" a clergyman who assists the bishop and priests. He is ordained, not to the
priesthood but to service. He has a three-fold role of service:
- Charity in which he is of service to the community.
- Word in which he proclaims the Gospel and preaches.
- Liturgy in which he assists at Mass, is an ordinary minister of the
Eucharist and baptism, witnesses marriages, leads the community
in prayer, especially funeral services and the Liturgy of the Hours.
The deacon finds his identity not in what he does, but in who he is. Deacons
minister in many different settings from the traditional parish to prisons,
hospitals, convalescent homes, juvenile detention centres, shelters for the
homeless or the abused, soup kitchens, police departments, and corporations.
Regardless of where a deacon finds himself, it is there that he serves".
During the homily, he mentioned something about being booted out of priesthood because of Vatican I. Consequently, stopped hearing Mass. That was 1959. Accordingly, however, when Vatican II was enshrined, he was asked to join the service in 1981(I think).
Vatican II's salient features include: Mary's role in the Catholic Church; revision of the Liturgy as well as moving away from the following concepts:
-''the belief that the Catholic Church is the one and only true Christian church
founded by Jesus Christ
- the belief that the modern idea of religious liberty is to be condemned
- an appropriate emphasis on the "Four Last Things" (Death, Judgement, Heaven,
and Hell)
- the belief that the books of the Bible are historically inerrant
- a devotion to scholastic theology and
- an organically grown apostolic Roman liturgy, as they define the Tridentine Mass".
I must confess, I didn't realize that I know so little about my professed religion :-(
