Priesthood

Do priests take vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience?

Priests who belong to religious orders--Franciscans, Jesuits and so on--do take such vows, but diocesan priests do not. At his ordination the diocesan priest makes solemn promises of celibacy and of obedience to his bishop. Although diocesan priests do not take a vow of poverty, they are still expected to live "with an interior detachment as to the goods and riches of the world."

Why is obedience important?

Obedience is another form of poverty, involving an emptying of self, a subordinating of one's own desires in order to fulfill the will of the Father through serving his Church on earth. Just as Christ submitted himself to the will of the Father, the priest obeys the will of God by obedience to all that is justly required of him by his superiors. In turn, the superior must exercise his authority over the priests under his jurisdiction with prudence and great charity.

Why can we not have married priests?

Although the celibacy rule in the Roman rite is not part of Church doctrine--it is known as an ecclesiastical law--it is still regarded as a very important discipline of the Church that stems from Christ's own example. Both Jesus and St. Paul practiced celibacy and encouraged it in others (Matt 19:11-12. and I Corinthians 7:32) It is one more way in which the priest can make Christ visible in the world. Celibacy is not the renouncing of love, but the desire to extend that love to everyone just as Christ did when he walked the earth. By surrendering the right to marry and have children, the priest can now serve the whole human family with an undivided heart, becoming Father to them all.

When did Christ institute the Priesthood?

Christ instituted the Sacraments of the Eucharist and the priesthood during the Last Supper. After Jesus had consecrated the bread and wine and given it to his disciples, he then conferred the priesthood on them with the words: "Do this in memory of me." (Luke 22:19) In this way the priesthood is bound indissolubly with the Eucharistic Sacrifice. Jesus also washed the feet of the disciples, conveying the message that, in the words of the Holy Father, "the ministerial priesthood is an expression, not of domination, but of service."

How did priests become co-workers of the bishops?

It is clear from Sacred Scripture that the Apostles, our first bishops, were assisted by a number of helpers as they began the work of spreading the Good News, and of establishing and supporting the early Christian communities. The leaders of these Christian communities took on a variety of roles, and Sacred Scripture describes the offices being conferred by the laying on of hands, as occurs today during the ordination of priests. The word priest is a contraction of presbyter (from the Greek, presbuteros ). The terms for ministry were somewhat fluid in the apostolic age, and often presbyter and bishop were used interchangeably, but by the end of the first century the three degrees of Holy Orders--bishop, priest, and deacon--represented distinct functions.

How is the Sacrament of Holy Orders administered?

The minister of the Sacrament of Holy Orders is a bishop. The celebration usually takes place in a cathedral within the Eucharistic liturgy, and the faithful are encouraged to attend. Although the rites of each degree of Holy Orders vary slightly, the matter and form remain the same:

"In the ordination of a priest of the Roman Rite, the essential matter is the imposition of hands on the heads of those being ordained by the ordaining bishop. The essential form is the accompanying prayer in the preface of the ordination ceremony." (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church. No.28)

Here is part of the prayer of consecration used in the ordination of a priest:

"Almighty Father, grant to these servants of yours the dignity of the priesthood. Renew within them the Spirit of holiness. As co-workers with the order of bishops, may they be faithful to the ministry that they receive from you, Lord God, and be to others a model of right conduct.

May they be faithful in working with the order of bishops, so that the words of the Gospel may reach the ends of the earth, and the family of nations, made one in Christ, may become God's one, holy people. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen."