Deacon Dominic Cerrato - Discovering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of Service

Deacon Dominic Cerrato, Ph.D.

Foreword by Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers

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November 19, 2021

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P RINTED IN THE U NITED S TATES OF A MERICA

Dedicated to the laity who seek to follow Christ the Servant

by Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers

Foreword

Following the recommendation of the Second Vatican Council, Pope St. Paul VI restored the diaconate as a permanent order in 1967. In his mandate the pope listed among the duties of deacons to promote and sustain the apostolic activities of laymen. The deacon, in the Councils mind, was to support and encourage lay ministers by helping to develop their talents.

However, in the ensuing years since Vatican II, there has been a steady tension between deacons and lay persons. Sadly, this tension has manifested itself particularly within the ministry of service to the Church, both inside and outside the parish. You may hear, for example, comments from a volunteer who says, the deacon and I are both serving the poor, whats the difference? or Except for serving at the altar, I can do everything a deacon does for the Church. Much of this stems from a poor understanding of what it means to serve as a deacon and as a lay person.

In Discovering Christ the Servant, Deacon Cerrato has provided a concise yet detailed spiritual roadmap leading to a deeper understanding of lay service. What surprised me was his approach: developing a lay spirituality of service by looking through the lens of diaconal service. Absolutely brilliant! In this way, Deacon Cerrato has helped ease the tension between deacons and laity in a way that has never been done before.

This book is much more than a comparison of ministerial service between laity and deacons. It speaks to the realities of the spiritual journey as all of us lay or ordained work to deepen our intimacy with the Lord in the midst of lifes busyness and challenges. The spiritual life is about seeking the face of the Lord and yearning for Him, listening to the Masters precepts and inclining the ear of our hearts, and uniting our hearts more closely to the Lords most Sacred Heart. This entails a lifelong process that requires a certain death-to-self, a willingness to let go and allow God to enter more deeply into their lives. This integrated, holistic approach to discovering Christ the servant as a lay person unites prayer, theology, and worship.

Jesus teaches that his Father in heaven gives each person talents according to His will, and we are to use our gifts to glorify God. Our Lord has given us an immeasurable gift: the ability, through grace, to share in His life. At the cost of His own life, the Savior of the world has entrusted His greatest possession to those He has redeemed. Deacons and laity must work together, each with our unique gifts of service, to participate in Christs mission by manifesting Gods love to the world.

Saint John tells us: If we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us. God is love, and whoever in love remains in God and God in him (1 Jn 4:12, 16). This is the foundational center of Deacon Cerratos approach to lay service: The Fathers love is so great, so powerful, and so real that He cannot keep it to Himself. God created us so that we can experience and participate in that love. Through Christ and in the Holy Spirit, the Father reaches out to deacon and lay person in love and invites us into a relationship of loving and life-giving communion.

Our being united in Gods love leads us to serve. God the Father did not hold back His love when He created us; God the Son did not hold back His love on the cross; God the Holy Spirit did not hold back His love on Pentecost. Therefore, God expects us to do the same to make a gift of ourselves to others in love, holding nothing back. This is the heart of service! Discovering Christ the Servant will help lay ministers recognize that every person, no matter who they are and what talents they have been given by God, has something to offer. The reader will discover that deacons can share their spirituality with the laity, emboldening them to discover Christ the Servant anew and, in doing so, draw closer to Him. It will also have the secondary effect of catechizing the laity on the diaconate.

Our example of self-giving, self-sacrificing love is the cross of Jesus Christ. Jesus came to transform the culture with His truth and love, and if we truly want to be His disciples, we must pray daily for a love that casts out all fear so that we may become children of the light. Deacon Cerrato draws from the timeless wellspring of Holy Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and the saints in a way that when combined with his own thoughtful, Christ-centered insights into the spirituality of service will encourage the laity to become more deeply connected to their interior life so that God may be glorified through them.