Deacon Robert Smith’s story, Pastor of the Sevenoaks Ordinariate Mission.
My journey towards discernment of vocation began in my mid-teens. I actively participated in the life of the Anglican parish in which I was living, regularly attending the Eucharist and Evensong. Gradually, I was becoming more aware of God’s presence in my life, and that he was, somehow, wanting me to serve him through ordination when the time was right.
At university, and in the years following, I tried to discern what this could mean. Nearly twenty years later, after marrying, settling down, and being received into full communion with the Catholic Church, I was approached by my parish priest who asked if I had considered exploring a vocation to the Permanent Diaconate. Only then did the sense of vocation to ‘serve’ that had begun those years ago become clear.
The ministry of the deacon is threefold: to prayerfully proclaim the Gospel of Christ, to assist the bishop or priest at the altar, and to engage in works of charity.
As you might expect, there isn’t a ‘one size fits all’ to the diaconate. Deacons are ordained from all walks of life. Some are married with families, some are celibate. Most deacons (though not all) are in secular employment, as am I (I currently work in a small department within a Local Authority). Although it can be challenging at times, it is a privilege and grace to be able to extend the ministry of Christ’s service into to the wider community, even if that just means being a sounding board for ideas or helping a colleague from a different department to move equipment.
Yet, there is more to diakonia than just ‘doing’ what the deacon does. It’s about being what a deacon ‘is’, that is, a man whose vocation to service has been recognised by the Church through ordination to be a herald of the Gospel and an icon of Christ’s service. Though our individual ministries may vary greatly, we all share this common calling to serve God and his people.
