Daily Reflection Feast of Saint Stephen, first martyr.

In the Rite of Ordination of Deacons each candidate goes before the bishop and places his had on the book of the Gospels. The bishop then says the following words:

Receive the Gospel of Christ,

whose herald you now are.

Believe what you read,

teach what you believe, 

and practice what you teach.

While these words probably were never said to Saint Stephen, he certainly embraced them. If you take some time and read Acts 6, 8-7, 60 you will learn about Stephen and his martyrdom. Stephen had no problem challenging members of the Synagogue of Freedom. He knew the stories of his ancestors. He knew the teachings of the prophets who came before him. He knew Jesus was the fulfillment of all the teachings. He believed what he read, taught what he believed, and he practiced what he preached right up the moment he called out “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Stephen ministered to all he met.

When my husband was ordained, I remember someone mentioning that his stole was worn on to one side so he would have one arm available to serve at the table of the lord and the other to serve the people of God. Servant to both God and his people. That is usually why you will find most deacons overseeing the social justice programs in their parishes. They are ordained to live out the teaching of Jesus in the world. Strengthened by sacramental grace deacons serve the people of God in the ministry of the liturgy, of the word and of charity. They do this in communion with the bishop and his priests. 

Here are a few little-known deacon facts. Only a deacon can receive all seven sacraments, the seventh sacrament being marriage. Not all deacons are married but once they are ordained, they take a vow of celibacy and never marry. Deacons who are married and become widowers can never remarry. Deacons can officiate at a wedding, wake service and baptisms. There are two types of deacons, transitional and permanent. A transitional deacon is someone who is ordained a deacon and then is ordained to the priesthood. A permanent deacon’s vocation is to ministry in the church and for the church. The deacon takes a vow of obedience to the bishop. The one random fact I learned, that was most fascinating, is that a deacon’s wife is asked to write a letter to the bishop saying that she agrees to her husband’s ordination. The church does this because it is a reminder that he is in service to God, to his family and work and to his church. It is quite a balancing act and all the deacon’s I know are amazing at balancing all those areas.

I wonder what Saint Stephen would think of this legacy, he is part of. He knew of the shoulders he stood on and now he is those shoulders to todays deacons.