The Catholic Sacrament of Holy Orders

Holy Orders

The Catechism of the Catholic Church on Holy Orders

The chosen people was constituted by God as "a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." But within the people of Israel, God chose one of the twelve tribes, that of Levi, and set it apart for liturgical service; God himself is its inheritance. A special rite consecrated the beginnings of the priesthood of the Old Covenant. The priests are "appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins." Instituted to proclaim the Word of God and to restore communion with God by sacrifices and prayer, this priesthood nevertheless remains powerless to bring about salvation, needing to repeat its sacrifices ceaselessly and being unable to achieve a definitive sanctification, which only the sacrifice of Christ would accomplish. (CCC 1539-1540)

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Videos on Holy orders

Early Church Fathers on Holy Orders

St. Athanasius
Theognius, Maris…came into our Diocese alleging that they had received orders to investigate certain ecclesiastical affairs, among which they spoke of the breaking of a cup of the Lord, of which information was given them by Ischyras, whom they brought with them, and who says that he is a Presbyter, although he is not,--for he was ordained by the Presbyter Colluthus who pretended to the Episcopate, and was afterwards ordered by a whole Council, by Hosius and the Bishops that were with him, to take the place of a Presbyter, as he was before; and accordingly all that were ordained by Colluthus resumed the same rank which they held before, and so Ischyras himself proved to by a layman.
Defense Against the Arians, CA 348

St. Basil
Those who had separated themselves from the Church had no longer on them the grace of the Holy Spirit, for it ceased to be imparted when the continuity was broken. The first separatists had received their ordination from the Fathers¸ and possessed the spiritual gift by the laying on of their hands. But they who were broken off had become laymen, and, because they are no longer able to confer on others that grace of the Holy Spirit from which they themselves are fallen away, they had no authority either to baptize or to ordain.
Letters, No. 188:1

St. Gregory the Great
Three years ago the subdeacons of all the churches in Sicily, in accordance with the custom of the Roman Church, were forbidden all conjugal intercourse with their wives. But it appears to me hard and improper that one who has not been accustomed to such continence, and has not previously promised chastity, should be compelled to separate himself from his wife, and thereby (which God forbid) fall into what is worse. Hence it seems good to me that from the present day all bishops should be told not to presume to make any one a subdeacon who does not promise to live chastely.
Letters, Book 1, No. 44

St. Ignatius of Antioch
I exhort you to be careful to do all things in the harmony of God, the bishop having the primacy after the model of God and the priests after the model of the council of the Apostles, and the deacons (who are so dear to me) having entrusted to them the ministry of Jesus Christ—who from eternity was with the Father and at last appeared to us.
Letter to the Magnesians, Chapter 6

St. Jerome
The virgin Christ and the virgin Mary have dedicated in themselves the first fruits of virginity for both sexes. The apostles have either been virgins or, though married, have lived celibate lives. Those persons who are chosen to be bishops, priests, and deacons are either virgins or widowers; or at least, when once they have received the priesthood, are vowed to perpetual chastity.
Letters, 48:21

St. Leo the Great
And finally, now that the mystery of this Divine priesthood has descended to human agency, it runs not by the line of birth, nor is that which flesh and blood created, chosen, but without regard to the privilege of paternity and succession by inheritance, those men are received by the Church as its rulers whom the Holy Ghost prepares: so that in the people of God’s adoption, the whole body of which is priestly and royal, it is not the prerogative of earthly origin which obtains the unction, but the condescension of Divine grace which creates the bishop.
Sermons 3:1

Scripture - Holy Orders

Conferred by the laying on of hands, gives grace

Acts 6:6
They presented these men to the apostles who prayed and laid hands on them.

Acts 13:3
Then, completing their fasting and prayer, they laid hands on them and sent them off.

1 Timothy 4:14
Do not neglect the gift you have, which was conferred on you through the prophetic word with the imposition of hands of the presbyterate.

2 Timothy 1:6
For this reason, I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands.

Priests have authority in spiritual matters

2 Chronicles 19:11
See now, Amariah is high priest over you in everything that pertains to the LORD, and Zebadiah, son of Ishmael, is leader of the house of Judah in all that pertains to the king; and the Levites will be your officials. Act firmly, and the LORD will be with the good."

Malachi 2:7
For the lips of the priest are to keep knowledge, and instruction is to be sought from his mouth, because he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.

Matthew 10:1
Then he summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness.

Matthew 28:19-20
Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age."

Luke 10:16
Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me."

Luke 22:19
Then he took the bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me."

John 20:21-23
(Jesus) said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained."

Acts 20:28
Keep watch over yourselves and over the whole flock of which the holy Spirit has appointed you overseers, in which you tend the church of God that he acquired with his own blood.

Verses supporting priestly celibacy

Matthew 19:12
Some are incapable of marriage because they were born so; some, because they were made so by others; some, because they have renounced marriage for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Whoever can accept this ought to accept it."

1 Corinthians 4:14-16
I am writing you this not to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children. Even if you should have countless guides to Christ, yet you do not have many fathers, for I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. Therefore, I urge you, be imitators of me.

1 Corinthians 7:7-8
Indeed, I wish everyone to be as I am, but each has a particular gift from God, one of one kind and one of another.

Jeremiah 16:1-4
This message came to me from the LORD: Do not marry any woman; you shall not have sons or daughters in this place, for thus says the LORD concerning the sons and daughters who will be born in this place, the mothers who will give them birth, the fathers who will beget them in this land: Of deadly disease they shall die. Unlamented and unburied they will lie like dung on the ground. Sword and famine will make an end of them, and their corpses will become food for the birds of the sky and the beasts of the field.

1 Corinthians 7:8
Now to the unmarried and to widows, I say: it is a good thing for them to remain as they are, as I do

1 Corinthians 7:32-35
I should like you to be free of anxieties. An unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord. But a married man is anxious about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, and he is divided. An unmarried woman or a virgin is anxious about the things of the Lord, so that she may be holy in both body and spirit. A married woman, on the other hand, is anxious about the things of the world, how she may please her husband. I am telling you this for your own benefit, not to impose a restraint upon you, but for the sake of propriety and adherence to the Lord without distraction.

Call no man father? (Matthew 23:9)

Romans 4:16-17
For this reason, it depends on faith, so that it may be a gift, and the promise may be guaranteed to all his descendants, not to those who only adhere to the law but to those who follow the faith of Abraham, who is the father of all of us, as it is written, "I have made you father of many nations." He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into being what does not exist.

1 Corinthians 4:14-15
I am writing you this not to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children. Even if you should have countless guides to Christ, yet you do not have many fathers, for I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

Hebrews 12:7-9
Endure your trials as "discipline"; God treats you as sons. For what "son" is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are without discipline, in which all have shared, you are not sons but bastards. Besides this, we have had our earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them. Should we not (then) submit all the more to the Father of spirits and live?

1 John 2:13-14
I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have conquered the evil one. I write to you, children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong and the word of God remains in you, and you have conquered the evil one.

CATECHISM

CHAPTER THREE THE SACRAMENTS AT THE SERVICE OF COMMUNION

ARTICLE 6 THE SACRAMENT OF HOLY ORDERS

I. Why Is This Sacrament Called "Orders"?

II. The Sacrament of Holy Orders in the Economy of Salvation

III. The Three Degrees of the Sacrament of Holy Orders

IV. The Celebration of This Sacrament

V. Who Can Confer This Sacrament?

VI. Who Can Receive This Sacrament?

VII. The Effects of the Sacrament of Holy Orders

IN BRIEF 

CANON LAW

TITLE VI. ORDERS (Cann. 1008 - 1054)

CHAPTER I. THE CELEBRATION AND MINISTER OF ORDINATION

CHAPTER II. THOSE TO BE ORDAINED

Art. 1. REQUIREMENTS IN THOSE TO BE ORDAINED

Art. 2. THE PREREQUISITES FOR ORDINATION

Art. 3. IRREGULARITIES AND OTHER IMPEDIMENTS

Art. 4. THE REQUIRED DOCUMENTS AND INVESTIGATION 

CHAPTER III. THE NOTATION AND TESTIMONIAL OF ORDINATION CONFERRED