The whole Church is a priestly people. Through Baptism all the faithful share in the priesthood of Christ and this participation is called the common priesthood. 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 with the task to serve in the name and in the person of Christ in the midst of the community.
I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands.
2 Tim 1:6
The ministerial priesthood confers a sacred power for the service of the faithful. The ordained ministers exercise their service for the People of God by:
- teaching
- divine worship
- pastoral governance
The ordained ministry is conferred and exercised in three degrees: bishops, presbyters, and deacons.
The bishop receives the fulness of the sacrament of Holy Orders, which integrates him into the episcopal college and makes him the visible head of the particular Church entrusted to him. Bishops share in the apostolic responsibility and mission of the whole Church under the authority of the Pope.
Priests are united with the bishop in sacerdotal dignity and depend on them in the exercise of their pastoral functions. They form around their bishop the presbyterium which bears responsibility with him for the particular Church. They receive from the bishop the charge of a parish community of a determinate ecclesial office.
Deacons are ordained for tasks of service of the Church: ministry of the word, divine worship, pastoral governance, and the service of charity.
The sacrament of Holy Orders is conferred by the laying on of hands followed by a prayer of consecration asking God to grant the graces of the Holy Spirit required for ministry. Ordination imprints an indelible sacramental character.
Please, pray for the priests and for vocation to the priesthood. If you or anyone you know might feel called to the priesthood, contact the priests at Ss. Cyril & Methodius, or Fr. Craig Giera, Director of Priestly Vocations at the Archdiocese of Detroit.