The Liturgy of the Hours and the Diaconate

One of the most important promises that a deacon makes on the day he is ordained is to "celebrate faithfully the Liturgy of the Hours, with and for the People of God, and indeed for the whole world."

Somewhere along the line someone seems to have gotten the idea that the promise to celebrate faithfully the Liturgy of the Hours does not apply to deacons in the same way that it does priests. Many deacons will tell you that they are only required to pray morning and evening prayer (Lauds and Vespers), but not any other part of the Divine Office. I don't recall the promise I made at ordination specifying which of the hours I had to pray every day. I promised to pray the Liturgy of the Hours, not "the Liturgy of the Hinge Hours."

Our formation class was very fortunate in that when we had the canonical retreat that is required of all clergy before they are ordained in the Church, our Bishop was our retreat master. Not only did this give him an opportunity to get to know us, and to teach us one-on-one, it gave us a very genuine opportunity to question him with frankness. One of our brothers put the question quite frankly, asking how much of the Liturgy of the Hours we should pray every day. The bishop was very clear that we should pray as much of the Office as we possibly can, we are not limited to Lauds and Vespers and we should do our best to pray as much as possible.

Granted, the Divine Office has been an important part of my personal prayer life for many years, well predating my ordination or even my years in formation, so the idea of increasing the amount I pray the Liturgy of the Hours posed a new challenge because I had to schedule for that, but it has never seemed like a burden. I look forward to praying my Office each day.

I often hear from deacons in other dioceses that they only pray morning and evening prayer, and they feel no obligation to pray any of the rest of the Office. Yet so much of the Office they are missing presents us with such rich scriptural prayer, especially the Office of Readings, (Vigils or Matins), which I find provides me with an excellent opportunity for Lectio Divina.

It is to be understood that there will be days when many of us have family, occupational, and secular obligations that will keep us away from the kind of deep prayer life that those in the religious life or the priesthood should be enjoying. That is going to mean that some days we won't be able to pray the entire cycle of the Office, but that does not mean that we shouldn't try. In view of the promise that all deacons make at ordination, it would be legitimate to say that we have an obligation to do so, if not a direct obligation, certainly a spiritual one.

Our Bishop has been quite clear that he wants us to use the Office as contained in the four volume set of the Liturgy of the Hours. I've heard many brothers complain that this can be an expensive undertaking, and I certainly understand that complaint. I have several liturgical books, including the Liturgy of the Hours, and no, they are not cheap. However, if you are having trouble affording them, technology today really doesn't give many of us an excuse. Applications such as IBreviary and websites such as Divine Office  are accurate as to the liturgical texts and they make the Liturgy of the Hours accessible not only to the clergy, but to all of the People of God.

I want to challenge everyone, but especially brother deacons, to pray more of the Liturgy of the Hours if you're not already doing so. It will make your ministries and apostolates more fruitful, your preaching more effective, and your family and personal life more rewarding. Many of us have the ability to access more of the Liturgy of the Hours today than ever before. It is right that we should take advantage of this, in fulfillment of the promises of our ordination.

Bishop Tobin is Right

Bishop Thomas Tobin

Recently, Bishop Thomas Tobin of Providence, Rhode Island landed himself in hot water with many in the popular culture with this Tweet over this past weekend about some...cultural events...taking place in many parts of the country during the month of June.

A reminder that Catholics should not support or attend LGBTQ “Pride Month” events held in June. They promote a culture and encourage activities that are contrary to Catholic faith and morals. They are especially harmful for children.

— Bishop Thomas Tobin (@ThomasJTobin1) June 1, 2019

Immediately the wolves of our culture came to denounce Tobin for "spreading hate," as they usually do to any bishop, priest, or deacon who speaks out about the moral law, and some even said that he was wrong to say anything because his words would encourage hatred against the "gay community." Even some members of the clergy have gotten in on the act, trying to say on social media that what Bishop Tobin said was not compassionate.

But is the Bishop wrong? Firstly, what is the Church's official statement of its own teaching on this matter? The Catechism of the Catholic Church makes it as clear as possible for us:

2357 Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that "homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered." They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.

2358 The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. They do not choose their homosexual condition; for most of them it is a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God's will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord's Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.

2359 Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.

The Church holds, then, that while someone's proclivity to attraction of people of the same sex is not, in and of itself, a sin, that homosexual activity is a sin. The Church calls on us to treat homosexual persons with "respect, compassion, and sensitivity," but the Church is quite clear that this compassion does not extend to acceptance of sinful behavior, and indeed that would not be compassionate at all-it could endanger many souls.

Bishop Tobin also said that that Catholics should not attend events which celebrate "Pride Month." No doubt, some readers will say "but Deacon, doesn't the Catechism say that we should treat gay people with 'respect, compassion, and sensitivity,' so shouldn't we go all out and celebrate Pride Month to support them?


 



Are you also going on public marches or attending public events to support those who have a proclivity to adultery or fornication? Would you do such a thing? If you would, I would question any claim you might make to practice bona fide Christianity. Yes, we are all sinners, but we are still called to avoid sin and the near occasion of sin. Furthermore, if we attend events which promote sin, we are giving our approval to the sin by our presence there, and if we do not approve, we will have given scandal to many other believers by the appearance of giving public approbation to grave sin. At the very least, you are saying you are proud of your concupiscence and that of others. "YAY, I am proud of my human proclivity to potentially commit sin and do evil in the sight of God!"

Sacred Scripture certainly backs up what Bishop Tobin is trying to say:

"Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God." -1 Corinthians 6:9-10

What reason would anyone have to attend a rally that supports and promotes homosexual acts and faux "marriage" other than to support those acts yourself? If you don't, why would you attend an event where they do? If you would not support other deadly sins, you shouldn't support "Pride Month" either.

Some on social media are saying that Bishop Tobin "backed down" because of this statement from the Diocese of Providence:

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A close reading of this statement shows us, however, that Bishop Tobin isn't backing down at all. He is more effectively stating Catholic teaching:

I regret that my comments yesterday about Pride Month have turned out to be so controversial in our community, and offensive to some, especially the gay community. That certainly was not my intention, but I understand why a good number of individuals have taken offense. I also acknowledge and appreciate the widespread support I have received on this matter.

 The Catholic Church has respect and love for members of the gay community, as do I. Individuals with same-sex attraction are beloved children of God and our brothers and sisters. 

 As a Catholic Bishop, however, my obligation before God is to lead the faithful entrusted to my care and to teach the faith, clearly and compassionately, even on very difficult and sensitive issues. That is what I have always tried to do – on a variety of issues – and I will continue doing so as contemporary issues arise.

 In other words, Bishop Tobin is saying "I love you, what I said was true." Indeed, he reiterated to the news media that he stands by his statement.

One of the difficulties with Twitter is that you have so little space in which to express what you are trying to get across to others. Twitter has helped to reduce our society to one in which many people take the entirety of what others say by a few characters.

It is for this reason that I personally do not recommend the use of Twitter as a means of social communication for my brother clerics. When the time comes to address controversial social and moral issues, and one feels the need to address them online (as indeed I have done in this post), other means of internet communication such as Facebook, MeWe, or blogs exist so that we may say all that needs to be said, all that the Holy Spirit might place upon our hearts. 

I would humbly recommend to Bishop Tobin that he consider one of those alternatives when the time comes, as it inevitably does in the time in which we live, to address the state of our society on internet-based social media.

Even though other means might have been better means to convey the message, what Bishop Tobin said is true. "Gay Pride" events promote grave sin. Catholics concerned for the good of their souls and the souls of others should not attend or promote them.