Transcript
Edmund: When you read the Bible, you might wonder why specific numbers are mentioned in multiple books of the Bible. We have 40 days in the desert. Or 4 rivers flow out of Eden. 60 walls on Solomon’s Temple. Peter catches 153 fish in his net. Why do the authors go into this much detail? Are these numbers important?
Emily: Jesus picked 12 Apostles to follow him. And then there’s a curious moment where Jesus appoints 72 disciples and sends them out. The numbers used by Jesus are very significant.
Edmund: In the Old Testament, Moses appointed 72 elders for the tribes of Israel. And within the 12 tribes of Israel, God chose the Levites to be set apart as priests to serve.
Emily: This Levitical priesthood was instituted to proclaim the Word of God and to restore communion with God through sacrifices and prayer. The service of the Levitical priests and the institution of the 72 disciples of Jesus, all point to the fulfillment of the Old Covenant through the ministry of Jesus.
Edmund: In the New Covenant through Jesus, the priesthood is brought to fulfillment. Jesus is the one high priest. Jesus is the Word of God made flesh, and his sacrifice saves us once and for all and restores our communion with God. Even after Jesus ascends to heaven, these two functions of the priesthood will continue through the Church. And there are two ways we — as the faithful — participate in the priesthood of Jesus.
Emily: Through our baptism, we are all baptized into the priesthood of Jesus, this is called the common priesthood. “Common” in this case does not mean “ordinary” or “run-of-the-mill,” but rather “shared” — common because it is shared by all the baptized. But there is also the ministerial priesthood, or those who receive the priesthood through the sacrament of Holy Orders. Through these priests, Jesus continues his priestly ministry to us. The priests proclaim the Word of God and offer Jesus’ sacrifice in the Mass, through the sacraments offering us communion with God.
Edmund: Two of the seven sacraments are called “Sacraments at the Service of Communion”: and they are Matrimony and Holy Orders. Through the ministerial priesthood received through the sacrament of Holy Orders, Christ is present to the Church as head of his body, shepherd of his flock, and high priest.
Emily: See, Jesus ordained the Apostles as priests to carry out his ministry. The sacrament of Holy Orders configures a man to Christ with a seal that is forever. Only a Bishop can confer the sacrament of Holy Orders, just as the Apostles called other men into the ministry of the priesthood.
Edmund: Through the sacrament of Holy Orders, a man receives the authority to act as Christ’s representative here on earth. Just like in the Old Covenant, there is hierarchy and structure to the priesthood. There are three degrees of the Sacrament of Holy Orders: Bishop, Priest, and Deacon.
Emily: The Sacrament of Holy Orders imparts a seal, and it has a degree respective to the role of the minister. Bishops teach and govern the Church, they are successors to the apostles, and they alone can confer all the sacraments.
Edmund: Priests assist the Bishop by sharing in the priesthood of Jesus, preaching the word of God, and sharing in the Bishop’s governing of his diocese. Priests can celebrate all sacraments except Holy Orders. In this way, priests are co-workers of the Bishop.
Emily: Deacons help the Bishop by serving and assisting the Bishop and Priests at the altar and serve as ministers of charity. Deacons can Baptize and be witness to the sacrament of Marriage.
Edmund: The sacrament of Holy Orders consists of a Bishop laying hands on a man and praying a specific prayer for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
Emily: Priests play a unique role in the Church because they, in a special way, are the hands and feet of Jesus and allow us to receive the sacraments and hear the Word of God proclaimed to us today. Jesus still sends men out, in an official capacity, to proclaim the Gospel and minister to His people. The ministry of Jesus continues through the priests of the Church to the end of time. His priests teach, sanctify, and lead us all in the Church. Through the Sacrament of Holy Orders, priests continue Jesus’ ministry until he comes again.
