The deacon's exercise of charity and justice extends the loving hand of God's constant love and mercy to all who are in need. The Vatican's Congregation for Catholic Education has called this work "the ministry most characteristic of the deacon." In The Deacon's Ministry of Charity and Justice, Deacon William Ditewig focuses on this ministry as a constitutive element of the nature of the church itself-always flowing from the ministries of word and sacrament and leading back to them, never apart from them. Along with a rich exploration of the scriptural, historical, and theological foundation of the deacon's practice of charity and justice, Deacon Ditewig-one of today's foremost experts on the permanent diaconate-develops specific and concrete principles for exercising these ministries faithfully, authentically, and effectively.