The Diaconate and Marriage

Accepting the invitation to enter holy orders in cooperation with the vital and generous consent of one's spouse is truly a blessing and a challenge for spousal union. Receiving diaconal grace into an already established sacramental marriage profoundly orients the witness of the deacon and his wife to the depths of God's own identity as an eternal circulation of love.Married deacons have a unique opportunity to serve the Church through the graces of their dual vocation to marriage and holy orders. In this book, Deacon James Keating provides the theological background and practical points of formation to help married deacons live out both sacraments in harmony and balance.The deacon-husband, through all the sacraments he has received, participates in Christ's own self-giving love, expressing that love in both marriage and ministerial service.