Being a deacon and the witness of the martyrs

This morning I awakened remembering a dream in which I reaffirmed my commitment as a deacon. It was very fitting since today is the feast of Saint Stephen, according to the tradition, the first deacon and the first martyr.

I will be preaching today at Mass in at least one village and so I spent a lot of time praying and meditating on the scriptures. (The homily in Spanish can be read here.)

What strikes me today is how much I feel the diaconate is connected to martyrdom. We deacons prepare the bread and wine, lift up the chalice with the Blood of Christ at the end of the Eucharistic prayer, and are ministers of the Eucharist, especially the Blood of Christ.

For me this year has been marked by Central American martyrs.

In January, Padre German, my pastor, and I made a pilgrimage to Santiago Atitlán, where we prayed in the room where Blessed Stanley Rother, Padre Aplas’, was killed and in the church where we celebrated the Eucharist – Padre presided and I served as a deacon. (An account here.) Padre Aplas’s commitment as a missionary from the US and his desire to stay with the people remind me of the importance of accompanying the people – not just for a short visit, but to share their lives, their joys and sorrows, and to let oneself be vulnerable. 

In October. Padre German and I went to Rome for the canonization of Monseñor Óscar Romero. As I was preparing for my diaconal ordination, I visited his tomb about two weeks before my ordination and dedicated my ordination to him. (My account of that visit is here.)

A month before his martyrdom, Monseñor Romero wrote this in his notebook:

“My disposition should be to give my life for God, however it should end. The grace of God will enable us to live through the unknown circumstances. He aided the martyrs and, if it should be necessary that I die as they did, I will feel him very close to me at the moment of breathing my last breath. But more important than the moment of death is to give him all my life and live for him and for my own mission.”

I will share these words in today’s homily – since we are all called to be martyrs, witnesses.

After coming back from the canonization and a short visit to Iowa, I went to the beatification of two Franciscans in Guatemala, an Italian missionary priest, Fray Tulio Maruzzo, and Luis Obdulio Arroyo, a lay Franciscan, catechist and helper in the parish. Another missionary martyr. But I was impressed by the simplicity and the commitment of Blessed Luis Obdulio, who helped in the parish and drove the sick to the hospital in the parish vehicle. (My reflection after the beatification Mass is here.)

This month, on December 8, nineteen martyrs of Algeria were beatified. When I first read the story of the Trappists monks of Tibhurine, I was touched by their commitment to be with the people in the midst of violence. The testament of Père Christian de Chergé, written before his death, is one of the most moving letters I’ve written, displaying his love and his willingness to embrace the person who might kill him in the future.  (You can download and read it from this site. Also, here’s a short reflection on their witness.)

The witness of these martyrs sustains me and give me courage hope in the midst of difficulties.

I have no desire to be a martyr, especially now that I have permanent residency here in Guatemala and want to enjoy that for many more years.

But the third century document Didascalia of the Apostles (chapter  XVI, iii, 13) notes:

“And know what the ministry is, according as our Lord and Savior said in the Gospel: Whoso among you desires to be chief, let him be your servant: even as the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life as a ransom for many. So ought you the deacons also to do, if it falls to you to lay down your life for your brethren in the ministry which is due to them.” 

But laying own my life means dying every day – becoming more available for the poor, becoming more flexible, putting aside my desires to be in control or undisturbed.

So, today, I pray to Saint Stephen. May God make me a better deacon, a better servant, to be of service to God, to the church, and, most of all to people in need.

---

The image of Saint Stephen is from the works of Ade Bethune whose drawings were often published in The Catholic Worker.  Saint Catherine University has a collection of here works.