Together with matrimony, the sacrament of holy orders is included in the Catechism of the Catholic Church under the heading “The Sacraments at the Service of Communion.”
This tells us something important about what these two vocational sacraments have in common:
The grace conveyed by them is not primarily for the good of the recipients but for the good of others. The grace of matrimony is for the good of one’s spouse and children and, by extension, the larger community. Likewise, the grace of holy orders is for the good of the Church, and by extension, the world.
Holy orders is unique in that it is a single sacrament consisting of three distinct orders or offices. In this way it reflects the life of the Trinity. Bishops, priests and deacons each have a distinct role to play in serving the members of the Body of Christ. That role can best be understood in light of the three sacred duties entrusted by Christ to the Church: to teach, to govern and to sanctify. This three-fold mission of the Church reflects Christ’s triple role as priest, prophet and king.
Christ gives the apostles teaching authority when He says, “He who hears you, hears me” (Lk 10:16). He gives them the authority to sanctify others when He says, “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven” (Jn 20:23). And He gives them governing authority when He says, “Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven” (Mt 16:19). The institution of holy orders is linked most especially to the institution of the Eucharist when Christ gave the apostles the mandate to “do this in memory of me” (Lk 22:19).
The mission and requisite authority to teach, govern and sanctify in Christ’s name was not meant only for the apostles. Early on, as the Church experienced rapid growth, the apostles found themselves in need of helpers. The first bishops were men such as Timothy and Titus, chosen by the apostles from among the faithful to share in their authority by the laying on of hands. In St. Paul’s letter to Titus, he advises him that “a bishop, as God’s steward, must be blameless, not arrogant, not irritable, not a drunkard, not aggressive, not greedy for sordid gain, but hospitable, a lover of goodness, temperate, just, holy, and self-controlled, holding fast to the true message as taught so that he will be able both to exhort with sound doctrine and to refute opponents” (Tit 1:7-9).
The name “bishop” comes from the Greek “episkopos,” meaning “overseer,” and it is the office of bishop that we see the Church’s governing authority most clearly expressed.
But bishops are not mere administrators. As successors of the apostles, they possess the fullness of holy orders, meaning every bishop is also a priest and a deacon.
A priest, from the Greek “presbuteros,” meaning “elder,” is one set apart to offer sacrifices on behalf of the community, thus acting as mediator between God and man. The hereditary Jewish priests did this by “making sin offerings for himself as well as for the people” (Heb 5:3). Christ establishes a new priesthood, as the Letter to the Hebrews attests. “He has no need, as did the high priests, to offer sacrifice day after day, first for His own sins and then for those of the people; He did that once for all when He offered Himself” (Heb 7:27). In Christ we have an eternal High Priest and universal Mediator with the Father.
All of the faithful share in Christ’s priesthood by virtue of our baptism, which makes us members of His Body. Thus all members of the Church are able to approach God in prayer and offer sacrifices for the good of others through our penance. The ministerial priesthood conferred in holy orders serves the baptismal priesthood by making present in every place and time the universal sacrifice of Christ in the Eucharist. While priests – especially as pastors – share to some degree the governing authority of the bishop, their primary role in the life of the Church is to sanctify and nourish the faithful through the diligent celebration of the sacraments.
Just as every bishop is also a priest, every priest is also a deacon. Diaconal ministry reflects the prophetic teaching role of the Church. The word “deacon” comes from the Greek “diakonos,” meaning “servant.” Some today equate diaconal service to corporal works of mercy (which all Christians are called to perform). Historically it referred to the service given by an emissary or ambassador, one who had authority to speak on behalf of his master. Jewish writers used this word to denote the ministry of angels who spoke on behalf of God. In many English translations of the Bible, the word “diakonos” is simply translated as “minister.”
The Second Vatican Council said deacons are ordained “not unto the priesthood, but unto the ministry” (“Lumen Gentium,” 29). The first deacons were “men filled with the
Spirit and wisdom” (Acts 6:3) ordained by the apostles to minister to the needs of the growing Christian community. Two of these deacons, St. Stephen and St. Philip, are described in the Acts of the Apostles as preaching the gospel and explaining the Scriptures. Deacons exercise their ministry today not only by proclaiming the Gospel and preaching at Mass, but by instructing others in the faith by their teaching and the example of their lives.
It is often said that the Second Vatican Council restored the diaconate in the Latin Church by establishing the permanent diaconate, but in truth the diaconate never went away.
The Church has always had deacons, but for many centuries every deacon in the West was also ordained a priest, so diaconal ministry became hidden to a large extent. The Second Vatican Council desired to shine new light on this ancient ministry.
The term “permanent deacon” denotes one who does not intend to advance to priestly ordination. Church law exempts permanent deacons from certain restrictions otherwise binding upon clergy. For example, they may be married, engage in work outside the Church, and hold public office. While this designation has a certain usefulness in Church law, it has had the unfortunate consequence of creating the misnomer of a “transitional deacon.” There is no such thing. The sacrament of holy orders, like baptism and confirmation, confers an indelible mark on the soul. Once someone is ordained a deacon, one is a deacon forever. All deacons are permanent deacons. A priest doesn’t cease to be a deacon any more than a bishop ceases to be a priest. (No one ever talks about the “transitional priesthood.”)
Just as there is one order of bishops and one order of priests, there is only one order of deacons, united in the one sacrament of holy orders. These three orders serve the Church by exercising, each in their proper way, the teaching, governing and sanctifying ministry of Jesus Christ. By restoring a permanent order of deacons, the Second Vatican Council reminded us that the foundational ministry of all those in holy orders is the ministry of service. The one we serve above all is Jesus Christ, both in the Blessed Trinity and in the members of His Body, the Church.
Deacon Matthew Newsome is the Catholic campus minister at Western Carolina University and the regional faith formation coordinator for the Smoky Mountain Vicariate.