National Directory for the Formation, Ministry and Life of Permanent ...

Doctrinal Understanding of the Diaconate21loving service of the needy. In the deacon, in a unique way, is representedthe integral relationship between the worship of God in theliturgy that recalls Jesus Christ’s redemptive sacrifice sacramentallyand the worship of God in everyday life where Jesus Christ isencountered in the needy. The deacon’s service begins at the altarand returns there. The sacrificial love of Christ celebrated in theEucharist nourishes him and motivates him to lay down his life onbehalf of God’s People.38. The apostles’ decision to appoint ministers to attend to theneeds of the Greek-speaking widows of the early Church atJerusalem 41 has long been interpreted as a normative step in the evolutionof ministry. It is seen as a practical response to Jesus’ commandduring the Last Supper of mutual service among his followers.In washing his disciples’ feet, Jesus as head and shepherd of the communitymodeled the service that he desired to be the hallmark oftheir faithfulness. This gave the disciples a powerful sign of the loveof God that was, in Jesus himself, incarnate and intended to be foreverenfleshed in the attitudes and behaviors of his followers. 42 Thedeacon, consecrated and conformed to the mission of Christ, Lordand Servant, has a particular concern for the vitality and genuinenessof the exercise of diakonia in the life of the believing community. In aworld hungry and thirsty for convincing signs of the compassion andliberating love of God, the deacon sacramentalizes the mission of theChurch in his words and deeds, responding to the master’s commandof service and providing real-life examples of how to carry it out.The washing of feet:The foundationalmodel of diaconalserviceVIII. An Intrinsic Unity39. By ordination, the deacon, who sacramentalizes the Church’sservice, is to exercise the Church’s diakonia. Therefore, “the diaconalministries, distinguished above, are not to be separated; thedeacon is ordained for them all, and no one should be ordained whois not prepared to undertake each in some way.” 43 “However, even ifthis inherent ministerial service is one and the same in every case,nevertheless, the concrete ways of carrying it out are diverse; thesemust be suggested, in each case, by the different pastoral situationsof the single churches.” 44 A deacon may also have greater abilities inone aspect of ministry; and, therefore, his service may be marked byone of them more than by the others. Fundamentally, however,An intrinsic unityamong the deacon’sservice ministries