Talking Deacons on national satellite radio

After a long day recovering from my stomach illness today I drug myself out of the house to pick up some groceries.  The wife is working out of town so I had to do it.  But God always has a plan.  I've mentioned before that I love listening to Catholic radio on my XM dial and tonight was a live call in show called the Busted Halo with Fr. Dave Dweyer.  This show is my favorite on the Catholic Channel.  And as I turned on the highway headed back home a discussion broke out about Deacons.  It was a "q & a" about what sacraments can the Deacon administer.  Of course the answer is Baptism and Matrimony.  The participating member of the cast incorrectly also identified Annointing of the Sick and Fr. Dweyer did an awesome job of explaining why this Sacrament is reserved to the Priest. 

The lively "q &a" brought up other questions about the diaconate and I took advantage of my drive home to dial in and help the good Father with some supplemental information.  Of curiosity to the members of the show was can a Permanent Deacon ever become a Priest?  The short answer is yes, but of course this question requires more information.  The Permanent Deacon would have to be single.  If married when he became a Permanent Deacon his wife must have pre-deceased the Deacon.  In that case, if the Permanent Deacon feels called to the Priesthood, he would be allowed to return to seminary, with the permission of the Bishop and follow both the courses needed and the spiritual and formational discernment so necessary.

As I told Fr. Dave on the Catholic Channel, I feel that most Permament Deacons are so tied to the charism of the diaconate that a majority would not feel the tug to the Priesthood.  This is, of course, my opinion.  I know for me, I currently can't imagine a scenario where I would pursue Priesthood.  The charism of the diaconate, service sacramentalized, is what I believe God has called me to until my last days.

The call inspired me to remind my readers that a Permanent Deacon indeed baptizes but only children up to the age of 7.  Once a child is old enough to be included in RCIC or an adult is in RCIA, the baptism of these individuals is reserved to a Priest.  The Permanent Deacon indeed is an "ordinary" minister of Holy Communion and very often adminsters the chalice(cup) at Mass.  He, of course, does not consecrate, rather, he assists the Priest at Mass.  The Permanent Deacon always proclaims the Gospel at Mass.  The Permanent Deacon can officiate the Sacrament of Marriage.  The Permanent Deacon can preside at wakes, do funeral services outside of a Mass and graveside services. 

And most specific to the diaconate, by virtue of the call of St. Stephen and the other six deacons mentioned in Acts of the Apostles, the Permanent Deacon serves across the Church in many different apostolates, charities and ministries that are tied to service; like my ministry at the state prison.

So I'm glad I was listening to my Catholic Channel on XM and share my love for my ministry of the Permanent Deacon!