Holy Orders

Holy Orders
Marriage

“Holy Orders and Matrimony are directed towards the salvation of others; if they contribute as well to personal salvation, it is through service to others that they do so. They confer a particular mission in the Church and serve to build up the People of God” (CCC 1534).

The Sacraments of Vocation: Holy Orders

“The whole Church is a priestly people. Through Baptism all the faithful share in the priesthood of Christ. This participation is called the ‘common priesthood of the faithful.’ Based on this common priesthood and ordered to its service, there exists another participation in the mission of Christ: the ministry conferred by the sacrament of Holy Orders, where the task is to serve in the name and in the person of the Christ the Head in the midst of the community” (CCC 1591).

“The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained” (John 20:21-23).

Though God shines through the whole Church, and every baptized person is called to be a follower and imitator of Christ, neither the Church nor the salvation of its members is simply about a collection of individuals. The Church is the community and sign of Jesus Christ, and Jesus must be at the center; he must be the Head; he must be the only source and model for the life of the Christian community.

When the Church ordains a priest, it publicly sends a person to make Jesus known as that head and center of the community. Remember that a sacrament is a sign and more: it is a truth made visible through actions and symbols. The priest becomes the sacramental center from whom Jesus wants his beloved people to hear the Good News; to receive the sacraments of God’s love; to receive forgiveness for sins; and to unify the community as one body of Christ.

Ask any priest you know – no one knows better than they do that they are not worthy to make Jesus visible. None of us is ever worthy of the great and unconditional love God bestows on us. As a Church, however, we need those who have responded to God’s call to priesthood to say to us, “I absolve you from your sins” in the sacrament of Reconciliation or “This is the Body of Christ” in the Eucharist. Through them we can hear Jesus Christ speaking personally to us.

As the early Church began to grow and to organize itself throughout larger and larger communities, its understanding of the role of its public leadership grew as well. Always, however, the belief that the priest must follow Jesus’ example of a leader as a humble servant remained a central truth.

Many people wonder why the Catholic Church only ordains men for the priesthood. The Church believes that Jesus chose men to be his first apostles, and that the apostles also chose men to collaborate with them and succeed them in their ministry, and therefore feels bound by these choices (see CCC 1577-1580). For more information on this topic, please review the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ document, Ten Frequently Asked Questions About the Reservation of Priestly Ordination to Men.

The Church confers ordination in three degrees, for three different ministerial roles: deacon, priest (sometimes also called “presbyter”) and bishop. The bishop receives the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders (see CCC 1554-1561).

CONTACT US:

LEARN MORE: