Diaconia
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Volume XX
Number 3
October 2000

Justice and Peace Shall Kiss: Jubilee Justice

This is the fifth in a five part series on the Great Jubilee

To the prophets of Hebrew Scripture, any injustice was the cause of heartache, pain, and grief. The prophets knew the heart of God, and the justice of God. The justice that Abraham Heschel speaks of when he quotes an ancient rabbinical saying: 'Whoever destroys a single soul should be considered the same as one who has destroyed a whole world. And whoever saves one single soul is to be considered the same as one who has saved a whole world.'

Jubilee justice calls us to re-focus on the heart, and justice, of God. Justice as Jesus lived it: recognizing the dignity and sacredness of every individual life, no matter how marginalized, how powerless, or how far removed from our daily lives. In the previous three essays we reflected on such sacredness: the sacredness of the Sabbath which reminds us that everything is from God; the sacredness of the poor who are burdened by international debt; and the sacredness of those without freedom, even prisoners who have sinned grievously against our communities. Jubilee justice encompasses all of these, for if we destroy one life, we have destroyed the whole world, and if we save one, we save the whole world.

When Jesus opened the scroll from the prophet Isaiah and read to his neighbors and friends, he told us what justice means: to bring glad tidings to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives, to give sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord. A year acceptable to the Lord is a Jubilee year, a time when, as the psalm tells us, 'love and truth will meet; justice and peace shall kiss'.

How can we live out this acceptable year? What does it mean in practice to seek the justice of the prophets, the justice that is the essence of Christ? Walter Brueggemann puts it in stark terms: find out what belongs to whom and give it back. What have we, as a society, taken from others in our world?

We have taken their labor: Is it just that slave labor is used in China, and elsewhere, so that we can be supplied with inexpensive goods?

We have taken their resources: Is it just that we so use oil from Nigeria and Angola which indirectly supports repressive, inhumane governments? Is it just that we are abusing the environment by our lifestyle in the developed world; that the air, water, and climate, which belong to all people, are suffering from our consumption?

We have taken their health: Is it just that the life expectancy in Africa may approach 30 years because the price of drugs to combat AIDS is too high? Are the lives of our citizens worth more than those in Africa?

We have taken their freedom: Is it just that some inmates in Massachusetts prisons are transferred to Texas in the middle of the night, away from their families and friends?

We have taken their dreams: Is it just that immigrants, seeking a better life for themselves and their families, are forced to pay smugglers all they own and risk death inside truck containers or overcrowded boats as their only avenue of hope?

We have taken their lives: Is it just that starvation exists anywhere in the world during this time of historic prosperity? Is it just that people live, and die, in shanty towns built in the garbage dumps of Manila or El Salvador where they dig for food, while we have such excess?

And what about closer to home? Do we live Jubilee justice within our own families? Do we respect the dignity of our spouses and children and recognize that our lives as deacons are gifts given and nurtured by them? Do we live Jubilee justice in our parishes? Do we remember that there is a broken heart sitting in every pew and respect that brokenness in our preaching by always holding up the hope of the gospel? Do we live Jubilee justice in our workplace? Do we strive to see the sacredness of each individual, to nurture the gifts of coworkers, and treat competitors fairly?

There is much that belongs to others and we must strive to give it back. In baptism we were all anointed as prophets, and so, like the prophets in scripture, we must feel the pain and grief of injustice. We must embrace the justice of Christ, the justice that sees each person's life as sacred, the justice that leads to peace.

Deacon Dan Burns, '98

Assignments for the Class of 2000

His Eminence Bernard Cardinal Law has assigned the newly ordained class of permanent deacons to the following parishes.

Deacon J. Scott Abercrombie, Jr. St. John the Evangelist Parish, Wellesley
Deacon Andrew J. Acampora St. John the Evangelist, Swampscott
Deacon Richard F. Bilotta St. Margaret's Parish, Burlington
Deacon John E. Bortz, Sr. St. Elizabeth of Hungary Parish, Acton
Deacon John F. Boyle, Jr. St. Joseph's Parish, Holbrook
Deacon Charles M. Bubello St. John the Baptist Parish, Quincy
Deacon Thomas P. Burke St. Mary's Parish, Randolph
Deacon Michael J. Cavanaugh St. Clare's Parish, Braintree
Deacon Paul M. Cloonan St. Paul's Parish, Wellesley
Deacon Daniel F. Crimmins St. Anne's Parish, Littletown
Deacon Richard P. Delio St. Mary's Parish, Franklin
Deacon Francis G. Gates St. Bernadette's Parish, Randolph
Deacon Paul S. Jones Our Lady of Lourdes Parish. Carver
Deacon Richard C. Martino St. Ann's Parish, Marlborough
Deacon Ricardo M. Mesa St. Margaret's Parish, Dorchester
Deacon Kenneth N. Ryan St. Francis of Assisi Parish, Braintree
Deacon Louis W. Sheedy St. Mary's Parish, Dedham
Deacon Norman R. St. Hilaire St. Richard's Parish, Danvers
Deacon John P. Steuterman Resurrection Parish, Hingham
Deacon Dennis Vandi St. Mary's Parish, Chelmsford
Deacon Charles P. Webb St. Thomas More Parish, Braintree

From the Director

With this issue of Diaconia we conclude our 5-part series on Jubilee 2000. Deacon Dan Burns' reflection on Jubilee Justice offers a fitting and insightful addition to the four previous articles: Jubilee by Deacon Leo Martin '77; The Jubilee Sabbath by Deacon Charles Cornell '92; Forgiveness of Debt by Deacon Charles Clough '86; and Freedom for Prisoners by Deacon William Kane '90. These essays have garnered national attention from diaconate publications, and some were reprinted. Their insights have been challenging and provocative. In addition, Deacon Mike Hickey's reflection on the National Catholic Diaconate Conference in Moraga, California highlights the deacon's role in the Third Millennium. Even though this published focus on the Jubilee is coming to an end, the challenge of the Jubilee Year is just beginning.

The Jubilee challenges deacons, their wives and all of us believers to "fall in love" all over again-with our God, with our church, with our spouses, with our families, and for deacons, especially with our poor. The poor belong to deacons in a special way. By "poor" we mean those who are unable to be at the table with us. The unborn, elderly, mentally ill, economically impoverished, alienated teen, and anyone who is not accepted for any reason are poor. Any parent who has accompanied his/her child to the pediatrician for the first inoculation knows that when the shot is administered to the child, the parent feels the sting. When someone you love hurts, you hurt! The Jubilee challenges us to fall in love with the poor and as a result suffer with them. One has only to look to The Holy Father to find a model of one who aches with those who are hurting.

Two remaining questions posed by the Jubilee Year are, "Who is not here at the table with us?" and "Why not?
The challenge continues!

Deacon Leo Donoghue '92

Living Figure or Restored Figurine?

Every permanent deacon must have asked more than once, why did the order to which he so enthusiastically belongs disappear from the life of the Church. Or, why was it recently restored. Did some theologians and bishops venture into the dark and dusty basement of the Church to find some venerable deacons broken and disabled, and suddenly moved with pity and nostalgia decided to rescue them, and once repaired and painted, sent them back upstairs again around altars and bishops? Thus we fix an old and forgotten ornament, and put it back in the living room, another pretty figurine on the mantelpiece. After all, the object was grandmother's gift and it does have some sentimental value.

The mere thought that today's permanent deacons could owe their new existence to sentimentality would be a terrible insult to every one of them. The service of the altar, with the solemn proclamation of the Gospel and preaching God's Word, making possible the peace of Christ among all present, and finally the sending of his brothers and sisters into the world, very often into the dens of ferocious beasts, is indeed a marvelous and courageous task, beyond the powers of this fragile and cowardly world. And voilá, the deacon does it all for you!

Yet, when you think about it, all that is rather easy, a matter of a few skills that anybody could learn in time. If this were all the deacon is and does, he would be indeed a sort of liturgical figurine to be seen around the altar and behind the pulpit only to disappear when it comes to serve the community in any number of ways in the real needy world.

As every reader of the New Testament knows, the idea at the very origin of the diaconate is quite different. Deacons appeared as unconditional servants of their brothers and sisters, the ministry of charity being top priority. Far from being liturgical figurines or pretty episcopal ornaments, the Seven Deacons of Acts 6:1-6 were very much alive, "full of faith and of the Holy Spirit". Still today their names sound with the power and beauty of dedicated lives: Stephen, Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicolaus, "a convert to Judaism." You can see the pride the communities took in them. Later, the author of the Didascalia Apostolorum told deacons that "if your ministry obliges you to lay down your lives for a brother you should do so", perhaps the kind of thing that only firemen and special forces hear today. It is precisely that readiness to serve that stamps the sign of authenticity. As Paul VI put it in a brief document about deacons, "the candidates accede to sacred orders fully aware of their vocation, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord, constant in prayer and aware of the needs of the faithful" (Ad Pascendum, 1972).

The presence at the altar or the preaching from the pulpit is a service in itself but more importantly it signals in the clearest possible way to the community that they are truly ready and willing to serve their brothers and sisters in any way and need they may have. A deacon unaware of the needs of the faithful will not be a living figure but a figurine. Only in that awareness and readiness to serve is the diaconate fully restored and comes truly alive, not as another figure in the liturgical procession but as a living force, a permanent service.

The destiny of the deacon, as of any faithful Christian, is not the altar but the street, not the temple but the world. The Eucharist compels the disciple to go out and live for others. And the deacon, who lives and works in the real world, and usually more so than the priest, should be the first to agree with G. K. Chesterton that "a religion is not the church a man goes to but the cosmos he lives in."

Rev. Alvaro de Silva Associate Director of Permanent Diaconate Office

NCDC 2000

The National Catholic Diaconate Conference Jubilee 2000 was held at St. Mary's College, Moraga, California in the diocese of Oakland. This spectacular event attracted almost 900 deacons and their wives.

The theme of the Jubilee conference was, The Deacon in the Third Millennium: A New Evangelization. The gathering reminded the deacons of the commission we received at our ordination: Receive the gospel of Jesus Christ whose herald you are.

The goals of the conference emphasized the Jubilee theme:

• To celebrate the order of deacon as "a great and visible sign of the working of the Holy Spirit in the wake of the Second Vatican Council." John Paul II
• To acknowledge the contribution of deacons to the ministry and life of the church in the United States.
• To foster collaboration and networking among deacons and their families.
• To provide a forum for education and discussion on the mission of the order of deacon in third millennium.

With a great line-up of speakers and topics, it was truly inspiring not only to be part of the conference but to be a member of this diverse group of dedicated men and women who make up the diaconate family. All of the liturgies during this conference reflected the beautiful diversity that we share in the diaconate community. The final Mass that was held outside in the Chapel Plaza reflected this amazing blend by including hymns in seven different languages.

The Archdiocese of Boston was well represented by: Deacon Leo Donoghue and his wife Edna, Rev. Alvaro Silva, Deacon Barry Lloyd and his wife Joyce, Deacon Mike Hickey and his wife Maureen, and Deacon Dan Sullivan

These conferences help to bind us together as deacons and strengthen our commitment to serve Christ more fully. To be surrounded by the diaconate family and to feel their love and dedication challenges us to live our vocations more faithfully.

Deacon Mike Hickey '88

Diaconia Editorial Staff

Coordinator of Publication: Sister Clare O’Keefe

Editors: Charles A. Cornell, Leo Martin, Carolyn S. O’Neil, Richard F. Radford,

Members of the Diaconate Community are encouraged to submit ideas, articles, photography that might be of interest to the Community. Submit by mail to the office or by email to cac@stisidorestow.org.