What is the process of Holy Orders?

Answer 1

#1. Talk to a Priest!!!

by Monica K. Hellwig

"The Bible introduces us to a long tradition of sacramental activity. The Hebrew Scriptures do not use any term that we would translate “sacrament,” but they describe acts of worship based on symbolism. The most important of these is the Passover celebration, but there are many others. In the New Testament Jesus built on these existing traditions of worship, as well as on the stories and imagery of the Scriptures in his actions and in his teachings. The sacraments we celebrate today are all developed from these actions and teachings of Jesus.

We refer to Holy Orders and Matrimony as the sacraments of vocation, a word that comes from the Latin for “call.” We are all called by God. In fact, we are called at many levels, and progressively throughout our lives. We are called into life, into human dignity and responsibility, and into certain relationships, communities and tasks. Most importantly of all, we are called into an intimate communion with God that does not come naturally but must be sought and cultivated within the grace, or special outreach, of God.

This understanding that we are called to live and act beyond what is natural to creatures is a basic assumption of all our sacramental activity and of our sacramental theology. Therefore “vocation” is a key theme of Christian life, and a key component of the way we think about sacraments.

The most basic calling or vocation of a Christian is the call into discipleship of Jesus within a community of disciples. Therefore the most basic sacrament of vocation is actually baptism, or more accurately initiation (the sequence: Baptism, Confirmation, first Eucharist). Initiation, celebrated in these three sacraments, introduces a person into the membership and life of the church. It is, therefore, the solemn celebration simultaneously of the divine invitation, of the response of the individual, and of the welcome of the community. This community is both the local gathering of disciples of Jesus, and the great universal People of God, the worldwide church.

Nothing is really higher or more intimate in the relationship we have with our creator than the grace and calling of baptism. However, that calling expressed by baptism, that vocation of the baptized, plays out in various ways for various people. Among our seven sacramental celebrations, we acknowledge this by a sequence of celebrations shared by all, and by two celebrations focused on the two essential ways in which the church as community of salvation in the world is built up. And these two are commonly known as the sacraments of vocation."

http://www.americancatholic.org/Newsletters/SFS/an0702.asp