V.

HOLY ORDERS

Every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God, to offer
gifts and sacrifices for sins. . . One does not take this honor on his own initiative but only when
called by God.
(Heb 5:1, 4)
It is Christ who gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers in roles of service for
the faithful to build up the body of Christ, till we become one in faith and in the knowledge of
God’s Son.
(Eph 4:11-12)
Opening

1941. In this chapter’s Opening, we saw how the Sacraments of Marriage and Holy Orders are
directed immediately towards the salvation of others. These two Sacraments help toward
personal salvation precisely by relating the recipient to the service of others. Thus they confer a
particular mission in the Church and help in building up the People of God (cf. CCC 1534-35).
Those already consecrated by Baptism (cf. LG 10) receive particular consecrations. We have
already seen how Christian spouses “by a special sacrament are fortified and receive a kind of
consecration in the duties and dignity of their state” (GS 48). Now we shall take up how “the
faithful consecrated by the sacrament of Holy Orders are appointed to nourish the Church with
the word and grace of God in the name of Christ” (LG 11).

CONTEXT

1942. Like the Sacrament of Marriage, the present situation of the priesthood has entered a
“state of crisis.” First, there is the worldwide shortage of priests, and in many traditional Catholic
countries, a dras-tic decline in priestly vocations. This may well go unnoticed in our country
since in general all our major seminaries are full to capacity. Nevertheless, the number of
Filipino Catholics for every
priest is constantly growing. Second, since Vatican II, great stress has rightly been put on the
“priesthood of all the faithful,” received in Baptism. But priestly ordination is reduced by some to
mere functional appointment. Third, a great variety of lay ministers has emerged, who perform
tasks that were once performed only by the ordained. Since today the priesthood is commonly
presented in terms of ministry rather than power, service rather than authority, a certain “identity
crisis” has arisen for ordained priests (cf. PDV 1, 11). What precisely is the specific role of
priestly ministry now?
1943. Lastly, many priests who are not bothered by any personal identity crisis are asking: how
can “sacramental practice be made an expression of faith really affecting the whole of personal
and social life __ not wrongly reduced to mere external ritualism.” Doubts are raised about the
effectivity of sacramental ministry toward resolving the pressing problems of poverty, injustice,
and moral deterioration. Thus “in a world in which almost all problems have political aspects,
participation in politics and even revolutionary activity is considered by some to be
indispensable” (1967 Synod 2-3).
1944. For Filipinos, this crisis is significant because “in our cultural situation, perhaps nothing on
the human plane will influence both the shape of the Church and its impact on Philippine society
as palpably as the leadership of its ordained ministers” (PCP II 507). Therefore, the Council
concluded, “it is of the utmost importance that we project a shape of the ordained ministry that
responds to the signs of the times” (Ibid.).
1945. The following Exposition takes up first the origin and meaning of the priestly vocation in
general, its expression in the term “Orders,” and its evolution in the Old and New Testaments.
This culminates in Jesus Christ, the One Mediator/Priest, who shares his priesthood in a twofold
manner: in the common priesthood of all the faithful, and in the ministerial priesthood of the
ordained. The ordained priesthood is then developed in terms of complementary “models,”
based on the common essentials of configuration to Christ, in the service of the Church for the
salvation of the world (cf. PDV 12). The Sacrament of Holy Orders is then examined in its three
degrees: bishop, priest and deacon, with excerpts from their ordination rites. Finally the basic
effects of Ordination are examined, together with a brief exposition of the spirituality proper to
the priesthood.

EXPOSITION

ORIGIN AND MEANING OF THE PRIESTLY VOCATION

1946. The vocation of every Christian is a response to Christ’s call, “Come, follow me” (Mt
19:21). Every single Christian, of whatever age, sex, race, or walk of life, is called to seek Christ,
find him, and stay with him (cf. Jn 1:37ff). This call is Trinitarian: a free gift of God, grounded in
the Father’s free loving choice, who blesses us in His Son, Christ Jesus, and seals us with the
Holy Spirit (cf. Eph 1:3-14). Moreover the Church is the “begetter and educator of vocations” in
her ministry of proclaiming the Word, in her celebration of the Sacraments, and in her service
and witness to charity” (PDV 35). The vocation every Christian derives from the Church and her
mediation, finds fulfillment in the Church, and is a service to the Church.
1947. What is true of every Christian vocation is true specifically of the priestly vocation,
described by John Paul II as “the call by the Sacrament of Holy Orders received in the Church,
to place oneself at the service of the People of God with a particular belonging and configuration
to Jesus Christ, and with the authority of acting ‘in the name and in the person’ of him who is
Head and Shepherd of the Church” (PDV 35). The priest’s vocation is likewise grounded in the
Trinity: “by virtue of consecration he receives in the Sacrament of Orders, the priest is sent forth
by the Father, through the mediatorship of Jesus Christ . . . in order to live and work by the
power of the Holy Spirit in the service of the Church” (PDV 12).

1948. The Final Message of the 8th Synod of Bishops (1990) spoke in moving terms of the
mystery and gift of the priesthood in these same Trinitarian terms:

We derive our identity ultimately from the love of the Father, we turn our gaze to the Son, sent
by the Father as High Priest and Good Shepherd. Through the power of the Holy Spirit we are
united sacramentally to him . . . . Our priestly life and activity continues the life and activity of
Christ himself. Here lies our identity, our true dignity, the source of our joy, the very basis of our
life (cf. PDV 18).

A. Holy Orders

1949. In its specific nature, Holy Orders is “the sacrament of apostolic ministry.” Through it, “the
mission entrusted by Christ to his apostles continues to be exercised in the Church to the end of
time” (CCC 1536). “Order” in Church usage simply means the group or body of those who carry
on certain functions, such as teaching, sanctifying, and governing. Ordination is

the sacramental act by which one is integrated into the orders of bishops, of priests and of
deacons. It goes beyond a simple designation, delegation or institution by the community since
it confers a gift of the Holy Spirit, enabling the exercise of a sacred power which can only come
from Christ himself, through his Church (CCC 1538).

B. Priesthood in Salvation History

Old Testament

1950. Already in the Old Testament, through Moses God called all the Israelites to be “a
kingdom of priests, a holy nation” (Ex 19:6), while consecrating one of the Twelve Tribes, Aaron
and his descendents, the tribe of Levi, for priestly ministry (cf. Lv 8:1-12; Ex 28-30; CCC 1539).
Now, a priest is someone appointed to act on behalf of the people “as their representative
before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins” (Heb 5:1). But this Old Testament priesthood
was powerless to effect definitive salvation.

Since the Law had only a shadow of the good things to come and no real image of them, it was
never able to perfect the worshippers by the same sacrifices offered continually year after year. .
. for it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats take away sins (Heb 10:1-4).

2. New Testament Ministry

1951. The New Testament offers four basic dimensions of Christian ministry that Catholic
tradition has brought together in the priesthood.
First, the priest is a disciple, called to “follow Jesus” in total commitment, undeterred even by
family ties, life itself (Lk 14:26), hardship (the Cross), or death __ “let the dead bury their dead”
(cf. Mt
8:22), and with no “looking back to what was left behind” (cf. Lk 9:62). Christian discipleship was
unique in that:

Christ, not the disciple, initiated the call;

whose aim was not to acquire intellectual or moral formation, but to gain faith in the saving
mission of Jesus;
in a never outgrown discipleship that consists in a complete, ever-deepening surrender to
Jesus, Founder of the Kingdom and the unique Rabbi (Teacher); and
in total and radical dedication to the Kingdom, beyond all ordinary human ties.

1952. Second, the priest is an apostle, “sent” to serve in the mission of Jesus and of the
Church. It is always Jesus who is preached. St. Paul wrote: “It is not ourselves we preach but
Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake” (2 Cor 4:5). Being sent
meant for Paul being “afflicted in every way __ external conflicts, internal fears” (cf. 2 Cor 7:5).
But “God, who encouraged the downcast, encouraged us” and he could later write: “I will gladly
spend myself and be spent for your sakes” (2 Cor 12:15).
Third, the priest is called a presbyter, an “elder”one responsible to the pastoral care of the
Church members. As God’s steward he must be

blameless, . . . not self-willed or arrogant, not a drunkard, or violent, nor greedy. . . . He should,
on the contrary, be hospitable, and a lover of goodness; steady, just, holy, and self-controlled. In
his teaching he must hold fast to the authentic message, so that he will be able both to
encourage men to follow sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict it (Ti 1:7-9).

He represents an institution with authority,__ not to dominate but to serve.

1953. Finally, the priest is presider at the Eucharist as he offers the holy sacrifice of the Mass in
persona Christi. Thus, he gathers the community together for prayer, and in particular for the
“breaking of bread,” to “proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes (1 Cor 11:26). Since the
Mass represents the apex of the Church’s prayer and work, it is obviously the central function of
a priest’s day. For there, in the most clear and concrete way, all the faithful encounter the saving
presence of our Lord Jesus Christ in word and sacrament.

II. JESUS CHRIST, THE ONE MEDIATOR/PRIEST

A. Unique Priesthood of Christ

1954. Jesus Christ revealed in himself “the perfect and definitive features of the priesthood of
the New Covenant” (PDV 13; cf. CCC 1544). Thus, the New Testament proclaims Jesus as the
unique Mediator of the New Covenant between God and humankind. “There is one Mediator
between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all” (1 Tim 2:5).
Jesus is not just the spokesman for God like Moses, Aaron or Elijah; he is God-made-man,
Emmanuel, God among us, in whose very being the New Covenant __ the perfect union of God
and man __ is fully realized. For “it pleased God to make absolute fullness reside in him, and by
means of him, to reconcile everything in his person, on earth and in the heavens, making peace
through the blood of his cross” (Col 1:19-20).

1955. But Jesus is uniquely “priest” not only by reason of his very being, but also by his actions
(cf. CCC 1545). He “brought his role as mediator to complete fulfillment when he offered himself
on the Cross, thereby opening for us, once and for all, access to the Father’s house” (cf. Heb
9:24-28; PDV 13). Thus he surpassed all priestly offerings and sacrifices of the past. “By the
one offering he has made perfect forever those who are being sanctified” (Heb 10:12-14).
Moreover, the whole life of Jesus was a priestly act. By emptying himself in becoming man, by
his public ministry, by his Passion, Death, and Resurrection, Jesus brought us into the
fellowship of the Holy Spirit in which he lives with the Father” (Synod 1967, I, 1).
In thinking of Christ’s Priesthood, then, we must keep before our eyes a unique, incomparable
reality that also includes the prophetic and royal office of the Incarnate Word of God.

1556. Filipino Catholics are used to hearing such Christian proclamations, especially during
Holy Week in Good Friday celebrations. But during the year we often seem to forget what
Christ’s sacrifice of perfect self-giving love really means for us now. The Church constantly tries
to awaken a deeper, personal realization within and among us of what Christ did in shedding his
Blood on the Cross.

Exercising a supreme and unique Priesthood by the offering of himself, Jesus surpassed them
by fulfilling all the ritual priesthoods and holocausts of the Old Testament and indeed of the
pagans. In his sacrifice he took on himself the miseries and sacrifices of men of every age, and
also the efforts of those who suffer for the cause of justice or who are daily oppressed by
misfortune. . . . He bore the sins of us all on the cross; rising from the dead and being made
Lord he reconciled us to God; and he laid the foundation of the people of the New Covenant,
which is the Church (Synod 1967, I, 1).

What needs to be stressed is how Christ’s sacrifice of 2,000 years ago is really present and
operative among us today. This leads us to study how Christ’s Priesthood is present among us
today.

B. Christ Shares His Priesthood

1957. Christ’s priesthood did not stop with himself. “With the definitive sacrifice of the Cross,
Jesus communicated to ALL his disciples the dignity and mission of priests of the new and
eternal Covenant. . . [Moreover] for the sake of this universal priesthood, he called and
appointed with a specific and authoritative mandate the Twelve “as his companions whom he
would send to preach the Good News. They were likewise to have authority to expel demons’ ”
(Mk 3:14-15; PVD 13- 14).
In Chap. 26 we saw how Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice on the Cross is made present in each
Eucharistic sacrifice of the Church. Now, in this chapter, we see how Christ’s unique Priesthood
is rendered present today in a twofold manner in the Church: in the common priesthood of all
the baptized, and in the ministerial priesthood of the ordained (cf. CCC 1546-47).

III. ROYAL PRIESTHOOD AND MINISTERIAL PRIESTHOOD

1958. This twofold sharing of Christ’s Priesthood is beautifully expressed in the first half of the
Preface for the Chrism Mass, Holy Thursday morning.

Father, by Your Holy Spirit you anointed your only Son

High Priest of the new and eternal Covenant.
With wisdom and love you planned that this one Priesthood
should continue in the Church.
Christ gives the dignity of a Royal Priesthood
to the people he had made his own.
From these, with a brother’s love, he chooses men to share
his sacred ministry by the laying on of hands. . .

A. Royal Priesthood of the Faithful

1959. Vatican II set forth the basic truth that all the baptized share in the unique
priesthood of Christ.

Christ the Lord, high priest taken from among men, made the new people “a royal nation of
priests in the service of his God, and Father” (Rv 1:6; 5:9-10). The baptized, by regeneration
and the anointing of the Holy Spirit, are consecrated to be a spiritual house and a holy
priesthood, that through all their works, they may offer spiritual sacrifices and proclaim the
perfection of him who has called them out of darkness into his own wonderful light (LG 10; cf. 1
Pt 2:4-10).

1960. It is through the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation that all the faithful are
empowered to exercise their priesthood through shar-ing, according to each one’s proper
vocation, in the mission of Christ as Prophet, Priest and King (cf. CCC 1547). As prophets, we
give living witness of Christ to the world through explicit profession of Faith in word and deed,
especially by our way of life. As priests, we offer worship to God in the Eucharist, by receiving
the sacraments, and by offering prayers and thanksgiving. As sharing in Christ’s kingship, we
continue Christ’s ministry of reconciliation, leading others to follow his call to become
peacemakers by confronting injustice and evil with compassion and forgiveness.

1961. As “the faithful” we form a priestly community, radically transformed by the grace of Christ.
“Through him, with him, and in him, in the unity of Holy Spirit,” all we are and have and do is
offered to “the glory and honor of the Almighty Father.” The Second Plenary Council of the
Philippines sketches three dimensions of how we live this communal sharing in Christ’s
priesthood: as a consecration, committing everything we do to God; as mediating God’s plan for
transforming the world; and as sacrifice of life together with Christ, celebrated in the Eucharist
(cf. PCP II 413).

B. Ministerial Priesthood of the Ordained

1962. Besides making all the faithful a holy and kingly priesthood, the Lord also appointed
certain ministers among the faithful in order to join them together in the one body where ‘all
members have not the same function’ (Rom 12:4). These men were to hold in the community of
the faithful the sacred power of Order, that of offering sacrifice and forgiving sins. They would
exercise their priestly office publicly on behalf of men in the name of Christ (PO 2).

The ordained, therefore, “in virtue of the sacrament of Orders, after the image of Christ, the
supreme and eternal priest, are consecrated in order to preach the Gospel and shepherd the
faithful as well as to celebrate divine worship as true priests of the New Testament” (LG 28).

1963. The second half of the Preface for the Chrism Mass expresses why Jesus instituted the
ministerial priesthood thus:

He appoints them to renew in his name the sacrifice of redemption

as they set before your family his paschal meal.
He calls them to lead your holy people in love,
nourish them by your word,
and strengthen them through the Sacraments.
Father, they are to give their lives in your service
and for the salvation of your people
As they strive to grow in the likeness of Christ
and honor you by their courageous witness of faith and love.

C. Inter-Relation of the Two Priesthoods

1964. The one Priesthood of Christ, then, is shared differently by the “common” or “royal
priesthood” of all the baptized, and the ministerial priesthood of those who have received the
Sacrament of Orders. Vatican II states: “Though they differ essentially and not just in degree,”
nevertheless they ordered one to another (cf. LG 10). In his “Letter to Priests,” John Paul II
describes how through the sacrament of orders, the priestly ministry “tends to make the faithful
aware of their common priesthood and to activate it. It reminds them that they are the People of
God and enables them to offer spiritual sacrifices” (Novo Incipiente Nostro, 6 April ’79, 4).
Similarly, it is the common experience of priests that they come to know their ministerial
priesthood as it is called forth by the faithful whom they serve (cf. LG 24).

1965. Some comparison might be drawn between the mutually inter-related yet essentially
different ordained priesthood and common priesthood, and the mutual relation and essential
difference of husband and wife in marriage. Within marriage, husband and wife can only be
defined in relation to each other. Husband calls forth wife to be wife, and yet is essentially
different from wife, who calls forth husband to be husband. The identity of each, moreover, is
based on the more fundamental union between them, the “becoming one flesh.” Likewise, the
essential difference between the ministerial priesthood of the ordained and the common
priesthood of the baptized consists precisely in being ordered and directed to each other.
Moreover, each’s identity is constituted as a distinct mode of Christ’s unique Priesthood.

1966. Since both are different manifestations of the presence of Christ our Priest, both can be
seen in the liturgy which is the “exercise of Christ’s priestly office.” In the Eucharist we saw that
there is a single presence of Christ in four distinct modes: 1) in the Scriptural Word, 2) in the
priest, 3) in the consecrated bread and wine, and 4) in the assembly (cf. SC 7). The second
mode is an exercise of the ordained priesthood, calling together the community and leading
them in worship. The fourth mode, the assembly, represents the common priesthood of the
faithful, which needs to be called forth by the ministering priest.

A. In the Person of Christ, Head

1. Configured to Christ
1970. Priests are ordained to be sacraments of Christ, “configured to Christ in such a way that
they are able to act in the person of Christ the head” (PO 2). This does not mean Christ is
absent, or that the priest somehow substitutes for Christ. On the contrary, in the ecclesial
service of the ordained ministry, it is Christ himself who is present and acting through his
ordained minister. Through his person and ministry the priest serves Christ by being the sign
and instrument through whom Christ reaches out to touch and transform the faithful in his
Church (cf. CCC 1548-51; PCP II 516).

1971. By the sacramental anointing of Holy Orders, the Holy Spirit configures priests in
a new and special way to Jesus Christ, Head and Shepherd; he forms and strengthens them
with his pastoral charity; he gives them an authoritative role in the Church as servants of the
proclamation of the Gospel to every people and of the fullness of Christian life for all the
baptized (PDV 15).

2. What Priests Do

1972. Today, Catholic Filipinos are often challenged by fundamentalists regarding the need for
both Church and priests. John Paul II sketches the role of the ordained priest as follows:
In the Church and on behalf of the Church priests are a sacramental representation of Jesus the
Head and Shepherd, authoritatively proclaiming his Word, repeating his acts of forgiveness and
his offer of
salvation particularly in Baptism, Penance and the Eucharist; showing his loving concern to the
point of total gift of self for the flock, which they gather into unity and lead to the Father through
Christ in the Spirit. In a word, priests exist and act in order to proclaim the Gospel to the world
and to build up the Church in the name and person of Christ the Head and Shepherd (PDV 15).

B. The Church in the Philippines

1977. Priests, then, are “representatives of Christ the Head in and before the community,”
“servantleaders of the community” (cf. PCP II 514, 518). The essential traits of the Christian
community in the Philippines are described as:
formed by the Word of God,
Eucharistic,
prophetic, and
ministerial (cf. PCP II 519-31).
But the over-riding challenge is “to become the ‘Church of the Poor’” (cf. PCP II 124ff).

1978. But what does this mean in practice for its ordained ministers? First, “those who cannot
pay the usual stipends or stole fees because of poverty will not be deprived of the sacraments
or other spiritual services” (PCP II 128). Second, pastors “will give preferential attention and
time to those who are poor, and generously share of their own resources in order to alleviate
their poverty and make them recognize the love of the Lord for them despite their poverty” (PCP
II 129). Third, through pastoral immersion, pastors will gain first hand knowledge of the life
situation of the poor among their flock. . . [and] “courageously defend and vindicate the rights of
the poor and oppressed, even when doing so will mean alienation or persecution from the rich
and powerful” (PCP II 131).

1979. Fourth, this also means that pastors will practice preferential reliance on the poor in the
work of evangelization, by learning how to be with, work with, and learn from the poor who will
themselves become “evangelizers” (cf. PCP II 132).
Finally, pastors in a “Church of the Poor” animated by Christ’s example and teaching on humility,
“will not compete for the most prosperous parishes or offices, nor ambition for titles and honors.
. . . Rather, they will live simply to share what they have with the needy, following the example of
Christ himself and thus set an example” to their flock (PCP II 133).

IV. THE THREE DEGREES OF THE SACRAMENT OF ORDERS

1980. The ordained ministry of the Church “is exercised in different degrees by those who even
from ancient times have been called bishops, priests and deacons” (LG 28). Church Law says
simply: “The orders are the episcopate, the priesthood and the diaconate” (CJC, 1009, 1; cf.
CCC 1554).
The essential of the ordination rite consists in “the imposition of hands, and the words of
consecration,” through which “the grace of the Holy Spirit is given and a sacred character
impressed” (LG 21).

A. Bishops

1981. By episcopal consecration is conferred the fullness of the sacrament of Orders. . .

. [and] together with the office of sanctifying, the duty also of teaching and ruling. These,
however, of their very nature can be exercised only in hierarchical communion with the head
and members of the college [of Bishops]. . . . Bishops in an eminent and visible manner
undertake Christ’s own role as Teacher, Shepherd, and High Priest, and act in his person (LG
21; cf. CD 2; CCC 1555).

Each Bishop has, as Vicar of Christ, the pastoral responsibility for a particular diocese entrusted
to him. But at the same time, he has, collegially with all his brothers in the episcopate, care for
all the Churches. As a legitimate successor of the apostles, he has responsibility in solidarity for
the apostolic mission of the Church (cf. LG 23; CD 4,36f; AG 5f, 38; CCC 1559-60).

1982. The suggested homily in the revised Rite of the Ordination of a Bishop clarifies the
episcopal ministry:
The title of Bishop is not one of honor, but of function; therefore a Bishop should strive to serve
rather than to rule. . . proclaim the message whether it is welcome or not; correct error with
unfailing patience and teaching. Pray and offer sacrifice for the people committed to your care . .
. including “the poor and infirm, the strangers and the homeless. The homily concludes: “Attend
to the whole flock in which the Holy Spirit appoints you as overseer of the Church of God in the
name of • the Father, whose image you personify in the Church, • his Son, Jesus Christ, whose
role of Teacher, Priest and Shepherd you undertake; and • the Holy Spirit, who gives life to the
Church of Christ and supports our weakness with his strength. (Rite of the Ordination of a
Bishop, 18)

B. Priests

1983. “The function of the bishops’ ministry was handed over in a subordinate degree to priests
so that they might be appointed in the order of the priesthood and be co-workers of the
episcopal order for the proper fulfillment of the apostolic mission entrusted to it by Christ” (PO 2;
cf. CCC 1562-68).
As described in Vatican II, priests have three main functions: “to preach the Gospel, shepherd
the faithful as well as celebrate divine worship as true priests of the New Testament” (LG 28; cf.
CCC 1564). But it is especially in the sacrifice of the Mass that “they exercise in a supreme
degree their sacred functions: there, acting in the person of Christ, they unite the votive offerings
of the faithful to the sacrifice of Christ their head, and make present again and apply the unique
sacrifice of the New Testament” (LG 28).

1984. The suggested Bishop’s homily in the revised Ordination Rite of a Priest takes up the
three priestly functions of Minister 1) of God’s Word, 2) of the Sacraments, and 3) of leadership
in the faith community (cf. PO 4-6).
1. You must apply your energies to the duty of teaching in the name of Christ, the
chief Teacher. Share with all humankind the word of God:
believe what you read,
teach what you believe, and
put into practice what you teach.
2. When you baptize, you will bring men and women into the people of God; in
the sacrament of penance, you will forgive sins in the name of Christ and the
Church; with holy oil you will relieve and console the sick. You will celebrate
 the liturgy and offer thanks and praise to God throughout the day, praying not
only for the People of God but also for the whole world.
3. Bring the faithful together into a unified family and lead them effectively,
through Christ and in the Holy Spirit to God the Father.

Lastly, God is asked to

renew within the priest the spirit of holiness. . . [that] he may be faithful to the ministry he
received and be to others a model of right conduct (Rite, of the Ordination of a Priest 14).

C. Deacons

1985. “Strengthened by sacramental grace, in communion with the Bishop and his body of
priests, deacons serve the People of God in the service of the liturgy, of the Gospel, and of
works of charity” (LC 29; cf. CCC 1569). Among the many duties they can be called upon to
perform are the following:

to administer baptism solemnly, to be custodians and distributors of the Eucharist, to assist and
bless marriages in the name of the Church, to bring Viaticum to the dying, to read the Sacred
Scripture to the
faithful, to instruct and exhort the people, to preside over the worship and prayer of the faithful,
to administer sacramentals, and to officiate at funeral and burial services (LG 29).

1986. In the Ordination of a Deacon, following the laying on of hands, the Bishop pronounces
these words of consecration:
Lord, send forth upon him the Holy Spirit,
that he may be strengthened by the gift of your sevenfold grace
to carry out faithfully the work of ministry.
(Rite of the Ordination of a Deacon, 21)

V. EFFECTS OF THE SACRAMENT OF ORDERS

1987. The Sacrament of Holy Orders configures the ordained to Christ by a special grace of the
Holy Spirit, in view of serving as an instrument of Christ for his Church. By ordination one is
qualified to act as representative of Christ, Head of the Church, in his triple function of Priest,
Prophet, and King (cf. CCC 1581-84). Like Baptism and Confirmation, Orders confers an
indelible spiritual character which John Paul II describes as a mark made in the depths of the
priest’s being, with its own “personalistic” dynamism for priestly personality (cf. Letter to Priests,
7). But a fuller account of the effects of the Sacrament must focus on the Holy Spirit and the life
of the ordained.

A. The Spirit and the Life of the Ordained

1988. The Ordination Rites for Bishop, Priest, and Deacon, all invoke the Holy Spirit for the sake
of the ministry they will perform. Is this only a functional consecration? Or are those ordained
touched personally, in their very being? Vatican II answered this by clearly bringing out the
intimate bond between the priest’s own spiritual life and the exercise of his threefold ministry of
word, sacrament, and pastoral leadership (cf. PO 4-6, 13; PDV 26-27). Besides the ex opere
operato power of the sacraments which the ordained celebrate by reason of their office, there is
the personal spiritual ideal toward which the ordained are directed to strive, even while
conscious of their own human frailties and sinfulness.
One can more effectively preach God’s Word only from a life wholly conformed to it, and
conversely, preaching the Word always affects the whole life of the preacher.
One can lead others into the prayer of Christ only from a life conformed to that prayer, and
conversely, leading others in genuine Christian prayer affects the whole life of the prayerleader.
One can shepherd with the affection of Christ the Good Shepherd only from a life conformed to
such affections, and conversely, shepherding others with the affections of Christ affects the
whole life of the shepherd.

The ordained ministry thus incarnates the priesthood of Jesus Christ in the priest himself. The
transformation through ordination involves the whole life of the ordained because of the nature
of the ministries themselves.

B. Spirituality of Priests

1. The Holy Spirit

1989. The Spirit of the Lord is the principal agent in the spiritual life of all Christians, especially
of priests (cf. CCC 1585-89). He creates the “new heart,” inspires and guides it with the new law
of love and pastoral charity (cf. PDV 33). Following his action on Christ himself (“The Spirit of
the Lord is upon me” [Lk 4:18]) the Spirit reveals and communicates the fundamental calling
(vocation) which the Father addresses to everyone from all eternity through Christ Jesus, and
becomes the indwelling principle and wellspring of its fulfillment. He links us with Christ and
makes us sharers in his life as Son, in his love for the Father and for our brothers and sisters.
This applies to all the baptized, but in a special way to priests by reason of the grace of the
Sacrament of Holy Orders, configuring them to Christ, Head and Shepherd of the Church, and
inspiring and enlivening their daily existence with gifts, demands, virtues and incentives __ in a
word, with pastoral charity (cf. PDV 19, 27).

2. Spiritual Life of Priests

1990. Vatican II declared that priests, who have already received in the consecration of Baptism
the sign and gift of the Christian calling to perfection (cf. Mt 5:48), are bound in a special way to
strive for this perfection since they are consecrated to God in a new way by their ordination.
Since every priest in his own way represents the person of Christ himself, he is endowed with a
special grace which enables him, through his service of the people, to better pursue the
perfection of Christ (cf. PO 12; PDV 20). This means witnessing to the “radicalism of the
Gospel,” particularly through living out the evangelical counsels: apostolic, pastoral obedience,
celibacy, and evangelical poverty (cf. PDV 27-30).

3. John Paul II’s Exhortation to Priests

1991. John Paul II addressed 5,000 priests from throughout the world as follows:

The priestly vocation is essentially a call to holiness, in the form which derives from the
Sacrament of Orders. Holiness is intimacy with God; it is the imitation of Christ, who was poor,
chaste and humble; it is unreserved love for persons and a giving of oneself on their behalf and
for their true good; it is love for the Church which is holy and wants us to be holy, because this is
the mission that Christ entrusted to her” (PDV 33).

In his “Letter to Priests”, John Paul II stressed the need to be converted every day. Directly
addressing his fellow priests, he writes:

Being converted is a fundamental demand of the Gospel for everyone, all the more expected of
us. It means: 1) returning to the grace of our vocation, meditating on the infinite goodness and
love of Christ who has called us by name; 2) constantly rendering an account before the Lord of
our hearts concerning our service, our zeal and our fidelity, our negligences and sins, our
timidity, lack of faith and hope, of thinking only as men think and not as God thinks; 3) seeking
again the pardon and strength of God in the Sacrament of Reconciliation; and 4) “praying
always and not losing heart”(Lk 18:1; Letter to Priests, 10).

4. For Our Filipino Priests

1992. The Second Plenary Council of the Philippines offers a genial presentation of the
spirituality they are called to. It has to be: 1) rooted and centered on Christ; 2) ministerial; 3)
collegial; 4) lived in the spirit of the evangelical counsels of obedience, chastity, and poverty; 5)
missionary; 6)

Eucharistic; and 7) Marian (cf. PCP II 532-555). Moreover, the Council rightfully concludes by
focusing on the Holy Spirit, the Sanctifier, who inspires and empowers the priest’s spiritual life in
the service of the Church (cf. PCP II 556-558).

INTEGRATION

1993. Doctrinally, both the Sacraments of Marriage and Orders are grounded on the truths of
Creation in God’s image, as embodied spirits, of man and woman, and of Redemption through
the Risen Incarnate Word present in his Church, particularly in his ministers. Morally, marriage
and the family constitute the key factors in Catholic moral life, which itself is enlightened,
inspired, and empowered by the conscientious exercise of both the priesthood of the faithful and
the ministerial priesthood of the ordained.