Holy Orders
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Priests, deacons, and nuns are needed in the Catholic Church. Learn more about vocations and the need for them by contacting
Fr Kyle, 985-839-4040, or consult the information below.Archdiocese of New Orleans
Office of Vocations
7887 Walmsley Avenue
New Orleans, 70125
504-861-6298
[email protected]
Director of Office of Vocations: Fr Colm CahillOffice of Vocations Website: nolapriest.com
In the Sacrament of Holy Orders, or Ordination, the priest being ordained vows to lead other Catholics by bringing them the sacraments (especially the Eucharist), by proclaiming the Gospel, and by providing other means to holiness.
The supreme task which Christ had to fulfill was His priestly work of atonement which He completed as mediator between God and man. By the union in Himself of humanity and divinity, Christ is by nature the mediator. As a man from among men, Christ is our mediator with the Father; yet He is also capable of offering a worthy sacrifice to God because, by virtue of the union of His human nature with the Second Person of the Godhead, His human actions have infinite value. In this fullest sense, the priesthood belongs to Christ alone.
But if Christ wished to live on and continue His work in the Church, the first thing He had to do was to provide for the continuance of His priestly and mediatory functions. Above all, if Christ wished to renew the sacrifice of the Cross throughout the ages and all over the world as the sacrifice of the New Law in the Holy Mass, He had to allow other men to share in His priesthood. For if there is to be a true sacrifice, there must be a priesthood ordained and authorized by God from whose hands God will accept the sacrifice.
Thus, the priesthood is ordained in the first place for the offering of sacrifice and therefore for the solemnization of the Church's formal worship. The arrangements for these celebrations demand also a corresponding ministry and thus graded ministers to the altar. This grading of the ministry goes in part back to direct institution by Christ, but in part was introduced by the Church.
The degrees of Orders - the four minor and three major orders with the highest of all, that of Bishop - signify an order of rank in the mediation of grace. It must be distinguished from the other order of rank which concerns jurisdiction, magisterium and pastorate. The latter are not essentially linked with the powers of mediation of grace, but in the concrete order established by God there are close relationships between the two kinds of power. For example, the fact that the power of forgiving sins exists in the Church does not, in itself, say anything about who has this power. But in the divine order, only a priest can have it.
THE CHURCH TEACHES:
Holy Orders is a true sacrament instituted by Christ who ordained the Apostles at the Last Supper. It is administered by the laying on of hands and the key phrases of the ordination preface. Only a Bishop can validly ordain. Orders is a purely ecclesiastical concern. The effect of the sacrament of Orders is to impart the Holy Spirit and to impress an indelible character, which permanently distinguishes those in orders from the laity. The laity also have a part in Christ's priesthood, but in another manner. The office of Bishop is above the priesthood (which in turn is above the diaconate) and gives special powers of consecration. To the priesthood belong the celebration of Holy Mass and the power of forgiving sins. Conditions for the valid reception of orders are baptism and being of the male sex.
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