Lesson 24 - The Sacrament of Holy Orders

(Lesson 24)

The Sacrament of Holy Orders

“…the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands" 2 Tim 1:6

Discussion Guide:

There are three degrees of Holy Orders: Bishop, priest, and deacon. The Bishop alone administers the sacrament. Jesus Christ instituted the priesthood on Holy Thursday, the same time he instituted the sacrament of the Eucharist. Only a baptized man can receive the sacrament of Holy Orders. This sacrament is directed toward the salvation and service of others. Men who receive this sacrament should consider themselves to be servants of the Christian community and of the entire world. Their mission is to build up the people of God through teaching, preaching, good works, and the administration of the sacraments, especially the Eucharist. Priests are consecrated (set apart). The ministerial priesthood is different from the common priesthood of the faithful. This sacrament configures a man to Christ by a special grace of the Holy Spirit so that he may serve as Christ's instrument for his Church. The sacrament of Holy Orders confers an indelible spiritual character and cannot be repeated or conferred temporarily. Celibacy is a discipline of the Western Catholic Church that has been in effect since 306 AD and made mandatory in 1074. It also has a Biblical background (Matt 19:12, 1 Corinthians 7:8, 7:27-38).

Permanent deacons can be married men.

No one has cause to be upset because the priesthood is exclusively male. It does not imply that women are inferior to men in any way. (CCC 369) The Church teaches that we all possess equal dignity in the eyes of God. Maleness is an essential element of the sacrament of Holy Orders just like bread and wine are essential to the Eucharist. No pope, bishop, or council can change the constitutive elements of any sacrament since they were instituted by Jesus Christ himself. The Church also points to the fact that Jesus was both God and Man. The priest acts in persona Christi (in the person of Christ) as another Christ. Catholicism regards Jesus as the bridegroom and the Church as his bride.

Discussion Points:

· The sacrament was instituted by Jesus Christ at the last supper (Matt 26:26-29)

· The priest acts in persona Christi (in the person of Christ) as another Christ

· All priests share in the one priesthood of Christ

· Catholic must respect, love, and pray for their bishops, priests, and deacons

· Only a baptized man can receive the sacrament of Holy Orders

· The priest is a reflection of Jesus when he celebrates the sacraments

· Celibacy has been a discipline of the Western Catholic Church since antiquity

· Bishops, priests, and deacons are servants of the community

· Even if a priest is in mortal sin, the sacraments are still valid

Congregation for the Clergy: Priesthood a Greater Love

Thirtieth Anniversary of Presbyterorum Ordinis

Pope John Paul II

The priest is a man of the Eucharist. In the span of nearly 50 years of priesthood, what is still the most important and most sacred moment for me is the celebration of the Eucharist. My awareness of celebrating in persona Christi at the altar prevails. Never in the course of these years have I failed to celebrate the Most Holy Sacrifice. If this has occurred, it has been due entirely to reasons independent of my will. Holy Mass is the absolute center of my life and of every day of my life. It is at the heart of the theology of the priesthood, a theology I learned not so much from text books as from living examples of holy priests….

The priest is a man of prayer. "I nourish you with what I myself live on," St. Anselm said. The proclaimed truths must be discovered and adopted in the intimacy of prayer and meditation. Our ministry of the word consists in expressing what was first prepared in prayer. However, this is not the only dimension of priestly prayer. Since the priest is mediator between God and men, many turn to him asking for prayers. Thus prayer, in a certain sense, "creates" the priest, especially as Pastor. And at the same time every priest "creates himself’ constantly, through prayer. I am thinking of the marvelous prayer of the Breviary, Officium Divinum, in which the whole Church, through the lips of her ministers, prays together with Christ; I am thinking of the vast numbers of requests and prayer intentions that are constantly presented to me by various people. I take note of the intentions mentioned to us by people from all over the world and I keep them in my chapel….
Being priests today. The theme of priestly identity is always timely, because it is a question of our "being ourselves." During the Second Vatican Council and immediately afterwards, much was said about this. The problem probably originated in a certain pastoral crisis, in the face of secularization and the abandonment of religious practices. Priests began to wonder: are we still necessary? And many priests displayed symptoms of a certain loss of their own identity. From the start, as the author of the Letter to the Hebrews wrote, the priest was "taken from among men and made their representative before God to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins" (cf. Hebrews 5:1). This is the best definition of the priest’s identity. Every priest, according to the gifts bestowed upon him by the Creator, can serve God in various ways and with his priestly ministry, can reach various sectors of human life, bringing them closer to God. However, he remains and must remain a man chosen among others and "made their representative before God."

Priestly identity implies fidelity to Christ and to the People of God to whom we are sent. It is not only something intimate which concerns the priest’s self-awareness. It is reality that is constantly examined and verified by men, because the priest is "taken from among men and made their representative before God to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins." But how can a priest totally fulfill his vocation? You know the secret well, dear priests: it is by trusting in God’s support and constantly striving for holiness. This evening I would like to wish each of you "the grace to rekindle daily the gift of God you have received with the laying on of hands (cf Timothy 1:6), to feel the comfort of the deep friendship which binds you to Jesus and unites you with one another, the comfort of experiencing the joy of seeing the flock of God grow in an ever greater love for him and for all people, of cultivating the tranquil conviction that the One who began in you the good work will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ (cf Philippians 1:6)"

The Sacrament of Holy Orders

“…the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands" 2 Tim 1:6

Opening Prayer:

Mother Mary, we ask for your constant intercession for our bishop, our priests, and our deacons. May they serve the people of God with patience, faith, and love. Intercede on behalf of your Son’s Church for vocations to the priesthood. Amen

Theme:

There are three degrees of Holy Orders: Bishop, priest, and deacon. Christ instituted the Priesthood and no element of the sacrament is man-made. The sacrament leaves an indelible mark on the man who receives it. Only men can receive this sacrament.

Bible Readings:

Luke 22:17-20 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, "Take this, and divide it among yourselves; for I tell you that from now on I shall not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes." And he took bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." And likewise the cup after supper, saying, "This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.

Luke 22:24-27 A dispute also arose among them, which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. And he said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you; rather let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves. For which is the greater, one who sits at table, or one who serves? Is it not the one who sits at table? But I am among you as one who serves.

John 20:21-22 Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit…..”

Explanation of the Bible readings: In the gospel of St. Luke, during the last supper, Jesus commands the apostles to “do this in remembrance of me”. This is the event where Jesus established the sacrament of Holy Orders. The priesthood was established primarily to make present the sacrifice of Calvary till the end of time. This teaching has been consistent with the Tradition of the entire Church since its inception. Eastern and Western Churches hold fast to the belief in the ministerial priesthood. Jesus explains that the nature of this priesthood is to be one of service to the people of God. A priest is not to seek his own glory but he is supposed to reflect Jesus Christ to the community. The Holy Spirit was conferred on the apostles in a special way that consecrated them for their ministry. St. John tells us that Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit onto them after his resurrection. This indicates a supernatural share in the ministry of the Lord.

Catechism of the Catholic Church:

1536 Holy Orders is the sacrament through which the mission entrusted by Christ to his apostles continues to be exercised in the Church until the end of time: thus it is the sacrament of apostolic ministry. It includes three degrees: episcopate, presbyterate, and deaconate…

1538 ….the word "ordination" is reserved for the sacramental act which integrates a man into the order of bishops, presbyters, or deacons, and goes beyond a simple election, designation, delegation, or institution by the community, for it confers a gift of the Holy Spirit that permits the exercise of a "sacred power" (sacra potestas) which can come only from Christ himself through his Church. Ordination is also called consecratio, for it is a setting apart and an investiture by Christ himself for his Church. The laying on of hands by the bishop, with the consecratory prayer, constitutes the visible sign of this ordination.

1545 The redemptive sacrifice of Christ is unique, accomplished once for all; yet it is made present in the Eucharistic sacrifice of the Church. The same is true of the one priesthood of Christ; it is made present through the ministerial priesthood without diminishing the uniqueness of Christ's priesthood: "Only Christ is the true priest, the others being only his ministers."

1547 The ministerial or hierarchical priesthood of bishops and priests, and the common priesthood of all the faithful participate, "each in its own proper way, in the one priesthood of Christ." While being "ordered one to another," they differ essentially. In what sense? While the common priesthood of the faithful is exercised by the unfolding of baptismal grace --a life of faith, hope, and charity, a life according to the Spirit--, the ministerial priesthood is at the service of the common priesthood. It is directed at the unfolding of the baptismal grace of all Christians. The ministerial priesthood is a means by which Christ unceasingly builds up and leads his Church. For this reason it is transmitted by its own sacrament, the sacrament of Holy Orders.

1548 In the ecclesial service of the ordained minister, it is Christ himself who is present to his Church as Head of his Body, Shepherd of his flock, high priest of the redemptive sacrifice, Teacher of Truth. This is what the Church means by saying that the priest, by virtue of the sacrament of Holy Orders, acts in persona Christi Capitis:

It is the same priest, Christ Jesus, whose sacred person his minister truly represents. Now the minister, by reason of the sacerdotal consecration which he has received, is truly made like to the high priest and possesses the authority to act in the power and place of the person of Christ himself (virtute ac persona ipsius Christi).

Christ is the source of all priesthood: the priest of the old law was a figure of Christ, and the priest of the new law acts in the person of Christ.

1549 Through the ordained ministry, especially that of bishops and priests, the presence of Christ as head of the Church is made visible in the midst of the community of believers…

1550 This presence of Christ in the minister is not to be understood as if the latter were preserved from all human weaknesses, the spirit of domination, error, even sin. The power of the Holy Spirit does not guarantee all acts of ministers in the same way. While this guarantee extends to the sacraments, so that even the minister's sin cannot impede the fruit of grace, in many other acts the minister leaves human traces that are not always signs of fidelity to the Gospel and consequently can harm the apostolic fruitfulness of the Church.

1554 "The divinely instituted ecclesiastical ministry is exercised in different degrees by those who even from ancient times have been called bishops, priests, and deacons."…..

1573 The essential rite of the sacrament of Holy Orders for all three degrees consists in the bishop's imposition of hands on the head of the ordinand and in the bishop's specific consecratory prayer asking God for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and his gifts proper to the ministry to which the candidate is being ordained.

1576 ….Validly ordained bishops, i.e., those who are in the line of apostolic succession, validly confer the three degrees of the sacrament of Holy Orders.

WHO CAN RECEIVE THIS SACRAMENT?

1577 "Only a baptized man validly receives sacred ordination." The Lord Jesus chose men to form the college of the twelve apostles, and the apostles did the same when they chose collaborators to succeed them in their ministry. The college of bishops, with whom the priests are united in the priesthood, makes the college of the twelve an ever-present and ever-active reality until Christ's return. The Church recognizes herself to be bound by this choice made by the Lord himself. For this reason the ordination of women is not possible.

1579 All the ordained ministers of the Latin Church, with the exception of permanent deacons, are normally chosen from among men of faith who live a celibate life and who intend to remain celibate "for the sake of the kingdom of heaven." Called to consecrate themselves with undivided heart to the Lord and to "the affairs of the Lord," they give themselves entirely to God and to men. Celibacy is a sign of this new life to the service of which the Church's minister is consecrated; accepted with a joyous heart celibacy radiantly proclaims the Reign of God.

The indelible character

1581 This sacrament configures the recipient to Christ by a special grace of the Holy Spirit, so that he may serve as Christ's instrument for his Church. By ordination one is enabled to act as a representative of Christ, Head of the Church, in his triple office of priest, prophet, and king.

1582 As in the case of Baptism and Confirmation this share in Christ's office is granted once for all. The sacrament of Holy Orders, like the other two, confers an indelible spiritual character and cannot be repeated or conferred temporarily.

1583 It is true that someone validly ordained can, for grave reasons, be discharged from the obligations and functions linked to ordination, or can be forbidden to exercise them; but he cannot become a layman again in the strict sense, because the character imprinted by ordination is for ever. The vocation and mission received on the day of his ordination mark him permanently.

1585 The grace of the Holy Spirit proper to this sacrament is configuration to Christ as Priest, Teacher, and Pastor, of whom the ordained is made a minister.

Faith words:

Discipline: A changeable tradition; unlike an unchangeable element of Sacred Tradition

In Persona Christi: A Priest represents Christ to the faithful when he proclaims the Word and leads in loving service: in the person of Christ

Reflection Questions:

What are some ways that parents can encourage vocations to the priesthood?






What do you believe is the most difficult aspect of being a priest?





From personal experience, discuss your impression of priests in general?