Three fold Ministry of the Deacon - The Sacrament of Holy Orders marks deacons “with an imprint (‘character’) which cannot be removed and which configures them to Christ, who made himself the ‘deacon’ or servant of all.”   “The principal function of the deacon, therefore, is to collaborate with the bishop and the priests in the exercise of a ministry which is not of their own wisdom but of the Word of God, calling all to conversion and holiness.”

National Directory for the Formation, Ministry, and Life of Permanent Deacons in the United States, paragraphs 27-38

Ministry of the Word - Deacon as Evangelizer and Teacher – The Deacon is the herald of the Word.  Ministry of the word includes catechetical instruction, religious formation of candidates and families preparing for the reception of the sacraments; leadership roles in retreats, and counseling and spiritual direction; proclaiming the word and preaching.  The deacon also strives to “transmit the word in [his] professional [life] either explicitly or merely by [his] active presence in places where public opinion is formed and ethical norms are applied.”

• Because the deacon sacramentalizes service, he should proclaim the word in such a way that he first witnesses its (the Word’s) empowerment in his own life. Then he can effectively challenge others to practice the Church’s ministry of charity and justice in the social environments in which people live their baptismal vocation.
• In the many formal and informal ways the deacon leads the community, he calls them to reflect on their communion and mission in Jesus Christ, especially impelling the community of believers to live lives of service.
• By his own faithful practice of the spiritual and corporal works of mercy, the deacon “by word and example . . . should work so that all the faithful, in imitation of Christ, may place themselves at the constant service of their brothers and sisters.”

Ministry of Liturgy - Deacon as Sanctifier - The ministry of the deacon is a visible grace-filled sign of the integral connection between sharing of the Lord’s Eucharistic table serving the many hungers felt so keenly by all God’s children. In the deacon’s liturgical ministry, the Church sees a reflection of her own diaconal character and is reminded to serve as Jesus did.

• In the deacon’s liturgical ministry, as in a mirror, the Church sees a reflection of her own diaconal character and is reminded of her mission to serve as Jesus did.
• Strengthened by sacramental grace, the deacon is dedicated to the people of God, in conjunction with the bishop and his body of priests, in a service of the liturgy of the word and of charity.
• During the celebration of the Eucharistic liturgy, the deacon participates in specific penitential rites as designated in the Roman Missal. He properly proclaims the Gospel. He may preach the homily in accord with the provisions of Canon Law. He voices the needs of the people in the General Intercessions, needs with which he should have a particular and personal familiarity from the circumstances of his ministry of charity. The deacon assists the presider and other ministers in accepting the offerings of the people—symbolic of his traditional role in receiving and distributing the resources of the community among those in need—and he helps to prepare the gifts for sacrifice. During the celebration he helps the faithful participate more fully, consciously, and actively in the Eucharistic sacrifice, may extend the invitation of peace, and serves as an ordinary minister of Communion.
• Deacons have a special responsibility for the distribution of the cup. Finally, he dismisses the community at the end of the Eucharistic liturgy. Other liturgical roles for which the deacon is authorized include those of solemnly baptizing, witnessing marriages, bringing viaticum to the dying, and presiding over funerals and burials. The deacon can preside at the liturgies of the word and communion services in the absence of a priest. He may officiate at celebrations of the Liturgy of the Hours and at exposition and benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. He can conduct public rites of blessing, offer prayer services for the sick and dying, and administer the Church’s sacramentals, as designated in the Book of Blessings.

Ministry of Charity and Justice - Deacon as Witness and Guide - The deacon’s ministry, as Pope John Paul II has said, “is the Church’s service sacramentalized”.  At the very heart of the diaconate is the calling to be a servant of the mysteries of Christ, and of our brothers and sisters. The deacon’s service in the Church’s ministry of charity and justice is integral to his service in the Church’s ministry of word and liturgy.  The three fold diaconate ministry represents a unity in service: the ministry of the word leads to the ministry of the altar, which in turn prompts the transformation of life by the liturgy, resulting in charity. As a participant in the one ecclesiastical ministry, the deacon is a specific sacramental sign in the Church of Christ the servant. The role of the deacon is to express the needs and desires of the Christian Communities and to be a driving force for service, or diaconia, which is an essential part of the mission of the Church.

Humility

(Candidates in formation, as well as permanent deacons upon ordination) ... are charged to shape a way of life always according to the example of Christ and to imitate Christ who came not to be served but to serve. Therefore, deacons are called to a simple lifestyle that embodies Church teaching and embraces humility in word and action. Simplicity of life enables a cleric “to stand beside the underprivileged, to practice solidarity with their efforts to create a more just society, to be more sensitive and capable of understanding and discerning realities involving the economic and social aspects of life, and to promote a preferential option for the poor.” The prophetic significance of this lifestyle, “so urgently needed in affluent and consumeristic societies,” is its important witness in animating the diakonia of every Christian to serve “especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted.”

National Directory for the Formation, Ministry, and Life of Permanent Deacons in the United States, paragraph 64

Permanent deacons are public people

- reflecting virtuous lives (moral integrity and transparency)

Permanent deacons are public people in constant view of inquisitive minds. Many times, whether in good taste or not, they are placed under a microscope by the viewing public. Their example of living a virtuous life, both in word and deed, is keenly observed. By being called to a life of visible virtue in the image of Christ and in communion with Church teaching, candidates in formation and the ordained must reflect openly the official teachings of the Church. This especially includes the call to observe all marriage laws of the Church, be teachers and living examples of correct positive natural law and Catholic Christian moral teaching, and faithfully observe the call to chastity within both the married and single state—lives of moral integrity and transparency.

When one reflects upon the Order of Deacons, it is worthwhile to recall the words from the ordination ritual of deacons:

Like those once chosen by the Apostles for the ministry of charity, you should be men of good reputation, filled with wisdom and the Holy Spirit. Firmly rooted and grounded in faith, you are to show yourselves chaste and beyond reproach before God and man, as is proper for the ministers of Christ and the stewards of God’s mysteries. Never allow yourselves to be turned away from the hope offered by the Gospel. Now you are not only hearers of this Gospel but also its ministers. Holding the mystery of faith with a clear conscience, express by your actions the Word of God which your lips proclaim, so that the Christian people, brought to life by the Spirit, may be a pure offering accepted by God. Then on the last day, when you go out to meet the Lord you will be able to hear him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord.”

National Directory for the Formation, Ministry, and Life of Permanent Deacons in the United States, paragraph 40