Pastoral Letter to the Youth

Dear Youth in Christ,

This Sunday is the World Sunday of Prayer for Vocations. We pray for those who have responded to the Lord’s call to work in His harvest. In John 21:15-19, Jesus asked Peter three times, “Do you love me?” to affirm Peter’s love and commitment. Each time Peter told Jesus, “I love you,” Jesus exhorted Peter to care for his flock: “Feed my lamb;” “Tend my sheep;” “Feed my sheep.” Jesus charged Peter and other apostles to follow His model of the Good Shepherd (this Sunday’s Gospel Reading) to care for His flock, the church, by feeding and shepherding them.

First of all, all baptized people share in the priesthood of Christ by virtue of their Baptism. As the First Letter of Peter says, “Let yourselves be built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood” (2:5). The Church calls this the common priesthood of the faithful. Within this common priesthood, some people are called to unique participation in the mission of Christ through the sacrament of Holy Orders. Their role is to serve the Christian community in the name of Christ, and to represent Christ in the community. These unique responsibilities fall into three areas: teaching, divine worship (the liturgy), and Church leadership or governance.

In this letter, I would like to share with you some points of the Sacrament of Holy Orders in which the church, through the commandment of Jesus Christ, ordains those chosen worthy men to be shepherds for the people of God.

Through the bishops’ ordination rite, he becomes a successor to the original Apostles and takes on all the responsibilities that Christ entrusted to them. The bishop receives the fullness of the responsibilities of Holy Orders. He becomes a member of the college of bishops, so that with his brother bishops, he must lead the entire Church in union with the Pope. But a bishop is uniquely responsible for the diocese that he has been designated to lead as chief shepherd. Only the bishop can ordain priests and the bishop is the ordinary minister for Confirmation.

The priest is a coworker with the bishop of the diocese. All the priests of a diocese, united with the bishop, are called the presbyterium of the diocese. The presbyterium is responsible for the spiritual life of the diocese. Priests can celebrate all the sacraments except Confirmation (unless given special permission).

A deacon is ordained for works of service and liturgical ministry, as directed by the bishop. A deacon assists the bishop and priests with the celebration of the Eucharist, including the proclamation of the Gospel, giving homilies, and distributing Holy Communion. Deacons can also baptize, bless marriages, and preside over funerals. But they also dedicate themselves to works of charity and compassion in the community. Permanent deacons may be single or married.

There are three different ordination rites (rituals) corresponding to the three ordained ministries. The bishop is the ordinary minister for all three rites. The essential symbol for all three rites is the bishop laying his hands on the man to be ordained and praying that he receives the graces of the Holy Spirit necessary for his ministry. In addition, when a bishop is ordained, he receives the book of the Gospels as a sign of his authority to teach the truth, a ring to signify marriage to the Church, a miter to represent authority, and a shepherd’s staff to symbolize that he is to model his leadership after Jesus, the good shepherd.

When a priest is ordained, he is clothed in the special vestments of his office, his hands are anointed with oil, and he is presented with a paten (plate) and chalice (cup) as a sign of his role in the Eucharist.

The ordination of a deacon also includes being clothed in special vestments, and he receives the book of the Gospels to symbolize his ministry of preaching.

Like Baptism and Confirmation, the sacrament of Holy Orders imprints a permanent character upon a person’s soul. The Catholic Church ordains only baptized men because Jesus chose men, not women, to be his Apostles, and the Apostles did the same when they chose the ones to share in their ministry.

Your Friend and Pastor,

Fr. Linh Nguyen