1. What is the Sacrament of Holy Orders?
Holy Orders is the Sacrament which gives a man the powers of the Catholic Priesthood.
“Thou are a Priest forever, according to the order of Melchisedech” (Psalm 109:4).
2. In general, what is a Priest?
A Priest is a man who offers sacrifice to God for the sins of the people.
“Every high priest taken from among men, is ordained for men in the things that appertain to God, that he may offer up gifts and sacrifices for sins” (Hebrews 5:1).
3. Were there Priests before the coming of Jesus?
Yes, there were Priests before the coming of Jesus, for God made Aaron and his sons Priests of the Old Testament.
God said to Aaron: “Thou and thy sons look ye to the Priesthood; and all things that pertain to the service of the altar… shall be executed by the Priests” (Numbers 18:7).
4. Was Jesus a Priest?
Yes, Jesus was a Priest.
“It behoved Him in all things to be made like unto His brethren, that He might become a merciful and faithful High Priest before God, that He might be a propitiation for the sins of the people” (Hebrews 2:17).
5. Who established the Catholic Priesthood?
Jesus Christ established the Catholic Priesthood.
“I will give you pastors according to My own heart, and they shall feed you with knowledge and doctrine” (Jeremias 3:15).
6. Who were the first Catholic Priests?
The twelve Apostles were the first Catholic Priests, ordained to the Priesthood by Jesus Himself.
“Let the Priests that rule well be esteemed worthy of double honor: especially they who labor in the word and doctrine” (1st Timothy 5:17).
7. What are the chief powers of the Catholic Priesthood?
The chief powers of the Catholic Priesthood are the power to change bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus and the power to forgive sins, and the power to preach with authority. The other powers of the Priesthood are to administer the other Sacraments and to bless people and things.
8. When did Jesus give his first Priests the power to change bread and wine into His Body and Blood?
Jesus gave His first Priests the power to change bread and wine into His Body and Blood at the Last Supper on the night before He died.
“Do this for a commemoration of Me” (Luke 22:19).
9. When did Jesus give his first Priests the power to forgive sins?
Jesus gave His Apostles the power to forgive sins after His Resurrection from the dead.
“Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; whose sins you shall retain, they are retained” (John 20:22 & 23).
10. When did Jesus give his first Priests the power to preach with authority?
Jesus gave His first Priests the power to preach with authority just before He ascended into heaven.
“Going therefore, teach ye all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20).
11. What special powers does a Bishop have?
A Bishop has the power to make other men Priests or Bishops
“For this cause I left thee in Crete, that thou … shouldst ordain Priests in every city, as I also appointed thee” (Titus1:5).
12. Who were the first Catholic Bishops?
The Apostles were the first Catholic Bishops.
“Obey your prelates and be subject to them. For they watch as being to render an account of your souls; that they may do this with joy, and not with grief” (Hebrews 13:17).
13. Did the Apostles make other men Priests?
Yes, the Apostles made other men Priests, for example, St Paul, St. Barnabas, St. Timothy, St. Titus, St. Matthias
“And when they had ordained to them Priests in every church … they commended them to the Lord” (Acts 14:22). See also Acts 1:24-26; Acts 13:2; Titus 1:15.
14. How did the Apostles make other men Priests?
The Apostles made other men Priests by imposing their hands on them and asking the Holy Ghost to come down upon them.
“Then they, fasting and praying, and imposing their hands upon them sent them away” (Acts 13:3). See also 1st Timothy 4:14.
15. After the Apostles died, how were the powers of the Priesthood handed down?
Before they died, the Apostles made other men Bishops, who, in turn, made other men Bishops, and in this way the powers of the Priesthood have been handed down during the past 2000 years.
“Take heed to yourselves, and to the whole flock, wherein the Holy Ghost hath placed you Bishops to rule the Church of God” (Acts 20:28).
16. How are the powers of the Priesthood handed down today?
Today the Bishops hand down the powers of the Priesthood just as the Apostles did — by imposing hands and praying to the Holy Ghost.
“Honor God with all thy soul, and give honor to the Priests” (Ecclesiasticus 7:33).
17. What is necessary to become a Priest?
To become a Priest, a man must study for at least 11 or 12 years in a special school called a Seminary and receive the approval of the Bishop as to his learning, his health, his morals and his character.
“Impose not hands lightly upon any man” (1st Timothy 5:22).
18. How does a man become a Bishop?
The Pope chooses a Priest who is known for his learning and holiness and appoints other Bishops to consecrate him a Bishop by imposing hands on him and praying to the Holy Ghost.
“A faithful saying: If a man desire the office of a Bishop, he desireth a good work” (1st Timothy 3:1).
19. Why is the Priest called “Father”?
The Priest is called Father because he gives the life of grace to his spiritual children, just as a father gives physical life to the children of his own flesh and blood.
“I write not these things to confound you; but I admonish you as my dearest children. For if you have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet not many fathers. For in Christ Jesus, by the Gospel, I have begotten you” (1st Corinthians 4:14, 15).
20. Why don’t Priests get married?
Priests do not get married
1) in order better to follow the example of Jesus;
2) because the single life is a very holy state of life;
“Everyone hath his proper gift from God, one after this manner, and another after that. But I say to the unmarried and to the widows; it is good for them if they so continue, even as I” (1st Corinthians 7:7; 8).
3) because by leading single lives, they can give themselves entirely to God and to the care of the people.
“I would have you to be without solicitude. He that is without a wife, is solicitous for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please God. But he that is with a wife is solicitous for the things of the world, how he may please his wife; and he is divided” (1st Corinthians 7:32, 33).