William T. Ditewig

Courageous humility is a humility that takes risks, investing the talents and strengths God has given us for the good of others. The reflections revolve around that call: “Be strong and courageous!” Chapter One grounds the project in the Trinity, the core dogma of the Church. From the earliest days of the Church, humility has been seen as the heart of Christian communal life, so Chapter Two examines the classic insights on humility from St. Benedict and his groundbreaking Rule. Humility should be the foundation of all the various external structures we create to support our mission of evangelization. Chapter Three offers some suggestions on ecclesial structural reform. Building on these foundational chapters, the succeeding chapters focus on the diaconate within this context of ecclesial humility. Chapter Four discusses the sacramentality of the diaconate. Chapter Five suggests revisions to the Code of Canon Law vis-à-vis the diaconate, and Chapter Six recommends developments in the liturgy of diaconal ordination. Chapter Seven responds to some of the recurring issues of the diaconate, and Chapter Eight discusses how the Church may tap the full potential of the renewed diaconate. †

Spanish translation of Women Deacons. †

The deacon's exercise of charity and justice extends the loving hand of God's constant love and mercy to all who are in need. The Vatican's Congregation for Catholic Education has called this work “the ministry most characteristic of the deacon." In The Deacon’s Ministry of Charity and Justice, Deacon William Ditewig focuses on this ministry as a constitutive element of the nature of the Church itself—always flowing from the ministries of Word and Sacrament and leading back to them, never apart from them. Along with a rich exploration of the scriptural, historical, and theological foundation of the deacon's practice of charity and justice, Deacon Ditewig—one of today's foremost experts on the permanent diaconate—develops specific and concrete principles for exercising these ministries faithfully, authentically, and effectively. The Deacon’s Ministry series explores the three fundamental diaconal ministries identified in the teaching of Vatican II: those of the liturgy, of the word, and of charity to the people of God (Lumen Gentium 29). This series, written by three highly regarded permanent deacons, offers a rich combination of theology, spirituality, and practical and effective guidance. Deacons and those in diaconal formation, their families, the bishops and priests they work with, and the people they serve will welcome it.

Three groundbreaking essays that discuss the Church’s need and call for the restoration of women to the permanent order of deacon. †