Celebrating Saint Stephen's Feast Day
On December 26, the feast of the first deacon St. Stephen, members of the permanent diaconate formation team and candidates received a blessing from Msgr. Pat O’Dea at St. Edward the Confessor Parish.
“We celebrate the lives of deacons and their spouses. This coming May, twelve men studying at St. Augustine’s Seminary will be ordained as permanent deacons for the Archdiocese of Toronto. We sincerely ask for your ongoing prayers,” Deacon David J. Quail, Coordinating Director of the Diaconate Formation Program.
Link to the video shared below.
Source: St. Edward's Church Toronto YouTube Channel
A permanent deacon is a clergyman ordained not to the priesthood but to service. He has a three-fold role:
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.
As the Catechism summarizes, “among other tasks, it is the task of deacons to assist the bishop and priests in the celebration of the divine mysteries, above all the Eucharist, in the distribution of Holy Communion, in assisting at and blessing marriages, in the proclamation of the Gospel and preaching, in presiding over funerals, and in dedicating themselves to the various ministries of charity” (CCC #1570).