Day 218: Summary of Holy Orders (1590-1600)

• It’s Day 218!!

• MCNUGGET DAY!!

• Let’s pray!!

Prayer by Fr. Mike: “Father in Heaven, we praise you and give you glory. We thank you so much. We ask that you please hear our prayer. We ask that you not only fill us right now in this moment with your Holy Spirit, a Spirit of wisdom, of insight, a Spirit of counsel and of knowledge, a Spirit of fear of the Lord, a Spirit that recognizes your gifts, the natural gifts you give to us each day with a sunrise, the natural gift you give to us each day of a heart in our chest that beats and breath in our lungs. But also the supernatural gifts that you have given to us through this grace of your sacraments, through the grace of your Church. Thank you for giving us the holy priesthood. Thank you for giving us Holy Orders. Thank you for our bishop and for our pastor. Thank you for our deacons who have served in the Church. Lord God, we ask you to please increase the number of men you are calling to serve your Church as priests and deacons. We ask you to please increase also religious communities, religious sisters, and religious brothers. Help all these vocations to abound in your grace. Continuing today, we are praying also for those who are called to Holy Matrimony, recognizing that Lord God, you fill your earth with people made in your image. And you call us to follow you and call us to serve each other in so many different ways. And two of these ways are through Holy Matrimony and through Holy Orders. We ask you to please increase the number of those people who are called to those vocations and who say yes to those vocations. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen”

• So there we have it!!

• This is the conclusion of our time with Holy Orders

• Holy Orders is the episcopacy, the presbyterate, and the diaconate

• These degrees are not out of the blue

• God from the beginning of His calling the people of Israel, He wanted them to be a priestly people 

• In so many ways, they were a priestly people 

• AND YET…

• The golden calf was where they lost their priesthood in many ways

• So the priesthood was given to the Tribe of Levi and was exercised in so many different ways

• The priesthood is fulfilled now in Jesus

• Not only the Levitical priesthood, but also the priesthood of Melchizedek

• There are those that go before the Lord on behalf of the people and go from the Lord to serve the people 

• This is a work of mediation, going back and forth between God and His people

• This does not mean that people can’t go to God themselves

• This does not mean that God can’t come to the people Himself

• God has ordained it in such a way that He has called certain people to act as His ambassadors in a very unique way of offering the sacrifice and of giving that sacrifice to the Lord on behalf of the people

• Also bringing God’s grace from God to the people 

• THIS IS SUCH A GIFT FOR US!!

• Why?

• Because that’s why God gave it

• BECAUSE IT IS A GIFT!!

• We have been talking about the uniqueness of the priesthood and also the brokenness of the priesthood

• God calls ordinary men

• There are some men who are individually extraordinary

• BUT…

• For the most part, they are all just ordinary men

• So that means they have ordinary intellects, ordinary hearts that love OK and don’t love very well at times, that can love in great ways and love in poor ways

• Ordinary men who lose their tempers

• Ordinary men who can be cranky

• Ordinary men who can be selfish

• Ordinary men who can be sinful

• At the same time, the grace of the sacrament is so real

• God calls ordinary people to marriage

• God calls bad people to marriage

• God calls those broken people to be just as clear representatives of God’s identity

• Remember the innermost secret of God which is that He is an eternal exchange of love?

• That is so clearly imaged in icon in marriage

• As spouse loves spouse and that love is so real that you have to name it nine months later

• Broken people are called to marriage

• Broken people are called to be just as holy as those people who already are holy

• In the same way, broken people are called to the priesthood

• They are called to be just as holy as the holiest priest ever because none of us are called to a vocation based on our goodness or inherent holiness

• Every one of us is called to a vocation so that we might serve

• So that in pouring our lives out, we might become more and more like Jesus who poured Himself out in love to the Father for the sake of the salvation of the whole world

• That is why husbands and wives pour their lives out to each other for out of love for the Father for the salvation of the world

• That is why priests are called to pour themselves out to the Father, in love, for the sake of the Body of Christ

• This sacrament exists and is a unique thing

• The ministerial priesthood is different than the kingdom priesthood in essence, not just in degree

• It is different so that the the whole Body of Christ might be served

• That is why priests exist 

• Not to lord it over everyone, but to serve everyone

• So when we find a priest who doesn’t do that, we find a dad who isn’t present, who is absent

• We find a shepherd who has abandoned his sheep, yes we have to correct and reprove them

• BUT…

• WE ALSO HAVE TO PRAY FOR THEM!!

• Every one of us is called to the heights of holiness

• Holy Matrimony

• Holy Orders

• Even if you are in neither

• One of the painful points is that there are people out there listening who have not been called to either Holy Orders or Holy Matrimony

• But they would like to be

• Maybe you’ve applied to the seminary and were turned away

• Maybe you long to get married and you never had the chance

• Maybe you were married once and things did not work out

• What does Jesus say about His attention to you?

• Jesus says, “The Father knows the hairs on your head. That you are worth more than many sparrows.”

• Jesus reminds us when you might feel insignificant you are not insignificant

• We are talking about some of the gifts that God has given other people 

• One of the great calls God has given us is to be able to rejoice with those who have received gifts even when we haven’t received those gifts

• Yes it is hard

• Fr. Mike is praying FOR YOU!!

• Fr. Mike is praying for priests, bishops, and deacons 

• Fr. Mike is praying for the men in seminary

• Fr. Mike is praying for those of us getting married, long to be married, and once were married

• Wherever you are at in the story that God is writing, YOUR STORY MATTERS

• Your YES to God matters

• Maybe it is not in Holy Orders

• Maybe it is not in Holy Matrimony

• That is not what matters

• WHAT MATTERS IS YOU AND YOUR YES TO THE LORD!!

• GOD HAS NOT FORGOTTEN YOU!!

• God has called others to take a step and maybe he’s not calling you to take that step

• BUT…

• GOD HAS NOT FORGOTTEN YOU!!

• All God is asking is that you take the step that you need to take today

• It takes a lot of courage and trust to have confidence that this matters

• This matters so take that step

• This matters so give that yes

• This matters so trust God

• Fr. Mike is praying FOR YOU!!

• Please pray for Fr. Mike and for each other!!

• I cannot WAIT to see you tomorrow!!