RITE OF ORDINATION OF DEACONS

After the gospel reading:

CALLING OF THE CANDIDATES
Those to be ordained are called forth:
Vocation Director:
Those to be ordained deacons please come forward.
Their names are called to which they each respond:
Present.
PRESENTATION OF THE CANDIDATES
Rector:
Most Reverend Father, holy mother Church asks you to ordain
these men, our brothers, for service as deacons.
Bishop:
Do you find them to be worthy?
Rector:
After enquiry among the people of Christ and upon the
recommendation of those concerned with their training, I testify
that they have been found worthy.
ELECTION BY THE BISHOP AND CONSENT OF THE PEOPLE
After inquiring if they are worthy to be ordained, the Bishop accepts the
request:
Bishop:
We rely on the help of the Lord God and our Saviour Jesus
Christ, and we choose these men, our brothers, for the Order of
Deacons.
All:
Thanks be to God.
Please be seated
HOMILY
COMMITMENT TO CELIBACY
Bishop:
By your own free choice, you seek to enter the order of deacons. You
shall exercise this ministry in the celibate state for celibacy is both a sign
and a motive of pastoral charity, and a special source of spiritual
fruitfulness in the world. By living in this state with total dedication,
moved by a sincere love for Christ the Lord, you are consecrated to him
in a new and special way. By this consecration, you will adhere more
easily to Christ with an undivided heart; you will be more freely at the
service of God and mankind, and you will be more untrammelled in
the ministry of Christian conversion and rebirth. By your life and character you will give
witness to your brothers and sisters in
faith that God must be loved above all else, and that it is he
whom you serve in others.
Therefore, I ask you: in the presence of God and the Church, are
you resolved as a sign of your interior dedication to Christ, to
remain celibate for the sake of the kingdom and in lifelong
service to God and mankind?
Candidates:
I am.
Bishop:
May the Lord help you to persevere in this commitment.
Candidates:
Amen.
EXAMINATION OF THE CANDIDATES
The Bishop asks the candidates to declare their willingness to accept the
duties and responsibilities of the diaconate.
Bishop:
My sons, before you are ordained deacons, you must declare
before the people your intention to undertake this office.
Are you willing to be ordained for the Church’s ministry by the
laying on of hands and the gift of the Holy Spirit?
Candidates:
I am.
Bishop:
Are you resolved to discharge the Office of Deacon with
humility and love in order to assist the bishop and the priests
and to serve the people of Christ?
Candidates:
I am.
Bishop:
Are you resolved to hold fast to the mystery of faith with a clear
conscience, as the Apostle urges, and to proclaim this faith in
word and action as it is taught by the Gospel and the Church’s
tradition?
Candidates:
I am.
Bishop:
Are you resolved to maintain and deepen a spirit of prayer
appropriate to your way of life and in keeping with what is
required of you, to celebrate faithfully the Liturgy of the Hours
for the Church and for the whole world?
Candidates:
I am.
Bishop:
Are you resolved to shape your way of life always according to
the example of Christ, whose body and blood you will give to
the people?
Candidates:
I am, with the help of God.
PROMISE OF OBEDIENCE
Each candidate approaches and kneels before the Bishop, placing his joined
hands between those of the Bishop.
Bishop:
Do you promise respect and obedience to your Ordinary?
Candidate:
I do.
Bishop:
May God who has begun the good work in you bring it to
fulfilment.
INVITATION TO PRAYER
Please stand
Bishop:
My dear people, let us pray that the all-powerful Father will
pour out his blessing on these servants of his, whom he receives
into the Holy Order of Deacons.
Please kneel
LITANY OF THE SAINTS
As the central and most important part of the Ordination Rite approaches, the
candidates prostrate themselves before the Altar as a sign of their total
dependence on God as we pray to the Church in heaven. Please remain kneeling
…………………………………………………………
Bishop:
Lord God, hear our petitions and give your help to this act of our
ministry. We judge these men worthy to serve as deacons and
we ask you to bless them and make them holy. Grant this
through Christ our Lord.
All:
Amen.
Please stand
LAYING ON OF HANDS
By the Laying on of Hands and the Prayer of
Consecration, the grace of the Sacrament of
Holy Orders is both requested and conferred
by the power of the Holy Spirit acting in the
Church. The candidates kneel before the
Bishop who lays his hands on their heads in
silence.
PRAYER OF CONSECRATION
This prayer recalls the vocation of the first seven men of good repute to assist
the apostles in their daily ministry so that they could devote themselves more
fully to prayer and the preaching of the Word. The prayer is directed to
Almighty God who by the power of the Holy Spirit provides for the various
forms of ministry within the Church of Christ. It asks that the Holy Spirit’s
gift of sevenfold grace be sent upon the elect for the faithful carrying out of the
ministry of the deacon. The prayer also asks that every Gospel virtue abound
in each deacon so his concern will be for the sick and the poor. Once this prayer
is concluded, those ordained are deacons.
Bishop:
Almighty God, be present with us by your power. You are the
source of all honour, you assign each to his rank, you give each
his ministry.
You remain unchanged, but you watch over all creation and
make it new through you Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord: he is your
Word, your power, and your wisdom. You foresee all things in
your eternal providence and make due provision for every age.
You make the Church, Christ’s body, grow to its full stature as a
new greater temple. You enrich it with every kind of grace and
perfect it with a diversity of members to serve the whole body in
a wonderful pattern of unity.
You established a threefold ministry of worship and service for
the glory of your name. As ministers of your tabernacle you
chose the sons of Levi and gave them your blessing as their
everlasting inheritance.
In the first days of the Church under the inspiration of the Holy
Spirit the apostles of your son appointed seven men of good
repute to assist them in the daily ministry, so that they
themselves might be freer for prayer and preaching.
By prayer and the laying on of hands the apostles entrusted to
these chosen men the ministry of serving at tables.
Lord, look with favour on these servants of yours, whom we
now dedicate to the office of deacon, to minister at your holy
Altar. Lord, send forth upon them the Holy Spirit, that they may be
strengthened by the gift of your sevenfold grace to carry out
faithfully the work of the ministry.
May they excel in every virtue: in love that is sincere, in concern
for the sick and the poor, in assuming authority, in self-discipline, and in holiness of life.
May their conduct exemplify your commandments and lead
your people to imitate their purity of life. May they remain
strong and steadfast in Christ, giving to the world the witness of
a pure conscience.
May they in this life imitate your Son, who came not to be served
but to serve, and one day reign with him in heaven.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives
and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and
ever.
All:
Amen.
Please be seated
INVESTITURE WITH STOLE AND DALMATIC
The newly ordained deacons are vested with the stole and
dalmatic, the vestments proper to the Order of Deacon.
PRESENTATION OF THE BOOK OF GOSPELS
The newly ordained deacons approach the Bishop, kneeling before him. The
Bishop places the Book of the Gospel in their hands.
Bishop:
Receive the Gospel of Christ, whose herald you now are. Believe
what you read, teach what you believe, and practice what you
teach.
KISS OF PEACE
The Bishop extends the sign of peace to the newly ordained and welcomes
them as a fellow co-worker in their shared ministry.
Bishop:
Peace be with you.
Deacon:
And with your spirit

The Deacons after waving at the people take their rightful place on the alter.