The weeks after Pentecost Sunday are traditionally the period in which the Catholic Church ordains men to the priesthood. While the end of the academic year plays a role in this schedule, a more important consideration is the connection between the Sacrament of Holy Orders and the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles at Pentecost. After that day, the birthday of the Church, the Apostles--the original bishops--began to select other men to work with them in preaching the Gospel and celebrating the Lord's Supper (what we now know as the Mass).
Those men, both priests and deacons, were ordained by the Apostles through the laying on of hands--the same way that priests and deacons will be ordained by their bishops over the next few weeks. It's a very visible reminder of apostolic succession--the unbroken line of authority that extends from the Apostles to your local parish priest.
During this season of ordinations, we should turn our thoughts toward the future of the Church and pray for vocations to the priesthood. Now, more than ever, the Church needs men who are willing to renounce the attractions of this world for the sake of Christ.
(Pope Benedict XVI ordains a deacon as a priest of the Diocese of Rome in St. Peter's Basilica, April 29, 2007, Vatican City. Franco Origlia/Getty Images)
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