Order (Holy Orders)
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 given the 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 on the person ordained." Rightly understood, this is a good description of orders. The sacrament is a sign or seal. It is "of the Church" in the sense that Christ instituted it and consigned it to the Church for administering; our Lord did this with all the sacraments; hence it is common to hear the expression, "the sacraments of the Church," even though the Church cannot institute or abrogate any sacrament. The definition of Peter the Lombard indicates the effect of this sacrament in the recipient, namely, spiritual power.
3. A sacrament is an outward sign instituted by Christ, while he was here on earth before his Ascension into heaven, which both signifies and confers an inward grace. The sacrament of orders squares with this definition. It is therefore a true sacrament.
4 & 5. This sacrament is conferred by the imposing of the bishop's hands upon the recipient (this constitutes the matter of the sacrament) followed by prescribed prayers (the form) which indicate the meaning of the matter or sign, and constitute it a sacrament.
35. The Effect of the Sacrament of Orders
1. The sacrament of orders confers sanctifying grace, as all sacraments do. And it is notably suitable that the sacrament which empowers a person to confect and dispense the sacraments as means of grace should itself bring grace to its recipient.
2. Since any sacred order which pertains to the sacrament of orders (that is, episcopate, priesthood, diaconate) sets a man in a place of power with reference to the dispensing of the sacraments, it marks him for this duty by an indelible character impressed upon his soul.
3. The character of orders presupposes the baptismal character as already on the soul. It is the character impressed by baptism that renders a person capable of receiving the other sacraments.
4. The character of orders does not, of necessity, presuppose the character imprinted in the soul by confirmation. But it is most suitable that confirmation be received before orders are conferred; for a man should come to ordination with all perfections he can manage to receive. Therefore, the Church requires that the candidate for orders be confirmed before he presents himself for ordination.
5. The character of orders is impressed as the sacrament is received, without dependence on the proper sequence of ordinations. Thus, if a man were to be ordained priest without having first been ordained deacon, his priesthood would be valid. But the order of deaconship would be supplied by the proper ordination. The Church requires, however, that orders be received in due succession.
36. Qualities in Those to be Ordained
1. A man who receives the sacrament of orders is set to lead others. Therefore, he should be a man of holy and exemplary life. Yet this is a requirement of precept and of propriety; it is not of the essence of the sacrament. Even a sinful man who receives orders is validly ordained, although he does great wrong in accepting ordination.
2. A candidate for orders should have knowledge adequate for the proper discharge of his sacred duties. He must have a sufficiency of knowledge of the scriptures, and know the doctrines of the faith, and the requirements of Christian morality.
3. The personal holiness of an ordained man has nothing to do with the sacrament itself; an ordained man does not advance in degree of orders as he advances in personal holiness.
4. A prelate who knowingly ordains a candidate wholly unworthy of the office he assumed, commits a grave sin, and shows himself an unworthy servant of the Lord.
5. A man in orders who, apart from necessity, exercises his office while he is in the state of mortal sin, is guilty of another grievous sin every time he performs a sacred function.
37. The Distinction of Orders: The Character
1. "As in one body we have many members, but all the members have not the same office" (Rom. 12:4), so in the Church there are various orders appointed to their respective sacred offices.
2. The distinction of orders is derived basically from their varying reference to the Holy Eucharist. There is: (a) the priest, who offers the Eucharistic Sacrifice; (b) the deacon, who assists the priest; (c) the subdeacon, who assists the priest and deacon and attends the sacred vessels of the Eucharistic sacrifice; (d) the acolyte, who proffers the matter (bread and wine) for the sacrifice; (e) the exorcist, who expels evil spirits which render a person unworthy to receive the Holy Eucharist; (f) the lector or reader, who imparts sacred instruction to those who come to Mass and Communion; (g) the porter or doorkeeper, who attends the bells and portals, and welcomes the faithful to the sacrifice and excludes those who should not be admitted.
3. These seven orders are classified as major orders and minor orders. The major orders are three: subdeaconship, deaconship, priesthood. Deaconship and priesthood belong to the sacrament of holy orders. The bishop's office, the episcopate, is the fullness of priesthood. The minor orders are: doorkeeper, lector, exorcist, acolyte.
4. Each of the orders has its proper acts and many incidental functions. These, as we have noted, are all directed in some manner to the divine center and core of our religion-our Lord himself in the Holy Eucharist.
5. The character impressed upon the soul by the sacrament of orders is given when the sacrament is conferred.
38. The Minister of Holy Orders
1. The bishop alone has the power to confer the sacrament of orders.
2. This power is not taken from a bishop. He retains it always. Even should he lapse into heresy or schism, he does not lose this power. A heretical or schismatical bishop would sin gravely by exercising the power to confer holy order.
39. The Impediments to Orders
1. No woman may receive the sacrament of orders. St. Paul says (I Tim. 2:12): "I suffer not a woman to teach (in the Church)." The nature of this sacrament, the example of Christ, and the constant law and practice of the Church, make it abundantly evident that the female sex is an absolute impediment to the receiving of the sacrament of orders.
2. The Church sets a definite age for the ordaining of candidates. As regards minor orders, very young boys might be validly ordained. Prudence and reverence demand, however, that the candidate for any order be old enough to discharge its duties with seemliness and with an appreciation of the dignity and the responsibility it lays upon him. {-The canonical age is the age set by the laws or canons of the Church as minimal for ordination. For example, a man is not ordained to the priesthood until he has entered his twenty-fifth year, that is, has passed his twenty-fourth birthday.-}
3. One who is enslaved cannot lawfully be raised to orders. Yet, if he be actually ordained, the ordination is valid. The same is true of those who are under the burden of heavy debts, and of those who are bound to the exacting care of others.
4. One who has been guilty of homicide, though penitent and pardoned, cannot lawfully be ordained. Still, if he were ordained, the ordination, though illicit, would be valid.
5. Legitimate birth is required in the candidate for lawful ordination. Here again, the impediment is one of licitness, not of validity. For lawful ordination, an illegitimate person must first be dispensed by the Church from his impediment of illegitimacy.
6. Any notable and noticeable deformity of body is an impediment to lawful ordination.
40. Matters Pertinent to the Sacrament of Orders
1. The wearing of the tonsure (that is, having the head shaved in the form of a crown) is a fitting practice for those in orders.
2. The conferring of tonsure is a ceremony which officially sets a man in the ranks of the clergy. It is not an order, not even one of the minor orders which do not belong to the sacrament itself. The tonsuring of a candidate for orders is a preliminary ceremony, and it regularly precedes the receiving of the first minor order; it is then called the prima tonsura or first tonsuring.
3. Tonsure is not a ceremony of renunciation by which a man gives up temporal goods. It is a ceremony of dedication to the service of God before all else. Hence the cleric (that is, the tonsured man) is not to be unduly or excessively occupied with temporal goods, but he is not forbidden their ownership and use.
4. There is need of the office of bishop. The bishop presides over others, and makes orderly all the divine ministries. He has the fullness of the priesthood, and to him belongs the power and duty of ordaining candidates who are prepared to receive orders.
5. The office of bishop (that is, the episcopate) is not a special order. It is the order of priesthood in its fullness.
6. The pope as supreme pontiff and vicar of Christ is above all other bishops by divine right and appointment. His is not only the fullness of the priestly office and order, but the fullness of universal jurisdiction in the Church. He is also the supreme and infallible teacher of the universal Church in matters of faith and morals.
7. Special vestments are properly used by the clergy in their official religious functions. These vestments, mostly ancient in origin, are full of symbolical meaning, and their use reverently manifests the faith of clergy and people.