Bishop-elect to deacons: service gives authority to proclamation of the Gospel
By Jay Nies
Service is what gives the Church her credibility in proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ to all people, especially those in most need of hearing it.
That is why the first formal event leading up to Bishop-elect W. Shawn McKnight’s ordination as bishop of the Jefferson City diocese involved deacons and Christian service.
“I am communicating to you and others my vision of the diaconate, as well as the pastoral dream of our Holy Father, Pope Francis, that we be a Church that reaches out to the peripheries,” Bishop-elect McKnight told deacons, candidates for the permanent diaconate, and their wives.
They were gathered Feb. 4 for an afternoon prayer service in the chapel of Fr. Tolton Regional Catholic High School in Columbia.
Together, they prayed and meditated on the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary, given by Pope St. John Paul II. The mysteries include: Jesus’ baptism in the River Jordan; His first miracle at the Wedding Feast at Cana; His proclamation of the Kingdom of God and call to conversion; the revelation of His glory during His Transfiguration on Mount Tabor, and the Institution of the Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper.
“Our mission as a diocese, as a local Church, is to proclaim Jesus Christ and the arrival of the Kingdom of God,” the bishop-elect stated. “There is no other way to proclaim the Kingdom than to manifest it in action. For people to listen to what we have to proclaim, they must see that we speak with power and authority.”
That authority comes from Jesus Christ, Who bolstered His own teaching by consistently putting it into action.
“Modern people no longer listen to teachers because of their authority as teachers,” Bishop-elect McKnight noted, paraphrasing Blessed Pope Paul VI (+1963-1978). “When they do listen to teachers, it is because the teachers give witness to what they say. They talk the talk and walk the walk.”
United in mission
The bishop-elect emphasized that deacons, through their ministry of sacrificial service on behalf of the whole the Church, “facilitate, enhance, enrich and extend” the teaching ministry of the priests and bishops.
“The ministry of charity is essential to our ministry of teaching and sanctifying,” he said.
He insisted that deacons should not be seen as stand-ins for priests.
“We have deacons BECAUSE we have priests!” he said. “Your ministry makes no sense without a connection to the priest.”
Sharing the sacrament of holy orders, deacons, priests and bishops enhance one another’s effectiveness in leading souls to Christ.
“Through the sacramental icon of the deacon, the ministry of bishop and his priests is extended beyond what they can do personally,” the bishop-elect noted.
Deacons, representing the bishop, allow him to be connected to a larger number of people who are in hospitals, nursing homes and prisons or who are homebound or otherwise isolated.
It is a reflection of the mission and work of the Church and all of its people.
“Together, we make Christ present to those who are physically separated from the gathering of the local Church,” the bishop-elect stated. “The sacramental symbolism of the deacon serves to remind all of us of our bonds of communion with one another, as well as to overcome any obstacles to that communion.”
Bishop-elect McKnight thanked the deacons’ wives for the sacrifices they make and acknowledged their essential role in diaconal ministry.
“Your husbands could not do what they do as deacons without your help and support, and for that, I am grateful,” he said.
He noted that when a wife gives canonical consent for their husband to be ordained, she become parts of his ministry in every place and time he functions as a deacon.
“This is true even when you’re not ministering alongside him,” he said. “Freeing him up at home and sometimes hopefully pushing him out the door to do the Lord’s work requires sacrificial giving.”
Mysteries of Light
The bishop-elect then invited the deacons and their wives to call upon the intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, patroness of the Jefferson City diocese, as they prayed the Rosary for the entire diaconal community.
“So pull out your beads ... here we go!” he said.
For each of the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary, also known as the Mysteries of Light, a deacon and his wife proclaimed a passage from Scripture, gave a short reflection on how it applies to diaconal ministry, and led a decade of prayers.
Leading the prayers were: Deacon Raymond and Donna Purvis, Deacon Burdett and Joyce Wilson, Deacon Joseph and Mary Elaine Horton, Deacon Christopher and Patsy Wickern, Deacon James and Laura Davies, David and Thérèse Ream, and Deacon Rick Sr. and Susan Vice.
After a blessing, the deacons went forth to be of service.
Bishop-elect McKnight accompanied Deacon Gene Kazmierczak, a volunteer chaplain with the Columbia Catholic Hospital Ministry, on a visit to Boone Hospital Center in Columbia.
The bishop-elect visited, prayed with and blessed patients in the Oncology Department, the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and elsewhere.
Fifty-three deacons who attended the service also planned on Sunday or Monday to visit hospitals, nursing homes, prisons, jails, ministries to people who are homeless and to those who are hungry, schools, homebound parishioners, and other ministries.
Bishop-elect McKnight asked them to present to each of the people they visit prayer cards from his ordination, as well as instructions for how to watch the Ordination Mass on TV or listen to it on the radio.
Photo gallery from this event:
