What is the Sacrament of Holy Orders
As stated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the sacrament of Holy Orders is “the sacrament through which the mission entrusted by Christ to his apostles continues to be exercised in the Church until the end of time: thus it is the sacrament of apostolic ministry.” (CCC, 1536). Put simply, the sacrament of Holy Orders means being called to serve as deacon, priest, or bishop, to continue the ministry Jesus entrusted to the Apostles. The word order, was used in Roman times, to distinguish various civil groups, especially as applied to government. Hence, the “orders” that deacons, priests, and bishops belong to, are full time ministries set apart to serve the Church in a specific way. Holy, comes from a root word that means whole. Literally, holiness is living such a balanced life that the goodness that is God becomes clear to all. The ministry of deacons is created and mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles. In the Acts, the ministry began as service to widows, who often times had n
