Monday, September 24, 2012
324. What place does the sacrament of Holy Orders have in the divine plan of salvation?) (part 2 continuation)
(Comp
324 repetition) This sacrament was prefigured in the Old Covenant in the
service of the Levites, in the priesthood of Aaron, and in the institution of
the seventy “Elders” (Numbers 11:25). These prefigurations find their
fulfillment in Christ Jesus who by the sacrifice of the cross is the “one
mediator between God and man” (1 Timothy 2:5), the “High Priest according to
the order of Melchizedek” (Hebrews 5:10). The one priesthood of Christ is made
present in the ministerial priesthood. “Only Christ is the true priest, the
others being only his ministers.” (Saint Thomas Aquinas)
“In brief”
(CCC 1591) The whole Church is a priestly people. Through
Baptism all the faithful share in the priesthood of Christ. This participation
is called the "common priesthood of the faithful." Based on this
common priesthood and ordered to its service, there exists another
participation in the mission of Christ: the ministry conferred by the sacrament
of Holy Orders, where the task is to serve in the name and in the person of
Christ the Head in the midst of the community.
To deepen and explain
(CCC 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
(Roman Pontifical, Ordination of
Priests 22, Prayer of Consecration). (CCC 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 (Roman Pontifical, Ordination of Deacons 21, Prayer of
Consecration).
Reflection
(CCC 1544) Everything that the priesthood of the Old Covenant
prefigured finds its fulfillment in Christ Jesus, the "one mediator
between God and men" (2 Tim 2:5). 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" (Heb 5:10; cf. 6:20; Gen 14:18); "holy, blameless,
unstained" (Heb 7:26), "by a single offering he has perfected for all
time those who are sanctified" (Heb 10:14), that is, by the unique
sacrifice of the cross. (CCC 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" (St. Thomas Aquinas, Hebr 8, 4). [END]
(Next question: What are the degrees that make up the sacrament of Holy
Orders?)
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