A spirituality of a missionary deacon 1: critique of two recent books

In the past year and a half I have read two books on the diaconate which I found very inadequate. Perhaps my criticisms arise from my unique experience – a deacon living and working in rural Honduras, in a large parish with only one priest. I won’t mention the works but I want to share what caused me concern.

Christmas Vigil Mass - procession to the crib 

I found these problems with the most recent book. 

• The author ties the permanent diaconate too closely to the sacrament of matrimony and, in this way, he does not get to the core of the vocation of the deacon. At one point he writes, “The evangelizing witness of the deacon is rooted in sacramental marriage, through which he strives to sanctify his family.” 
• The same book does not mention the importance of Catholic Social Teaching, especially for the deacon. 
• Speaking of prayer, the author seems to place more emphasis on adoration than on the Mass. 
• I did not see the author connecting the diakonia of charity with the Eucharist 
• When dealing with racism, he seems to look almost exclusively at only promoting concord, not addressing the issues of racial justice.  
• Ministry with the poor is considered more in terms of service to them or for them. Where is the reference to Pope Francis’ culture of encounter? 

The other book proposes a diaconal spirituality which I find limited. 

• It seems to be a privatized, individualistic spirituality. Where is the ecclesial dimension of the spirituality of a deacon? 
• The spirituality that seems to be “churchy.” Where is the dimension of the diakonia of Charity? 
• Where are the poor in the spirituality of the deacon? 
• Whereas the other book referred to the deacon in the workplace, this book does not pay enough attention to the deacon’s workplace. 
• I found the spirituality was not very incarnational, pespeically in terms of  recognizing the presence of God in the daily life. Though he refers to De Caussaude’s “sacrament of the present moment,” I felt as if he treated it rather fatalistically. He also did not refer to Pope Francis’ “sacrament of the poor,” which I believe should be central to a diaconal spirituality 
• There seems to be a dualism in his spirituality. He wrote, “The deacon’s service is first and foremost to God rather than to the people; only in God and with His grace can he truly serve the people.” I believe that this sets up a false dichotomy between God and God’s creation. 
•  When dealing with service to the poor he relies on the virtue of “empathy.” But what about compassionate accompaniment of the poor? 
• I also found an overreliance on Collins’ emphasis on the deacon as herald. 

I found both books seem to promote an individualistic spirituality and that Pope Francis’s call to ministry in the margins is minimally addressed. 

Perhaps I am overly critical but both these books, as well as other writings on the diaconate, seem to miss much of what could serve us deacons in our diakonia. 

 Rather than write an extended critique, I think it is important to begin to elaborate my spirituality of the diaconate, which I will do in a subsequent post.