II. The Sacrament of Holy
Orders in the Economy of Salvation
The
priesthood of the Old Covenant
1539
The chosen people was constituted by God as "a kingdom of priests and a
holy nation."6 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.7 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."8
1540
Instituted to proclaim the Word of God and to restore communion with God by
sacrifices and prayer,9 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.10
1541
The liturgy of the Church, however, sees in the priesthood of Aaron and the
service of the Levites, as in the institution of the seventy elders,11
a prefiguring of the ordained ministry of the New Covenant. Thus in the Latin
Rite the Church prays in the consecratory preface of the ordination of bishops:
God the Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ,
by your gracious word
you have established the plan
of your Church.
From the beginning,
you chose the descendants of
Abraham to be your holy nation.
You established rulers and
priests
and did not leave your
sanctuary without ministers to serve you....12
1542
At the ordination of priests, the Church prays:
Lord, holy Father, . . .
when you had appointed high
priests to rule your people,
you chose other men next to
them in rank and dignity
to be with them and to help
them in their task....
you extended the spirit of
Moses to seventy wise men....
You shared among the sons of
Aaron
the fullness of their father's
power.13
1543
In the consecratory prayer for ordination of deacons, the Church confesses:
Almighty God . . ..
You make the Church, Christ's
body,
grow to its full stature as a
new and greater temple.
You enrich it with every kind
of grace
and perfect it with a
diversity of members
to serve the whole body in a
wonderful pattern of unity.
You established a threefold
ministry of worship and service,
for the glory of your name.
As ministers of your
tabernacle you chose the sons of Levi
and gave them your blessing as
their everlasting inheritance.14
The one
priesthood of Christ
1544
Everything that the priesthood of the Old Covenant prefigured finds its
fulfillment in Christ Jesus, the "one mediator between God and
men."15 The Christian tradition considers Melchizedek,
"priest of God Most High," as a prefiguration of the priesthood of
Christ, the unique "high priest after the order of
Melchizedek";16 "holy, blameless, unstained,"17
"by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are
sanctified,"18 that is, by the unique sacrifice of the cross.
1545
The redemptive sacrifice of Christ is unique, accomplished once for all; yet it
is made present in the Eucharistic sacrifice of the Church. the same is true of
the one priesthood of Christ; it is made present through the ministerial
priesthood without diminishing the uniqueness of Christ's priesthood:
"Only Christ is the true priest, the others being only his
ministers."19
Two
participations in the one priesthood of Christ
1546
Christ, high priest and unique mediator, has made of the Church "a
kingdom, priests for his God and Father."20 The whole community of
believers is, as such, priestly. the faithful exercise their baptismal
priesthood through their participation, each according to his own vocation, in
Christ's mission as priest, prophet, and king. Through the sacraments of
Baptism and Confirmation the faithful are "consecrated to be . . . a holy
priesthood."21
1547
The ministerial or hierarchical priesthood of bishops and priests, and the
common priesthood of all the faithful participate, "each in its own proper
way, in the one priesthood of Christ." While being "ordered one to
another," they differ essentially.22 In what sense? While the
common priesthood of the faithful is exercised by the unfolding of baptismal
grace - a life of faith, hope, and charity, a life according to the Spirit -
,the ministerial priesthood is at the service of the common priesthood. It is
directed at the unfolding of the baptismal grace of all Christians. the
ministerial priesthood is a means by which Christ unceasingly builds up and
leads his Church. For this reason it is transmitted by its own sacrament, the
sacrament of Holy Orders.
In the
person of Christ the Head . . .
1548
In the ecclesial service of the ordained minister, it is Christ himself who is
present to his Church as Head of his Body, Shepherd of his flock, high priest
of the redemptive sacrifice, Teacher of Truth. This is what the Church means by
saying that the priest, by virtue of the sacrament of Holy Orders, acts in
persona Christi Capitis:23
It is the same priest, Christ
Jesus, whose sacred person his minister truly represents. Now the minister, by
reason of the sacerdotal consecration which he has received, is truly made like
to the high priest and possesses the authority to act in the power and place of
the person of Christ himself (virtute ac persona ipsius Christi).24
Christ is the source of all priesthood: the priest of the old law was a figure
of Christ, and the priest of the new law acts in the person of
Christ.25
1549
Through the ordained ministry, especially that of bishops and priests, the
presence of Christ as head of the Church is made visible in the midst of the
community of believers.26 In the beautiful expression of St. Ignatius
of Antioch, the bishop is typos tou Patros: he is like the living image of God
the Father.27
1550
This presence of Christ in the minister is not to be understood as if the
latter were preserved from all human weaknesses, the spirit of domination,
error, even sin. the power of the Holy Spirit does not guarantee all acts of
ministers in the same way. While this guarantee extends to the sacraments, so
that even the minister's sin cannot impede the fruit of grace, in many other
acts the minister leaves human traces that are not always signs of fidelity to
the Gospel and consequently can harm the apostolic fruitfulness of the Church.
1551
This priesthood is ministerial. "That office . . . which the Lord
committed to the pastors of his people, is in the strict sense of the term a
service."28 It is entirely related to Christ and to men. It
depends entirely on Christ and on his unique priesthood; it has been instituted
for the good of men and the communion of the Church. the sacrament of Holy
Orders communicates a "sacred power" which is none other than that of
Christ. the exercise of this authority must therefore be measured against the
model of Christ, who by love made himself the least and the servant of
all.29 "The Lord said clearly that concern for his flock was proof
of love for him."30
. . .
"in the name of the whole Church"
1552
The ministerial priesthood has the task not only of representing Christ - Head
of the Church - before the assembly of the faithful, but also of acting in the
name of the whole Church when presenting to God the prayer of the Church, and
above all when offering the Eucharistic sacrifice.31
1553
"In the name of the whole Church" does not mean that priests are the delegates
of the community. the prayer and offering of the Church are inseparable from
the prayer and offering of Christ, her head; it is always the case that Christ
worships in and through his Church. the whole Church, the Body of Christ, prays
and offers herself "through him, with him, in him," in the unity of
the Holy Spirit, to God the Father. the whole Body, caput et membra, prays and
offers itself, and therefore those who in the Body are especially his ministers
are called ministers not only of Christ, but also of the Church. It is because
the ministerial priesthood represents Christ that it can represent the Church.
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