The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1916-08-26

the fruits of His infinite merits, but
He died for all, and ordained a means
by which all mankind could share in
these blessings, and partake of His
shutting this holy sacrament, which
was to perpetuate, on earth, His ever
lasting priesthood, verifying the proph-
ecy of David concerning Him: Thou
art priest forever according to the
order of Melchisedech.
The eternal sign of this sacrament
is the amounting with oil, the imposi-
ton of the bishops hands, the inVoca-
ton of the Holy Ghost and the touch
ing of the sacred vessels, forming
together the matter and form of this
sacrament.
The stupendous power of changing
bread and wine into the body and
blood of Christ, of RENTING or re-
| tanning sins, as when He said to the
apostles: Whose sins you shall for
give are forgiven them, and whose
sins you shall retain are retained, is,
essentially, a power above all human
power, power therefore which could
be only derived from God and dele
gated by Him alone. The exercise
of this delegated power necessarily
demands for it's exercise the grace of
| Cod.
This sacrament, like baptism and
confirmation, possesses a permanent,
! indestructible character. A man once
ordained priest is a priest forever.
He may fall away from his grace and
more than angelic dignity, may be-
come, like Judas, an eternal outcast,
but whether on earth or in heaven or
in hell, in time or in eternity, once
priest a priest he is forever.
| AS our Lord Jesus ordained His
| chosen twelve, He ordained them
into the full plentitude of this sacra-
ment. Hence they were bishops and
hence, too, bishops only can admin
lister this sacrament. We know from
the New Testament that the apostles
ordained some of their chosen dis
ciples to continue the ministry, as
Luke,s Mark Timothy, Clement, Titus
and others.
The subject of this sacrament can
be any baptized male capable Of in
tending to receive this sacrament. In
order to be ordained not only validity,
| but lawfully, person must have the
due age and knowledge; he must have
observed the interstices-a certain in
! +orlu1o of ti,,oo hotwoop tho oOOfprrin o.
of the various degrees of orders; he
must be free from irregularity, sus-
pension, accommodation; he must
be of good life, and must have the
signs of a. call or vocation from God.
The preparatory steps or grades to
holy orders are called the Minor Or
ders. They are: /. DOorkeeper; 2,
Reader; 3, Exorcist, and 4, Acolyte.
The three Major Orders are: l, Sub
! deacon; 2, Deacon, and 3, Priesthood.
| The obligation of reciting the divine
office daily begins with the reception
of sub-deaconship.
It's very name describes the Office
of the priesthood. When we see a
Catholic priest we know him just for
what he processes to be. The world
at large knows him as such, and
laughs at that small section of Angli-
cans who innocently play the role of
priest and borrow the name, as chill
dren might in play. The name of
Catholic Church" and catholic
priest" are terms applied by all, and
understood by all as appertaining
solely to the Roman Catholic Church.
A priest is one especially conse-
Grated and set apart to the service
of a divinity. He is considered the
medium through whom worship,
prayer, sacrifice, or other service is
to be offered to the being worshiped,
and pardon, blessing, deliverance, ETC.,
obtained by the worshiper. Such is
the specific meaning Of the name and
Office of priest; his principal or chief
duty is to offer sacrifice. This was
especially so with the Jews of old,
! who had their high priest and sub
ordinates, set apart and chosen by
God for their sacerdotal offices. We
read of the same even among pagan
/ pCOplS0. llIo 1uCCl Oll OcINl1
its necessary minister would seem to
originate in the natural law ITSELF for
we find in history that sacrifice has
been ever an essential part in the
religion of all nations, whether the
religion itself were true or false. The
priesthood and sacrifices of the Jews
continued as an essential form Of their
religion from the days of Adam, Cain
and Abel till the utter dispersion of
the race and humiliation of their
kingdom, under the Roman generals
l-Vespasian and his son, Titus. Then
took place the terrible and tragic full
fillment of the prophecy of the angel
Gabriel to Daniel And a people
with their leader shall come and de.
stroy the city and the sanctuary; and
the end thereof shall be waste, and
after the end of the war the appointed
deSOlatiOn. the victim and the Sacri.