LIBBY: They said it will be at least an hour wait.
KAI: Not if I can help it.
LIBBY: You can't pretend to be a priest.
KAI: Watch me. Come on, how hard could it be?
Bad idea, they started confessing.
LIBBY: Whoa, to what?
(rock music)
KAI: Welcome to Catholic Central, I'm Kai.
LIBBY: And I'm Libby. KAI: Today,
we'll be talking about Holy Orders.
LIBBY: As in Sacrament of, not my Etsy site
with custom-made holy-water fonts.
KAI: Holy Orders is the Sacrament through which
the mission entrusted by Christ to His Apostles
continues to be exercised in the Church
until the end of time.
LIBBY: Put another way, it's what makes priests,
bishops and deacons into, well,
priests, bishops and deacons.
KAI: So where does this sacrament come from?
Why do all the rules for it matter?
Shouldn't we be able to skip the middleman
and go straight to God?
LIBBY: Catholics admit that doing things this way
can make things, shall we say, inconvenient.
BRIDE LIBBY: The whole wedding is held up because the priest is late.
KAI: But it also maintains this sacrament
as truly special and unique.
LIBBY: To understand it though, we need to look
at how anyone can become a priest,
KAI: Uh -- LIBBY: Through Baptism.
All Christians are baptized as priest, prophet and king.
KAI: This gives each Christian a special mission
to make sacrifices and serve others,
helping everyone they meet to better know and love God.
LIBBY: This forms the foundation for the ordained priesthood.
KAI: Which takes that mission and combines it
with examples from the Old Testament and Jesus Himself.
LIBBY: The Israelites had a priestly class,
starting with Moses and his brother Aaron.
Aaron was designated high priest of what was later known
as the Levitical priesthood, after the tribe of Levi.
KAI: The priest in those days maintained the sacred space
of the temple and offered sacrifice on high holy days.
LIBBY: Then, when Jesus came along,
He started forgiving sinners,
healing the sick and exorcising demons.
KAI: Catholics believe that He also established
the Eucharist at the Last Supper.
LIBBY: And accepted baptism from John the Baptist,
even though, let's be honest, He didn't really need to.
KAI: By getting baptized Himself,
Catholics believe that Jesus showed us
that we do need someone and something else to go to God.
LIBBY: That collective someone are priests,
and that some thing are the Sacraments,
which are reflections of what Jesus did in His ministry.
Jesus confirms this handing on these ministries
to His apostles. KAI: After Jesus' Ascension,
the Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles,
and they spread throughout the known world
to preach and serve. LIBBY: That's a big job
for just 12 guys, so they worked with the local churches
to identify more leaders.
KAI: They trained and anointed people
for formal roles in the Church.
LIBBY: Within the first two centuries,
these came to be bishops; in Greek, episkopos.
KAI: These were leaders of regional and local churches.
They enlivened and guided the activity of a place,
but also united that local place with the Universal Church.
LIBBY: The Church around the world that came to be based in Rome.
KAI: Priests, called presbyters,
were people who dedicated their whole life
to assist the local bishop, officiated sacraments
and religious services, and coordinate the service
of all the people, especially the poor and needy.
LIBBY: These also came to be known as priests,
because of the sacrificial nature
of presiding at the Eucharist,
and for their connection to Jesus, the High Priest.
KAI: That's why Catholics, even today,
say that priests are in persona Christi.
Catholics believe that when the priest
pronounces the words of a sacrament,
he is acting in the person of Christ.
LIBBY: And bishops act in the person of Christ
during their weekly multiplication of loaves and fishes.
KAI: We wish. Actually, bishops act as Christ
in their role as leaders of the Church.
DEACON KAI: Hi, yeah, are you ever going to mention deacons?
Because it's always, "Priests this, bishops that."
Deacons get no respect. LIBBY: Sorry, Deacon.
Deacons were chosen in the Book of Acts
to help with the distribution of food,
so that the Apostles could focus on prayer and preaching.
KAI: Nowadays, the Sacrament of Holy Orders
happens through a process called ordination.
Catholics believed that, like Baptism and Confirmation,
Ordination changes a person
in the very core of who they are.
LIBBY: Ordination is a permanent change,
creating what is sometimes called
an indelible or unerasable mark on the soul.
KAI: Ordination happens through the laying on of hands,
which is a throwback to the Apostles.
LIBBY: In the Catholic Church, there are three things
you can be ordained: deacon, DEACON KAI: Thank you.
KAI: Priest and bishop. LIBBY: The difference
between them are what they do.
KAI: Deacons preach, witness marriage, and perform baptisms.
LIBBY: But they can't consecrate the Eucharist,
hear confessions, confirm the faithful or anoint the sick.
KAI: Some men are permanent deacons:
men who heard the call to dedicate themselves
in a unique way to God while still living in the world,
often having an outside job and a family.
LIBBY: But men also pass through the diaconate
on the way to the priesthood. LIBBY: Priests
do all the Sacraments but can't ordain other priests
or deacons, that's for bishops to handle.
Handle, laying on of hands, get it?
(groans)
LIBBY: Catholics take Ordination seriously.
To get to the point of getting ordained a priest,
men go through six to nine years of discernment,
prayer, extensive applications.
KAI: Background checks, conversations with directors
of vocation, psychological testing...
LIBBY: Studies in philosophy and theology in seminary,
and supervised ministry. KAI: Once ordained,
daily life as a priest varies depending on several things.
One is whether a priest is ordained
into the diocesan priesthood or religious order.
LIBBY: Diocesan priests commit themselves
to a specific geographical area.
Most of them focus on serving those in the parish
his bishop assigns to him. KAI: On the other hand,
priests in religious orders serve all over the map.
They're ordained for a particular mission,
spirituality and common life.
LIBBY: So you might find priests doing everything
from teaching to serving the poor or working in the media.
KAI: No matter if it's diocesan or religious priesthood,
though, you have to start with aptitude for service,
a strong life of prayer, intellectual ability,
social and psychological maturity,
physical ability and, most importantly, a call from God.
LIBBY: A call which is also confirmed by the community,
including a candidate's superiors and bishop.
KAI: Right, it's like marriage: you can't just show up
at Ryan Gosling's house in a wedding gown
and expect a ceremony to happen.
LIBBY: Not that I ever tried that. KAI: No, certainly not.
And just like a wedding doesn't automatically make you
the perfect spouse, ordination doesn't make someone perfect.
LIBBY: But it does allow deacons, priests, and bishops
to give their lives in service to the Church
and accompany the faithful in the greatest joys
and sorrows of life. KAI: Since all Christians
are proclaimed priest, prophet and king at Baptism,
the Sacrament of Holy Orders gives us all an example
of how to be Christ to one another,
speak the truth and lead others to faith.
LIBBY: From all of us here at Catholic Central,
thanks for watching, I'm Libby.
KAI: And I'm Kai, be sure to check out our website,
catholiccentral.com for more on Holy Orders.
LIBBY: And be sure to check out our other episodes
on the Sacraments and hit subscribe on YouTube.
KAI: And be sure to check out Libby's Etsy site
with holy-water fonts. LIBBY: Thank you.
KAI: You're welcome. LIBBY: They're great.
(upbeat music)