"The Ideal Family of the Permanent Deacon"

J. Francis Cardinal Stafford
President of the Pontifical Council for the Laity
February 19, 2000

"Two texts illustrate the characteristics of the ideal husband and of the ideal wife on the one hand, and of the ideal deacon on the other. The first is taken from the Bible, the second from the ordination rite. A Regula Vitae for the deacon can be deduced from them and includes elements of a new way of living guided by the Holy Spirit.

These texts serve as the first two parts of my talk, the deacon as husband and the deacon as an ordained minister. In the third part I will point out elements of the deacon’s spirituality. In the conclusion, examples of contemporary family spirituality will be cited."

Read the rest of Cardinal Stafford's writing on the ideal family of the Permanent Deacon here.