The Second Vatican Council committed the Catholic Church to the service of the world when it defined the church to be missionary by nature and a sacrament pointing to and making Christ present to all. Such a vision of the church informed the restoration of the permanent diaconate within the ministerial life of the church–a vocation and participation in Holy Orders endowed precisely with the charism of service. Deacons are called and ordained to serve in the areas of sacrament, word, and charity....
