CatholicTheology.info

Choose a topic from Part 3 Suppl:

• Penance (Continued)
• Extreme Unction
• Order (Holy Orders)
  • 34. The Sacrament of Orders
  • 35. The Effect of the Sacrament of Orders
  • 36. Qualities in Those to be Ordained
  • 37. The Distinction of Orders: The Character
  • 38. The Minister of Holy Orders
  • 39. The Impediments to Orders
  • 40. Matters Pertinent to the Sacrament of Orders
• Matrimony
• The General Resurrection
• The Last Things
• Appendix I (The Innocents in Limbo)
• Appendix II (Two Notes on Purgatory)

34. The Sacrament of Orders

1. Orders, or holy orders as it is more generally called,is the sacrament by which bishops, priests, and deacons are giventhe power to perform their sacred functions.

2. Peter the Lombard defines the sacrament of orders as:"A seal of the Church by which spiritual power is conferred onthe person ordained." Rightly understood, this is a gooddescription of orders. The sacrament is a sign or seal. It is"of the Church" in the sense that Christ instituted itand consigned it to the Church for administering; our Lord did thiswith all the sacraments; hence it is common to hear the expression,"the sacraments of the Church," even though the Churchcannot institute or abrogate any sacrament. The definition of Peterthe Lombard indicates the effect of this sacrament in therecipient, namely, spiritual power.

3. A sacrament is an outward sign instituted by Christ,while he was here on earth before his Ascension into heaven, whichboth signifies and confers an inward grace. The sacrament of orderssquares with this definition. It is therefore a true sacrament.

4 & 5. This sacrament is conferred by the imposing of thebishop's hands upon the recipient (this constitutes thematter of the sacrament) followed by prescribed prayers(the form) which indicate the meaning of the matter orsign, and constitute it a sacrament.

"Whom do you seek, friend, if you seek not God? Seek him, find him, cleave to him; bind your will to his with bands of steel and you will live always at peace in this life and in the next."
St Alphonsus de Liguori

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"The essence of perfection is to embrace the will of God in all things, prosperous or adverse. In prosperity, even sinners find it easy to unite themselves to the divine will; but it takes saints to unite themselves to God's will when things go wrong and are painful to self-love. Our conduct in such instances is the measure of our love of God."
St Alphonsus de Liguori

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"God gives us some things, as the beginning of faith, even when we do not pray. Other things, such as perseverance, he has only provided for those who pray."
St Augustine

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