THE SACRAMENT OF HOLY ORDER
1. MEANING OF THE SACRAMENT OF HOLY
ORDERS
The sacrament of 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. It is a sacrament of apostolic ministry.
“Every high priest is taken from among men and made their
representative before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for
sins. One does not take this honor on his own initiative but
only when called by God” (Heb. 5:1 – 4).
“It is Christ who gave apostles, prophets, evangelists,
pastors and teachers in roles of service for the faithful to
build up the body of Christ, till we become one in faith and
in the knowledge of God’s Son” (Eph. 4:11 – 12).
ORDER – the group or body of those who carry on certain
functions, such as teaching, sanctifying and governing.   The
liturgy speaks of the “episcoporum,” the
“ordo presbyterium,” the “ordo diaconorum.”
ORDINATIO – a religious and liturgical act that was a
consecration, a blessing or a sacrament.
ORDINATION – the sacramental act that integrates a
man into the order of bishops, presbyters or deacons. It
confers a gift of the Holy Spirit that permits the exercise of a
sacred power that can come only from Christ Himself
through His Church.
Sacrament
s his Church (CCC, 1547).
2
DEACON assist bishops, priests (baptism
S parishes, hospitals, prisons and
marriage)
day-to-day spiritual care of
PRIESTS 5
the local parish
BISHOPS
primary faith teachers
(fullness 7 in the world.
ultimate diocesan authority
of Christ)
2 kinds: ministerial (holy orders) and common (by
baptism); kingly ministry
Bacolod – bishop Buzon; bishop – highest priesthood
2 KINDS OF MINISTERIAL:
Secular or Diocesan (where you came from, u will serve
there) and Religious (missionaries)
2. BIBLICAL FOUNDATIONS
a. OLD TESTAMENT
God constituted the Chosen People as “a kingdom of priests
and holy nation” (Ex. 19:6). He chose one of the twelve
tribes of Israel, that of Levi (Lev. 8:1 – 12), and set it apart
for liturgical service where He Himself was its inheritance.
Priesthood in the Old Testament began with a special rite
of consecration. Priests were appointed to
act on behalf of men in relation to God to offer gifts and
sacrifices for sins. Priesthood was instituted to proclaim the
Word of God, discern His will and to restore communion
with God by sacrifices and prayer (Mal. 2:7 – 9).
B. NEW TESTAMENT
Prefigures the priesthood of Jesus Christ, the “one mediator
between God and men” (1 Tim. 2:5).
Melchizedek – priest of God Most High, is a prefiguration
of the priesthood of Christ, the unique “high priest after
the order of Melchizedek”
(Heb. 5:10), “holy, blameless, unstained” (Heb. 7:26), “by
single offering he has perfected for all time those who are
sanctified” (Heb. 7:26), “by a single offering he has
perfected for all time those who are sanctified” (Heb.
10:14), that is, by the unique sacrifice of the cross.
Christ, the high priest and unique mediator, has made of
the Church “a kingdom, priests for his God and Father”. The
whole community of believers is, as such, priestly. The
faithful exercise their baptismal priesthood through their
participation, each according to his vocation, in Christ’s
mission as priest, prophet and king (CCC, 1546).
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 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
3. KINDS OF PRIESTHOOD
SECULAR or DIOCESAN – are those who serve as parish
priests within a given diocese; they are not ordinarily sent
for missionary assignments.
1. This is the consecration of men and women lived
2. They have vowed life: chastity, poverty and
obedience.
3. They maintain ownership of material property but
they are detached from them and expressed in their
profession.
4. They have no community life but what they have
is communion of life.
5. They have no external sign of vocation because
they live a hidden life in Christ.
6. Mission is practiced in their profession
(professional spirituality or in other words “apostolic
presence”
7. They have age requirement: 21 – 35 years old.
 
RELIGIOUS – Priesthood and religious life are vocation to
the celibate love. Celibacy is a gift of love. A priest or a
religious gives himself totally to God as his gift offering
bringing back to God the blessings that he receives from
Him
1. They are men and women.
2. They are either active or contemplative type of
religious life.
3. They have vows (the three evangelical counsels:
the vow of obedience, poverty and chastity).
4. They have community life in religious institution
and congregation.
5. They have external sign of vocation (habits or
uniform).
6. They have mission (their charism)
7. They have age requirement (high school graduate,
18-35 0r 30 years old)
4. LIFE, MINISTRY AND CHARISM OF THE
ORDAINED
First of all, they serve God and His people by acting as
mediators, God mediates His gifts – His words and the grace
of the sacraments – through His priests.
1. The ordained ministers are also leaders of God’s
people. They bear Jesus’ authority to go out and forgive
sin and proclaim His word.
2. The ordained is a disciple, that is, called to “follow
Jesus; in total commitment, like the disciples of Jesus in
the gospels, who left behind” boats, nets and fathers.
Priesthood is a special call to follow Jesus by living a life
of intense exposure to His word, of sensitivity to the
various needs of people and of meditation and prayer.
3. He is an apostle, “sent” to serve in the mission of
Jesus and of the Church.
4. He is a “presbyteroi;” they were “elders” in the
early Church who took care of the needs of the people. A
priest is responsible for the pastoral care of the Church
members. He is God’s steward over his people.
5. He is a “presider at the Eucharist.” He leads the
community prayers, especially in the celebration of the
Eucharist.
6. Finally, ordained ministers are called to be
witnesses of God’s desire to bring men and women into
His kingdom, through a life of total commitment of his
priests to God and His Kingdom.
5. THE THREE LEVELS OF ORDINATION
BISHOPS- as successors of the apostles; receives the
fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders, to represent
Christ and exercise the role of the chief Shepherd of their
flock.
PRIESTS – are united with the bishops in sacerdotal
dignity and at the same time depend on them in the exercise
of their pastoral functions; they are called to be the bishops’
prudent co-workers. They form around their bishop the
presbyterium which bears responsibility with him for the
particular Church. They receive from the bishop the charge
of a parish community or a determinate ecclesial office.
DEACONS – especially those in the newly fostered
permanent diaconate, who shares in this sacrament to a
lesser extent, and is principally, engaged in the ministry of
the Word, service of Charity, task which they must carry
out under the pastoral authority of their bishop.
Is it demeaning to women that only men may receive the
sacrament of Holy Orders?
The rule that only men may receive Holy Orders in no way
demeans women. In God’s sight, man and woman have the
same dignity, but they have different duties and
CHARISMS. The Church sees herself as bound by the fact
that Jesus chose men exclusively to be present at the Last
Supper for the institution of the priesthood.
Pope John Paul II declared in 1994 “that the Church has no
authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women
and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the
Church’s faithful”.
Like no one else in antiquity, Jesus provocatively affirmed
the value of women, bestowed his friendship on them, and
protected them. Women were among his followers, and
Jesus highly valued their faith. Moreover, the first witness to
the Resurrection was a woman. That is why Mary
Magdalene is called “the apostle of the APOSTLES”.
Nevertheless, the ordained priesthood (and consequently
pastoral ministry) has always been conferred on men. In
male priests the Christian community was supposed to see a
representation of Jesus Christ. Being a priest is a special
service that also makes demands on a man in his gender-
specific role as male and father. It is, however, not some
form of masculine superiority over women. As we see in
Mary, women play a role in the Church that is no less
central than the masculine role, but it is feminine. Eve
became the mother of all the living (Gen 3:20). As
“mothers of all the living”, women have special gifts and
abilities. Without their sort of teaching, preaching, charity,
SPIRITUALITY, and guidance, the Church would be
“paralyzed on one side”. Whenever men in the Church use
their priestly ministry as an instrument of power or do not
allow opportunities to women, they offend against charity
and the Holy Spirit of Jesus.
In the Latin Church the sacrament of Holy Orders for the
presbyterate is normally conferred only on candidates who
are ready to embrace celibacy freely and who publicly
manifest their intention of staying celibate for the love of
God’s Kingdom and the service of men.
Why does the Church require priests and bishops to live
a celibate life?
Jesus lived as a celibate and in this way intended to show
his undivided love for God the Father. To follow Jesus’
way of life and to live in unmarried chastity “for the sake of
the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 19:12) has been since Jesus’
time a sign of love, of undivided devotion to the Lord, and
of a complete willingness to serve. The Roman Catholic
Church requires this way of life of its bishops and priests,
while the Eastern Catholic Churches demand it only of their
bishops.
Celibacy, says Pope Benedict, cannot mean “remaining
empty in love, but rather must mean allowing oneself to be
overcome by a passion for God”. A PRIEST who lives as
a celibate should be fruitful in as much as he represents the
fatherly character of God and Jesus. The Pope goes on to
say, “Christ needs priests who are mature and manly,
capable of exercising a true spiritual fatherhood.”
The deacons and the priests, who received the sacraments of
Holy Orders, are given by God the sacramental grace to
discharge their duties faithfully especially in the
administration of the sacraments and the building of the
community of God. When a priest or a monsignor is
chosen to be a bishop, the Bishop of Rome, the Holy
Pope, is the minister of his ordination.