16. Holy Orders

The ordained priesthood is a special sacrament by which the ordinand uniquely shares in the high priesthood of Christ and in his powers. These essential powers are realized in his offering of the holy sacrifice of the Mass, forgiving sins in the rite of penance, and preaching the Word of God. The bishop, who has received the "fullness of priesthood," ordains a man by laying hands on the candidate's head and pronouncing the prescribed words (illustrating his intention). Having been ordained, the priest is also given a more full sharing in sanctifying grace and in actual grace. The latter will help him throughout his ministry to be faithful to his vocational duties. Just as baptism and confirmation mark us forever as belonging to Christ, so too does holy orders transform the man, marking him with an indelible character upon his soul. Forever and always, he is a priest. In a special manner, he is a living sign of Christ, the head of the Mystical Body, in our community of faith. During the past thousand years, the Western Church has determined that the model of priesthood which has best served the People of God has been a celibate one. The priest surrenders all other loves to the one love of Jesus Christ. To the extent that a priest loves his people, he loves Christ. He seeks to discern the will of God in his day-to-day ministry and in pledged obedience to his bishop-- the manifestation of his single-hearted love and selfless fidelity to Christ. Along with his celebration of the Mass and hearing confessions, he also anoints the sick and blesses people in the name of the Church. As a man of prayer, he is required to keep the hours of the day sacred by praying the Breviary (The Liturgy of the Hours) for the sake of those he serves. The priest or a deacon may also officiate at baptisms, confirmations for converts, marriages, and bury services.

Preparing for holy orders, the candidate receives the lay ministries of Reader and Acolyte. Prior to priesthood, a man is ordained a transitory deacon. There are also permanent deacons in the Church who may assist at Mass, but who are not usually ordained later as priests.

Historically, the Lord called to himself disciples to carry out the Good News to all the earth. Among these believers, he selected out twelve to be his apostles. During the Last Supper, he tells them, "Do this in remembrance of me." To this day, priests make the sacrifice of Christ present in our churches. As an "alter Christus" (another Christ), the priest celebrates the Lord's surrender of himself as our food and drink. Calvary is reenacted. In the first few centuries of the Christian era, the Church grew rapidly. The apostles and later their successors found themselves in a Church filled with the Holy Spirit. Faith sprouted even in the midst of persecution and hardship. The successors of the apostles, the Episcopoi (or bishops) could not reasonably reach or minister to everyone in their jurisdiction. Therefore, they decided to ordain men to assist them and to offer them much of their own authority and power. However, they retained certain powers and jurisdiction. Hence, these Presbyters (or priests) would owe their obedience to Christ and to their bishops chosen by him. This pattern has come all the way through time to us where we still have priests in parishes which fall under the yet larger community of a diocese headed by a bishop. Because of growth and pressing needs, other men were given the responsibility to assist the priests-- these are the deacons. They helped to transport communion to other communities and to the sick. They were given charge of taking care of poorer members and collaborating in evangelization. It was for this latter charge that St. Stephen was stoned to death.

As a clarification, deaconesses were also chosen, but not ordained. Neither were they ever ordained priests, except maybe by certain heretical Gnostic sects which denied the humanity of Christ. These holy women were given charge of female catechumens. This was essentially out of tactful modesty. Remember, at that time, baptism was often done by immersion.