Liturgy, Word, and Charity in Thomas Aquinas

THE SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL, in calling for the restoration of the diaconate as an order permanently exercised, stated that deacons are “at the service of the people of God in the ministry of the liturgy, the word, and charity.”¹ This threefold articulation of diaconal ministry— which seemingly reflects the threefold munera of Christ as priest, prophet, and king—has attained a kind of canonical status in defining diaconal ministry.² A proper exercise of the office of deacon ought to include liturgical ministry (both serving at the Eucharist as well as presiding at the Liturgy of the Hours, baptisms, weddings, and other rites), proclamation of God’s word (whether in preaching or catechetical ministry), and service to those in need (which would include both direct assistance and the promotion of social justice). Discussion and debate concerning the order of deacons often takes the form of what the proper balance ought to be among these three, and whether one of them, usually the ministry of charity, ought to have priority over the others.

In this essay I will seek insight from Thomas Aquinas, not by looking at what Thomas has to say about the ministry of deacons per se, but rather by looking at what light his theology can shed on the threefold ministry of liturgy, word, and charity in which deacons share. Discussions of the interrelation of liturgy, word, and charity need a theologically thick account of each of them that will allow the connections among them to emerge, and Thomas, even apart from any ex professo treatment of the diaconate, offers us such an account.

I. Liturgy

Perhaps because most Catholics encounter deacons in the context of the Sunday liturgy, the liturgical ministry of the deacon has a particular prominence in popular awareness. It is also the aspect of ministry that features most prominently in Lumen Gentium’s discussion of a restored diaconate:

To the extent that he has been authorized by competent authority, he is to administer baptism solemnly [i.e. not simply in an emergency situation], to reserve and distribute the eucharist, to assist and bless marriages in the name of the church, to take viaticum to the dying, to read sacred scriptures to the faithful, to instruct and exhort the people, to preside at the worship and prayer of the faithful, to administer sacramentals, and to preside at funeral services and burials.³

There follows the briefest mention of “duties of charity and administration,” but the emphasis of the constitution on the Church seems to fall overwhelmingly on the deacon’s liturgical and sacramental actions.

Liturgical ministry is also, however, a source of significant anxiety about the identity of the deacon and the nature of diaconal ministry, since one of the most common criticisms one finds of the restored diaconate is that many deacons are simply “glorified altar servers” who are too much occupied with ornamenting the sanctuary and too little occupied with serving the poor and the outcast. And while doing the baptisms and weddings that the pastor would rather not do might be seen as somewhat more useful than cluttering up the sanctuary during Mass, even here deacons come in for criticism for aspiring to be “mini-priests” rather than proper deacons—by which is meant spending time in soup kitchens and homeless shelters. This criticism is found even at the highest level of the Church. In his address to participants in the plenary meeting of the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family and Life in November 2019, in the course of denouncing the “clericalization of the laity,” Pope Francis remarked:

I also see this phenomenon in deacons: they become permanent deacons and instead of being the custodians of service in the diocese, they immediately look at the altar and end up being “wannabe priests [preti mancati],” demipriests [preti a metà strada]. I advise the bishops: “Keep deacons away from the altar,” let them go to service. They are the custodians of service, not first-class altar boys or second-class priests.⁴

When even the Universal Pontiff sees the liturgical ministry of deacons as...