Central to Catholicism is the sacrifice of the Mass. The sacrificial element of our religion can be found in the very roots of our faith, in our Jewish background. We only have to think of the sacrifice that made the Exodus possible.

When GOD brought the Jewish people out of captivity, he established a new covenant with them and established the tribe of Levi to act as priests for the people, to offer the sacrifices that signified this covenant. It is this Levitical priesthood that is the root of our priesthood, the primary role of which is to offer sacrifice – the sacrifice of the Mass. The Sacrament (an efficacious, outward sign of an invisible reality) of the priesthood is called Holy Orders, but why? What does Holy Orders have to do with priesthood and why is it called that?  We find the answer in Catechism of the Catholic Church – CCC. “Holy Orders 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: thus it is the sacrament of apostolic ministry.” (CCC 1536)

When the Church was in it’s infancy, it came under the protection of the Roman Emperor Constantine and became, after the conversion of Constantine to Christianity the state religion, and as such, it took on many of the trappings of the Roman state.

In Roman times, an organised body or group was called an  Ordo or Order. “Integration into one of these bodies in the Church was accomplished by a rite called ordinatio, a religious and liturgical act which was a consecration, a blessing or a sacrament. Today the word “ordination” is reserved for the sacramental act which integrates a man into the order of bishops, presbyters, or deacons, (the three degrees priesthood) and goes beyond a simple election, designation, delegation, or institution by the community, for it confers a gift of the Holy Spirit that permits the exercise of a “sacred power” which can come only from Christ himself through his Church. Ordination is also called consecratio, for it is a setting apart and an investiture by Christ himself for his Church. the laying on of hands by the bishop, with the consecratory prayer, constitutes the visible sign (of the invisible reality) of this ordination.” (CCC 1538). Previously we have looked at Sacramentals and how they find their efficacy in and through the Church. Sacraments are different, in that while they are a ’sign’ of something, they also accomplish that which they signify. So while the laying on of hands at ordination signifies the ordinatio/consecratio it also accomplishes this very act of setting the ordained apart to offer sacrifice on behalf of the people. An onerous responsibility, hence why our priests need the support of our prayers.