42 Deacon ordination and call to service

Ordination of Rev Paul Marley - July 1991

In the Cathedral's 150th Anniversary there was a special blog (Billington's Blog) reporting on events from the past 150 years.  There is an entry about the ordination of a Deacon the Rev. Paul Marley, who was ordained by Bishop John Brewer, on 20th July 1991.  This was a few years before the reordering of the Cathedral, so a chance to see what it used to look like.

What is the role of the deacon?

Deacons supporting Bishop Michael Campbell during Eucharistic Prayer

CCC 1570 Deacons share in Christ's mission and grace in a special way. The sacrament of Holy Orders marks them with an imprint ("character") which cannot be removed and which configures them to Christ, who made himself the  "deacon" or servant of all. Among other tasks, it is the task of deacons to assist the bishop and priests in the celebration of the divine mysteries, above all the Eucharist, in the distribution of Holy Communion, in assisting at and blessing marriages, in the proclamation of the Gospel and preaching, in presiding over funerals, and in dedicating themselves to the various ministries of charity.

Who can be a permanent deacon?

CCC 1571 Since the Second Vatican Council the Latin Church has restored the diaconate "as a proper and permanent rank of the hierarchy," while the Churches of the East had always maintained it. This permanent diaconate, which can be conferred on married men, constitutes an important enrichment for the Church's mission. Indeed it is appropriate and useful that men who carry out a truly diaconal ministry in the Church, whether in its liturgical and pastoral life or whether in its social and charitable works, should "be strengthened by the imposition of hands which has come down from the apostles. They would be more closely bound to the altar and their ministry would be made more fruitful through the sacramental grace of the diaconate."

   

42 Deacon Stole and Book of Gospels

Deacons at Chrism Mass 2013

Deacons are called to share in Christ's mission in a special way. They are men who have been ordained to help priests in the celebration of the sacraments and in serving the Church. Unlike priests, deacons may be married when they are ordained but a single man who becomes a deacon cannot later marry. A deacon can help to celebrate Mass by proclaiming the Gospel, preaching and distributing Holy Communion. A deacon can also minister the Sacraments of Baptism and be the official witness in the Sacrament of Marriage. Deacons help in parish life by supporting the priest in serving the needs of the people, visiting the sick, helping with preparation for receiving the Sacraments and leading people to God through prayer.

To hear more about the life of a deacon you may want to read recent post on Cathedral's novena of vocation messages Deacon Jim Wood - Call to Service

Deacon Jim Wood carrying the Gospel 

Below a short video explaining the importance of the permanent diaconate

41 Priest and the Joy of Priesthood

Canon Alf Hayes: Parish Priest
 St Wulstans and St Edmund of Canterbury, Fleetwood

In the recent novena for vocations we featured some entries from the Lancaster Diocese vocations posts The Joy of Priesthood 

Guess who this priest is?
"Variety is a hallmark of the diocesan priesthood.  In all the variety, I can truly say it is indeed a great joy to be a priest, serving Christ and his people"

Click 'The Joy of Priesthood' to read more via the follow up links to priests in the diocese and for the most recent priest in the series Canon Alf Hayes (Cathedral Dean 1999-2003) 

41 Priest: Stole and Chalice

A priest is God's messenger to His people. He has been chosen by God to serve the Church and to help people grow closer to God through prayer and the sacraments. Jesus chose twelve apostles to continue the mission given to him by God and through the Holy Spirit and the Sacrament of Ordination, this mission is handed on to priests, who receive the Spirit of Jesus to act in his name and in his person. The work of every priest is different. Some work in parishes, schools, hospitals, prisons or in the armed forces. Wherever a priest is based, he celebrates Mass and the other sacraments, he leads people in prayer, he teaches them about God and he offers support and guidance in daily life.

For a simple drag and drop activity to learn more about what a priest wears.

Dress the priest

The ordination of a priest includes a number of different 'ceremonies' including:

• being clothed with stole and chausible the vestments a priest wears 
• being given the paten and chalice that the priest will use for the Eucharist, a prayer is said asking the priest to model his life on the mystery he will celebrate during Mass

For details of the Rite of ordination in pictures or a simple account of the different parts of the ordination service including the presentation of the stole and chalice.   

40 Bishop's Wardrobe

Bishop Michael Campbell

There were quite a few layers for the bishops to wear! Bishop Michael is pictures here. Over his purple cassock he is wearing an alb (the white garment), as is usual for Mass. Over the alb he wore a stole - a symbol of his authority. The stole is worn in the same manner by bishops and priests. Over this he wore a dalmatic (the squared-off edges and gold trim can be seen in the picture). The dalmatic is worn by deacons (as in Sunday's post), and so represents service, as deacons are servants within the Church. Finally, a chasuble is worn over all of these. Bishops and priests wear a chasuble for celebrating Mass. It represents charity, love. In this way the order of the vestments is significant: over the symbol of authority (the stole) is placed the symbol of service (the dalmatic); over all the symbol of charity is worn. This shows that the bishop's authority is to be used in service and out of love for the people in his care. By wearing all the symbols of office of priests and deacons, he also shows that he has the fullness of the sacrament of orders, and is able to confer these gifts on others by ordination.

Taken from Lancaster Cathedral Blog post 7 April 2008 

To read more about the Ordination of a Bishop see the original Lancaster Cathedral Blog 

40 Bishop's Chair

Cathedra 

:Lancaster University Cathedra

CCC 1184 The chair of the bishop (cathedra) or that of the priest "should express his office of presiding over the assembly and of directing prayer."

The lectern (ambo): "The dignity of the Word of God requires the church to have a suitable place for announcing his message so that the attention of the people may be easily directed to that place during the liturgy of the Word."

Since it became a Cathedral, Lancaster has had two Cathedra, news of the original wooden Cathedra which was first used 12th February 1928 were reported on in Billington's Blog

Original Cathedra

The current Cathedra (above) was installed when the Cathedral was reordered.  To read more about what a diocese is called when there is no Bishop see a post on the original Cathedral Blog

For the  past two years when the Bishop has confirmed people it is whilst sitting in the Cathedra that he anoints them.

Bishop Michael Campbell
sitting in Cathedra

40 Bishops of Lancaster since Vatican 2

The year of Faith was launched at the 50th Anniversary of Vatican 2, object XX when we celebrated the Feast of the First Pope St Peter we looked at the Popes for the last 50 years, this week we remember the four Bishops of Lancaster.  

The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains how the ministry of shepherding the Church of God is passed on ...

CCC 861 "In order that the mission entrusted to them might be continued after their death, [the apostles] consigned, by will and testament, as it were, to their immediate collaborators the duty of completing and consolidating the work they had begun, urging them to tend to the whole flock, in which the Holy Spirit had appointed them to shepherd the Church of God. They accordingly designated such men and then made the ruling that likewise on their death other proven men should take over their ministry."

Newly ordained Bishop Michael Campbell (left) and Bishop Patrick O'Donoghue (right) 2008
with four Deacons

In 2008, Lancaster had two Bishops when Bishop Michael became a co-adjutor Bishop until he took over from Bishop Patrick on  3rd May 2009