Ordination Primer: Part I

In less than two weeks, I will receive the Sacrament of Holy Orders. It seems appropriate to post a short explanation of what the “Sacrament of Holy Orders” is, and what a deacon is, and what it means that I am about to be ordained. I had all kinds of hopes of explaining this in a series of short posts, but I just couldn’t figure out how to do it. So I’m just going to ramble for a bit and see what comes out.

The Catholic Church has seven “sacraments,” which are the means given to us by Jesus during his earthly life so that his work of salvation would be made present for the rest of time, in this world. Christ does this through the ordained men of the Church, who celebrate the sacraments by virtue of their own reception of the Sacrament of Holy Orders, passing on baptism, priesthood, etc., on through time. For example, bishops have something like family trees. Bishop Zipfel was consecrated a bishop by Archbishop May, who was consecrated a bishop by Cardinal John Cody who was consecrated a bishop by Cardinal Ritter, and on and on back to St. Peter himself being consecrated a bishop by Jesus Christ himself.

Of the seven sacraments, the sacraments of matrimony and holy orders, especially, are aimed at the salvation of others. In other words, when you get married, the grace of the sacrament is not largely to your benefit, but to the benefit of your spouse and the Church as a whole. Likewise, when a man is ordained, he is not ordained for himself. He is ordained to serve others, as Christ did.

Among some people I know, there seems to be some confusion about what an ordination is. That’s understandable. After all, not all of you are Catholic, so I don’t expect you to know. First of all, it is nothing like a graduation. It is more like a marriage. When a man is ordained, a permanent change takes place in his very soul. He makes lifelong promises before the bishop, the Church, and God Himself to live the rest of his life dedicated to ministry.

In just under two weeks, I will make these lifelong promises and I will be permanently changed when I am ordained a “transitional deacon.” That means I will receive the first of the three “degrees” of holy orders: the diaconate. The other two are presbyterate (priesthood) and episcopacy (bishop). Before someone can be ordained a priest, he must be ordained a deacon and must serve for a while as a deacon. Hence the qualifier of “transitional” deacon.

Even though I will only serve as a deacon for a year before I am ordained again, as a priest, it is a most important occasion. It is, after all, when I am truly committed to serving Christ’s Church for the rest of my life.

So what is a deacon?
A deacon is “configured to Christ the servant of all” and “is ordained for service to the Church” (Compendium of the CCC). Consider this quotation from the homily in the Rite of Ordination:

Brothers and sisters: since this our son, your relative and friend, is now to be advanced to the Order of Deacons, consider the rank in the Church to which he is about to be raised. Strengthened by the Holy Spirit, he will help the Bishop and his priests in the ministry of the word, of the altar, and of charity, showing himself to be a servant to all. As a minister of the altar, he will proclaim the Gospel, prepare the sacrifice, and distribute the Lord's Body and Blood to the faithful. He will preside over public prayer, administer Baptism, bless Marriages, bring Viaticum to the dying, and conduct funeral rites. And in a year’s time, having served as a deacon he will, God willing, be ordained to the Order of Priesthood.

For more information, CLICK HERE to read sections 322-336 of the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which is an excellent quick reference for Catholic beliefs.

Next, I think I will write a post on what to expect at the ordination. Reading up on it will help you appreciate what’s going on.

Oh, and by the way, the picture above is one of St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr, who happened to be a deacon and who is a patron saint of deacons.

If you have questions or if that wasn't clear, feel free to e-mail me or post a comment.

-Jason