HOMILY ON THE OCCASION OF THE ORDINATION AS DEACONS OF ANDY BRADY AND DAMIAN KIVLEHAN

5 October 2014

This is a historic day for the diocese of Kilmore as we come together to celebrate the ordination of Andy Brady and Damian Kivlehan as Permanent Deacons for service in our diocese. They will be the first Permanent Deacons in the recorded history of the diocese and I trust that they will soon be joined by others who have been called to exercise this ministry in the Church. In the early Church deacons had a very prominent role. They assisted the bishop and were very much to the fore in the exercise of charity. However, their role was gradually absorbed into the role of priests and the order all but disappeared as a separate ministry. It became simply a stage on the journey to priesthood.

But all that changed after the Second Vatican Council in 1965. The Council decided to re-establish the Permanent Diaconate and restore it to its original place in the life of the Church. There are more than 40,000 Permanent Deacons in the Church today, mainly in Europe and American, but here in Ireland we are only beginning to catch up. Over the past two or three years Permanent Deacons have been ordained for several dioceses, and are already in ministry in parishes around the country.

We have been used to thinking of the sacrament of Holy Orders as something given only to priests but the ordinations taking place today remind us that it is wider than that. There are three distinct steps in the sacrament of Holy Orders, deacon, priest and bishop. So these men also bring a new dimension to ministry in the diocese in that they will be the first married men to receive the sacrament of Holy Orders. Their families, and particularly their wives, have been very much part of their journey of preparation for the sacrament over the past four years. They have supported them at every step of the way and will continue to do so as they exercise their ministry in the future. 

I believe that the introduction of married ministers will enrich our Church in a particular way in that they will bring the experience of marriage and family life to their ministry. We know that in other parts of the Church priests can be married. There are married priests in England who were formerly Anglicans, and of course the Churches of the Eastern Rite have married priests. Up to very recently the Catholic Church in Ireland and many other countries has lacked the witness of married ministers in its ranks, but this will now change with the ordination of Permanent Deacons.

I look forward to these men and others who will, please God, follow them, making a special contribution to the Church’s ministry to families in particular. As you are probably aware, the Synod of Bishops is gathering in Rome as we speak, to begin its deliberations on the theme of the family: “Pastoral Challenges to the Family in the Context of the New Evangelization.” We have been asked by Pope Francis to pray often for those taking part in the Synod over the next few weeks. We ask the Holy Spirit to fill them with Wisdom as they consider this very important topic for the future of the Church. And we hope that at next year’s Synod, which will continue the work of this one on the Family, there will be married clergy and even more lay people among those taking part and contributing their experience of marriage and family life to the deliberations of the Synod.

Today we pray for Andy Brady and Damien Kivlehan, that they will receive a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the sacrament of Holy Orders, and that they will draw strength from the Spirit to enable them to carry out the duties that will be theirs as deacons. In a short time they will be working alongside the priests and people in the parishes of Cavan and Bailieborough in three main roles, as ministers of the word, of the altar and of charity.

First of all, as ministers of the word they will lead the community in prayer, proclaim the Gospel, and preach. They may also assist at marriages and bless them and preside at funerals.

Secondly, as ministers of the altar they will assist at the celebration of Mass, in distributing Holy Communion and in bringing Communion to the sick and the dying.

The third role of the deacon, doing works of charity in the community, is the one highlighted in the first reading of our Mass today from the Acts of the Apostles. In fact it was the original reason for creating this order in the Church.

The passage from the Acts of the Apostles tells how apostles were so burdened with the tasks of helping the poor and administration that they no longer had time for their core tasks of witnessing to and preaching the message of Jesus. So they chose seven of the disciples and deputed them specifically for these tasks by laying hands on them and invoking the Holy Spirit to come down on them. So service of the poor and the needy is an important part of the duties that Damien and Andy will be exercising as deacons.

Today, Damien and Andy are being sent out on mission, as Jesus sent out the seventy two disciples in the Gospel story of the Mass. Their mission and ministry have many aspects to them, but their whole mission can be summed up in the command of Jesus to proclaim that the Kingdom of God is near. You task is to remind people that God is not far away and to help them to come closer to him. I wish you every blessing and happiness in this ministry and I thank you for your generosity in offering yourselves in its service.

So, my sons, you are being raised to the order of deacons. The Lord has set an example for you to follow.

As deacons you will serve Jesus Christ, who was known among his disciples as the one who served others. Do the will of God generously. Serve God and mankind in love and joy. Look upon all unchastity and avarice as worship of false gods; for no man can serve two masters.      

Like the men the apostles chose for works of charity, you should be men of good reputation, filled with wisdom and the Holy Spirit. Show before God and mankind that you are above every suspicion of blame, true ministers of Christ and of God’s mysteries, men firmly rooted in faith. Never turn away from the hope which the Gospel offers; now you must not only listen to God’s word but also preach it. Hold the mystery of faith with a clear conscience. Express in action what you proclaim by word of mouth. Then the people of Christ, brought to life by the Spirit, will be an offering God accepts. Finally, on the last day, when you go to meet the Lord, you will hear him say: “Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord.”