I

THOSE INVOLVED IN THE FORMATION
OF PERMANENT DEACONS

1. The Church and the Bishop

18. The formation of deacons, like that of other ministers and all the baptised, is a duty which involves the whole Church. Hailed by the Apostle Paul as “the heavenly Jerusalem” and like Mary “our mother” (Gal 4:26), “by preaching and baptism she brings forth sons, who are conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of God, to a new and immortal life”.(²⁴) And not only this: imitating the motherhood of Mary, she accompanies her children with maternal love and cares for them so that they all may come to the fullness of their vocation.

The Church's care for her children is expressed in the offering of the Word and sacraments, in love and solidarity, in prayer and in the solicitude of the various ministries. However, in this care, which is, so to speak, visible, the care of the Holy Spirit is made present. In fact “the social structure of the Church serves the Spirit of Christ who vivifies it, in the building up of the body”,(²⁵) both in its universality and in the singularity of its members.

In the Church's care for her children, the first figure, therefore, is the Spirit of Christ. It is He who calls them, accompanies them and moulds their hearts so that they can recognise his grace and respond generously to it. The Church must be well aware of this sacramental relevance of its educational work.

19. In the formation of permanent deacons, the first sign and instrument of the Spirit of Christ is the proper Bishop (or the competent Major Superior).(²⁶) He is the one ultimately responsible for their discernment and formation.(²⁷) While ordinarily exercising this duty through the assistants who have been chosen, nevertheless he will he commit himself, as far as is possible, to knowing personally those who are preparing for diaconate.