Holy Orders & Religious Life

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 – CCC 1536

Though all baptized persons share in the priesthood of Christ, Jesus established a ministerial priesthood to serve the Church and minister sanctifying grace. There are three degrees of Holy Orders:

• Bishop, who has the the fullness of Holy Orders, is a successor of the Apostles. A bishop is given the grace to teach in the name of Christ; to sanctify the Church through the celebration of the Sacraments; to guide, govern, and defend the Church; and to be a sign of the unity of the Church.

• Priest, who is a co-worker of the bishop, is given the grace to proclaim the Gospel and preach, to celebrate the Sacraments and the Holy Mass, and to shepherd the people entrusted to him.

• Deacon, who is ordained to proclaim the Gospel and preach, to baptize, to assist the bishop or priest in the celebration of the Eucharist, to assist at and bless marriages, to preside at funerals, and to serve the community through works of charity. They can be permanent or transitional (last year before becoming a priest). Permanent deacons may be married if they are married before becoming a deacon.

Women have equal dignity as men as both are created in the image and likeness of God. However, we have different roles to serve as males and females. The Church has no authority to ordain women as priests as Jesus chose only men as apostles. In addition, the Priest represents Jesus (the groom) who ministers to the Church (the bride of Christ). So it is naturally fitting that the Priest be male.

Priests/Bishops in the Roman rite take vow of celibacy. Eastern Catholics may have married priests (before they are ordained). This is because they are anticipating the heavenly marriage of the Lamb. They have given it “for the sake of the Kingdom” (Matthew 19:12). In a practical sense, this also allows them to be completely devoted to the ministry as St. Paul indicates in 1 Corinthians 7:32-34: The unmarried man is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to please the Lord; but the married man is anxious about worldly affairs, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided.

The Catholic Church is often referred to as being the family of God. We are all united in our baptism as brothers and sisters, sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father. Priests, in their ministerial service, have a spiritual and pastoral role for taking care of God’s children. We honor this by calling them "Father".