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.
Sacraments
2 – a life of faith, hope, and charity, a life according to the
assist bishops, priests (baptism
DEACONS
parishes, hospitals, prisons and
marriage)
day-to-day spiritual care
PRIESTS 5
of the local parish
BISHOPS primary faith teachers
(fullness ultimate diocesan 7 3. KINDS OF PRIESTHOOD
of Christ) authority
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
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 his Church (CCC, 1547).
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 in the
world.
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.