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THEOLOGY OF THE DIACONATE What is a Deacon?      What does he do? The diaconate is an ordained ministry .The Deacon makes a commitment and with the help of the gifts of the Spirit, he takes up his particular role of leadership. In that way he is a "unique sign and instrument of what Jesus Christ is for the Church and what the Church must be for the sake of Jesus Christ." The Diaconate is a distinct order involving service in three areas of Church life: 1.Proclamation of the Word. 2.Celebration of the sacraments . 3. Active love in the community through a broad social ministry with a particular concern for the marginalized. Service is the task of all the baptized but the Deacon, as an ordained minister, has the special duty "to be a representative person in the Church." Not only a sign of Christian service, the deacon must also be a promoter of service. "The Deacon's distinctiveness is sacramental." He makes visible by his ordination and empowerment what all are called to be and do. The Deacon's identity , then, can be said to be found in the idea of a Sacramental symbol. The deacon does not deprive others of ministry , nor is what he does exclusive to the Deacon. The Deacon in his person is called to be a sign of what the Church says and believes, a sign of the "link between Word, sacrament and love." By Diaconal ordination, the Church ratifies the call to ministry "for which the man has already demonstrated his ability and his gifts." (Summarized from Deacons in the United States. Guidelines in their Formation and Ministry Bishops' Committee on the Diaconate, 1984)