Catholic Ethics: Unit 3 - Christian Vocation
KEY WORDS
Vocation / God’s call to live a productive Christian life, loving and serving God and othersLay Person / A baptised Christian
Lay Vocation / To live out your baptismal vocation as PPK (Priest, Prophet, King)
Lay Ministry / A specific job in the Church done by an ordinary baptised Christian eg reading, Eucharistic minister, teaching confirmation classes, leading church youth group
Holy Orders / The Sacrament by which a man becomes a priest, with power to act in the place of Christ (celebrating Sacraments). Permanent.
Ordination / Receiving the Sacrament of Holy Orders
Ordained person / Someone who has taken Holy Orders to become a priest.
Deacon / Someone who has taken Holy Orders to become a priest’s assistant.
Visits sick/ hospitals/ prisons, funerals, baptisms
Preaches and reads gospel
Priest / Someone who has taken Holy Orders and can celebrates all Sacraments except Holy Orders and Confirmation
In charge of a single parish
Has a pastoral role (sacraments, spiritual guidance, visiting sick, prayer and teaching)
Bishop / Celebrates all the Sacraments.
In charge of a diocese (group of parishes)
Celibacy/ chastity / The vow not to have sexual relationships of any sort from that time on. Shows total dedication to God.
Contemplative religious order / A religious order who are exclusively focussed on prayer. Stay in monastery/ convent. Eg Poor Clares, Benedictines (tho’ some may have some outside work in arish/ school)
Apostolic religious order / A religious order who focus on serving the world in a specific way eg healthcare, education. Medical Missionaries of Mary.
Monk/ nun / Someone who lives in a religious community and has taken vows of celibacy, poverty and obedience, to dedicate their lives exclusively to God.
A lay Christian lives out their baptismal vocation (PPK)
Of being a Priest when they... pray to God for the needs of others and to have a relationship with God
Of being a Prophet when they .... stand up for the truth, and for justice for all
Of being a King when they .... care for others and take responsibility for them
FOR “Yes to celibacy!”
- It is following the example of Christ, who did not marry
- It makes it easier to remain focussed on Christ and serving God’s people
( marriage/ family life is time consuming, and would tie the priest down.
- It means the priest can love all equally, with a pure love like Christ’s
AGAINST “No to celibacy!”
- Celibacy is not a normal situation for all men to be in.
- Jesus’ disciples were all married men - this include St Peter
- A married priest may better understand parishioners. Celibacy distances the priest from ordinary human life
- There is a great shortage of priest in the Church. Allowing married priests might help this shortage.
A baptised Christian
At baptism receives vocation to be priest, prophet, king (PPK) – pray, truth/ justice, care
May do lay ministry in church – reading at mass, eucharistic minister, teach confirmation classes / Made a commitment to live in community
Vows of celibacy, poverty, obedience
May be apostolic or contemplative (prayer or active service)
Monks may also be priests
Deacon / Priest
Has taken Holy Orders.
Priest’s assistant
Helps with baptisms, funerals, marriages
Reads Gospel and preaches at Mass / Has taken Holy Orders & Vows of obedience & celibacy
Celebrates all sacraments, except Confirmation and Holy Orders (Bishop)
Pastoral role: care for people in parish, visiting sick, being available.
In charge of the parish
The Vows
- Poverty: Live simply, share your possessions with the community
- Obedience: Listen to God in prayer, & obey God’s will, do what superior/ bishop tells you to: as Jesus did when he sacrificed himself
- Celibacy/ Chastity: Love God and all God’s people, rather than commitment to one person
The Parable of the Talents
Know the story of the parable: A rich man leaving for a long journey called together 3 of this servants, and gave them 5 talents, 2 talents, and 1 talent each, according to their ability, and told them to do business with these until he returned. The 5 talents and 2 talents servant did good business and made double. The 1 talent servant dug a hole and buried his masters money. The 1 talent servant told the master he was a harsh and demanding master, and was afraid so he hid the money.
The master returned. He praised the 5 and 2 talent servants and invited them to “come and enter your master’s happiness”. The master said “wicked and lazy servant – so you knew that I was like this, but you did nothing. Give the money to the one who has 5 talents – for he who has will be given more. And throw this good-for-nothing servant out into darkness”.
The Parable of the Talents teaches us:
- be productive: use your gifts and abilities to make the world a better place than you found it
- you will be judged on this, as God will demand to see what you have made of your talents and gifts – “well done, good and faithful servant, enter into your master’s happiness”, or “ throw him out, into the outer darkness” !
NB it’s not about how much you achieve (great things, or little things) –it’s about what you do, with what you’ve got.
(there are NO women priests in the Catholic Church) FOR: Yes to women priests!
- “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus”. Gal 3:28
- Role of women in those days, meant it was impossible to be a priest, but now women have equal status to men, so should be able to become priests.
- In NT, women helped the Apostles in their work of preaching as “fellow workers” so should be priests
AGAINST No to women priests!
- After praying about it for a whole night, Jesus only chose men as his 12 disciples
- There were no women present at the Last Supper, when Jesus gave out his body and blood (the first Mass) and told his disciples to do this as well “Do this in memory of Me”.
- The Apostles themselves were careful only to choose men as their successors: there is a tradition in the Church to ordain only men as priests
- The priest stands “in the place of Christ”, so the priest should also be a man.
- Jesus is the “bridegroom” of the Church – he is “married” to the People of God, the Church – so the priest should be a man.