Holy Orders
The sacrament of apostolic ministry.
A sacrament of service.
SACRAMENT SCHEDULE
Any man or woman who feels a calling to serve God with “all your heart, mind, soul, and strength” should contact a parish priest.
PARISH OFFICE CONTACT
SAINT JOSEPH
(845) 481-4560 and dial 9
Office Hours
Monday – Friday 8:30AM – 3:30PM
SAINT PETER
(845) 658-3117
Office Hours
8:30AM-12:30PM, Monday thru Wednesday
MORE ABOUT THE SACRAMENT
The Sacrament of Holy Orders
The Sacrament of Holy Orders is the continuation of Christ’s priesthood, which He bestowed upon His Apostles; thus, the Catechism of the Catholic Church refers to the Sacrament of Holy Orders as “the sacrament of apostolic ministry.”
“Ordination” comes from the Latin word ordinatio, which means to incorporate someone into an order. In the Sacrament of Holy Orders, a man is incorporated into the priesthood of Christ, at one of three levels: the episcopate, the priesthood, or the diaconate.
the New Testament priesthood is a sharing in the eternal priesthood of Christ
THE PRIESTHOOD OF CHRIST
The priesthood was established by God among the Israelites during their exodus from Egypt. God chose the tribe of Levi as priests for the nation. Their primary duties were the offering of sacrifice and prayer for the people.
Christ, in offering Himself up for the sins of all mankind, fulfilled the duties of the Old Testament priesthood once and for all. But just as the Eucharist makes that sacrifice present to us today, so the New Testament priesthood is a sharing in the eternal priesthood of Christ. While all believers are, in some sense, priests, some are set aside to serve the Church as Christ Himself did.
RELIGIOUS LIFE
Although not ordained ministries, the religious brotherhood and sisterhood are among the oldest vocations in the Church. God has always called some men and some women to give their lives and their hearts to him unreservedly—to be “married” to him in a sense. This total commitment to God is understood by the Church to be a foretaste of the marriage feast of heaven.
The religious life has historically consisted of two “branches”—the contemplative branch and the active branch.
The contemplative life is a life lived in solitude, a life spent in daily prayer, study, and work. It is a special calling—more challenging than any other. But if truly lived, its rewards are greater than any other, consisting in as close and intimate a relationship with God as is possible this side of heaven.
The active religious life is what we’re most familiar with—sisters and brothers working in schools, hospitals, shelters, orphanages, nursing homes, homes for the dying. These men and women still live in community., in a shared residence – eating, praying, and recreating together—but often go out to work in the world. Like the priesthood, some men and women have felt a calling to the religious life from a very early age; while others experienced a call in their teens or twenties.
