Holy Orders – Catholic World Report

The treatment of the Sacrament of Holy Orders ^{in the Catechism begins with the reminder that this is “the sacrament of the apostolic ministry,” conferred in three degrees: episcopate, presbyterate, diaconate; the first two orders are a “ministerial participation in the priesthood of Christ,” while the last “is intended to assist and serve” the first two [1554]. The word “presbyterate” is used here, as well as in the ordination rite, to distinguish the priesthood of the presbyter from that of the bishop; when the ministry they hold in common is intended [e.g., offering the Eucharistic Sacrifice], “priesthood” is used.}

Why is this sacrament called by the name it has? The word “order” in Roman antiquity designated a body of people constituted to fulfill a particular purpose, especially governance; “ordination” signifies incorporation into an “order.” From the earliest days [within the New Testament itself], the Church has utilized that structure for divine objectives.

A brief overview of the history of the sacrament in the economy of salvation is given, starting with the tribe of Levi among the Chosen People. Very quickly, we are brought up to “the priesthood of Christ, the unique ‘high priest after the order of Melchizedek’” [1544], which serves as the model and pattern for all Christian priesthood. Some Fundamentalists, for example, express concern or even shock over talk about Christian priests other than Jesus Christ. ^{This is to misunderstand the nature of Christ’s communication of His power and authority to the apostles and their successors. At the same time, with St. Thomas Aquinas we realize that in the strictest sense, “only Christ is the true priest, the others being only his ministers” [1545].}

In point of fact, all Christians share in the priesthood of the Lord through Baptism, so that the entire People of God is a priestly people; there are, however, certain men taken from the body of the faithful to participate in Christ’s priesthood in a special manner. Thus it is that the Church speaks of the ordained priest as one who “acts in persona Christi Capitis” [in the person of Christ the Head]. . . . 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” [1548-1549].

As lofty as all this is, the Catechism also realistically notes that the grace of the Holy Spirit “does not guarantee all the acts of ministers in the same way.” In fact, the sinfulness of the ordained can have the effect of diminishing “the apostolic fruitfulness of the Church” [1550]. ^{The text goes on to stress that “the priesthood is ministerial,” that is, “it is in the strict sense of the term a true service.” Furthermore, “it depends entirely on Christ and his unique priesthood. . . . The Sacrament of Holy Orders communicates ‘a sacred power,’ which is none other than that of Christ” [1551].}

The priest represents Christ to the Church and equally the Church to God. That should not be misunderstood to mean, however, that “priests are the delegates of the community,” for they are always and everywhere first of all the representatives of Christ: “It is because the ministerial priesthood represents Christ that it can represent the Church” [1553].

The episcopate is given full consideration, relying heavily on Vatican II, which did so much to put as fine a face on this ministry as Vatican I did with the papacy. Hence, we read that “bishops, in an eminent and visible fashion, take the place of Christ himself, teacher, shepherd and priest” [1558]. The point is made that “in our day lawful ordination of a bishop requires special intervention of the Bishop of Rome because he is the supreme visible bond of the communion of the particular churches in the one Church and the guarantor of their liberty” [1559]. At the same time, this theology of communio demands that bishops be concerned for the good of the entire Church, and not simply the local church over which they preside; ^{the bishop embodies ecclesial unity in a singular way, which comes across particularly when he celebrates the Eucharist; in that moment, it “has a quite special significance, as an expression of the Church gathered around the altar, with the one who represents Christ, the Good Shepherd and Head of his Church, presiding” [1561].}

The second rank of ordained ministers is that of presbyters, “co-workers of the episcopal order for the proper fulfillment of the apostolic mission that had been entrusted to it by Christ.” With the bishops, presbyters “build up and sanctify and rule” Christ’s Body, His Church. In this work, priests “depend” completely on the bishops, with whom they share the “sacerdotal dignity.” Priests “are consecrated to preach the Gospel and shepherd the faithful, as well as to celebrate divine worship as true priests of the New Testament” [1562-4]. They are never more priests than in the celebration of the Eucharist; beyond that, “from this unique sacrifice their whole priestly ministry draws its strength” [1566].

Great emphasis is laid on the unity of bishops and priests, who together form “a unique sacerdotal college (presbyterium), . . . , true to a variety of distinct duties.” The promise of obedience to the bishop made at ordination and the bishop’s kiss of peace have important and on-going implications, for in the latter is signified that “the bishop considers them his co-workers, his sons, his brothers and his friends, and that they in return owe him love and obedience.” ^{The unity of the priesthood is also highlighted when all priests attending an ordination join the bishop in imposing hands on the ordinands [1567-1568]}

Deacons are ordained, with only the bishop imposing hands to denote their special attachment to him “in the tasks of his diakonia [service].” The functions of a deacon are outlined, and mention is made of the re-institution of this ministry as a permanent order in the Latin Rite [the East churches had always kept it so] at the Second Vatican Council [1569-71].

Moving on to the liturgical celebration of the sacrament, the Catechism observes that, whenever possible, it should be administered on a Sunday, in the cathedral church, with solemnity, within the celebration of the Eucharistic Sacrifice. “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” [1573]. For the ordination of priests and bishops, the anointing with chrism signifies the work of the Holy Spirit who will make fruitful the ordinand’s ministry. A good explanation is given for the items conferred on the bishop during his ordination: ring, miter, crosier.

A bishop is the only possible minister of this sacrament. Regarding the recipient of the sacrament, we are told that “only a baptized male [vir] validly receives sacred ordination” [1577]. The Catechism says this is so because “the Church considers herself bound by the choice of the Lord himself. That is why the ordination of women is not possible.” It continues to argue that “no one claims this office for himself.” On the contrary, one who perceives the call of God “must humbly submit his desire to the authority of the Church, who has the responsibility and right to call someone to receive orders.” And most importantly, “like every grace this sacrament can be received only as an unmerited gift” [1578]. Some discussion is offered on the charism of celibacy required for priesthood in the West, as well as the esteem in which it is held in the East, and on its necessity for all episcopal candidates in East and West alike [1579-1580].

A sacramental, indelible character is conferred in Holy Orders, just as it is in Baptism and Confirmation. Answering those who press for a “temporary” commitment to priesthood, the Catechism reminds us that this character “cannot be repeated or conferred temporarily.” Granted, a man can be discharged from ministerial functions or can be enjoined from exercising them for a just cause, “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” [1583].

The section concludes with two salutary reminders in this day of a priestly “identity crisis.” St. John Vianney muses that “if we really understood the priest on earth, we would die not of fright but of love” [1589]. Finally, St. Ignatius of Antioch taught eighteen centuries ago that so irreplaceable is the hierarchical constitution of the Church that “without the bishop, presbyters, and deacons, one cannot speak of the Church” [1593].

Let’s conclude our doctrinal consideration of Holy Orders with reflections of a distinctly “spiritual” or “pastoral” nature.

The first, from St. John Henry Cardinal Newman, while yet an Anglican clergyman:

Had Angels been your Priests, my brethren, they could not have condoled with you, sympathised with you, have had compassion on you, felt tenderly for you, and made allowances for you, as we can; they could not have been your patterns and guides, and have led you on from your old selves into a new life, as they can who come from the midst of you, who have been led on themselves as you are to be led, who know well your difficulties, who have had experience, at least of your temptations, who know the strength of the flesh and the wiles of the devil, even though they have baffled them, who are already disposed to take your part, and be indulgent towards you, and can advise you most practically, and warn you most seasonably and prudently. Therefore did He send you men to be the ministers of reconciliation and intercession; . . .

forget not those who have been the ministers of your reconciliation; and as they now pray you to make your peace with God, so do you, when reconciled, pray for them, that they may gain the great gift of perseverance, that they may continue to stand in the grace in which they trust they stand now, even till the hour of death, lest, perchance, after they have preached to others, they themselves become reprobate.

And then, that of St. John Paul II, from the first of his always-eagerly-awaited Holy Thursday letters to his “beloved priests” (1979):

Dear Brothers: you who have borne “the burden of the day and the heat” (Mt 20:12), who have put your hand to the plough and do not turn back (cf. Lk 9:62), and perhaps even more those of you who are doubtful of the meaning of your vocation or of the value of your service: think of the places where people anxiously await a Priest, and where for many years; feeling the lack of such a Priest, they do not cease to hope for his presence. And sometimes it happens that they meet in an abandoned shrine, and place on the altar a stole which they still keep, and recite all the prayers of the Eucharistic liturgy; and then, at the moment that corresponds to the transubstantiation a deep silence comes down upon them, a silence sometimes broken by a sob… so ardently do they desire to hear the words that only the lips of a Priest can efficaciously utter. So much do they desire Eucharistic Communion, in which they can share only through the ministry of a priest, just as they also so eagerly wait to hear the divine words of pardon: Ego te absolvo a peccatis tuis! So deeply do they feel the absence of a Priest among them!… Such places are not lacking in the world. So if one of you doubts the meaning of his priesthood, if he thinks it is “socially” fruitless or useless, reflect on this!

We must be converted every day, we must rediscover every day the gift obtained from Christ himself in the sacrament of Orders, by penetrating the importance of the salvific mission of the Church and by reflecting on the great meaning of our vocation in the light of that mission.

Related at CWR:
• “Lent and the Sacraments: Plumbing the effective signs of divine grace and life” (March 3, 2022) by Fr. Peter M.J. Stravinskas
• “Lent and the Sacraments: Baptism and Confirmation” (March 10, 2022) by Fr. Peter M.J. Stravinskas
• “Lent and the Sacraments: The Eucharist” (March 17, 2022) by Fr. Peter M.J. Stravinskas
• “Lent and the Sacraments: Penance and Anointing of the Sick” (March 24, 2022) by Fr. Peter M.J. Stravinskas
• “Lent and the Sacraments: Matrimony” (March 31, 2022) by Fr. Peter M.J. Stravinskas

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