The Deacon

In this essay, I hope to reflect on the importance of mentoring and suggest how deacons might be uniquely positioned to provide mentoring.

So, what is a mentor? A mentor is someone who has more experience in a field we are entering, and who is willing to walk with us, inspire us and share with us his own gained wisdom in the field. A mentor encourages us to try new things as we gain our own experience.

This is true in any field: There are mentoring relationships in the building trades, medical and legal professions, education, and so on, including Church ministry. For example, we know that newly ordained deacons and priests benefit from having good mentoring pastors as they enter into the blessings and demands of ordained ministry.

In the New Testament, the mentoring relationship between the apostle Paul and Timothy is a prime example that has received much attention. Throughout their relationship, writes Stacy Hoehl, “Paul ensures that Timothy is the right person for the job, equips him for ministerial tasks, empowers him for success, employs him in a challenging environment to develop effectiveness, and communicates to Timothy the value of their relationship” (“The Mentor Relationship,” Journal of Bible Perspectives in Leadership, Summer 2011). This is, in a nutshell, the framework of contemporary mentoring.

Kevin Considine, a professor at the Catholic Theological Union, offers the following excellent summary in an essay published in U.S. Catholic magazine (“Mentorship is key to passing on a living faith,” May 4, 2023): A mentor is someone who is willing to walk with us, inspire us and share with us his own gained wisdom.

Similarly, a mentor relationship is one of being accompanied by a trusted elder or compassionate authority figure as you learn to be a part of a faith tradition. You pose questions and express rage, despair and laughter as you figure out your distinct relationship with your faith community and with God. You freely receive wisdom from a mentor who chooses to freely offer it. There are few expectations or goals other than stewarding the relationship for a season. A mentor is a “wise guide” who helps you navigate difficult and sometimes painful terrain in your journey into a more mature faith and way of life.

Insights from Scripture and Tradition

When St. Peter responds to the complaints of the Greek-speaking believers in Jerusalem, he gives them specific qualities to look for within their community: “Select from among you seven reputable men, filled with the Spirit and wisdom, whom we shall appoint to this task” (Acts 6:3).

Most biblical scholars today, since Scripture itself is silent on the matter, find the origin of the diaconate elsewhere. But it is tradition, including the second-century bishop St. Irenaeus of Lyons, that associates the “seven reputable men” of Acts 6 with the diaconate. Describing these seven could almost be seen as the selection of deacon-mentors: experienced men of established reputation, filled with the Holy Spirit and wisdom. That is exactly what we look for in a mentoring relationship!

From the diaconate’s earliest days, deacons have been seen as important spiritual guides in the Christian community. Consider 1 Timothy 3:8-13:

Similarly, deacons must be dignified, not deceitful, not addicted to drink, not greedy for sordid gain, holding fast to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. Moreover, they should be tested first; then, if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons. Women, similarly, should be dignified, not slanderers, but temperate and faithful in everything. Deacons may be married only once and must manage their children and their households well. Thus those who serve well as deacons gain good standing and much confidence in their faith in Christ Jesus.

Following Scripture, in the patristic literature, deacons are frequently described in terms of their pastoral experience and leadership in service. They are “wise guides” and counselors to and on behalf of their bishops, while also being the community’s principal agents of diakonia.

Insights from Vatican II

Vatican II offers at least five points for our reflection on deacons as mentors. I believe these undergird the notion that deacons are uniquely positioned to exercise ministries of mentorship in discipleship.

First, the council fathers saw the renewed diaconate much as their patristic forebears did: as an extension of their own ministry. This understanding of the unique relationship of the bishop with his deacons is consistent with the scriptural and patristic record, which emphasized that relationship. Not coincidentally, the discussions on the renewed diaconate took place in the middle of the bishops’ debates on their own vocation as bishops!

Second, the diaconate was to extend far beyond the sanctuary, while never minimizing the liturgical dimension of ordained ministry. Again, the integrated munera of word, sacrament and charity echoed the patristic literature with regard to the functions of deacons. Living a balanced, well-integrated life is stressed throughout our formation programs, and it remains a fundamental orientation for the deacon in his own walk of discipleship, making him a valuable guide for others seeking the same kind of balance.

Third, many of the original proposals to admit married men into the diaconate stipulated that married candidates would be ordained at the age of 40 or older. However, the world’s bishops rejected that proposal, claiming that 40 was too old, and they lowered the age to 35. The bishops wanted these younger deacons to be still active in the world, working, usually raising families, and doing so as ordained ministers of the Gospel.

Fourth, we turn to Chapter 3 of the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium, which details the ministries of bishop, presbyter and deacon. The bishops wrote:

For the nurturing and constant growth of the People of God, Christ the Lord instituted in His Church a variety of ministries, which work for the good of the whole body. For those ministers, who are endowed with sacred power, serve their brethren, so that all who are of the People of God, and therefore enjoy a true Christian dignity, working toward a common goal freely and in an orderly way, may arrive at salvation. (No. 18) All three orders, therefore, exist to nurture and build up the Church.

All three share a common foundation of “nurturing” while exercising the unique features of each order. Deacons, no less than bishops and presbyters, are responsible for providing spiritual guidance and leadership.

Fifth, and finally, in Lumen Gentium we read these profoundly important words: “For strengthened by sacramental grace (gratia etenim sacramentali roborati), in communion with the bishop and his group of priests they serve in the diaconate of the liturgy, of the word, and of charity to the people of God” (No. 29). We have already considered the balanced approach to ministry which is expected of deacons, but here I want to look at those introductory words about sacramental grace. I have included the Latin phrase, because, for centuries, the rites of the ordination of deacons spoke of the “strength” (robur) being imparted to the deacon to exercise his ministry. Ordination rites of presbyters often spoke of “power” (potestas), while the emphasis for deacons was on strength, the strength to serve the entire Church.

Consider the Possibilities

Certainly, many deacons are already serving in mentorship roles. I suggest that more of us consider doing so. I also want to stress that mentoring requires special training so it can be offered carefully, professionally and sensitively.

It has been suggested that deacons can be powerful guides for other men, and this is certainly true. There are some strange, toxic expressions of masculinity in the world today, and the deacon can offer a good witness to a loving, strong, humble and faith-filled masculinity. Part of mentoring is being vulnerable. We share not only our successes but also the times we have fallen. I have written extensively elsewhere about the “kenotic leadership” involved with the diaconate, the self-emptying of ourselves for the good of others, in which we follow our Christ through the paschal mystery of service, suffering, death and resurrection.

In this brief article, I have tried to present mentoring as a ministry for which deacons are particularly well-suited. What a privilege to walk with others on the same kenotic journey of discipleship.

DEACON WILLIAM T. DITEWIG, Ph.D., is a deacon of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., a retired Navy commander, former executive director of the USCCB’s Secretariat for the Diaconate and author of “Courageous Humility: Reflections on the Church, Diakonia, and Deacons” (Paulist Press, 2022).