Holy Orders Wants You!

In the Catholic Tradition, it was during the Last Supper that Jesus instituted the sacrament of Holy Orders. The ministry conferred by the sacrament of Holy Orders, called the ministerial priesthood, has as its task, to serve in the name and in the person of Christ the Head within a community

This is not to say that priests are in any way equal to Christ (our one true priest) Those who enter priesthood work in this ministry in 3 primary roles: 1.To Teach 2.To lead the Catholic Community in the celebration of divine worship 3. To provide pastoral guidance and care

Therefore, ordination confers on priests the grace to serve God’s people in 3 primary areas of church life: To preach the gospel – by bringing forth the Word of God to God’s people To act as a symbol of Christ in the world and as a visible sign of the forgiving grace of God The task of representing Christ (Head of the Church) and as well as presenting to God the prayer of the Church (especially when offering the Eucharist sacrifice)

Newly ordained priests are authorized to celebrate the Eucharist and to preach the gospel Ordination is also called consecratio, and the laying of the hands by the bishop, along with the consecratory prayer, constitutes the visible sign of this ordination.

A liturgy of Thanks and Praise

Liturgy means the participation of the people of God in the work of God. It is the highest interaction between the work of God and our work. –We call the actions in which this encounter occurs sacramental

Through liturgy, God gathers us (an invitation to gather comes from God); God and creation exchange gifts (we are to receive these gifts, and to return to God the gift of praise and thanksgiving so that we can be agents of transformation);

Cont’d –The mystery of God’s love is made through ritual, symbol and word (we do not see God directly, therefore, language, rituals, and symbols are used to encounter God in the proclamation of the Word of God); Our salvation is achieved (the liturgy is a way for our interaction in the fullness of life, in the resurrection); Our moral life is promoted (ethics and morality are nourished)

Therefore, we become generous in our moral life because God is generous.