Sacramental Ministry, Catholic Church
Theologians differentiate between Religious ministry and Apostolates. Ministry, for Catholics, pertains to the administration of the Sacraments, and their appropriate ministers are as follows:
| Baptism | Any person (even an unbaptized person); preferably a priest or deacon |
| Confirmation | A bishop, or a priest delegated by him |
| Reconciliation | Priest |
| Eucharist | Consecrated by a priest. The Eucharist may be administered by a priest or deacon, or laypeople in extraordinary circumstances. |
| Marriage | The spouses administer the sacrament to each other (witnessed by the priest). |
| Holy Orders | Bishop |
| Anointing of the Sick | Priest |
A final, and most proper, use of the term "ministries" pertains to those instituted by the bishop:
- Acolyte (May administer the Eucharist)
- Lector (May read the readings at Mass, except for the Gospel which is reserve for a priest or deacon)
Ordained ministers are those who have received Holy Orders: deacons, priests, and bishops. Note that a bishop can do anything a priest can do, and a priest can do anything a deacon can do.
Read more about this topic: Christian Ministry
Famous quotes containing the words sacramental, catholic and/or church:
“Oh! thou clear spirit of clear fire, whom on these seas I as Persian once did worship, till in the sacramental act so burned by thee, that to this hour I bear the scar; I now know thee, thou clear spirit, and I now know that thy right worship is defiance. To neither love nor reverence wilt thou be kind; and e’en for hate thou canst but kill; and all are killed. No fearless fool now fronts thee.”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)
“Lord, have mercy on us.
[Kyrie, eleison.]”
—Missal, The. The Ordinary of the Mass.
Missal is book of prayers and rites used to celebrate the Roman Catholic mass during the year.
“The Anglican Church is marked by the grace and good sense of its forms, by the manly grace of its clergy. The gospel it preaches is, “By taste are ye saved.” ... It is not in ordinary a persecuting church; it is not inquisitorial, not even inquisitive, is perfectly well bred and can shut its eyes on all proper occasions. If you let it alone, it will let you alone. But its instinct is hostile to all change in politics, literature, or social arts.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)