For the Service of All

The upcoming ordinations of 25 men 22 permanent deacons, 2 transitional deacons, and one priest for the service of the People of God in the Diocese of Savannah will be occasions for rejoicing and thanksgiving for those ordained. These ordinations also should prompt us to consider the Sacrament of Holy Orders and its three degrees of ministry.

The Sacraments are central to the Catholic faith. Always celebrated in conjunction with the proclamation of God's Word, the seven sacraments are powerful actions that make present God's grace to his people in every time and place. The ordained ministers of the Church bishops, priests and deacons share in different ways in the proclamation of the Word and the celebration of the Sacraments.

Bishops

Bishops, on account "of the unbroken succession going back to the beginning, are regarded as transmitters of the apostolic line" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1555). The bishop's first duty is to preach the Gospel, which he does in word and sacrament. The Diocesan bishop is the chief evangelizer and liturgist for the flock entrusted to his care. "The Second Vatican Council 'teaches . . . that the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders is conferred by episcopal consecration, that fullness namely which, both in the liturgical tradition of the Church and the language of the Fathers of the Church, is called the high priesthood, the acme (summa) of the sacred ministry."

Priests

The bishop's principal "co-workers" are the priests, who share in his ministry of Word and Sacrament, preaching the Gospel and celebrating the Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation under certain circumstances and the Eucharist) and the Sacraments of Healing (Reconciliation and the Anointing of the Sick), and witnessing marriage vows on behalf of the Church. Priests also take part in the conferring of Holy Orders by laying hands on candidates for priesthood and joining in the prayer of consecration offered by the bishop. As the Catechism states, "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." Along with the bishops, priests "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." Bishop J. Kevin Boland will ordain Mariusz Karol Fuks to the "priesthood in the presbyteral order" for the Diocese of Savannah at 10:00 a.m. on June 7 in the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist, Savannah.

Deacons

In addition to bishops and priests, the hierarchy of the Church contains, "who receive the imposition of hands 'not unto the priesthood, but unto the ministry'."At an ordination to the diaconate, "only the bishop lays hands on the candidate, thus signifying the deacon's special attachment to the bishop in the tasks" of his ministry of service. The sacrament of Holy Orders marks deacons "with an imprint ('character') which cannot be removed and which configures them to Christ, who made himself the 'deacon' or servant of all. 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."

To this diaconal ministry, for a "transitional" period of about a year, prior to their eventual ordinations to the priesthood, two seminarians Matthew Ericksen and Luis Fonseca will be ordained by Bishop Boland at Sacred Heart Church,Warner Robins, at 10:00 a.m. on May 24. Two other seminarians are scheduled to be ordained deacons before this year is out.

Since the Second Vatican Council, the Latin Church "has restored the diaconate 'as a proper and permanent rank of the hierarchy,' while the Churches of the East had always maintained it. This permanent diaconate, which can be conferred on married men, constitutes an important enrichment for the Church's mission." After five years of academic, pastoral and spiritual formation, 22 men from around the Diocese of Savannah will "be strengthened by the imposition of hands which has come down from the apostles" on May 31.

The People of God in the Diocese of Savannah are invited to pray for the 24 men about to be ordained deacons and the one about to be ordained a priest, and to attend, if possible the beautiful and significant Masses of Ordination during which God's grace will come upon them for the service of all.

- By Father Douglas Clark (Reprinted from Southern Cross)