Sacramentals derive from the baptismal Priesthood: every baptized person is called to be a "blessing," and to bless. 172 Hence lay people may preside at certain blessings; the more a blessing concerns ecclesial and sacramental life, the more is its administration reserved to the ordained Ministry (Bishops, Priests, or deacons). 173

The ministerial or hierarchical Priesthood of Bishops and Priests, and the common Priesthood of all the Faithful participate, "each in its own proper way, in the one priesthood of Christ." While being "ordered one to another," they differ essentially. 22 In what sense? While the common priesthood of the Faithful is Exercised by the unfolding of baptismal grace - a life of faith, hope, and charity, a life according to the Spirit - ,the ministerial priesthood is at the Service of the common priesthood. It is directed at the unfolding of the baptismal grace of all Christians. the ministerial priesthood is a means by which Christ unceasingly builds up and leads his Church. For this reason it is transmitted by its own Sacrament, the sacrament of Holy Orders.

Christ, high Priest and unique mediator, has made of the Church "a Kingdom, Priests for his God and Father." 20 The whole community of believers is, as such, priestly. the Faithful Exercise their baptismal Priesthood through their participation, each according to his own vocation, in Christ's mission as priest, prophet, and king. Through the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation the Faithful are "consecrated to be . . . a holy priesthood." 21

At the ordination of Priests, the Church prays:

The chosen people was constituted by God as "a Kingdom of Priests and a holy nation." 6 But within the people of Israel, God chose one of the twelve tribes, that of Levi, and set it apart for liturgical Service; God himself is its inheritance. 7 A Special rite consecrated the beginnings of the Priesthood of the Old Covenant. the Priests are "appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for Sins." 8

The celebration of the Sacrament includes the following principal elements: the "Priests of the Church" 132 - in silence - lay hands on the sick; they pray over them in the Faith of the Church 133 - this is the epiclesis proper to this sacrament; they then anoint them with oil blessed, if possible, by the Bishop. These liturgical actions indicate what grace this sacrament confers upon the sick.

Only Priests (Bishops and presbyters) are ministers of the Anointing of the Sick. 130 It is the duty of pastors to instruct the Faithful on the benefits of this Sacrament. the Faithful should encourage the sick to call for a Priest to receive this sacrament. the sick should prepare Themselves to receive it with good dispositions, assisted by their pastor and the whole ecclesial community, which is invited to surround the sick in a Special way through their prayers and fraternal attention.

"By the sacred Anointing of the sick and the prayer of the Priests the whole Church commends those who are ill to the suffering and glorified Lord, that he may raise them up and save them. and indeed she exhorts them to contribute to the good of the People of God by freely uniting Themselves to the Passion and death of Christ." 97

In case of grave necessity recourse may be had to a communal celebration of reconciliation with general confession and general absolution. Grave necessity of this sort can arise when there is imminent danger of death without sufficient time for the Priest or Priests to hear each penitent's confession. Grave necessity can also exist when, given the number of penitents, there are not enough confessors to hear individual confessions properly in a reasonable time, so that the penitents through no fault of their own would be deprived of Sacramental grace or Holy Communion for a long time. In this case, for the absolution to be valid the Faithful must have the intention of individually confessing their Sins in the time required. 91 The diocesan Bishop is the judge of whether or not the conditions required for general absolution exist. 92 A large gathering of the Faithful on the occasion of major feasts or pilgrimages does not constitute a case of grave necessity. 93

Priests must encourage the Faithful to come to the Sacrament of Penance and must make Themselves available to celebrate this sacrament each time Christians reasonably ask for it. 70

Certain particularly grave Sins incur excommunication, the most severe ecclesiastical penalty, which impedes the reception of the Sacraments and the Exercise of certain ecclesiastical acts, and for which absolution consequently cannot be granted, according to canon law, except by the Pope, the Bishop of the place or Priests authorized by them. 68 In danger of death any Priest, even if deprived of faculties for hearing confessions, can absolve from every sin and excommunication. 69

Through the ordained Ministry, Especially that of Bishops and Priests, the presence of Christ as head of the Church is made visible in the midst of the community of believers. 26 In the beautiful expression of St. Ignatius of Antioch, the Bishop is typos tou Patros: he is like the living image of God the Father. 27

"In the name of the whole Church" does not mean that Priests are the delegates of the community. the prayer and Offering of the Church are inseparable from the prayer and offering of Christ, her head; it is always the case that Christ worships in and through his Church. the whole Church, the Body of Christ, prays and offers herself "through him, with him, in him," in the unity of the Holy Spirit, to God the Father. the whole Body, caput et membra, prays and offers itself, and therefore those who in the Body are Especially his ministers are called ministers not only of Christ, but also of the Church. It is because the ministerial Priesthood represents Christ that it can represent the Church.

"The divinely instituted ecclesiastical Ministry is Exercised in different degrees by those who even from ancient times have been called Bishops, Priests, and deacons." 32 Catholic doctrine, expressed in the liturgy, the Magisterium, and the constant practice of the Church, recognizes that there are two degrees of ministerial participation in the Priesthood of Christ: the episcopacy and the presbyterate . the diaconate is intended to help and serve them. For this reason the term sacerdos in current usage denotes Bishops and Priests but not deacons. Yet Catholic doctrine teaches that the degrees of priestly participation (episcopate and presbyterate) and the degree of Service (diaconate) are all three conferred by a Sacramental act called "ordination," that is, by the sacrament of Holy Orders:

Toward Christians who live in this situation, and who often keep the Faith and desire to bring up their children in a Christian manner, Priests and the whole community must manifest an attentive solicitude, so that they do not consider Themselves separated from the Church, in whose life they can and must participate as baptized persons:

With regard to deacons, "strengthened by Sacramental grace they are dedicated to the People of God, in conjunction with the Bishop and his body of Priests, in the Service (diakonia) of the liturgy, of the Gospel, and of works of charity." 81

In the Eastern Churches a different discipline has been in force for many centuries: while Bishops are chosen solely from among celibates, married men can be ordained as deacons and Priests. This practice has long been considered legitimate; these Priests Exercise a fruitful Ministry within their communities. 73 Moreover, priestly celibacy is held in great honor in the Eastern Churches and many priests have freely chosen it for the sake of the Kingdom of God. In the East as in the West a man who has already received the Sacrament of Holy Orders can no longer marry.

"Only a baptized man (vir) validly receives sacred ordination." 66 The Lord Jesus chose men (viri) to form the college of the twelve Apostles, and the apostles did the same when they chose collaborators to succeed them in their Ministry. 67 The college of Bishops, with whom the Priests are united in the Priesthood, makes the college of the twelve an ever-present and ever-active reality until Christ's return. The Church recognizes herself to be bound by this choice made by the Lord himself. For this reason, the ordination of women is not possible. 68

Deacons share in Christ's mission and grace in a Special way. 55 The Sacrament of Holy Orders marks them with an imprint (“character") which cannot be removed and which configures them to Christ, who made himself the "deacon" or servant of all. 56 Among other tasks, it is the task of deacons to assist the Bishop and Priests in the celebration of the divine mysteries, above all the Eucharist, in the distribution of Holy Communion, in assisting at and blessing marriages, in the proclamation of the Gospel and preaching, in presiding over funerals, and in dedicating Themselves to the various ministries of charity. 57

"All Priests, who are constituted in the order of Priesthood by the Sacrament of Order, are bound together by an intimate sacramental brotherhood, but in a Special way they form one Priestly body in the diocese to which they are attached under their own Bishop. . ;" 52 The unity of the presbyterium finds liturgical expression in the custom of the presbyters' imposing hands, after the bishop, during the Ate of ordination.

"The Priests, prudent cooperators of the episcopal college and its support and instrument, called to the Service of the People of God, constitute, together with their Bishop, a unique sacerdotal college (presbyterium) dedicated, it is, true to a variety of distinct duties. In each local assembly of the Faithful they represent, in a certain sense, the bishop, with whom they are associated in all trust and generosity; in part they take upon Themselves his duties and solicitude and in their daily toils discharge them." 51 Priests can Exercise their Ministry only in dependence on the bishop and in communion with him. the promise of obedience they make to the bishop at the moment of ordination and the kiss of peace from him at the end of the ordination liturgy mean that the bishop considers them his co-workers, his sons, his brothers and his friends, and that they in return owe him love and obedience.

Through the Sacrament of Holy Orders Priests share in the universal dimensions of the mission that Christ entrusted to the Apostles. the spiritual gift they have received in ordination prepares them, not for a limited and restricted mission, "but for the fullest, in fact the universal mission of salvation 'to the end of the earth,"' 47 "prepared in spirit to preach the Gospel everywhere." 48

"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

Forgiveness of Sins brings reconciliation with God, but also with the Church. Since ancient times the Bishop, visible head of a particular Church, has thus rightfully been considered to be the one who principally has the power and Ministry of reconciliation: he is the moderator of the penitential discipline. 66 Priests, his collaborators, Exercise it to the extent that they have received the commission either from their bishop (or Religious superior) or the Pope, according to the law of the Church. 67

Since Christ entrusted to his Apostles the Ministry of reconciliation, 65 Bishops who are their successors, and Priests, the Bishops' collaborators, continue to Exercise this ministry. Indeed bishops and Priests, by virtue of the Sacrament of Holy Orders, have the power to forgive all Sins "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."

"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.

Likewise, it belongs to the Sacramental nature of ecclesial Ministry that it have a collegial character. In fact, from the beginning of his ministry, the Lord Jesus instituted the Twelve as "the seeds of the new Israel and the beginning of the sacred hierarchy." 395 Chosen together, they were also sent out together, and their fraternal unity would be at the Service of the fraternal communion of all the Faithful: they would reflect and witness to the communion of the divine persons. 396 For this reason every Bishop Exercises his ministry from within the episcopal college, in communion with the bishop of Rome, the successor of St. Peter and head of the college. So also Priests exercise their ministry from within the presbyterium of the diocese, under the direction of their bishop.

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

Certain things are required in order to respond adequately to this call: - a permanent renewal of the Church in greater fidelity to her vocation; such renewal is the driving-force of the movement toward unity; 280 - conversion of heart as the Faithful "try to live holier lives according to the Gospel"; 281 for it is the unFaithfulness of the members to Christ's gift which causes divisions; - prayer in common, because "change of heart and holiness of life, along with public and private prayer for the unity of Christians, should be regarded as the soul of the whole ecumenical movement, and merits the name 'spiritual ecumenism;"' 282 -fraternal knowledge of each other; 283 - ecumenical formation of the faithful and Especially of Priests; 284 - dialogue among theologians and meetings among Christians of the different churches and communities; 285 - collaboration among Christians in various areas of Service to mankind. 286 "Human service" is the idiomatic phrase.

On entering the People of God through Faith and Baptism, one receives a share in this people's unique, Priestly vocation: "Christ the Lord, high priest taken from among men, has made this new people 'a Kingdom of Priests to God, his Father.' the baptized, by regeneration and the Anointing of the Holy Spirit, are consecrated to be a spiritual house and a holy Priesthood." 209

The Law, the sign of God's promise and Covenant, ought to have governed the hearts and institutions of that people to whom Abraham's Faith gave birth. "If you will obey my voice and keep my covenant, . . . you shall be to me a Kingdom of Priests and a holy nation." 75 But after David, Israel gave in to the temptation of becoming a kingdom like other nations. the Kingdom, however, the object of the promise made to David, 76 would be the work of the Holy Spirit; it would belong to the poor according to the Spirit.

The Eucharist that Christ institutes at that moment will be the memorial of his sacrifice. 431 Jesus includes the Apostles in his own Offering and bids them perpetuate it. 432 By doing so, the Lord institutes his apostles as Priests of the New Covenant: "For their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth." 433

The Religious authorities in Jerusalem were not unanimous about what stance to take towards Jesus. 380 The Pharisees threatened to excommunicate his followers. 381 To those who feared that "everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation", the high Priest Caiaphas replied by prophesying: "It is expedient for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation should not perish." 382 The Sanhedrin, having declared Jesus deserving of death as a blasphemer but having lost the right to put anyone to death, hands him over to the Romans, accusing him of political revolt, a charge that puts him in the same category as Barabbas who had been accused of sedition. 383 The chief Priests also threatened Pilate politically so that he would condemn Jesus to death. 384

Among the Religious authorities of Jerusalem, not only were the Pharisee Nicodemus and the prominent Joseph of Arimathea both secret disciples of Jesus, but there was also long-standing dissension about him, so much so that St. John says of these authorities on the very eve of Christ's Passion, "many.. . believed in him", though very imperfectly. 378 This is not surprising, if one recalls that on the day after Pentecost "a great many of the Priests were obedient to the Faith" and "some believers. . . belonged to the party of the Pharisees", to the point that St. James could tell St. Paul, "How many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed; and they are all zealous for the Law." 379

From the beginning of Jesus' public Ministry, certain Pharisees and partisans of Herod together with Priests and scribes agreed together to destroy him. 317 Because of certain acts of his expelling demons, forgiving Sins, healing on the sabbath day, his novel interpretation of the precepts of the Law regarding purity, and his familiarity with tax collectors and public sinners 318 --some ill-intentioned persons suspected Jesus of demonic possession. 319 He is accused of blasphemy and false prophecy, Religious crimes which the Law punished with death by stoning. 320

The Church remains Faithful to the interpretation of "all the Scriptures" that Jesus gave both before and after his Passover: "Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?" 314 Jesus' sufferings took their historical, concrete form from the fact that he was "rejected by the elders and the chief Priests and the scribes", who handed "him to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified". 315

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.

Bishops, with Priests as co-workers, have as their first task "to preach the Gospel of God to all men," in keeping with the Lord's command. 415 They are "heralds of Faith, who draw new disciples to Christ; they are authentic teachers" of the apostolic faith "endowed with the authority of Christ." 416

The Bishop is "the steward of the grace of the supreme Priesthood," 423 Especially in the Eucharist which he offers personally or whose Offering he assures through the Priests, his co-workers. the Eucharist is the center of the life of the particular Church. the bishop and Priests sanctify the Church by their prayer and work, by their Ministry of the word and of the Sacraments. They sanctify her by their example, "not as domineering over those in your charge but being examples to the flock." 424 Thus, "together with the flock entrusted to them, they may attain to eternal life." 425

Beneath the changes in discipline and celebration that this Sacrament has undergone over the centuries, the same fundamental structure is to be discerned. It comprises two equally essential elements: on the one hand, the acts of the man who undergoes conversion through the action of the Holy Spirit: namely, contrition, confession, and satisfaction; on the other, God's action through the intervention of the Church. the Church, who through the Bishop and his Priests forgives Sins in the name of Jesus Christ and determines the manner of satisfaction, also prays for the sinner and does penance with him. Thus the sinner is healed and re-established in ecclesial communion.

The sacrifice of Christ and the sacrifice of the Eucharist are one single sacrifice: "The victim is one and the same: the same now offers through the Ministry of Priests, who then offered himself on the cross; only the manner of Offering is different." "In this divine sacrifice which is celebrated in the Mass, the same Christ who offered himself once in a bloody manner on the altar of the cross is contained and is offered in an unbloody manner." 188

The Lord, having loved those who were his own, loved them to the end. Knowing that the hour had come to leave this world and return to the Father, in the course of a meal he washed their feet and gave them the commandment of love. 161 In order to leave them a pledge of this love, in order never to depart from his own and to make them sharers in his Passover, he instituted the Eucharist as the memorial of his death and Resurrection, and commanded his Apostles to celebrate it until his return; "thereby he constituted them Priests of the New Testament." 162

In the Latin Rite, the ordinary minister of Confirmation is the Bishop. 130 Although the bishop may for grave reasons concede to Priests the faculty of administering Confirmation, 131 it is appropriate from the very meaning of the Sacrament that he should confer it himself, mindful that the celebration of Confirmation has been temporally separated from Baptism for this reason. Bishops are the successors of the Apostles. They have received the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders. the administration of this sacrament by them demonstrates clearly that its effect is to unite those who receive it more closely to the Church, to her apostolic origins, and to her mission of bearing witness to Christ.

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

Signs of the Covenant. the Chosen People received from God distinctive signs and symbols that marked its liturgical life. These are no longer solely celebrations of cosmic cycles and social gestures, but signs of the covenant, symbols of God's mighty deeds for his people. Among these liturgical signs from the Old Covenant are circumcision, Anointing and consecration of kings and Priests, laying on of hands, sacrifices, and above all the Passover. the Church sees in these signs a prefiguring of the Sacraments of the New Covenant.

But "the members do not all have the same function." 12 Certain members are called by God, in and through the Church, to a Special Service of the community. These servants are chosen and consecrated by the Sacrament of Holy Orders, by which the Holy Spirit enables them to act in the person of Christ the head, for the service of all the members of the Church. 13 The ordained minister is, as it were, an "icon" of Christ the Priest. Since it is in the Eucharist that the sacrament of the Church is made fully visible, it is in his presiding at the Eucharist that the Bishop's Ministry is most evident, as well as, in communion with him, the ministry of Priests and deacons.

"To accomplish so great a work" - the dispensation or communication of his work of salvation - "Christ is always present in his Church, Especially in her liturgical celebrations. He is present in the Sacrifice of the Mass not only in the person of his minister, 'the same now Offering, through the Ministry of Priests, who formerly offered himself on the cross,' but eSpecially in the Eucharistic species. By his power he is present in the Sacraments so that when anybody baptizes, it is really Christ himself who baptizes. He is present in his word since it is he himself who speaks when the holy Scriptures are read in the Church. Lastly, he is present when the Church prays and sings, for he has promised 'where two or three are gathered together in my name there am I in the midst of them."' 11

"In the forgiveness of Sins, both Priests and Sacraments are instruments which our Lord Jesus Christ, the only author and liberal giver of salvation, wills to use in order to efface our sins and give us the grace of justification" (Roman Catechism, I, 11, 6).

By Christ's will, the Church possesses the power to forgive the Sins of the baptized and Exercises it through Bishops and Priests normally in the Sacrament of Penance.

This work is intended primarily for those responsible for catechesis: first of all the Bishops, as teachers of the Faith and pastors of the Church. It is offered to them as an instrument in fulfilling their responsibility of teaching the People of God. Through the Bishops, it is addressed to redactors of catechisms, to Priests, and to catechists. It will also be useful reading for all other Christian Faithful.