By Deacon Keith Fournier
© Third Millennium, LLC

"Receive the Gospel of Christ, Whose herald you now are. Believe what you read, Teach what you believe, and practice what you teach." Bishop's Charge to the Newly Ordained Deacon

As Deacons we were ordained to serve by being configured to Christ the Servant. We are charged to continue his redemptive mission. One of the unique aspects of the diaconal vocation is the call to charity and social justice. Working to end what Pope John Paul II rightly labeled the "culture of death" and to build what he has called a new "culture of life" and "civilization of love", flows right from the heart of our ordained vocation. When we were handed the Book of the Gospels, the Bishop called us to believe, teach and practice. That Gospel is, in the words of Pope John Paul, a "Gospel of Life".

Many of us are married. We are called to believe, teach and practice everything that the Church teaches concerning marriage and family as a vocation and call to holiness. We are to make our families a "domestic church", fully living all that the Church teaches concerning the openness to life that is the heart of the nuptial mystery- and to model that openness to life to others. We are also called to believe, teach and practice the full treasury of the Catholic Church concerning marriage and family without confusion or compromise.

Many of us are engaged in careers or jobs. These are not something we do "outside" of our diaconate. Upon the imposition of hands by the Bishop we changed "ontologically", as good sacramental theology teaches. We are deacons in everything that we do now, not just those things that seem somehow "spiritual." Thus, in all of our work we are called to be both evangelistic and prophetic, living the faith that we proclaim from the ambo, and witnessing to its truth and relevance in every segment of life.

The Early Christian Fathers referred to the Church as the "world reconciled." One Orthodox theologian I am fond of writes of the world as being "in the course of transfiguration." We are called to carry on the redemptive mission of Jesus Christ through His Body, the Church, in the real world. Most of us stand at the intersection of faith and culture, and we are called to be instruments for transformation in the current age.

Through our diaconal service, some of us also serve in ecumenical environments. This positioning gives us opportunities to present the full truth about life to our Christian friends in other communities and put into practice the Catholic Church’s teaching on authentic Christian cooperation. The pro-life movement is one of the greatest ecumenical efforts of our lifetime. As Deacons we are called to be at the front lines of this movement.

"Deacons in the Service of Life" (www.DeaconsForLife.org), an outreach of Priests for Life, is committed to assisting Deacons in their work of building the new Culture of Life through their diaconal ministry. Our mission is to help Deacons believe, teach and practice the fullness of Catholic teaching on life and to instruct, assist and challenge others to do the same.

"Deacons in the Service of Life" is ready to help all deacons to believe, teach and practice this "Gospel of Life."

Deacon Keith Fournier is a Deacon of the Diocese of Richmond, Virginia. He is a graduate of the Franciscan University of Steubenville, the John Paul II Institute of the Lateran University and the University Of Pittsburgh School Of Law. A human rights lawyer he has appeared as co-counsel four times at the United States Supreme Court. He has authored seven books.