Holy Orders

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. 

Life as a priest, is a calling that Jesus invites the person to discern as a way of life in service to God. It is a calling to serve Christ and His people according to God's plan by dispensing of the Sacraments that Jesus Himself gave us. The Sacraments Priests can celebrate are baptisms, Mass, marriages and anointing of the sick. The priest can confirm with the permission of the local bishop. There is a process required to become a priest and there are requirements. One must be a baptized male Catholic in good standing of the Church. To see more about vocations click on the link here.

A deacon assists the parish priest in his duties to serve the people of God. They also live a life of sacrifice. A deacon can baptize and celebrate the matrimony ceremony, but not the Mass or anointing of the sick. Some, when approved by the Bishop, can preach. Deacons assist at the altar at Mass and are considered "ordinary ministers of Holy Communion". This means that they are preferred to bring communion to the faithful at Mass and to the home-bound, hospitals or care centers.  Many might teach sessions or assist in any other way that is needed.

Discerning a call to religious life, such as with a Dominican order, or the Franciscans, is a different calling from Jesus. This is a discernment to a call to grow in holiness by joining a specific religious community. For example, some people who feel called for a different calling to holiness outside of marriage, by living in a community of believers who help each other in this singular task. Further discernment is made to understand how God is calling them to holiness. Some may be called by helping the poor or by teaching. The Franciscan order was founded to help the poor. The Dominican order was founded for people who are called to preach or teach. Some people feel called to pray or offer their life as a sacrifice of prayer. There are many different convents that have that focus, but with differing spiritual customs that help them grow.

We invite all single people to discern a religious vocation as a viable option for the future.  Please explore the possibility of priesthood or religious life!

If you would like information on any religious vocation, please contact Father through the Parish Office (815-589-3542).

Biblical background for ordained priests and deacons.

The Priesthood of Jesus Christ and the Church are intertwined together. In the gospel of Matthew, chapter 16, Jesus explicit;y says that He is founding a Church, "...And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church..." (v18). Jesus, here, is recognizing that His own people will not accept Him, and so recognizing the need for a new religion. In the same sentence, Jesus is establishing the priesthood of the Church in Peter. The priest is the servant of Jesus and it is Jesus who founds this Church and it's priesthood that serves the Church He has founded.

Some people argue that Jesus used the word Petra in Greek, thus signifying a small rock to minimize Peter's role and the establishment of the priesthood. There are some difficulties with this understanding. The first is the assumption that Peter would be a replacement of Jesus being a the rock quoted from scripture, such as, "For they drank from the supernatural Rock which followed them, and the Rock was Christ." (1 Cor 10:4). Thus they say that only Jesus can be the Rock He is talking about. The problem is that Jesus and Paul are using imagery to describe a reality. Their application of the image of Rock is different. Paul is reminding the Hebrews of the New Testament that when God gave them food and drink in the desert, it was Christ who gave it to them, even though they did not know it. The drink came from the waters at Meribah and Massah (Ex 16:4-31 & Ex 17:6). The Israelites carried the rock into the desert wherever they went so that they would have water in their need. This pre-figured the waters of Baptism. We need Baptism in our need for salvation. That was Paul's point.  Whereas Jesus was establishing His Church and His Priesthood. If Jesus is establishing His priesthood on Peter, that would make Peter Jesus' servant.

The second difficulty with the understanding of Peter being the "small rock" and therefore meaningless is that the Gospel of Matthew was written in Aramaic and not Greek. The Greek is a translation from the original Aramaic. In Aramaic uses Kepha for Peter. Kepha means a large rock, one very suitable for being used as a foundation stone.

Moreover, the fact that Peter is receiving a new name leads to the remembrance of Abram being renamed Abraham (Gen 17:5). this is reminding and teach the Apostles that a new covenant is being established. It also points to the reality of Abraham being our "Father in Faith" (Rom 4:16). So we can call priests and Peter a "Father" in faith, or the pope, "Papa" who represents Peter.

Notice how Jesus adds to the Authority to Peter as He continues, "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. and whatever you bind on earth is bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth is loosed in heaven." (Mt 16:19). So Jesus is establishing Peter's authority over the Church Jesus is establishing. At the same time, Jesus is giving the priests the authority to forgive sins. But they do not have this authority as of yet; notice Jesus says, "will give you...". Peter does not receive it fully until Pentecost, when all the Apostles receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2). Yet the Apostles understand this authority is in progression as Jesus is establishing His Church. Jesus reiterated this authority given in Mathew in the Gospel of John after the resurrection, "'... as the Father has sent me, even so I send you' and when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit. If you retain the sins of any, they are retained'" (20:20-22). Yet, Jesus is leaving the Church into the hands of the Apostles in His absence. So the fullness of this authority is yet to be established. Some authority has been given by the fact that Peter is recongized as having the authority to choose a replacement for Judas who was now dead (Acts 1:12-26).

This is all part of setting things up for the Church and the Authority He is delegating to the Apostles and those who follow. That includes the priests that would be ordained. It is understood that there would be a succession of the Apostles by the very fact that a replacement must be made. The authority of the Apostles is very well established in sacred Scriptures and is not debated so much. So i will not put forth that information. I will focus more on the succession of the Apostles and what was the practice.

Many people will ask about why we do not see the structure of the Church in the Bible as we see it now. Actually, we do see it in 1 and 2 Timothy as well as in Titus. In Paul's First Letter to Timothy, he gives directives on the qualifications of bishops in chapter 3:1-7 and then continues with Deacons in verses 8-13. Historically writing, Timothy was the first Bishop of Ephesus. This is made evident in 1 Timothy 4:14 and 2 Timothy 1:6. Paul, with the elders (other ordained bishops) lay hands on Timothy as an official liturgy. 2 Timothy 1:6 reminds Timothy of this and his responsibility in being a bishop.

In 1 Timothy 5:17-19, Paul writes about Presbyters or "Elders". These are priests. it hearkens back to Moses choosing specific elders of the people. Even Eldad and Medad were filled with the Spirit of God (Num 11:26-29). These men would be considered priestly people, though not in the order of Aaron.  So the structure of Bishops, priests and deacons are in place as Paul is writing his letters to Timothy.

James writes about calling on these same priests to anoint a person who is sick, "Is any among you sick? let him call for the elders of the Church, and let them pray over them, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up. and if he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven." (Ja 5:14-15). So this is the same authority Jesus gave Peter in Matthew and in John after the resurrection.

written--

There is a new covenant established by Jesus (Mt 26:28, Mk 14:24, Lk 22:20, 1 Cor 11:25) at the last supper.