Celibacy and Holy Orders IV

Two new books for celibate clerics

I just finished reading two books that might be helpful for developing a spirituality and a theology of the celibate deacon.

James Keating’s Remain in Me: Holy Orders, Prayer, and Ministry is a masterful and challenging work on the spirituality of the cleric. He writes for the most part to married deacons and celibate priests, but much of what he has written has proved helpful for this celibate deacon.

Two quotes especially struck me:

“There is only one reasons God calls a man to celibacy: he wants the man’s full attention, so that he can satisfy the man’s need for love.” (Kindle location 1525)

“The mysticism of celibacy proclaims that in binding one’s life to God’s infinitely generous love, a man gives himself away with universal love for the “many” (see Matt 26:28.)” (Kindle location 1527)

My one concern is that there is almost nothing specifically addressed to the celibate permanent deacon but he refers to a few pages he wrote on the celibate deacon in The Heart of the Diaconate, which I had found very helpful.

 But I yearn for more – especially in terms of the celibate deacon who is wholly involved in a non-church job. I work full-time in a parish and so his remarks on celibacy for priests are very helpful, but I wonder if we need more reflection on the celibate permanent deacon in the world.

Luanne Zurlo’s Single for a Greater Purpose: A Hidden Joy in the Catholic Church might provide a few clues for at least part of this. Her work is really an apologia vitae for the “dedicated single,” the lay celibate who has no connection to a religious order or secular institute and is not a consecrated virgin. The first seven chapters are a thoughtful reflection on the vocation of the celibate. The remaining chapters are focused on her vocation as a "dedicated single."

One sentence, though, got me wondering about how this might refer to us celibate deacons.

“…someone called to a dedicated-single vocation is called to the lay state. And the laity are called to work in the world, as compared with the clergy or traditional religious orders, who are called to bring Christ to the world from outside the world.” (Kindle location 1435)

Where is the permanent deacon in this? Many, if not most, permanent deacons are called to work in the world and sanctify it from within. Their “worldly” jobs are places where they show the gospel. Yet, they bring this world with them when they assist at the Eucharist as deacons. Do they not, in some sense, break the duality of the world and the church, the workplace and the altar?

This is an aspect of the diaconate that needs to be more developed, both in terms of spirituality and practice.