I was reading a great letter Bishop Howard J. Hubbard of the Diocese of Albany wrote to his deacons and published in “The Servant’s Clarion”, the diocesan newsletter for deacons. It was published last July. Worth your time to read.
www.rcda.org/Offices/deacons/newsletter.html then click on the July issue.
Here is an excerpt:
“Hence, as preachers, deacons must not only be exegetes of the Word found in the Scriptures, but they must interpret how that Word crashes against the cacophony of our present human song. They must articulate how that word resonates with the joys and hopes, the sorrows, fears and anxiety of the hearers of that Word. Deacons must figure out how that Word speaks to a Catholic population that is increasingly well educated but less catechized in the spiritual life and the theological understanding of our rich faith tradition; how that word touches people who are immersed in a lifestyle which is impossibly busy and distracted, and where juggling multiple responsibilities (family, work, civic and social) is a way of life.
“In Karl Barth’s famous image, to do so requires deacons to preach with the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other, so that their hearers may be challenged to discern what the Scriptures are saying to them and asking of them at the particular moment and in this specific context of their life’s journey.”
Have to love that line, “Preach with the Bible in one hand and the newpaper in the other.”
