Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin has publicly expressed his
support for the role of permanent deacons in the Church saying they do
not exercise some lesser form of diaconate because they are not going to
be priests.In his homily for the ordination of six men to the diaconate on Sunday, the Archbishop told the congregation gathered in the College Chapel in Maynooth that the Church had yet to “rediscover more clearly the place of the diaconate.”
Speaking to CiNews after the ceremony, he said of the growing body of permanent deacons, “I think they will be a very strong feature of the Irish church in the future.”
In his homily, he told the six deacons, who ranged in age from their mid 20s to their 60s, that it was important to remember that there is only one diaconate in the Church.
Speaking of the mission of all deacons, Dr Martin said it is something which crystallises an essential dimension of the Church as the Church witnesses to Christ who serves.
“There is nothing transitory in the essential mission of the deacon”, he commented.
He also warned the new deacons, who will serve in Tuam, Raphoe, Cork & Ross, Armagh, Cashel & Emly and Dromore that “discussions on renewal in the Church can drift into being introverted and focused on inner-Church quarrels and become narcissistic.”
“Narcissism is not the way to win minds and hearts for the message of Jesus. Theological and ecclesial narcissism will never heal wounds and will never offer the men and women of our time a sense of meaning and peace, of hope and purpose in life”, he commented.
On the nature of their ministry, the Primate of Ireland said anyone who is called to ministry in the Church as a deacon is called not to be served but to serve. “A self-serving Church is not the Church of Jesus Christ”, he said.
At the end of the ceremony, which involved the calling of candidates, election by the bishop and consent of the people, a commitment to celibacy and a promise of obedience, the Archbishop described it as “a very important day in the life of the college”.
He said his wish for the deacons was that they have “a full, fruitful and enthusiastic ministry as deacons” and he urged them to bring their enthusiasm to the Church, particularly in support of “those of us who are getting a little older”.
Citing Pope Francis in his homily, Archbishop Martin said the Pontiff noted that “at times we feel that the failures in our evangelising efforts are due to the fact that so many in today’s world are closed to God; that when Jesus knocks on our doors we do not let him in.
But he noted that the Pope counters that by saying ‘we also fail at times when Jesus knocks from within and we do not let him out’.
He added that bringing the message of Jesus to the frontiers of our society inevitably involves, as Pope Francis phrases it, "breaking out".
“It involves breaking out from ourselves to follow Christ, breaking out from a tired faith based on pure habit and breaking out from being imprisoned in our own dissatisfactions and frustrations and false certainties which only impede the creative action of God working in and through us.”
He added that a self-referential Church keeps Jesus within her and does not let him out. “A self referential Church believes that she is her own light and stops being a witness to the [true light]. A self referential Church fails to know Jesus and can never witness to Jesus”, he said.
Explaining the ministry of the deacon, he said it requires a deep freedom from all attachments to material goods and ideas; it requires a different attitude towards a creation and detachment from the things which would make the ministry inward looking; “it requires putting ourselves aside rather than being self-referential”.
Speaking as the deacons congregated in warm sunshine with their families and friends after Mass, Archbishop Martin paid tribute to the National Seminary in Maynooth, describing it as “a strong institution” which provided “good formation” but he regretted that vocations are low.
However, the President of Maynooth, Mgr Hugh Connolly, said a batch of six compared favourably with other seminaries in Europe though it was a much smaller number compared to over 30 years ago. “But we have to work with the reality which we have today”, he said.
“I am very happy that we have a vibrant formation community and that it was well received by the apostolic visitation and that we have a strong and vibrant future”, the President of Maynooth added.
The six, Sean Flynn from Tuam, Stephen Gorman from Raphoe, Ben Hodnett from Cork & Ross, Seán McGuigan from Armagh, Dominic Meehan from Cashel & Emly and Colm Murphy from Dromore, came to their studies for the priesthood from diverse backgrounds including accountancy, teaching and one was a funeral undertaker.
According to Mgr Connolly ordination to the priesthood generally follows up to 12 months later. In the meantime, they will serve in their local parishes and also in the seminary for their final year as they complete their studies.