"It is in the Eucharistic cult or in the Eucharistic assembly of the Faithful (synaxis) that they Exercise in a supreme degree their sacred Office; there, acting in the person of Christ and proclaiming his mystery, they unite the votive offerings of the faithful to the sacrifice of Christ their Head, and in the sacrifice of the Mass they make present again and apply, until the coming of the Lord, the unique sacrifice of the New Testament, that namely of Christ offering himself once for all a spotless victim to the Father." 49 From this unique sacrifice their whole Priestly Ministry draws its strength. 50

"Whilst not having the supreme degree of the pontifical Office, and notwithstanding the fact that they depend on the Bishops in the Exercise of their own proper power, the Priests are for all that associated with them by reason of their sacerdotal dignity; and in virtue of the sacrament of Holy Orders, after the image of Christ, the supreme and eternal Priest, they are consecrated in order to preach the Gospel and shepherd the Faithful as well as to celebrate divine worship as true priests of the New Testament." 46

"Because it is joined with the episcopal order the Office of Priests shares in the authority by which Christ himself builds up and sanctifies and rules his Body. Hence the Priesthood of priests, while presupposing the sacraments of initiation, is nevertheless conferred by its own particular sacrament. Through that sacrament priests by the anointing of the Holy Spirit are signed with a special character and so are configured to Christ the priest in such a way that they are able to act in the person of Christ the Head." 45

"Christ, whom the Father hallowed and sent into the world, has, through his Apostles, made their successors, the Bishops namely, sharers in his consecration and Mission; and these, in their turn, duly entrusted in varying degrees various members of the Church with the Office of their Ministry." 43 "The function of the Bishops' ministry was handed over in a subordinate degree to Priests so that they might be appointed in the order of the Priesthood and be co-workers of the episcapal order for the proper fulfillment of the apostolic mission that had been entrusted to it by Christ." 44

"Episcopal consecration confers, together with the Office of sanctifying, also the offices of teaching and ruling.... In fact ... by the imposition of hands and through the words of the consecration, the grace of the Holy Spirit is given, and a sacred character is impressed in such wise that Bishops, in an eminent and visible manner, take the place of Christ himself, teacher, shepherd, and Priest, and act as his representative (in Eius persona agant)." 37 "By virtue, therefore, of the Holy Spirit who has been given to them, Bishops have been constituted true and authentic teachers of the faith and have been made pontiffs and pastors." 38

"Amongst those various Offices which have been Exercised in the Church from the earliest times the chief place, according to the witness of tradition, is held by the function of those who, through their appointment to the dignity and responsibility of Bishop, and in virtue consequently of the unbroken succession going back to the beginning, are regarded as transmitters of the apostolic line." 34

This Priesthood is ministerial. "That Office . . . which the Lord committed to the pastors of his people, is in the strict sense of the term a service." 28 It is entirely related to Christ and to men. It depends entirely on Christ and on his unique priesthood; it has been instituted for the good of men and the communion of the Church. the sacrament of Holy Orders communicates a "sacred power" which is none other than that of Christ. the Exercise of this authority must therefore be measured against the model of Christ, who by love made himself the least and the servant of all. 29 "The Lord said clearly that concern for his flock was proof of love for him." 30

In imparting to his Apostles his own power to forgive sins the Lord also gives them the authority to reconcile sinners with the Church. This ecclesial dimension of their task is expressed most notably in Christ's solemn words to Simon Peter: "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." 45 "The Office of binding and loosing which was given to Peter was also assigned to the college of the apostles united to its Head." 46

A custom of the Roman Church facilitated the development of the Western practice: a double anointing with sacred chrism after Baptism. the first anointing of the neophyte on coming out of the baptismal bath was performed by the Priest; it was completed by a second anointing on the foreHead of the newly baptized by the Bishop. 101 The first anointing with sacred chrism, by the priest, has remained attached to the baptismal rite; it signifies the participation of the one baptized in the prophetic, priestly, and kingly Offices of Christ. If Baptism is conferred on an adult, there is only one post-baptismal anointing, that of Confirmation.

The chair (cathedra) of the Bishop or the Priest "should express his Office of presiding over the assembly and of directing prayer." 63 The lectern (ambo): "The dignity of the Word of God requires the Church to have a suitable place for announcing his message so that the attention of the people may be easily directed to that place during the liturgy of the Word." 64

The Liturgy of the Hours is intended to become the prayer of the whole People of God. In it Christ himself "continues his Priestly work through his Church." 50 His members participate according to their own place in the Church and the circumstances of their lives: Priests devoted to the pastoral Ministry, because they are called to remain diligent in prayer and the service of the word; religious, by the charism of their consecrated lives; all the Faithful as much as possible: "Pastors of souls should see to it that the principal hours, especially Vespers, are celebrated in common in church on Sundays and on the more solemn feasts. the laity, too, are encouraged to recite the divine Office, either with the priests, or among themselves, or even individually." 51

As in all the sacraments additional rites surround the celebration. Varying greatly among the different liturgical traditions, these rites have in common the expression of the multiple aspects of sacramental grace. Thus in the Latin Church, the initial rites - presentation and election of the ordinand, instruction by the Bishop, examination of the candidate, litany of the saints - attest that the choice of the candidate is made in keeping with the practice of the Church and prepare for the solemn act of consecration, after which several rites syrnbolically express and complete the mystery accomplished: for bishop and Priest, an anointing with holy chrism, a sign of the special anointing of the Holy Spirit who makes their Ministry fruitful; giving the book of the Gospels, the ring, the miter, and the crosier to the bishop as the sign of his apostolic Mission to proclaim the Word of God, of his fidelity to the Church, the bride of Christ, and his Office as shepherd of the Lord's flock; presentation to the priest of the paten and chalice, "the offering of the holy people" which he is called to present to God; giving the book of the Gospels to the deacon who has just received the mission to proclaim the Gospel of Christ.

No one has a right to receive the sacrament of Holy Orders. Indeed, no one claims this Office for himself; he is called to it by God. 69 Anyone who thinks he recognizes the signs of God's call to the ordained Ministry must humbly submit his desire to the authority of the Church, who has the responsibility and right to call someone to receive orders. Like every grace, this sacrament can be received only as an unmerited gift.

Medieval piety in the West developed the prayer of the rosary as a popular substitute for the Liturgy of the Hours. In the East, the litany called the Akathistos and the Paraclesis remained closer to the choral Office in the Byzantine Churches, while the Armenian, Coptic, and Syriac traditions preferred popular hymns and songs to the Mother of God. But in the Ave Maria, the theotokia, the hymns of St. Ephrem or St. Gregory of Narek, the tradition of prayer is basically the same.

Professional secrets - for example, those of political Office holders, soldiers, physicians, and lawyers - or confidential information given under the seal of secrecy must be kept, save in exceptional cases where keeping the secret is bound to cause very grave harm to the one who confided it, to the one who received it or to a third party, and where the very grave harm can be avoided only by divulging the truth. Even if not confided under the seal of secrecy, private information prejudicial to another is not to be divulged without a grave and proportionate reason.

Scandal takes on a particular gravity by reason of the authority of those who cause it or the weakness of those who are scandalized. It prompted our Lord to utter this curse: "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened round his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea." 85 Scandal is grave when given by those who by nature or Office are obliged to teach and educate others. Jesus reproaches the scribes and Pharisees on this account: he likens them to wolves in sheep's clothing. 86

The authority of the Magisterium extends also to the specific precepts of the natural law, because their observance, demanded by the Creator, is necessary for salvation. In recalling the prescriptions of the natural law, the Magisterium of the Church Exercises an essential part of its prophetic Office of proclaiming to men what they truly are and reminding them of what they should be before God. 78

By common good is to be understood "the sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or as individuals, to reach their fulfillment more fully and more easily." 26 The common good concerns the life of all. It calls for prudence from each, and even more from those who Exercise the Office of authority. It consists of three essential elements:

When the Church asks publicly and authoritatively in the name of Jesus Christ that a person or object be protected against the power of the Evil One and withdrawn from his dominion, it is called exorcism. Jesus performed exorcisms and from him the Church has received the power and Office of exorcizing. 176 In a simple form, exorcism is performed at the celebration of Baptism. the solemn exorcism, called "a major exorcism," can be performed only by a Priest and with the perMission of the Bishop. the priest must proceed with prudence, strictly observing the rules established by the Church. Exorcism is directed at the expulsion of demons or to the liberation from demonic possession through the spiritual authority which Jesus entrusted to his Church. Illness, especially psychological illness, is a very different matter; treating this is the concern of medical science. Therefore, before an exorcism is performed, it is important to ascertain that one is dealing with the presence of the Evil One, and not an illness. 177

Before the grandeur of the Priestly grace and Office, the holy doctors felt an urgent call to conversion in order to conform their whole lives to him whose sacrament had made them ministers. Thus St. Gregory of Nazianzus, as a very young priest, exclaimed:

As in the case of Baptism and Confirmation this share in Christ's Office is granted once for all. the sacrament of Holy Orders, like the other two, confers an indelible spiritual character and cannot be repeated or conferred temporarily. 74

This sacrament configures the recipient to Christ by a special grace of the Holy Spirit, so that he may serve as Christ's instrument for his Church. By ordination one is enabled to act as a representative of Christ, Head of the Church, in his triple Office of Priest, prophet, and king.

The mystery of Christ, his Incarnation and Passover, which we celebrate in the Eucharist especially at the Sunday assembly, permeates and transfigures the time of each day, through the celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours, "the divine Office." 46 This celebration, Faithful to the apostolic exhortations to "pray constantly," is "so devised that the whole course of the day and night is made holy by the praise of God." 47 In this "public prayer of the Church," 48 The faithful (clergy, religious, and lay people) Exercise the royal Priesthood of the baptized. Celebrated in "the form approved" by the Church, the Liturgy of the Hours "is truly the voice of the Bride herself addressed to her Bridegroom. It is the very prayer which Christ himself together with his Body addresses to the Father. 49

In the celebration of the sacraments it is thus the whole assembly that is leitourgos, each according to his function, but in the "unity of the Spirit" who acts in all. "In liturgical celebrations each person, minister or layman, who has an Office to perform, should carry out all and only those parts which pertain to his office by the nature of the rite and the norms of the liturgy." 15

"Just as the Office which the Lord confided to Peter alone, as first of the Apostles, destined to be transmitted to his successors, is a permanent one, so also endures the office, which the apostles received, of shepherding the Church, a charge destined to be Exercised without interruption by the sacred order of Bishops." 375 Hence the Church teaches that "the Bishops have by divine institution taken the place of the apostles as pastors of the Church, in such wise that whoever listens to them is listening to Christ and whoever despises them despises Christ and him who sent Christ." 376

In the Office of the Apostles there is one aspect that cannot be transmitted: to be the chosen witnesses of the Lord's Resurrection and so the Foundation stones of the Church. But their office also has a permanent aspect. Christ promised to remain with them always. the divine Mission entrusted by Jesus to them "will continue to the end of time, since the Gospel they handed on is the lasting source of all life for the Church. Therefore, . . . the apostles took care to appoint successors." 373

The Church is apostolic because she is founded on the Apostles, in three ways: - she was and remains built on "the Foundation of the Apostles," 362 The witnesses chosen and sent on Mission by Christ himself; 363 - with the help of the Spirit dwelling in her, the Church keeps and hands on the teaching, 364 The "good deposit," the salutary words she has heard from the apostles; 365 - she continues to be taught, sanctified, and guided by the apostles until Christ's return, through their successors in pastoral Office: the college of Bishops, "assisted by Priests, in union with the successor of Peter, the Church's supreme pastor": 366

From the beginning, this one Church has been marked by a great diversity which comes from both the variety of God's gifts and the diversity of those who receive them. Within the unity of the People of God, a multiplicity of peoples and cultures is gathered together. Among the Church's members, there are different gifts, Offices, conditions, and ways of life. "Holding a rightful place in the communion of the Church there are also particular Churches that retain their own traditions." 263 The great richness of such diversity is not opposed to the Church's unity. Yet sin and the burden of its consequences constantly threaten the gift of unity. and so the Apostle has to exhort Christians to "maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." 264

It is in this sense that discernment of charisms is always necessary. No charism is exempt from being referred and submitted to the Church's shepherds. "Their Office (is) not indeed to extinguish the Spirit, but to test all things and hold fast to what is good," 254 so that all the diverse and complementary charisms work together "for the common good." 255

The Holy Spirit is "the principle of every vital and truly saving action in each part of the Body." 247 He works in many ways to build up the whole Body in charity: 248 by God's Word "which is able to build you up"; 249 by Baptism, through which he forms Christ's Body; 250 by the sacraments, which give growth and healing to Christ's members; by "the grace of the Apostles, which holds first place among his gifts"; 251 by the virtues, which make us act according to what is good; finally, by the many special graces (called "charisms"), by which he makes the Faithful "fit and ready to undertake various tasks and Offices for the renewal and building up of the Church." 252

Finally, the People of God shares in the royal Office of Christ. He Exercises his kingship by drawing all men to himself through his death and Resurrection. 211 Christ, King and Lord of the universe, made himself the servant of all, for he came "not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." 212 For the Christian, "to reign is to serve him," particularly when serving "the poor and the suffering, in whom the Church recognizes the image of her poor and suffering founder." 213 The People of God fulfills its royal dignity by a life in keeping with its vocation to serve with Christ.

"The holy People of God shares also in Christ's prophetic Office," above all in the supernatural sense of faith that belongs to the whole People, lay and clergy, when it "unfailingly adheres to this faith . . . once for all delivered to the saints," 210 and when it deepens its understanding and becomes Christ's witness in the midst of this world.

Jesus Christ is the one whom the Father anointed with the Holy Spirit and established as Priest, prophet, and king. the whole People of God participates in these three Offices of Christ and bears the responsibilities for Mission and service that flow from them. 208

The word "Christ" comes from the Greek translation of the Hebrew Messiah, which means "anointed". It became the name proper to Jesus only because he accomplished perfectly the divine Mission that "Christ" signifies. In effect, in Israel those consecrated to God for a mission that he gave were anointed in his name. This was the case for kings, for Priests and, in rare instances, for prophets. 29 This had to be the case all the more so for the Messiah whom God would send to inaugurate his kingdom definitively. 30 It was necessary that the Messiah be anointed by the Spirit of the Lord at once as king and Priest, and also as prophet. 31 Jesus fulfilled the messianic hope of Israel in his threefold Office of priest, prophet and king.

St. Augustine says: "'Angel' is the name of their Office, not of their nature. If you seek the name of their nature, it is 'spirit'; if you seek the name of their office, it is 'angel': from what they are, 'spirit', from what they do, 'angel.'" 188 With their whole beings the angels are servants and messengers of God. Because they "always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven" they are the "mighty ones who do his word, hearkening to the voice of his word". 189

"The Christian Faithful are those who, inasmuch as they have been incorporated in Christ through Baptism, have been constituted as the people of God; for this reason, since they have become sharers in Christ's Priestly, prophetic, and royal Office in their own manner, they are called to Exercise the Mission which God has entrusted to the Church to fulfill in the world, in accord with the condition proper to each one." 385

The very differences which the Lord has willed to put between the members of his body serve its unity and Mission. For "in the Church there is diversity of Ministry but unity of mission. To the Apostles and their successors Christ has entrusted the Office of teaching, sanctifying and governing in his name and by his power. But the laity are made to share in the Priestly, prophetical, and kingly office of Christ; they have therefore, in the Church and in the world, their own assignment in the mission of the whole People of God." 387 Finally, "from both groups [hierarchy and laity] there exist Christian Faithful who are consecrated to God in their own special manner and serve the salvific mission of the Church through the profession of the evangelical counsels." 388

"This motherhood of Mary in the order of grace continues uninterruptedly from the consent which she loyally gave at the Annunciation and which she sustained without wavering beneath the cross, until the eternal fulfilment of all the elect. Taken up to heaven she did not lay aside this saving Office but by her manifold intercession continues to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation .... Therefore the Blessed Virgin is invoked in the Church under the titles of Advocate, Helper, Benefactress, and Mediatrix." 510

"Christ . . . fulfills this prophetic Office, not only by the hierarchy . . . but also by the laity. He accordingly both establishes them as witnesses and provides them with the sense of the faith [sensus fidei] and the grace of the word" 438

Lay people who possess the required qualities can be admitted permanently to the ministries of lector and acolyte. 436 When the necessity of the Church warrants it and when ministers are lacking, lay persons, even if they are not lectors or acolytes, can also supply for certain of their Offices, namely, to Exercise the Ministry of the word, to preside over liturgical prayers, to confer Baptism, and to distribute Holy Communion in accord with the prescriptions of law." 437

In a very special way, parents share in the Office of sanctifying "by leading a conjugal life in the Christian spirit and by seeing to the Christian education of their children." 435

Since, like all the Faithful, lay Christians are entrusted by God with the apostolate by virtue of their Baptism and Confirmation, they have the right and duty, individually or grouped in associations, to work so that the divine message of salvation may be known and accepted by all men throughout the earth. This duty is the more pressing when it is only through them that men can hear the Gospel and know Christ. Their activity in ecclesial communities is so necessary that, for the most part, the apostolate of the pastors cannot be fully effective without it. 433 The participation of lay people in Christ's Priestly Office

"The term 'laity' is here understood to mean all the Faithful except those in Holy Orders and those who belong to a religious state approved by the Church. That is, the faithful, who by Baptism are incorporated into Christ and integrated into the People of God, are made sharers in their particular way in the Priestly, prophetic, and kingly Office of Christ, and have their own part to play in the Mission of the whole Christian people in the Church and in the World." 430

The Good Shepherd ought to be the model and "form" of the Bishop's pastoral Office. Conscious of his own weaknesses, "the bishop . . . can have compassion for those who are ignorant and erring. He should not refuse to listen to his subjects whose welfare he promotes as of his very own children.... the Faithful ... should be closely attached to the bishop as the Church is to Jesus Christ, and as Jesus Christ is to the Father": 428

"The Roman Pontiff, Head of the college of Bishops, enjoys this infallibility in virtue of his Office, when, as supreme pastor and teacher of all the Faithful - who confirms his brethren in the faith he proclaims by a definitive act a doctrine pertaining to faith or morals.... the infallibility promised to the Church is also present in the body of Bishops when, together with Peter's successor, they Exercise the supreme Magisterium," above all in an Ecumenical Council. 418 When the Church through its supreme Magisterium proposes a doctrine "for belief as being divinely revealed," 419 and as the teaching of Christ, the definitions "must be adhered to with the obedience of faith." 420 This infallibility extends as far as the deposit of divine Revelation itself. 421

"The individual Bishops are the visible source and Foundation of unity in their own particular Churches." 408 As such, they "Exercise their pastoral Office over the portion of the People of God assigned to them," 409 assisted by Priests and deacons. But, as a member of the episcopal college, each Bishop shares in the concern for all the Churches. 410 The bishops exercise this care first "by ruling well their own Churches as portions of the universal Church," and so contributing "to the welfare of the whole Mystical Body, which, from another point of view, is a corporate body of Churches." 411 They extend it especially to the poor, 412 to those persecuted for the faith, as well as to Missionaries who are working throughout the world.

The Pope, Bishop of Rome and Peter's successor, "is the perpetual and visible source and Foundation of the unity both of the Bishops and of the whole company of the Faithful." 402 "For the Roman Pontiff, by reason of his Office as Vicar of Christ, and as pastor of the entire Church has full, supreme, and universal power over the whole Church, a power which he can always Exercise unhindered." 403

The Lord made Simon alone, whom he named Peter, the "rock" of his Church. He gave him the keys of his Church and instituted him shepherd of the whole flock. 400 "The Office of binding and loosing which was given to Peter was also assigned to the college of Apostles united to its Head." 401 This pastoral office of Peter and the other apostles belongs to the Church's very Foundation and is continued by the Bishops under the primacy of the Pope.

"The task of giving an authentic interpretation of the Word of God, whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition, has been entrusted to the living teaching Office of the Church alone. Its authority in this matter is Exercised in the name of Jesus Christ." 47 This means that the task of interpretation has been entrusted to the Bishops in communion with the successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome.