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Home  / News & Publications /  Michigan Catholic News / 2009 /  'A share in His grace'

by Aux. Bishop Daniel Flores special to The Michigan Catholic
Published May 22, 2009

Aux. Bishop Daniel Flores

A sacrament, as we know, is a sign instituted by the Lord to confer a share in His grace. Holy orders is just such a sign intended to establish and provide for the Church's ongoing share in the mission of the Lord Jesus. I would like to offer a brief reflection on holy orders, looking at the Scriptures to help us understand this great sacrament. For, it is important that we appreciate what the Lord has given us as an irreplaceable part of the life of the Church.

Deacons
What is a deacon in the Church? We could look to the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 6, for the account of when the Apostles chose the first deacons, seven men of good repute set apart to serve at tables; these were men who by the invocation of the Holy Spirit and the laying on of hands were given the task of visibly leading the community in works of charity. Surely that was an important moment in the apostolic age, the moment when the first deacons were ordained to serve. But for us to understand the diaconate of the seven, we have to look further to the diaconate of the Apostles themselves.

Larry Peplin | The Michigan Catholic Transitional Deacon Lee Acervo is ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Detroit by Cardinal Adam Maida on May 10, 2008.

When the Lord Jesus washed the feet of His apostles, He said to them: "You call me Teacher and Lord: and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet." These men were fishermen, zealots, tax-collectors, of little account in the eyes of the world. These were men who would for the most part abandon their Lord and teacher before the night was over. These men had their feet washed by the Lord Himself. So you also ought to wash one another's feet.

You could say that the Apostles were initiated into diaconal service on that night before He died, when He washed their feet. He raised to the level of a sacramental sign the humble service given to the humblest of men. The Apostles received a diaconal call, and this was part of the fullness of the Apostolic ministry that the Lord would give them. From this fullness of service, the Apostles were able to share with the Seven a special grace of the Holy Spirit calling them to complete dedication to the works of service.

Larry Peplin | The Michigan Catholic Cardinal Adam Maida ordains Eric Sorensen a deacon for the archdiocese in 2006.

The Apostles were not only to be servants, as all Christians are called to be, but leaders in service, the first to show forth works of self-forgetful love. Jesus' great act of humility, this stripping of Himself of His station and stature so as to do the work of the littlest servant was a great sign given to help them and us understand what the Lord meant when He had earlier said: The Son of Man has come not to be served, but to serve. But this service has another dimension, that of the sacrifice; for when He said He came to serve, He added and give his life as a ransom for the many (Matthew 20, 28). This Scriptural word ransom leads us to consider the priesthood of the Apostles.

Priests
Whenever the Lord speaks of the gift of His life as a ransom, or as a gift given for the forgiveness of sins, He is speaking of the perfect sacrifice of love that He would offer on the Cross. And whenever the Scriptures speak of a sacrifice, they are speaking of Jesus as priest. The Letter to the Hebrews teaches very clearly about Jesus the High Priest, author of the New Covenant in His blood. And thus, on that same night before He died, the Lord Jesus took bread and said, Take this all of you and eat it, this is my body. And then he took the cup and said this is the cup of my blood, it will be shed so that sins may be forgiven. He added significantly: Do this in memory of me.

The institution of the Eucharistic Sacrifice anticipated the sacrificial death of the Lord, and at the same time, secured that this gift of His life for ours should continue as an ever-present reality in the Church across the ages. The death of Christ on the Cross, his priestly sacrifice, is what gains for us the new life of grace. We are born again as a fruit of His sacrifice on the Cross. The Lord willed that this sacrifice that gives life to us be something always present to us. He instituted the priesthood of the Apostles, so that the eucharistic re-presentation of the original gift and sacrifice might always be at the heart of the Church in every age.

A priest is essentially one chosen by Christ to continue the work of the Apostles as men chosen to perpetuate the sacrifice. This implies celebrating the Eucharistic Liturgy, and much more. For example, in order for the Church to receive the Body and Blood of the Lord in a fruitful way, the Gospel must be preached and explained. In order for us to receive the Eucharistic mystery well, we must have access to the forgiveness of serious sins through the sacrament of Reconciliation. All the things a priest does, though, can best be understood either as leading the Church to the full participation in the Eucharistic Sacrifice, or as a fruit of that sacrifice.

Bishops
So, if the Apostles were, by the will of the Lord, initiated into diaconal service, and then priestly service, how is it that we speak of bishops in the Church? After the Lord gave himself over in the perfect sacrifice of love on the Cross, and after he had been raised from the dead, he appeared to his Apostles and shared with them the meaning of the Scriptures, and promised them the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Larry Peplin | The Michigan Catholic Cardinal Adam J. Maida of Detroit ordains his new auxiliary, Bishop Daniel E. Flores, Nov. 29 at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Detroit.

Before his ascension into heaven he said: All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me; go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Mt. 28, 18). The Lord has full authority for the life of the Church, and he gave a share of this authority with the Apostles. They and their successors were to direct and lead the community through the ages. We can read in the Acts of the Apostles how important decisions about the life of the Church were made with the apostles gathered around Simon Peter. In consultation, and with authority, the Apostles shepherded the little community forward. So it is that the ministry of bishops is a share in this apostolic responsibility to govern the Church toward the fulfillment of her mission to make disciples over all the earth. The bishops do this in communion with the pope, the successor of St. Peter.

And thus it is that through the institution of holy orders, the Lord Jesus provides the Church the graces necessary to live the new life he won for us on the Cross, and to fulfill the mission he gave to us all to announce the Gospel to all the nations. Deacons, priests and bishops are servants dedicated by a special sacrament to make it possible, by the grace of the Lord, for us all to share more fully in the riches that the Lord Jesus won for us by his life and example, by his death and rising, and by his authority as servant and Lord.

Detroit Auxiliary Bishop Daniel Flores was ordained a priest on Jan. 30, 1988, in Corpus Christi. He was ordained a bishop Nov. 29, 2006, and was the youngest bishop in the country.