At the Last Supper, Jesus made the Apostles priests and commanded them to celebrate the Eucharist, sending them out to preach and baptize in His Name.  Following His Resurrection, Jesus also gave them His own authority to forgive sins as well. The Apostles later ordained other men to be their successors, and those did the same down through the centuries to our time.

Through the Sacrament of Holy Orders, a baptized man is configured to Christ by a special grace of the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands so that he can stand in the very Person of Christ (in persona Christi) among those he serves.  The grace of ordination imparts a permanent seal or mark on his soul that conforms him to Christ in a deep and particular way.
There are three degrees of Holy Orders in the Catholic Church: Bishop, Priest, and Deacon.

Bishops receive the fullness of Holy Orders and can trace their ordination in succession all the way back to the Apostles themselves.    Bishops receive the office of Jesus for sanctifying, teaching, and guiding or governing the faithful under their care, and they share in the Pope’s responsibility for the whole Church as his brothers.

Priests are also ordained into Jesus’ ministerial priesthood, but to a lesser degree. They serve as co-workers with their bishops, to whom they promise obedience and by whom they are ordained, and he assigns them to serve the people in a particular parish or ministry and to share in his office of sanctifying, teaching, and governing.  As priests, they receive from Christ the power to forgive sin and to offer the Mass.

Deacons are also ordained by the bishop as well. A deacon’s ministry is one of service, so that bishops and priests may focus primarily on those duties reserved to them.  Deacons may assist at the Mass, preach and teach, witness and bless marriages, preside at funerals outside of Mass, baptize, offer Blessings, and carry out works of charity.  

Holy Orders is a call from God. Like Matrimony, it is a Sacrament of Service or Vocation. It is a gift given as God wills and the Church confirms, not because of what a man can do but because of what he has become through ordination.

For more information about the priesthood, religious life, or the permanent diaconate, please click on the Office of Vocations link below or call the rectory at (985) 395-3616 to speak with Fr. Bennerfield.

Office of Vocations