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

32Chapter 2Ministry-employmentcompatibilityDiocese-coordinatedservices60. The secular employment of a deacon is also linked with hisministry. 50 Although his secular work may benefit the community,some professions can become incompatible with the pastoralresponsibilities of his ministry. The bishop, “bearing in mind therequirements of ecclesial communion and of the fruitfulness of pastoralministry, shall evaluate individual cases as they arise, [and mayrequire] a change of profession after ordination.” 51Unity in Pastoral Activity61. Under the diocesan bishop’s authority, joint meetings andcooperative action “arranged between priests, deacons, religious,and laity involved in pastoral work [can] avoid compartmentalizationor the development of isolated groups and . . . guarantee coordinatedunity for different pastoral activities.” 52II. Diaconal SpiritualityJesus, the ServantThe priority ofthe spiritual lifeIntroduction62. The primary sources of a deacon’s spirituality are his participationin the sacraments of Christian initiation, as well as his sacramentalidentity and participation in ordained ministry. For a deaconwho is married, his spirituality is nurtured further in the Sacrament ofMatrimony, which sanctifies conjugal love and constitutes it as a signof the love with which Christ gives himself to the Church. For thecelibate deacon, loving God and serving his neighbor roots his wholeperson in a total and undivided consecration to Christ. For eachdeacon, his model par excellence is Jesus Christ, the Servant, wholived totally at the service of his Father, for the good of every person. 53To live their ministry to the fullest, “deacons must know Christ intimatelyso that He may shoulder the burdens of their ministry.” 54Spiritual Life63. Deacons are obligated to give priority to the spiritual life andto live their diakonia with generosity. They should integrate theirfamily obligations, professional life, and ministerial responsibilitiesso as to grow in their commitment to the person and mission ofChrist, the Servant. Clerics have a special obligation to seek holinessin their lives “because they are consecrated to God by a newtitle in the reception of orders as dispensers of God’s mysteries in theservice of His people.” 55