ORDAINED LIFE
“Holy Order 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: It is Sacrament of apostolic ministry. It includes three degrees: episcopate (bishops), presbyterate (priests), and diaconate (deacons)” - CCC p1536
Living a Priestly Vocation
Those who have been ordained through sacramental ordination share in the priesthood of Christ in a unique way. They are uniquely and intrinsically transformed to represent Christ, the Good Shepherd for God’s people. In offering their lives to the Father, as do all Christians, they also stand before the Church and minister to the faithful as Christ’ in person.’ In doing so, they teach with the authority of the Church as Christ teaches; the sins they absolve in the Sacrament of Penance Christ forgives; when the Eucharist is celebrated, it is Christ’s offering of himself that becomes present.
Today as much as ever, people long to have spiritual healing and nourishment. The priest has a particular role in bringing Christ’s healing and spiritual nourishment to the Church and the world. The future priest will continue that tradition of assisting people in developing their spirituality. He will also need to explore ways to help people make spiritual sense of their lives in a dynamic and changing world. Before doing these things, priests are students of prayer themselves. A priest develops his personal relationship with God to learn God’s ways and lead others on those paths.
Living a Priestly Vocation
Today there is a strong awareness that people everywhere long to have spiritual nourishment. The Catholic Community itself also needs to be fed with the Body and Blood of Christ. The priest of the future will continue that tradition of assisting people to develop their spirituality. The future priest will also need to explore ways of helping people make spiritual sense of their lives in a dynamic and changing world. Before doing these things, priests are students of prayer themselves. A priest develops his personal relationship with God, to learn the ways of God and to lead others on those paths.
The Diaconate
“Deacons share in Christ’s mission and grace in a special way. The sacrament of Holy Orders marks them with an imprint (“character”) which cannot be removed and which configures them to Christ, who made himself the “deacon” or servant of all” - CCC p1570
The term “deacon” means “servant”. This service takes the form of assisting the local Bishop in specific ministries and serving the people of God. The office of the diaconate is an order that dates back to the early Christian church. St Stephen, to whom the Cathedral of the Brisbane Archdiocese is dedicated, was one of the first deacons mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles, which describes the deacons’ work in caring for the poor and proclaiming the Gospel.
Through ordination, deacons can baptise, witness marriages, perform funeral and burial services outside of Mass, preach the sermon during the Mass. They also minister in their respective communities and are obligated to pray the Divine Office (Breviary) each day. The diaconate is the first of the holy orders. Married men can become permanent deacons. Those unmarried men whose vocation is to be a priest will be ordained deacon and then be ordained priest after a suitable period of time. The one who goes on to be a priest will, in fact, remain permanently a deacon as well.