EFFECTS OF THE SACRAMENT OF ORDERS

The Sacrament of Holy Orders configures the ordained to Christ by

a special  grace  of the Holy Spirit, in view of serving as an instrument of
Christ for his Church. By ordination one is qualified to act as representative
of Christ, Head of the Church, in his triple function of Priest, Prophet, and
King (cf. CCC 1581-84).  Like Baptism and Confirmation, Orders confers
an  indelible spiritual character which John Paul II describes as a mark
made in the depths of the priest’s being, with its own “personalistic”
dynamism for priestly personality (cf. Letter to Priests, 7). But a fuller
account of the effects of the Sacrament must focus on the Holy Spirit and
the life of the ordained.

   The Spirit and the Life of the Ordained

The Ordination Rites for Bishop, Priest, and Deacon, all invoke
the Holy Spirit for the sake of the ministry they will perform. Is this
only a functional consecration? Or are those ordained touched
personally, in their very being? Vatican II answered this by clearly
bringing out the intimate bond between the priest’s own spiritual life
and the exercise of his threefold ministry of word, sacrament, and
pastoral leadership. Besides the ex opere operato power of the
sacraments which the ordained celebrate by reason of
their office,  there is the personal spiritual ideal toward which the
ordained are directed to strive, even while conscious of their own
human frailties and sinfulness.

•    One can more effectively preach God’s Word only from a life wholly

conformed to it, and  conversely, preaching the Word always affects the whole life
of the preacher.

•    One can  lead others into the prayer of Christ  only from a life conformed to
that prayer, and conversely, leading others in genuine Christian prayer affects
the whole life of the prayer-leader.
•    One can shepherd with the affection of Christ the Good Shepherd only
from a life conformed to such affections, and conversely, shepherding others
with the affections of Christ affects the whole life of the shepherd.
The ordained ministry thus incarnates the priesthood of Jesus Christ in the priest
himself. The transformation through ordination involves the whole life of the
ordained because of the nature of the ministries themselves.
REYES REPORT
Spirituality of Priests
         1.   The Holy Spirit
1989. The Spirit of the Lord is the principal agent in the spiritual life of all
Christians, especially of priests (cf. CCC 1585-89). He creates the “new heart,”
inspires and guides it with the new law of love and pastoral charity (cf. PDV
33). Following his action on Christ himself (“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me”
[Lk 4:18]) the Spirit  reveals  and communicates  the fundamental calling (vocation)
which the Father addresses to everyone from all eternity through Christ Jesus,
and becomes the indwelling principle and wellspring of its fulfillment. He links
us with Christ and makes us sharers in his life as Son, in his love for the Father
and for our brothers and sisters.
This applies to all the baptized, but in a special way to priests by reason of the
grace of the Sacrament of Holy Orders, configuring them to Christ, Head and
Shepherd of the Church, and inspiring and enlivening their daily existence with
gifts, demands, virtues and incentives __ in a word, with pastoral charity (cf. PDV
19, 27).
           2.   Spiritual Life of Priests
1990. Vatican II declared that priests, who have already received in the
consecration of Baptism the sign and gift of the Christian calling to perfection (cf.
Mt 5:48), are bound in a special way to strive for this perfection since they are
consecrated to God in a new way by their ordination. Since every priest in his
own way represents the person of Christ himself, he is endowed with a special
grace which enables him, through his service of the people, to better pursue the
perfection of Christ  (cf. PO 12; PDV 20). This means witnessing to
the “radicalism of the Gospel,” particularly through living out the evangelical
counsels: apostolic, pastoral obedience,  celibacy, and evangelical  poverty  (cf.
PDV 27-30).
         3.   John Paul II’s Exhortation to Priests
1991. John Paul II addressed 5,000 priests from throughout the world as follows:
The priestly vocation is essentially a call to holiness, in the form which derives
from the Sacrament of Orders. Holiness is intimacy with God; it is the imitation of
Christ, who was poor, chaste and humble; it is unreserved love for persons and a
giving of oneself on their behalf and for their true good; it is love for the Church
which is holy and wants us to be holy, because this is the mission that Christ
entrusted to her” (PDV 33).
In his “Letter to Priests”,  John Paul II stressed the need to be converted every
day. Directly addressing his fellow priests, he writes:
Being converted is a fundamental demand of the Gospel for everyone, all the
more expected of us. It means: 1) returning to the grace of our vocation,
meditating on the infinite goodness and love of Christ who has called us by name;
2) constantly rendering an account before the Lord of our hearts concerning our
service, our zeal and our fidelity, our negligences and sins, our timidity, lack of
faith and hope, of thinking only as men think and not as God thinks; 3) seeking
again the pardon and strength of God in the Sacrament of Reconciliation; and
4) “praying always and not losing heart”(Lk 18:1; Letter to Priests, 10).
         4.      For Our Filipino Priests
1992.  The Second Plenary Council of the Philippines offers a genial presentation of
the spirituality they are called to. It has to be: 1) rooted and centered on Christ;
2) ministerial; 3) collegial; 4) lived in the spirit of the evangelical counsels of
obedience, chastity, and poverty; 5) missionary; 6) Eucharistic; and 7) Marian (cf.
PCP II 532-555). Moreover, the Council rightfully concludes by focusing on the
Holy Spirit, the Sanctifier, who inspires and empowers the priest’s spiritual life in
the service of the Church (cf. PCP II 556-558).