Msgr. Peter J. Vaghi
Title of Series: "Sacraments: The Catholic Faith Celebrated"

Part 7: "Holy Orders: Apostolic Ministry"

April 3rd, 2008
First Thursday

I would like to begin this meditation with a prayer from the 19th century French Dominican, Father Lacordaire:

“To live in the midst of the world without wishing its pleasures; to be a member of each family, yet belonging to none; to share all sufferings; to penetrate all secrets; to heal all wounds; to go from people to God and offer Him their prayers; to return from God to people to bring pardon and hope; to have a heart of fire for charity and a heart of bronze for chastity; to teach and to pardon, console and bless always -- what a glorious life! And it is yours, O Priest of Jesus Christ!”

Both catechisms, the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults, refer to the sacraments of Holy Orders and Matrimony as the “Sacraments at the Service of Communion.” And “this means they are primarily directed toward the salvation of others. The recipients of these Sacraments grow in holiness through their service to others.” USCCA 262-63; CCC 1534

In our meditation for this month of April, the subject is the sacrament of Holy Orders. Specifically, I have entitled this reflection: “Holy Orders: Apostolic Ministry.” Our final meditation for the year in May
will treat the sacrament of Marriage and is entitled: “Matrimony -- It Takes Three.” Indeed they are service sacraments, sacraments directed towards the salvation of others -- for married people -- to one’s spouse and family and for those ordained -- to the greater family the Church.

Both of these service sacraments complement each other. I have observed in my almost 23 years of priesthood how it is that the faithful commitment of husband and wives in marriage can be a wonderful strength to those of us in the ordained priesthood as we seek faithfully to live out our call to celibacy. I
have been told that it works the other way as well. After all, we are each, in our respective vocations, called to building up the church in different ways and giving glory to God.

“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: thus it is the sacrament of apostolic ministry. It includes three degrees: episcopate,[bishop] presbyterate [priest] and the diaconate [deacon].” CCC 1536

I was sent a description recently of the “perfect priest.” Before we continue with the theology of priesthood and Holy Orders, I would like to share it with you:

To welcome our Dean back from a well earned leave, we present: THE PERFECT PRIEST - and how to get one (or more...)

A survey recently undertaken has listed all the qualities that people expect from the perfect priest. Here are some:-

-1. The perfect priest preaches for 12 minutes.
-1. He frequently condemns sin, but never upsets anyone.
-1. He works from 08h00 to midnight and is also a secretary.
-1. He makes R100.00 a week, wears good clothes, buys good books, drives a good car, and gives R50.00 a week to good causes.
-1. He is twenty-eight years old and has been preaching for thirty years.
-1. He is wonderfully gentle and handsome.
-1. He gives of himself completely, but never gets too close to anyone lest he be criticised.
-1. He speaks boldly on social issues, but must never become politically involved.
-1. He has a burning desire to work with teenagers, and spends all his time with senior citizens.
-1. He makes 15 calls daily on parish families, visits shut-ins and the hospitalised, spends all his time evangelising the unchurched, and is always in his office when needed.

Advice to the Cathedral Council: If your priest does not measure up, simply send this to six other parishes. Bundle up your priest and send him to the church at the top of the list. In one week you will receive 1643 priests; at least one of them will be perfect. Have faith in this letter. One parish broke the chain and got its old priest back in less than three months.
Anon.

On a more serious note, it is important to understand that the sacrament of Holy Orders has a long history dating back to the Old Testament. Melchizedek was the first priest figure in the Hebrew scriptures. He offered a sacrifice of bread and wine on behalf of the patriarch Abraham and symbolized the permanence of the priesthood. “Like Melchizedek you are a priest forever” PS 110:4. Aaron and his sons were chosen to be priests, and from the twelve tribes, one tribe, that of the Levites, were designated the tribe for liturgical services. They were to serve the people in a special way liturgically and as leaders of prayer. “This priesthood nevertheless remains powerless to bring about salvation.” CCC 1540 “The priesthood of Melchizedek, Aaron, and the Levites prefigured the priesthood of Christ, as is seen in consecration prayers for the ordination of bishops, priests and deacons.” USCCA 264

Everything that the priesthood of the Old Testament prefigured is fulfilled in Christ Jesus, who alone is the one mediator between God and man. The Old Testament priests were unable to provide the fullness of salvation or the definitive sanctification for the people. Only Jesus Christ could do this. He is, after all, the High Priest who continually intercedes for us at the right hand of the Father precisely as a result of the Easter victory.

From the Preface of Easter III, we pray: “He is still our priest, our advocate who always pleads our cause. Christ is the victim who dies no more, the Lamb, once slain, who lives for ever.”

Note well that Christ has, however, made each of us -- each and every baptized Christian -- a sharer in His priesthood. “The whole Church is [thus] a priestly people. Through Baptism all the faithful share in the priesthood of Christ. This participation is called the ‘common priesthood of the faithful.’ Based on this common priesthood and ordered to its service, there exists another participation in the mission of Christ: the ministry conferred by the sacrament of Holy Orders,” our subject today. CCC1591

This is called the ministerial priesthood. It differs in essence and degree from the common priesthood of all the baptized because it confers a special and mysterious sacred power by ordination for service.
Christ calls all the baptized -- those who share in the common priesthood -- to share in the Spirit’s work of “sanctifying the world.” Christ calls the ordained or ministerial priesthood uniquely to share in the Spirit’s work in “sanctifying the faithful.” In the words of St. John Vianney: “The priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus.” CCC 1589

“The ordained or ministerial priesthood is at the service of the baptismal priesthood. The ordained priesthood guarantees that it really is Christ who acts in the sacraments through the Holy Spirit for the Church.” CCC 1120 Essential to the ministerial priesthood is the conferral of the unique power of consecrating and offering the true body and blood of Christ at Mass, of forgiving sins after Baptism through the Sacraments of Penance and the Anointing of the Sick. In this sacramental ministry, it is “Christ Himself who is present to his Church as Head of his Body, Shepherd of his flock, high priest...”CCC 1548

The priesthood is a gift of God for His Church. It is a “call,” a call that comes from God alone. It is a great mystery. “The ministerial priesthood is a means by which Christ unceasingly builds up and leads his Church.” CCC 1547 A priest acts in persona Christi, in the very person of Christ.

“An image used to explain this reality talks of a priest as an ‘icon’ of Christ. An icon is a religious painting that is considered to make present the mystery of salvation or the saint it depicts. To say a priest is an icon of Christ means, then, that a priest is not just a reminder or image of Christ but is also a real means by which a person can be touched by Christ. Because Christ is a man, it is fitting that a priest as the icon of Christ should also be a man.” USCCA 268

This ministerial priesthood is a unique and special share in our day, in every age, in the mission of Jesus Himself, Jesus the Good Shepherd. Jesus was not only Priest, He was also Prophet and King. And the ordained priest shares in that very same mission in a special and unique way. In previous talks, I have shown how all the baptized share in the mission of Jesus as priest, prophet and king. Today, the focus is on the unique share of the ordained priest in this same mission of Jesus.

NOW THESE ARE NOT JUST THEOLOGICAL CONSTRUCTS. JESUS' MISSION NOW BECOMES EACH PRIEST’S MISSION IN CONCRETE AND REAL TERMS each and every day.

But how?

First: The Mission of Jesus as Priest

JESUS THE HIGH PRIEST STANDS VICTORIOUSLY NOW AT THE RIGHT HAND OF THE FATHER INTERCEDING FOR EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US--THE ONE AND ONLY MEDIATOR BETWEEN GOD AND MAN. A PRIEST STANDS IN PERSONA CHRISTI (IN THE PERSON OF CHRIST). HE IS MOST A PRIEST ( AND HE SHARES IN CHRIST'S OWN PRIESTHOOD) AT THIS ALTAR OF SACRIFICE, AT HOLY MASS --THE ROOT OF EVERY PRIEST'S LIFE. Referring to priests, THE CATECHISM STATES THAT AT THE EUCHARIST “THEY EXERCISE IN A SUPREME DEGREE THEIR SACRED OFFICE.” CCC 1566. IT IS AT THE ALTAR WHERE THE RELATION OF PRIESTHOOD TO CHRIST'S ULTIMATE ACT OF LOVE FOR US ON THE CROSS IS SPELLED OUT DRAMATICALLY. AT THE ALTAR, IT IS THE CONSECRATION OF THE BREAD AND WINE INTO THE ACTUAL BODY AND BLOOD OF JESUS ( AND THAT'S WHAT TAKES PLACE AT EVERY MASS), WHICH REPRESENTS (IN AN UNBLOODY WAY) THE SACRIFICE OF CALVARY OFFERED ONCE AND FOR ALL By Christ FOR OUR SALVATION--THE LASTING MEMORIAL OF HIS PRESENCE AMONG US.

AT MASS, THE PRIEST CALLS UPON THE HOLY SPIRIT THAT THE GIFTS OF BREAD AND WINE MIGHT BECOME THE BODY AND BLOOD OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST (AND THIS IS THE UNIQUE PRIVILEGE AND OBLIGATION OF THE PRIEST) -- THAT WE MIGHT SHARE IN JESUS’ DYING AND RISING EVERY TIME WE EAT THIS BREAD, THE BREAD OF LIFE, AND DRINK THIS CUP, THE CUP OF ETERNAL SALVATION -- NOURISHMENT FOR OUR DAILY JOURNEY OF FAITH--THE SOURCE AND SUMMIT OF OUR LIVES AS CHRISTIANS.

The late and beloved John Cardinal O’Connor writes so beautifully: “It’s in the offering of the Sacrifice of the Mass, of course, that the priest reaches his fullness, the bishop reaches his fullness. What could one possibly do that would be comparable to taking the place of Christ in the Mass, saying over a piece of bread, ‘This is My Body,’ over a cup of wine, ‘This is My Blood.’ That’s really when we all come into our fullness.” (Catholic New York, April 21, 1994)

SECOND: JESUS' ENTIRE MISSION WAS THAT OF A PROPHET

HE JOINED THE LONG LINE OF PROPHETS FROM ISAIAH TO JEREMIAH TO EZECHIAL. HE WAS A PROPHET -- NOT AS COMMONLY UNDERSTOOD -- A KIND OF FORECASTER, SOMEONE WHO PREDICTS FUTURE CRISES AND CATASTROPHES. JESUS' KIND OF PROPHET IS ONE WHO FALLS IN LOVE WITH THE WORD OF GOD: HIS WORD FOUND IN SACRED SCRIPTURE AND OUR LIVING CATHOLIC TRADITION. A PROPHET PREACHES GOD'S LIFE-GIVING WORD IN SEASON AND OUT OF SEASON. HE TEACHES. IMPORTANTLY, HE LIVES WHAT HE PREACHES, WHAT HE TEACHES. THEREIN LIES HIS CREDIBILITY. IN HIS OWN PROPHETIC WAY, POPE PAUL VI WROTE: "MODERN MAN LISTENS MORE WILLINGLY TO WITNESSES THAN TO TEACHERS, AND IF HE DOES LISTEN TO TEACHERS, IT IS BECAUSE THEY ARE WITNESSES."

IT IS THE PRIEST’S TASK, AS IT WAS FROM THE TIME OF St. PETER TO “LET THE WHOLE HOUSE OF ISRAEL KNOW BEYOND ANY DOUBT THAT GOD HAS MADE BOTH LORD AND MESSIAH THIS JESUS WHOM YOU CRUCIFIED” -- TO BE EASTER WITNESSES TO THE WORLD. PERHAPS THIS IS THE MOST CHALLENGING PART OF JESUS' MISSION IN OUR CONTEMPORARY WORLD -- A WORLD ADOPTING MORE AND MORE A CULTURE OF DEATH INSTEAD OF A CULTURE OF LIFE, A WORLD WHERE SECULARISM AND MATERIALISM SO OFTEN PREVAILS, A WORLD DEAF TO THE GOSPEL IN SO MANY PLACES AND WAYS. AND YET IT IS UNIQUELY A PART OF THE WORK OF PRIESTS TO GIVE PROPHETIC WITNESS FROM THE PULPIT AND FROM THEIR LIVES OF THE GOOD NEWS THAT ONLY JESUS CAN GIVE.

AND FINALLY, EACH PRIEST SHARES IN THE KINGLY MISSION OF JESUS.

IT IS NOT KING AS THE WORLD UNDERSTANDS THE TERM. CHRIST THE KING IS BEST UNDERSTOOD AS THE LAMB ON THE THRONE SLAIN FOR US -- THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB SHED FOR US THAT OUR SINS MIGHT BE FORGIVEN. He is THE VICTORIOUS LAMB WHOSE PRECIOUS BLOOD MAKES TRUE HEALING AND RECONCILIATION POSSIBLE -- ABOVE ALL IN THE HEALING SACRAMENT OF PENANCE -- A SACRAMENT WHOSE IMPORTANCE IN THE LIFE OF EACH CHRISTIAN MUST BE EMPHASIZED AND RE-EMPHASIZED AGAIN AND AGAIN. THE PRIEST SHARES IN CHRIST'S KINGLY MISSION WHEN HE RECONCILES PEOPLE IN THIS SACRAMENT TO GOD, TO NEIGHBOR, TO THE CHURCH AND TO THEMSELVES. AND OH HOW IMPORTANT THAT IS, IN OUR INCREASINGLY BROKEN WORLD, A WORLD WHICH SEEMS TO
FEAST ON DIVISION, STRIFE AND WAR! A PRIEST IS A MAN OF PEACE, ONE WHOSE MINISTRY IT IS TO HEAL AND UNIFY A PEOPLE, A PARISH, A COMMUNITY IN THE NAME OF JESUS, TO GUIDE WITH A GENTLE ARM AND A SHEPHERD’S HEART ALL THOSE TO WHOM HE IS SENT IN THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT -- ESPECIALLY TO THE ILL, THE POOR AND THE MOST VULNERABLE.

Yes, to share in the very mission of Jesus as priest, prophet and king, that defines so well the role and identity of a priest in our day and every day.

Return with me to the beginning of this meditation. I spoke of the 3 degrees to the Sacrament of Holy Orders, three grades or steps. They are bishop, priest and deacon. The catechism makes it clear that these “ministries conferred by ordination are irreplaceable for the organic structure of the Church: without the bishop, presbyters, and deacons, one cannot speak of the Church.” CCC 1593

Archbishop Wuerl is presently the Archbishop of Washington. He is our bishop assisted by Bishop Gonzalez and Holley. The Bishop in Arlington is Bishop Loverde. A bishop receives “the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders” and becomes a successor of the Apostles. That means he can ordain men to priesthood and consecrate men bishops. A priest cannot do that. By his consecration, he is integrated into the entire episcopal college, and as a successor of the apostles -- indeed “transmitters of the apostolic line -- has responsibility not only for his own geographical diocese or office but for the whole church. As an authentic teacher of the faith, the bishop strives to “guard the rich trust with the help of the Holy Spirit that dwells among us (2 Tim. 1:14)”

I am a priest, ordained almost 23years ago by Cardinal Hickey on June 29, 1985 at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle. By ordination, every priest and I is a “co-worker of the bishop.” Priests share, “in a subordinate degree” in the ministry of the bishop. In a certain sense, the priest -- who together with his bishop and the priests of the individual diocese form a unique priestly college -- represents the bishop. A priest can exercise his ministry only in dependence on the bishop and in communion with him to whom he has taken a promise of respect and obedience. “Through that sacrament [of Holy Orders] priests by the anointing of the Holy Spirit are signed with a special character and so are configured to Christ the priest in such a way that they are able to act in the person of Christ the head.” CCC 1563

There is a wonderful fraternity among priests. I have experienced this and am daily sustained by priest friends around the world. On a lighter note, I thought I would read an anonymous piece entitled “The Brotherhood of Priests”:

“There happens to be in this world of strange social conventions one friendship that transcends all conventions and knows no rules. It is the brotherhood of Catholic priests. There is not, I swear it, under the stars an intimacy more reckless or more profound than the bond between one priest and another.

It needs no coaxing, no prelude, no ritual. It is subject to no formality. We meet and possess one another instantly. There is no shadow of a barrier between us, neither age, nor antecedents, nor nationality, nor climate, nor color of skin. Ours is a blunt, rough hewn affection.

His home is my home, his fireside, my fireside, his altar, my altar. I can give him my confidences promptly and without reserve. I can neither edify nor scandalize him. We can quarrel without offense, praise each other without flattery -- sit silently and say nothing.

How and why all this can happen is our own secret. It is the secret of men who climb a lonely drawbridge, mount a narrow stair, sleep in a lofty citadel that floats a white flag. Singly we go, independent and unpossessed, establishing no generation, each a conclusion to his race and name, yet always companioning each other with strange sympathy, too tender to be called fellowship, too sturdy to be called love, but for which God will find a name when he searches our hearts in eternity.” (Essentials of the Faith: A Guide to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, McBride, Alfred, 147-48)
Once ordained a priest, he is a priest forever. Often we hear of priests who have left the active ministry or who have been laicized, but just as a baptized person can not give up the indelible spiritual mark on his or her soul which last forever, so too with the ordained priest. Even though he may no longer function as a priest, or for very grave reason be forbidden to function as a priest, or he may in fact be laicized and be relieved of the responsibilities of a priest and may even marry, but he is a priest forever

A man responds to a call to priesthood. “When God chooses men to share in the ordained priesthood of Christ, he moves and helps them by his grace.” USCCA 269 It is thus both a call and a gift. In addition, all candidates for ordination in the Latin Church make a promise of celibacy “for the sake of the kingdom of heaven” ( Mt 19:12). ”Their celibacy is a sign of the intention to imitate Christ’s own celibacy and to serve God in the Church’s ministry with an undivided heart.” USCCA 270 Two exceptions: permanent deacons who are married at the time of ordination and in some cases married clergy of other Christian churches who convert to Catholicism have been admitted to Holy Orders.

The teaching that the ordained priesthood is reserved to men, after the example of Jesus, has been preserved by the constant and universal Teaching of the Church. John Paul II reaffirmed this teaching in the following words making it an infallible teaching: “In order that all doubt may be removed, I declare 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 (On Reserving Priestly Ordination to Men Alone [Ordinatio Sacerdotalis],no.4). USCCA 269

Having spoken of the episcopacy and the priesthood, we now turn to the first step in Holy Orders which is that of deacon. It is also conferred by ordination by the bishop. Although deacons receive the Sacrament of Holy Orders, they do not share in the ministerial priesthood but to a ministry of service. The word deacon comes from the Greek word diakonia which means “servant.” For a long time in the Western Church, the diaconate was merely a next to last step toward priestly ordination. In fact, 24 years ago on May 3 -- on the feast of Sts. Philip and James -- I was ordained to the transitional diaconate at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome by Cardinal Baum.

Since Vatican II, however, the Latin-rite diaconate has been restored as a permanent order. It is the one order in the West that admits married men. Deacons -- permanent and transitional -- are ordained for a ministry of service. Deacons are ordained “not unto the priesthood, but unto the ministry.”CCC 1569 They have many roles, inter alia: to celebrate sacrament of Baptism; to impart Benediction; when delegated, to assist at and bless marriages in the name of the church; to preside at funeral and burial rites; to teach and preach the homily and to do charitable and administrative work in connection with the Church. I can certainly attest that the restoration of the permanent diaconate has truly been an enrichment and blessing to the life of the Church. There may be some of you who might be called to the diaconate.

In all three degrees, the episcopacy, priesthood and diaconate, the sacrament of Holy Orders is conferred by the imposition of the bishop’s hands and “a specific consecratory prayer asking God for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and His gifts proper to the ministry to which the candidate is being ordained.” CCC 1573 An indelible spiritual character is imparted by this sacrament, a sacrament which cannot be repeated not unlike Baptism and Confirmation.

Note well that the Catechism of the Catholic Church makes it quite clear that no one has the right to receive the sacrament of Holy Orders -- deacon, priest or bishop. The call must come from God. It is a gift, above all. The Church has the responsibility and the authority, however, to do its best to verify that this call is from God and only then to call the person to receive Holy Orders.

On a personal note, after almost 23 years of priesthood, I can firmly attest to the wonderful privilege it is -- ”to be a member of each family, yet belonging to none” in the words of Lacordaire, to be of service to God’s holy church, to be an instrument to his generous graces as a priest. I ask you to pray for your priests and pray ceaselessly for an increase in vocations.

I would like to end with the words of the late Cardinal John O’Connor who was a priest I admired so very much, as I am sure many of you did as well. He writes before he died in his own wonderful style:

“It’s a wonderful time to be a priest. Some people don’t trust us. Some think we’re in it for the money. Some think celibacy is a lost art. Some think we’re a dying breed.

So there ‘s no question about the challenge. And who wants to go through life without a challenge? There’s no such thing as a free lunch. We have to prove our honesty, our integrity, our decency, our loyalty every step of the way, and every day all over again. One of us slips and falls and makes headlines, and we’re all on trial. That may make life a bit tough, at times, but it’s really high praise. It suggests that after nearly 2000 years, people still expect us to be like Christ.” (O’Connor, On Being Catholic, 135)