Colleen Orchanian

My father was a deacon in the Catholic church for many years before he died. I remember his ordination and the words the Bishop said when giving Dad the Book of the Gospels: The bishop placed the Book in Dad's hands and said, “Receive the Gospel of Christ, whose herald you have become. Believe what you read, teach what you believe, and practice what you teach.”

I was a fallen-away Catholic at the time of his ordination, but I remember this part of the ceremony and not much else. I knew in my ignorant Catholic heart the profound message in those words. I may not have understood what it meant, but I knew it was important. That's why it stayed with me for so long.

I see now that those words can be applied to every believer. Let's explore the instructions given to Deacons in the Rite of Ordination and see how it can speak to you and me as believers.

Receive the Gospel of Christ. We Christians have received the Gospel of Christ. We know the story of salvation. We know that God became man, was born of a virgin, was crucified, died, and was buried. And on the third day, he rose from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father to judge the living and the dead. It is because of his death and resurrection that we are saved and redeemed. That's what we believe as Christians and profess in the Nicene Creed.

Being a Christian is not about being a nice person, although that's good. It means that we believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. We know that we are sinners and that Jesus takes away our sins. This is all part of the Gospel of Christ. Knowing this should change us. Paul wrote that we become a new person. We are continually being transformed through our knowledge of the Gospel. That means we should be soaked in Scripture. We should be reading and meditating on it every day. It is the Living Word of God, and we can find new meaning in a passage we've read a hundred times. My Dad received the Gospel of Christ on the day of His ordination, but that wasn't the end – just the beginning. It's the same for us.

Whose [Christ's] herald you have become. A deacon is called to proclaim the Gospel. Why? Because he is ordained as a herald – an official messenger – of Christ. So are we! God has ordained each one of us as His messengers in the world. If I know the Gospel – the story of salvation history – I need to share it. I need to proclaim it. We live in a pagan world. The small community I live in isn't so – a majority of people go to church on Sunday. But the rest of the Western world is less and less Christian. Someone has to be Christ's herald and tell people the Good News. Paul wrote in Romans 10:14, How can they hear if nobody tells them? Sometimes we have to have the courage to speak about God. To say His Name. We don't have to be jerks about it, but we should be speaking the truth about the reality of God to those around us. Maybe that's why God put them in your life. If the Holy Spirit nudges you to talk to someone, do it.

Believe what you read. The deacon is told to believe what he reads because he can't speak God's truth if he doesn't believe it. The Bible is true. The miracles are true. Jesus is real. He really lived. He was really killed. He really rose from the dead. If you doubt the words in the Bible, there's a problem. That's not to say that you have to understand it all. Some things are confusing. Some things don't make sense in our 21st-century world or our American culture. But I can know it's all true – even the parts I don't get. When there is a hard truth that I struggle with, I can always pray like the father asking for a miracle for his son (Mark 9:23-25): I do believe. Help my unbelief!

Teach what you believe. Deacons are told to teach what they believe. Part of their responsibility as deacons is to teach – to preach the sermon at Sunday Mass. This part of the Bishop's instruction might encourage them to teach the whole truth, not just the easy parts. The easy parts are: God loves you. God is good and merciful. God wants to heal you. God desires that you have eternal life with Him. The not-so-easy parts are things like: You are a sinner and need a savior. The devil is real and he wants to take you out. Get married and stay married. Don't be so full of yourself. Bless your enemies. Expect suffering. Hell is real and people go there. It's not easy to tell the whole truth, but it is what we are called to do. Not just deacons, but you and I as well.

Practice or live what you teach. Here's where the rubber meets the road. In Matthew 23:3, Jesus says, Don't be like the Pharisees and scribes. He says to practice and observe everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not do what they ought. If I tell someone to be charitable, and later they see me being rude to another person, my words lose their power. Often our kids will let us know when we're being inconsistent or hypocritical. We want them to tell the truth, and they hear us tell a little lie. Rarely do they let us get away with it. They'll call us out – and that's good. Hopefully, it makes us more aware of our words and actions so that we can correct things that don't reflect our faith.

The presentation of the Book of the Gospels is beautiful and serious and reverent. The deacon is given a sacred book and instructed in how to carry out his sacred vocation: “Receive the Gospel of Christ, whose herald you have become. Believe what you read, teach what you believe, and practice what you teach.”

What a calling! For the deacon and for us. It will be good to reflect prayerfully on how well we live this noble calling.

Questions for prayer:

1. Have you embraced your calling to be a herald of the Gospel of Christ? If not, what's holding you back?

2. Of the three instructions, which is most challenging for you? Believe what you read, teach what you believe, and practice what you teach.”

3. How is God asking you to respond to His calling as a herald of the Good News?