Transcript

Good evening.

Welcome back to Catechism.

We'll begin with a prayer.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.

Amen.

Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee.

Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.

Amen.

Come, O Holy Ghost, fill the hearts of Thy faithful and enkindle in them the fire of Thy love.

Send forth Thy spirit and they shall be created and Thou shalt renew the face of the Earth.

Let us pray.

Oh God, Who did instruct the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Ghost, grant that in the same Spirit we may be truly wise and ever rejoice in His consolation, through the same Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Saint Thomas Aquinas, pray for us.

Saint Joan of Arc, pray for us.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.

Amen.

All right, so tonight we're gonna start to finish off our seven sacraments.

So we'll have Holy Orders tonight, and then we'll finish the last sacrament next week, uh, with Matrimony, and then we're gonna take a little break for, uh, July regarding the Catechism classes, uh, as well as, um, in July we'll take a break regarding the, uh, Bible studies, which will be Wednesdays.

Uh, so if you have questions, you can submit those on our Facebook page, and we can take a look at those, uh, later on at the end of the class.

All right, so let's talk about Holy Orders.

Now, as we go through, as we start to figure out what these Holy Orders are, and why it's plural, if you get the answer, you can tell your parents, a-any kids who are watching, and the first one to get it, if you can name all Holy Orders, you can- you should ask for ice cream or something like that, okay?

So your parents should give you some reward if, uh, if you get it right, okay?

So why is it Holy Orders with an S at the end of it?

We're gonna get to why that is.

And, uh, if you get the right answer, you can- you can have a r- little race to see who gets it first, who gets all the Holy Orders first, okay?

So, first, what are we talking about, Holy Orders?

This is the sacrament also known as Priesthood.

Usually people summarize it by that, but there's a little more, and let's take a look at this sacrament as it is defined, okay?

So here's the definition of the Sacrament of Holy Orders.

The Sacrament of the New Law, in which, by the laying on of hands on a baptized man, the power of consecrating the Eucharist is conferred and a character is impressed on the soul which brings with it grace necessary for the purpose of governing the faithful and of providing a ministry of divine worship.

So there's a couple of elements there we need to talk about.

So, Sacrament of the New Law.

So the Sacrament of the New Law, the New Law as opposed to the Old Law.

The Old Law is the Old Covenant, the Old Testament.

So God gave this sacrament in the New Law, and it is done, as you notice in the definition, by the laying on of hands.

We're gonna see where that shows up in the sacred scripture.

I'll get a chance to put on my apologetics hat for that one, because there's, uh, important things that show the distinction between what everyone shares as being able to offer up sacrifices.

You know when your parents tell you, Offer it up, they're telling you to exercise a certain measure of offering up a sacrifice like a priest does, but it's different from what we receive here in this Sacrament of Holy Orders, 'cause this one is done by laying on of hands.

The bishop lays on hands on the head of a baptized man.

It has to be a man, can't be a woman.

If you have a cl- question as to why, we can answer that later, 'cause of the character of the sacrament.

And then also, the definitions we saw.

Let's take a look at that definition again.

The definition says that a character is impressed on the soul, so there's a character, a mark, a seal impressed upon the soul, and it's this seal that brings with it the grace that's necessary for two things: governing the faithful and providing the ministry of divine worship.

So these are the effects of this Sacrament.

Uh, I remember having a conversation with someone who thought, uh, that I was being clericalist by saying governing the faithful, but that's actually right from the Catechism of the Council of Trent, so it's not being clericalist to say that, Father, what do you mean you're governing us?

Well, it's not being clericalist, it's being a priest.

That's part of the, the office of the priesthood.

Okay, so, uh, this sacrament, just like all sacraments, has matter and form, okay?

Matter and form.

So what are the matter and form?

What's the matter with this Sacrament, right?

What, what's the matter and what's the form of the Sacrament?

Let's take a look.

So remember, matter is the thing that you see, the physical thing that is involved in giving the Sacrament.

So the matter is the imposition of hands by the bishop.

That means he's laying on his hands on the head of the person, uh, who is being ordained a priest.

That's the matter, the imposing of the hands by the bishop.

That's the physical thing that he has to do to confer the priesthood.

But then the form comes later.

The words and the solemn prayer which the bishop uses to give, to denote the conferral of the priesthood, okay?

So those are, that's the matter, that's the form, uh, of this Sacrament.

So the bishop, it has to be a bishop that confers this Sacrament.

A priest cannot make another priest, okay?

It has to be a bishop that, uh, makes another priest, right?

And he does so by laying his hands on the head of a baptized man who has been prepared and, uh, to receive this, this, uh, Sacrament.

So-I mentioned that it has to be a baptized man, okay?

It can't be a woman.

Uh, so is this clericalist or is this, uh, you know, chauvinist, or all these other things?

It's, it's not.

It's because of the role, it's because of the office, it's because of the duty of a priest.

The duty of the priest is to provide and to be a father.

A woman cannot be a father, just like a man cannot be a mother.

But the duty, the responsibility, and the office of the priesthood is to be a father.

We know this from 1 Corinthians 4:14.

1 Corinthians 4:14, this is where St. Paul says, You have many teachers in the faith, but you have not many fathers.

For by the Gospel, I have truly begotten you.

Okay?

So I'm gonna put my Palette Jag's hat on for a second and explain that.

Why is that?

Because we have, uh, those objections.

People say, Why do you call your priest father?

Doesn't Christ say, Call no man father?

They're quoting Matthew chapter 23.

Doesn't Christ say that?

But St. Paul says, We have many teachers in the faith, but not many fathers.

Just like you might have a Catechism teacher who's not a priest, you might have your parents teaching you Catechism, that's one of your teachers in the faith, but yet we don't have many fathers.

There's fewer priests than there are Catechism teachers.

And St. Paul says, By the Gospel, by giving you the Gospel, I have truly begotten you, which means, I have truly become a father to you.

So spiritually, a priest is a father, and we see that from 1 Corinthians 4:14 and 15.

Okay?

So next time someone asks, Why do you call priest father?

Aren't you not supposed to do that?

You say, No, because I believe in the Bible.

And 1 Corinthians 4:14 and 15 say that the priest is a father.

That's what St. Paul was, he was a father by giving them the Gospel.

And that's what the priest does.

He explains the Gospel to us.

He's becoming a father to us spiritually, okay?

So there we go.

There's a little something you can tuck away, a little tool you can keep in your toolbox.

So now let's learn a little bit more about the sacrament.

Okay, what are the candidate's requirements?

The candidate for Holy Orders, what are they required to have?

There are several things that they're, they're supposed to have.

They're supposed to have holiness, knowledge, and prudence.

Okay?

Holiness, that word holy means set apart for God.

We're set apart from the world for God.

By the way, that's why we wear black, because it's showing that we are set apart from the world.

You ever been to a funeral?

What do the people wear there?

Black.

That's also why in the traditional Latin Mass the priest wears black, because it's symbolizing the death that has taken place, and that Christ has also taken on death for us.

That's why the priest wears the black, is he's mourning with us, he's entering in sorrow with us and mourning for the loss of the person.

And Christ has taken on death for us, that's why the priest representing Christ wears the black in a funeral.

So at funerals, it's normal for people to wear black, 'cause we're sad, we're mourning, 'cause there's a, there's a death that has taken place.

Well, why do I wear black?

Because somebody died.

Okay?

Because somebody died.

First of all, Christ died for us.

That's why I'm wearing black, 'cause Christ died for me and died for you.

And also, the priest dies to himself.

He is dead to this world and dead to his own, uh, his own desires so that he can live for God, and he sa- sacrifices his life for you so that y- he can help you get to heaven.

So the priest wears black to show this holiness, to show this separation from the world, that he is separated, set apart for God.

Okay?

Uh, that's why when a, a priest sins, it's a much worse sin, because he's already separated for God, and therefore his sins are much worse.

That's why you wanna pray for priests, that they don't fall into any sin.

Okay?

Holiness.

Knowledge, okay?

We spend seven years at seminary learning about the Church, right?

Uh, learning about God, learning about the faith.

We spend those seven years learning about the faith so we can give you some things to, to grow in your faith.

All right?

So knowledge, that's another requirement for a candidate for Holy Orders.

And then the third important quality that the Catechism of the Council of Trent says w- a priest should have, uh, is prudence.

Prudence, that's the virtue that governs all the other virtues.

Prudence is like the person steering the chariots, right?

So you ever seen Ben-Hur, right?

That movie with, where they, they're having a big chariot race, right?

You've read the book Ben-Hur, the chariot race, the person steering the other, the, the four horses that, that make up the chariot, right?

The f- that, the one steering it is prudence.

That's the virtue that guides the other virtues.

So a priest should have a lot of prudence.

That's an important virtue for a priest to have.

So that's the first thing he needs: holiness, knowledge, prudence.

But then he also needs a divine call.

He needs to be called by God.

He also needs to have the right intention, okay?

So the priest needs to have the right intention.

So there's a summary of the requirements for the candidates for Holy Orders.

He should have holiness, knowledge, prudence.

He should have a divine call.

Should be called by God, not his own selfish whim that calls him.

And he also should have the right intention.

So the right intention, uh, should be that he is wanting to serve God, he's wanting to bring the faith to others, he's wanting to save souls.

It's not a selfish thing.

He shouldn't be entering into the priesthood if he has selfish intentions.Okay.

Now, we get to the number of orders.

Okay.

The number of orders.

So now this is where if you get it right, the first one gets it right, you can ask your mom for some ice cream here, okay?

All right.

Number of orders.

So there are several orders.

How many orders are there?

So, there are steps to the priesthood.

There's four first steps, and then there's how many last steps?

If you get it right, you'll get your ice cream.

Okay.

So the four first steps are what we call the minor orders.

Okay?

The minor orders.

So these are the minor orders of porter, lector, exorcist, acolyte.

Okay?

These are the four minor orders.

Then there are major orders.

Do you know how many major orders there are?

Take a guess, and then see if you get it right.

There are three major orders.

Okay?

The three major orders are subdiaconate, or subdeacon.

Diaconate, the state of being a deacon.

And then the priesthood, right, becoming a priest.

So those are the three major orders; subdeacon, deacon, priest.

Now, the church used those for many, many years.

Uh, Saint Jerome speaks about them.

Okay?

Um, there's others that speak about these, uh, these ancient orders that existed for, mm, many, many years, right?

Uh, it all begins too with a step that we call tonsure.

Tonsure is where they cut the hair of the priest.

It's not just a haircut, it's a special haircut.

So, you ever see those pictures, you've probably seen statues or pictures of Saint Anthony.

And Saint Anthony, he's got a funny looking haircut maybe, huh?

It's all bald on top, but he has this circle around his head.

Looks like a crown that goes around his head.

Uh, Saint Francis, you'll see statues of Saint Francis with that, Saint Anthony of Lisbon, right, also known as Saint Anthony of Padua, right?

So, uh, that crown is representing the crown of thorns, and that is what we call the tonsure.

Okay?

So the religious used to wear that tonsure and they'd keep that tonsure.

They'd cut their hair in that same shape, just like you see those statues of Saint Anthony with that circle around his head.

And that was done to show that they are, uh, taking on a crown of thorns to follow Christ.

When we are tonsured, the bishop cuts the hair in five spots in the form of a cross on the top of the head, symbolizing the crown of thorns, but also those five cuts of the hair symbolize the five wounds of Christ.

So this is, this cutting of the hair is a symbol, it's a symbolic action.

It's kind of like what they did in Numbers Chapter 6, where they used to cut the hair of people who would make a vow to serve God, and then they would cut their hair at the altar.

Numbers Chapter 6 mentions this.

So, uh, this is something that is done in the traditional orders.

We received tonsure at our seminary and we received the minor orders as well.

Now, uh, that being said, uh, if you don't, if you're not at a parish where they use these other orders, uh, then you probably just know of the, uh, the clerical state as defined by canon law today, and that consists of, uh, these, the state of holy orders in specific, and how many of those are.

If you get the right answer, you can get, you can ask your mom for some ice cream.

So, um, the, there are holy orders that we call deacon, priest, bishop.

Okay?

So those are three, those are the three, uh, states, three degrees of holy orders.

And that's why there's an S at the end of it.

That's why it's plural.

It's not holy order, it's holy orders.

An S because there are three degrees.

Okay?

So, um, the, uh, I didn't explain the minor orders, uh, so closely.

Let's take a look at those.

So the minor orders, uh, that is where you have, uh, first you have porter.

Porter was the one who would open the door of the church, let people in, and he was only supposed to let in those who believed, right?

There was only certain parts in the Mass that sometimes, you know, they're, so when you get to the, the part of the Mass that we call the Mass of the Faithful, then all the catechumens, all those who were learning about the, the church, would have to leave.

And only the faithful could stay for that part of the Mass.

And the porter was there to watch that and do that, to enforce that.

Okay?

That was the first of the minor orders.

Then there is lector, or reader.

And then he could read, he could chant, he could actually chant the epistle, the reading, in Holy Mass.

And sometimes you'll see that at our seminary where the lector will chant the reading.

Okay.

Uh, then after this you have exorcist.

Exorcist is a person who drives out the devil.

So the exorcist is a, um, it's, it's an office wh- whereby a person is appointed to drive out the devil.

So the exorcist at our seminary would, uh, make sure there was holy water in the different, uh, uh, you know, 'cause the holy water has an exorcism on it, and they make sure the holy water's filled in the, in the different parts of the seminary.

Um, at least that was their, their office.

Uh, the ones that would take it seriously would make sure that the, uh, holy water is filled there.

And then after that, that's, so the exorcist, you might say, drives out the evil, drives out the devil .

and then drives out the darkness, and then the acolyte provides the light.

The acolyte is the one who It's actually one of the four minor orders, is acolytes.

So, although we don't have ordained acolytes serving our masses, we just have altar boys serving the masses, they are actually fulfilling a role, a duty of an ordained acolyte, someone in minor orders.

And then that's the, the last of the minor orders, the first four minor orders, and then you have the three major orders.

Notice there's seven steps to the priesthood.

Steps to the priesthood.

So, the, the last three, the major orders, subdeaconate, deaconate, priesthood.

So, if you're ever at a solemn mass where you see three priests up there, it looks like three priests, right?

They're all They're dressed kind of the same.

There's the priest in the middle.

He's wearing the chasuble.

And then you see two on either side of him.

They're wearing something that looks like the priest's chasuble, same material, but shaped just a little bit different.

That is the deacon and the subdeacon.

So, as you're looking at it at the altar, you know, you see the priest, and then to his right, and to your right also, 'cause we're facing the same direction, to his right is the deacon, and then to his left is the subdeacon.

So, these three often act together.

They sometimes say prayers at the same time together, like the Gloria, the Agnus Dei, the Sanctus.

So, they are three acting as one.

What does that make us think of?

Three acting as one.

That should make us think of the Holy Trinity, 'cause that's what it represents.

So, when you're at a solemn mass and you see a priest, deacon, subdeacon, it represents the Holy Trinity.

It also represents Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

So, the priest, the celebrant can represent the Father.

The deacon assisting the sacrifice represents the, uh, Son, and then the, the, uh, uh, subdeacon who wears that humeral veil, makes it kind of look like wings that he has, represents the Holy Ghost, who's often symbolized by a dove with wings.

So, the subdeacon can represent, uh, the, the Holy Ghost.

And so, these three major orders represent the, uh, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Okay.

So, let's take a look at, uh, the power of holy orders.

So, there's, uh, there's a twofold power conferred by this sacrament, twofold power.

And, uh, the first is the power of, uh, of order.

So, the person has, um, uh, he has the power of, of orders.

He has the power of, uh, consecrating the blessed sacrament, the Holy Eucharist, and he also has power of jurisdiction.

Okay?

These are the, these are two, two things that are, uh, part of, uh, the sacrament of holy orders.

Orders and jurisdiction, right?

So, he's re- He, he has, uh, orders.

He has the grace of bringing about the Holy Eucharist, and then by jurisdiction, he has the, um, uh, power to prepare people for the reception of the Holy Eucharist, as the Catechism of the Council of Trent, uh, says.

Okay?

So, uh, this means that some sacraments require jurisdiction, right?

So, uh, the Sacrament of Penance requires jurisdiction.

So, we are delegated faculties by the bishop to hear confessions.

Uh, Sacrament of Matrimony.

To, in order to witness a marriage, it, you need delegated jurisdiction, right?

Because the bishop is responsible for, uh, the new souls that God is going to send into the world, um, after the Sacrament of Matrimony.

And so, the bishop being responsible for those souls, or being responsible for every soul that's in his diocese, uh, he has, uh, a right to speak with regards to, uh, how marriages are formed.

Right to speak in Latin is jus dicere, which is where we get the word, uh, jus uris, jurisdiction.

Jus dicere.

Jurisdiction is the right to speak.

So, uh, one has to have authority and the, the right to, to have a say, as it were.

And the bishop has a right to have a say.

That's why he has jurisdiction in his diocese.

Okay, so there's also a, we call a twofold priesthood.

Twofold priesthood.

The Catechism of the Council of Trent speaks about this twofold priesthood, and one is internal and the other is external.

That's how the Catechism describes it.

There's an internal priesthood and an external priesthood.

Now, as the Catechism of the Council of Trent defines it, the internal priesthood, in this sense, all the faithful are said to be priests by this internal priesthood.

They share in an internal priest-, the priesthood of the faithful.

This isn't a, a liberal idea.

It's a true thing.

That's why your parents tell you, Offer it up.

Well, that offering it up wouldn't have anything, any value unless you had some share of being able to offer sacrifice.

And that's what we do.

That's why we go through Lent, so that we can offer our things up.

Once we've been washed clean with the saving waters of baptism, we have now been united to Christ, and we can share in this internal priesthood.

Okay, so this is the name given to those, uh, who are the just, those who have been reconciled from sin.

They have the Spirit of God dwelling in them through baptism, and they have been made living members of Jesus Christ, who is the high priest.Okay.

And so, what this does, this enlightens them in the faith, and it also enkindles charity in their soul.

And so because of this, they can offer up spiritual sacrifices on the altar of their hearts.

You see, the altar that we offer sacrifice on and that altar is our heart.

Wanna tell you a story about the Old Testament.

In the Old Testament, the altars Did you know they weren't like our altars today?

Our altars today are flat and they have a stone on top, and they're solid, okay?

It's an altar stone that has the relics of a martyr in them.

There's five crosses etched into the stone, symbolize the five wounds of Christ, and those are solid altars.

But it's not how it was in the Old Testament.

In the Old Testament, those altars were like a big grill, like a, like a fire pit, a square fire pit raised up and like a big grill.

10 feet by 10 feet, big thing.

And they would offer the sacrifices on there, and they would burn all their sacrifices on the altar.

So, they would take the lamb, the goat, the calf that they were offering in sacrifice, and they would assemble it on the grill and burn it right there.

So, their altars were actually fire pits, square.

Well, it was one altar.

It's just one altar in all of Israel, and that was in Jerusalem at the temple.

So, that altar always had the fire going in it.

So, the altar of our hearts, as the Catechism of the Council of Trent says, is, uh, uh, the altar that we have, rather, is our heart, and that should have a fire going in it too, the fire of charity, mkay?

So we, out of charity, should offer up sacrifices to God, and we should, uh, voluntarily do things, right?

So, when you have to do your chores, you have to do your schoolwork, or you have to do other things that are not- not so fun, you can offer that sacrifice.

You can give that up just like the- they did in the Old Testament.

They would give up these things, and they would burn them on the altar.

So, you can also sacrifice by offering up these things, okay?

This is what we do.

This is what Catholics do.

We offer sacrifice to Almighty God.

And in that way, in that way, you share in a sort of a- a general internal priesthood.

Uh, for this reason, we read in the Apocalypse where it says, Christ hath washed us from our sins, and He has washed us in His own blood and hath made us a kingdom and priests to God and His Father.

So, he's made us a kingdom and priests, okay?

But we don't share in the external priesthood.

That's the other priesthood, okay?

We'll get to that in a second.

Saint Peter, in his, uh, first letter speaks about offering up, uh, y- you know, sacrifice that you are a holy priesthood, right?

A purchased people, a holy nation.

As living stones, be built up.

A spiritual house, a holy priesthood, offering up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

So, this apostle then is telling us to offer ourselves up in sacrifice to God so that it's pleasing to God and our service to Him is pleasing.

So, uh, that doesn't mean though, that we share in this external priesthood.

The external priesthood doesn't pertain to the faithful at large, and it only pertains to, it only belongs to certain men who are chosen to be spiritual fathers to the people and they to offer sacrifice publicly.

We're all called to offer sacrifice internally.

There's chores we have to do, duties we have to do.

Uh, we have to be kind to people.

These are sacrifices, and we all enter into that sacrifice.

What do we say at every Holy Mass, right at the beginning?

.

I will go into the altar of God.

Now, remember how I was describing the altar?

It's a big fire pit.

I will go into the altar of God.

What we're saying is, I'm gonna approach to offer myself in sacrifice, in love.

I'm gonna offer myself for God's service.

That's what it means when we say .

I will go into the altar of God.

I will enter into the altar of God.

Entering in means we're uniting to the sacrifice, okay?

We're all called to do that.

But then there are certain men who are called to offer up that sacrifice, to pray on behalf of all the people, to offer public worship to Almighty God.

We're all called to offer private worship, private sacrifice to Almighty God inside.

You know, those sacrifices, those things we have to offer up.

That's why your parents tell you, Offer it up, right?

But there are certain men chosen to offer sacrifice for everyone, for the whole Church, for you as well.

And that's the external priesthood, as the Catechism of the Council of Trent calls it.

So, these are those who have been consecrated to God by the laying on of hands by the bishop.

It's an external act.

The bishop lays his hands right on the head of the priest, who's gonna be your the man, the deacon, who's gonna be ordained, because you're first ordained a deacon, and then you're ordained a priest.

And then, uh, this person can then offer public Mass, okay?

So, we actually see the same distinction in the priesthood both in the old law and in the new law.

So, we see the same thing, because even though, as I said, Saint Peter said, You are a purchased people, a holy nation a, a holy priesthood offering up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God.

He's using language that was already used in the Old Covenant, okay?

So here's your answer, and I'm putting on my apologetics hat again, okay?

So, 'cause I've got an apologetics point to make.

In the Old Testament, there's a place where it shows that there was a separation between the priesthood, the public priesthood, and all of Israel, who was also called a holy priesthood.

Hmm.

There's two priesthoods in a certain sense, okay?

And that you'll find in Exodus chapter 19.

So in Exodus chapter 19, he says I believe it's Exodus chapter 19 verse 11.

Uh, maybe you can look that up and show your mom at home if you get that right verse, and maybe you can get another piece of ice cream.

Okay.

So anyway, uh, Exodus 19:11 is where he says, uh, You are a purchased people, a holy nation, a royal priesthood.

The same language that he used, that St. Peter used, in the New Testament.

But even though they were called, all of Israel was called, a holy priesthood, just a few chapters later, in Exodus 24, we see that God didn't mean for them to all then go up on the mountain and offer sacrifice with the 70 priests that Moses had chosen.

No, there were certain men that were chosen to offer sacrifice distinct from all of Israel, separated from all of Israel.

So even though all of Israel's called to holy priesthood in Exodus 19 verse 11, so also in Exodus 24 we see a distinction, a separation between those people who were called to offer up the sacrifices and the rest of the nation, the holy nation of Israel, okay?

So, there we go.

Uh, so the next time someone says, Hey, we're all priests.

Why do you guys, why do you Catholics have your own special priests that do your Mass?

We're all priests is what the Bible says.

Say, Ah, but Exodus 19 says, yes, all of Israel is a priest in a certain way, but in another way, a public way of offering sacrifice, publicly, in front of everyone, for all the people, only certain men were chosen to do that, as we see in Exodus 24.

So along with this, uh, we see times where people tried in the Old Testament to take that priesthood to themselves even though they were not of the tribe of Levi, 'cause God said, I'm gonna make this tribe the priests, and no other men can be priests.

Just the men from the tribe of Levi.

King Ozias tried this.

He tried to, um, offer up sacrifice as a priest, and he was struck with leprosy as a punishment.

He said, I'm a priest too.

We're all priests.

We are Church.

We are, you know, whatever.

We all, we're all priests, kind of thing.

And so he went and offered sacrifice, and God struck him with leprosy because of it, because he was taking an honor, a dignity, a responsibility that God hadn't called him to.

There has to be a divine call to bring someone to the altar, okay?

So, uh, this, uh, this distinction then, uh, happens both in the old law, and it's fulfilled in the new law where we have the faithful.

Um, they have, they can offer sacrifice inside, but then there's priests who are specifically offer public sacrifice, the Holy Mass.

So everything, what we're gonna say now has to do with the public priesthood, the, the, the external priesthood, the ordained priests, okay?

Not all the F- Catholic faithful.

Ordained priests, okay?

So there are degrees of the priesthood, right?

These are the degrees of the priesthood.

M- Uh, remember, there's deacon, priest, bishop.

Then within bishop, there's different groups as well, because there are archbishops, and an archbishop is responsible over some number of bishops, and usually, he's usually in a bigger city.

So for that reason, they call him the metropolitan, 'cause that's what, you know, metropolitan is a, a area that's a, a, a sp- big city.

Uh, and then there are certain places that have special status, and they call those patriarchs.

And they're not, they're still under the pope, but they are, have a special status because of their ancient venerable churches, like Antioch, Jerusalem.

There's a patriarch of Jerusalem.

There's a patriarch of Antioch.

Patriarch of Constantinople used to be, uh, there, but before it became, uh, Muslim, right?

Um, and then, uh, and then above that, you have the pope, okay?

So the minister of holy orders is a bishop.

It has to be a bishop, not a priest or a deacon.

In order to make a bishop, you need three bishops, okay?

There's a pr- what they call a principal consecrator and then two co-consecrators.

So to make a bishop, you need three bishops, all right?

So that's an ancient practice that goes way, way back.

Um, you see that going back to A number of Church fathers, uh, mention this.

Uh, I know Saint Jerome is, uh, is one of them.

Uh, can't think of the others, but there's some other Church fathers that, that, that, uh, uh, way back.

We're talking 4th century, early on in the, in the time of the Church.

Uh, and they say that this goes back to apostolic tradition, okay?

So this is a very ancient custom, having three bishops consecrate a bishop, but then only one bishop is needed to consecrate a priest.

So the, uh, recipient of, uh, holy orders, um, as I said, has to be someone who has, uh,

Yeah.

holiness, knowledge, prudence, okay?

So th- this is, uh, this is most important.

Uh, he needs to show holiness of life, and the, so the seven years are spent apart in a seminary so that the person can- practice living a holy life, right?

There's a lot of prayer that goes on in the seminary.

Uh, there is a lot of study so this person can gain the knowledge that he needs to be a good priest, and, uh, then, that he needs, uh, to be He needs to be canonically fit.

You know?

He can't be, uh, he can't be crazy.

He can't be, uh, you know, some, um, you know, some defect that, that makes it, uh, really hard for him to be, um, to be a priest.

I mean, you can have physical handicaps as long as they're not great impairments to exercising the priesthood.

Okay.

Um, so canonical fitness.

Okay.

So then, um, let's look at some of the effects of Holy Orders.

So some of the effects of Holy Orders are these.

A person is given the grace of sanctification.

Okay.

He's made There, there's a holiness that happens.

There's a sanctification that takes place the moment he is ordained.

He can't entirely just wait for that to happen.

He has to work out his salvation in fear and trembling, as Philippians 2:12-13 says, because he's gotta work.

He's gotta put something into it.

But there is a grace of sanctification that takes place when he is ordained, fitting and qualifying him for the proper performing of his duties.

There's also a special power that is given to him with regards to the most blessed sacrament.

And to show this, to show this connection between the priesthood and the most blessed sacrament, when the s- blessed sacrament is exposed in solemn exposition, the monstrance in the church, the priest should be wearing a surplice and a stole, showing his office of the priesthood.

Right?

The stole that he wears around his neck, that's to show his connection to the blessed sacrament.

There's a special, uh, uh, power that is given to him with the reference, with the re- reference to the most blessed sacrament, because the holy priesthood was instituted right after for the blessed sacrament, almost in the same sentence as the blessed sacrament at the Last Supper.

Remember, after our Lord took the bread and changed it into His body and blood, He said, This is my body, and then He said right away, Do this, what He just did, for the commemoration of me.

For the Jews, a commemoration was a making present.

Do this to make me present.

So he gave them that power by saying to the apostles, Do this, what He just did, which was change the bread into His body.

He said, Do this in commemoration of me.

So he gave the apostles that power of the priesthood right after He instituted the blessed sacrament, and so you can see how close the connection is between the priesthood and the blessed sacrament.

There's also a spiritual character that's given to the soul, a spiritual mark, a seal.

Kinda like a seal that you see put in wax.

It's permanently marking that soul.

That's why you can't receive the sacrament again.

Can you guess the other ones?

Maybe you can ask for a treat from your mom if you If you're gonna If you know all your catechism, you're gonna end up with all kinds of treats tonight.

So the Can you guess the other sacraments where there's a special mark given to your soul so that you can't repeat that sacrament again?

There's three sacraments that give an indelible mark.

Priesthood, I just mentioned, is one of them.

Also, confirmation, ba- permanent mark in the soul.

So therefore, those sacraments cannot be repeated.

And it By this mark, uh, they are dedicated to the divine worship.

Okay?

This is a, a spiritual character, a spiritual mark that's given to the soul of the priest, uh, in order to bring about the blessed sacrament.

Okay.

And we see evidence of this where, uh, we see in 1 Timothy, uh, 4:14, where he says, Do not neglect the grace that is in you, which was given to thee by prophecy.

Prophecy is speaking for God, and that's what a bishop does when he imposes hands and makes a priest.

He's speaking on behalf of God.

So Saint Paul calls that prophecy.

Neglect not the grace that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy with the imposition of the hands of the priesthood.

1 Timothy, um, uh, 4:14.

So let's look at Holy Orders in the Bible, okay?

There are certain places where Holy Orders shows up in the Bible, so let's take a quick look at that, huh?

So here's a quote from Isaiah.

Isaiah chapter 66 verse 19 through 23.

It's a long quote.

You can see it on your screen there.

I will set a sign among them, and I will send of them that shall be saved to the Gentiles, into the sea.

It's talking about the Mediterranean Sea.

To Africa, and Lydia, and them that draw the bow, and to Italy and Greece, to the islands far off, to them that have not heard of me, and they have not seen my glory, and they shall declare my glory to the Gentiles, and they shall bring all your brethren out of all nations for a gift to the Lord upon horses and in chariots and in litters and on mules and in coaches to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the Lord, as if the children of Israel should bring offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord.

And now look at this.

And I will take of them to be priests and Levites, saith the Lord.

So that's what happened.

God took of them to be priests and Levites.

But who did He take to be priests and Levites?

Let's, let's take a look back at this quote again, huh?

I will take of them to be priests and Levites.

Who is being spoken of here?

It's the Gentiles.

The Gentiles.

Now didn't I just say that, uh-God took the Levites, the Tribe of Levi, to be Gentiles.

Well, yes.

But in the new covenant, notice this is saying This is talking about the future, I'm gonna send, uh, people into the Mediterranean, to Italy, Africa, to the Gentiles, and they will learn of my glory, and I will take of them, of the Gentiles, to be priests and Levites, as it says there at the end of that quote, okay?

And, uh, Father Cornelius a Lapide commenting on this verse says that, Yes, 'I will take of them,' it's a reference to the Gentiles.

It is a reference to the Gentiles.

This is the very last chapter of the Prophet Isaiah, Isaiah Chapter 66.

So that's one you could store away in your toolbox, so when you have to put on your apologetics hat, uh, you can tell someone, Hey, look, there's gonna be a priesthood.

There's gonna be a priesthood.

And not only that, notice what he says, I'll take of them to be priests and Levites.

The Levites were like the deacons.

So there's gonna be a distinction, priests, Levites, different jobs.

Just like we have priests, deacons, bishops.

There's different jobs.

So we're not just talking about everyone being a priest and you're just kind of that general priesthood type of thing.

He says, No, priests and Levites, that means these distinct roles, 'cause the priests and the Levites had very distinct roles in the Bible, okay?

So let's take a look at another place where we see the priesthood referenced in the Bible, okay?

This is one I just quoted earlier.

It's a good one to have stored in your memory.

Neglect not the grace that was that is in thee, which was given to me by prophecy with the imposition of the hands of the priesthood.

An easy way to remember this one and another verse that has to do with the priesthood Do you remember the other verse I mentioned about fathers and why we call priests fathers?

Do you remember what verse that was?

See how good your memory was.

I mentioned it earlier.

It was First Corinthians 4:14.

Notice this.

This one's First Timothy 4:14.

Neglect not the grace that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy with the imposition of hands of the priesthood.

Kinda neat.

Both of those refer to the priesthood.

First Timothy 4:14, First Corinthians 4:14.

So those are two verses you can store away and have in your mind so if you need to, uh, answer someone's questions about, uh, the priesthood and why we as Catholics have priests.

Speaking of answering questions about the priesthood, um, I'm gonna get to the questions that we have, if we have any questions.

Let's see if we do.

So, uh, okay.

So first question: I don't remember Jesus laying hands on his apostles at the Last Supper.

At what exact moment do the apostles actually become priests?

Okay.

It doesn't mention anything about Jesus laying hands on his apostles at the Last Supper.

It doesn't say anything about that.

Doesn't mean it didn't happen, but we know how the priesthood was conferred in the early Church, as we just saw from First Timothy.

And, uh, it's not the only time, um, uh, Saint Paul mentions this.

He also mentions this in his, uh, second letter to Timothy and, in fact, we know that it was Saint Paul that ordained Saint Timothy by this means of laying on hands from his second letter, and I'll read that to you.

This is from, uh, Second Timothy 1:6.

He says to Timothy, Paul says to Timothy, I admonish thee that thou stir up the grace of God which is in thee by the imposition of my hands.

I s- I admonish thee to stir up the grace that is in thee by the imposition of my hands, Second Timothy 1:6.

So we can see from this verse that the priesthood was conferred by the imposing of hands.

Grace is conferred by the imposing of hands, uh, and then connecting that verse with the one we just saw earlier in First Timothy 4:14, Neglect not the grace that is in thee which was given thee with the imposition of the hands of the priesthood.

Okay?

So, uh, it's when our Lord said, Do this for the commemoration of me, that's when they made them priests.

He gave them that power to do this, what he just did, which was change the bread into his body.

That's when he, that's when the apostles were made priests.

But they gave the priesthood by the imposing of hands, uh, to someone, to someone else.

Saint Paul also received this imposing of hands.

We see this in Acts Chapter 13, and it wasn't until that moment that his name got changed.

Before that, he was called Saul, and then when he became a priest to go out and preach Really a bishop at that point, he became a bishop, they imposed hands on him un- uh, in Acts Chapter 13, and that's when he took on his new name of Paul, so his name got changed at that point.

Not when he was converted back in Acts Chapter 9 when he saw the Lord on the road to Damascus.

It wasn't until the Church ordained him and laid hands on him in Acts 13 that he got his new name and was sent out as a missionary, okay?

So it's important that, uh The laying on of hands is kind of an important thing.

I'll tell you another story.

Once, uh, I was at an airport and, uh, there was someone at the ticket counter and I said, Ah, you're a preacher.

Look at that.

You're a pastor.

And the guy said, So am I, and this guy was working at the ticket counter.

You're a pastor, really?

I realized, well, he's not a Catholic priest and, uh, he said, Yeah, he goes, I- I got ordained online.He got ordained online, so apparently no hands were imposed to him.

He's all guarantee no hands came through that screen to make this man a, a pastor.

So he wasn't a priest, but, uh, at any rate, it was an amusing exchange at the airport, showing, uh, the, the non-laying on of hands that happens in other, uh, groups.

Okay.

So we have another question.

Okay.

Let's, uh, let's see.

Um, let's try and get through questions that have to do with priesthood, since that's what this class is on.

Um, so, uh, this does have to do with the priesthood.

Why do some priests always wear a cassock, but some wear regular clothes, uh, even under vestments?

Um, well, some priests always wear cassocks because they are dying to self and they die daily to themselves.

Unless a man takes up his cross daily That's what our Lord says.

Unless a man denies himself, says no to himself, and takes up his cross daily, he cannot be my disciple.

So this taking on the cross, that's what's symbolized by wearing this cassock.

We die to ourselves, denying ourselves daily.

That's why we wear this daily, right?

Um, and it's in, uh, if I remember correctly, it's Second Corinthians four, verse nine, uh, where, uh, he says, uh, We are always carrying about the death of Christ, that the life of Christ may be, um, born in us.

Um, let's see if I'm correct here.

Second Corinthians four, verse nine.

That seems to jump out.

Uh, okay, I was, I was wrong.

It's Second Corinthians four, verse ten.

Okay, so here we go.

He says, uh, We are always bearing about in our body the death of Jesus that the life of Jesus may also be made manifest in our bodies.

So we are always carrying about the death of Jesus in our body that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our body, 'cause we die with him so that we can rise with him.

That's Second Corinthians four, verse ten.

That's what the priest is doing, actually symbolizing by wearing the black, by wearing the, the symbol of death, this cassock, the symbol of dying to ourselves, I should say, because dying to ourselves means living to Christ.

Okay?

That's the important thing.

Okay.

So let's see.

If priests and bishops wear black, why doesn't the Pope wear black?

Well, that actually started because It's a good question.

He wears white.

Uh, but the reason why is because o- once a Dominican got elected as Pope, and Dominicans wear white habits, and so he just kept wearing his white habit.

He just kept wearing his white Dominican habit.

And everywhere, you know, he went, they'd see, That's, there's the Pope and he's wearing that white.

And so he was the Pope for a while, and so it kind of became, it kind of stuck wearing, uh, wearing white after that and became a unique sign of, uh, the papacy of the, being the Pope.

Okay.

Uh, so let's see.

Um, other questions.

These all have to do with the priesthood.

This is good.

Okay, so, uh, What is the best way to prepare your sons to discern a vocation to the priesthood?

Okay, and for different age, they even break it down by different age , age six to 10, 11 to 14.

Best way to prepare our sons to discern vocation to priesthood.

Uh, the first step is, um, of course, of course, of course, pray, and you yourselves be open to the fact that God may call one of your children, and maybe not the child that you think, to be a priest or nun.

Don't have assumed plans for this son or that son or this daughter.

I mean, daughters can't become priests, but I'm talking about religious vocations to the religious life of the sisters.

Don't have assumed plans.

Well, that one's gonna be the, that one's gonna be the doctor, or, That one's gonna be this, or, you know.

Don't think that, because God often has mysterious plans that we don't expect.

Like, no one expected that one to become the priest, but sometimes God calls that one.

Okay.

The other thing, uh, so don't have fixed plans.

Don't assume, I'll tell you this, don't assume that your children are gonna provide you grandchildren.

When you keep saying things like that, you know, Well, you know, when, when you, when you've, when you've given me grandchildren, and things like that, 'cause now what do they think?

'Mom and Dad are expecting me to get married, but I've been thinking about the priesthood.' That's not good, right?

If they are expecting, if you're, if they seem, if it seems like they are, uh, your parents are expecting you to become parents of, you know, natural parents, they might be discouraged from going into the priesthood.

Okay?

Don't always assume that their vocation in the future is to marriage, marriage, right?

Uh, I'll give you an example.

Um, I remember sometimes, uh, the roof on our house would leak.

Uh, we lived in the desert climate, but nonetheless, it was a flat roof and whenever it would rain, sometimes we'd get some, some leaks.

So, uh, my dad would p- be patching the roof and I'd be helping him out and he'd say, Son, I want you to remember, when you grow up and you get married or you become a priest, never buy a house with a flat roof.

Right?

So just, as he was giving this fatherly counsel, he was always assuming that I might become a priest or I might get married.

He said, Who knows?

But it was always an acceptable option to him.

That's important, to always make sure that they know that it's an accep- acceptable option, a good option.

Don't push them.

Don't push them to either one.

Don't try and push people into the priesthood.

That's not a good thing.

You always know that, uh, accep- you know, it's an acceptable option.

If you p- uh, you don't put, you don't have to w- do the work of the Holy Ghost, okay?

The Holy Ghost will call the people.

Uh, you don't have to, uh force-fit them into the priesthood, right?

Uh, you can, y- you know, have religious art throughout your house.

Have, uh, you know, books.

'Cause what you surround yourself with tells you, tells your children what's important to you.

What you spend your money on tells your children what's important to you.

And so, that will tell you very much about encouraging a vocation to the priesthood, of what you, uh, encourage at home.

Have religious books available, uh, that sort of thing.

And I- I do mean books, not just give them, don't give them, like, stuff like that to use, right?

You know.

Get some books that they can really delve into, okay?

So, um, let's see.

Another question.

Uh, “When you think back to your family home, what were the most memorable ways that your parents encouraged a love of the faith and prayer?” Uh, it was seeing them live it, okay?

Seeing them live it.

Dads need to teach the Catechism.

Don't just delegate it to Mom.

Dads need to teach the Catechism.

Mom can teach it as- as well.

I'm not saying she doesn't teach it.

But dads need to do it as well.

Uh, I don't think we would've, uh, you know, the vocations in our family, I don't think they would've been discovered had we not had Dad teaching us.

Then we knew it was serious, you know.

Uh, uh, my dad was a busy man.

He worked a lot of hours, uh, uh, a lot of overtime and that sort of thing.

But he still took the time to read us saints books.

He still took the time to teach us the Catechism himself.

And so we knew that it was a manly thing.

Being a Catholic man was a manly thing, and it was a- a good thing.

And so, uh, 'cause my dad was a real man's man.

And so, uh, it- it really helped us know, this is, this is what men do.

They- they're spiritual leaders of their family.

And so that helped us, uh, know that this is, uh, what a, what a man, uh, does.

So whether he's gonna get married or become a priest, um, this is the manly thing to- to have, uh, the faith.

And seeing them pray.

Uh, walking into the room and seeing my dad on his knees, in- in private somewhere.

That's, uh, that really helped us see the love of the faith in prayer.

They lived it.

They suggested that the rosary.

They were the ones that said, Hey, how long has it been since you've been to confession?

Let's get in the car.

We're all going to confession.

My dad in line with con- in confession with us.

He going into the confessional first.

He's leading the way.

So we knew confession was important to him 'cause Dad was taking us there.

He was going to confession.

Um, and, uh, there we go.

So, those are some, uh, some good things, uh, good things to do.

Okay.

So, uh, let's see.

We're running a little bit low on time.

But, uh, let's see.

Um, when Did you get a seal when you became a subdeacon and a deacon?

Okay, so good question.

So you do not get a seal at the subdiaconate, but at the deaconate you do.

It's like there's- there's a, there's an impression, but then it gets furthered at the priesthood, right?

So there's a widening, uh, uh, expanding, uh, impressing of the, of the seal at the, that That you first got it at the s- at the diaconate.

It's expanded, widened quite significantly at the priesthood, and gives you additional powers that you didn't have as a deacon, okay?

Um, so let's see.

Um, other questions.

We're running Uh, we're almost out of time, but let me, let me ask, uh, uh, let me ask Uh, let me, let me get this, uh, one here.

So, uh, this was asked by a parishioner, so I'll- I'll choose that one because it was asked by a parishioner.

So, uh, What were some experiences you had as a priest that exceeded all your expectations of the priesthood you had, uh, prior to becoming a priest?

Some experiences you had as a priest that exceeded all your expectations for the priesthood you had prior to becoming a priest.

I think the most significant thing is that the priest really enters into the sacred heart of Jesus.

He really gets an insight into the sacred heart of Jesus.

I can't explain it.

It's hard to explain.

But there's things that you become aware of that only you, the sacred heart, maybe one other penitent knows.

In a certain sense, at that moment in confession perhaps, God shared that with you, and therefore shared what his heart was dealing with so that the priest could console Christ.

There's sin in the world, and priests are made aware of that in the Christ so that he can console Christ.

So that he can deepen his friendship, his love of Christ.

'Cause the priest, in a certain sense, knows the sacred heart in this way.

It's hard to describe.

Again, it may not make sense what I'm saying.

But you have a deeper experience of the sacred heart, and therefore of the friendship of Christ.

I knew that, uh, I do not now call you servants, but friends.

But I wasn't expecting that sort of experience in the friendship of Christ.The greatest joy of my life, the best decision ever made.

Becoming a priest.

I do not regret it.

I could have had an easy life out in the world, successful life out in the world but this is the best decision ever made.

There’s nothing that the world could offer me that would replace what I have in the priesthood.

You just can’t explain it but its tremendous, powerful and Christ dwelling here on earth through his priests.

There’s much more that could be said about this but we’re running low on time so let’s go ahead and finish up.

We covered a bit of the sacrament and think we covered it sufficiently.

Well there is always more you can learn but covered enough to understand matter form, who’s the minister, effects, recipient and hopefully this gave you more insight into the sacrament of Holy Orders.

Next time we’ll cover the Sacrament of Matrimony.

So let’s go ahead and conclude with prayer and I will give you blessing.

In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost Amen.

Glory be to the father and son and holy ghost as it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be world without end amen.

Our lady seat of wisdom pray for us Saint Joseph Pray for Us.

I’m going to give y’all a blessing.

Benedixio Dei omnipotentis Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti descendat super vos et maneat semper.

Amen.

God Bless.