The ordination of a priest is his consecration – the formal
dedication of his being – to the Church.
Many of us have never attended an ordination, but the liturgy is a
beautiful one, filled with many prayers that might inspire any of us with a
desire to dedicate ourselves, however humbly given our own personal circumstances, to God’s service as well. The following is taken from the Rite for
Ordination of Priests; it is only a small part of the service, but a most beautiful
set of prayers of dedication:
Almighty Father, we pray that you bestow
on these servants of yours the dignity of the priesthood. Renew in their hearts
the spirit of holiness, so that they may be steadfast in this second degree of
the priestly office received from you, O God, and by their own lives suggest a
rule of life to others. May they be
prudent fellow-workers in our ministry. May they shine in all the virtues, so
that they will be able to give a good account of the stewardship entrusted to
them, and finally attain the reward of everlasting blessedness.
O God, the source of all holiness, whose
consecration is ever effective, whose blessing is ever fulfilled, pour out on
these servants of yours, whom we now raise to the dignity of the priesthood,
the gift of your blessing. By their noble and exemplary lives let them prove
that they are really elders of the people, and true to the norms laid down by
Paul to Timothy and Titus. Let them meditate on your law day and night, so that
they may believe what they have read, and teach what they have believed, and
practice what they have taught. May justice, constancy, mercy, courage, and all
the other virtues be reflected in their every way of acting. May they inspire
others by their example, and hearten them by their admonitions. May they keep
pure and spotless the gift of their high calling. For the worship of your
people may they change bread and wine into the body and blood of your Son by a
holy consecration. May they through persevering charity mature "unto the
perfect man, unto the measure of the age of the fulness of Christ," and
rise on the day of the just and eternal judgment of God with a good conscience,
true faith, and the full gifts of the Holy Spirit. We ask this through our Lord
Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy
Spirit, God, forever and ever.
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