Friday, June 6
Liturgical Color: White
St. Norbert died on this day in 1134. A
worldly person, St. Norbert took his
religious vows seriously after nearly
dying. Because his fellow monks resisted
reforms, he started a new, stricter order
that flourished across Europe.
Day 173 - What happens in priestly ordination? // Diaconal ordination?
What happens in priestly ordination?
In priestly ordination the bishop calls down God's power upon the candidates for ordination. It imprints upon the souls of these men an indelible seal that can never be lost. As a collaborator with his bishop, the priest will proclaim the Word of God, administer the sacraments, and, above all, celebrate the Holy eucharist.
During the celebration of a Holy Mass, the actual ordination of priests begins when the candidates are called by name. After the bishop's homily, the future priest promises obedience to the bishop and his successors. The actual ordination takes place through the imposition of the bishop's hands and his prayer.
What happens in diaconal ordination?
In diaconal ordination the candidate is appointed to a special service within the sacrament of Holy Orders. For he represents Christ as the one who came, "not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mt 20:28). In the liturgy of ordination we read: "As a minister of the Word, of the altar, and of charity, [the deacon] will make himself a servant to all." The original model of the deacon is the martyr St. Stephen. When the apostles in the original Church of Jerusalem saw that they were overwhelmed by their many charitable duties, they appointed seven men "to serve tables", whom they then ordained. The first mentioned is Stephen: "full of grace and power", he accomplished much for the new faith and for the poor in the Christian community. Over the centuries the diaconate became merely a degree of Holy Orders on the way to the presbyterate, but today it is once again an independent vocation for both celibates and married men. On the one hand, this is supposed to reemphasize service as a characteristic of the Church; on the other hand, it helps the priests, as in the early Church, by establishing an order of ministers who take on particular pastoral and social duties of the Church. Diaconal ordination, too, makes a lifelong, irrevocable mark on the ordained man. (YOUCAT questions 254 & 255)
Dig Deeper: CCC section (1562-1568) and other references here.