yourselves to Mary, and entrust to her your families and all those whom you will be honored to serve in the name of Jesus. Amen.