Melchizedek

THE SACRAMENT OF HOLY ORDERS 322. What is the sacrament of Holy Orders? 1536 It is the sacrament through which the mission entrusted by Christ to his apostles continues to be exercised in the Church until the end of time. 323. Why is this sacrament called Holy Orders? 1537-1538 Orders designates an ecclesial body into which one enters by means of a special consecration (ordination). Through a special gift of the Holy Spirit, this sacrament enables the ordained to exercise a sacred power in the name and with the authority of Christ for the service of the People of God. 324. What place does the sacrament of Holy Orders have in the divine plan of salvation? 1539-1546 1590-1591 This sacrament was prefigured in the Old Covenant in the service of the Levites, in the priesthood of Aaron, and in the institution of the seventy “Elders” (Numbers 11:25). These prefigurations find their fulfillment in Christ Jesus who by the sacrifice of the cross is the “one mediator between God and man” (1 Timothy 2:5), the “High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek” (Hebrews 5:10). The one priesthood of Christ is made present in the ministerial priesthood. “Only Christ is the true priest, the others being only his ministers.” (Saint Thomas Aquinas)