Sacraments and Prayer (Spring 2014)
Fr. Llane Briese
Tutorial on the Prayers of Ordination
Name: ___________________________________________
Date: ___________________
Due Date: Wednesday, March 12 (although it can be completed in class on Tuesday, March 11)
Overview: The following exercises form a tutorial on the theology of Holy Orders drawn from
the prayers used in the Ordination of Bishops and Priests. Your task is twofold: (1) Analyze each
prayer using the method described below. (2) Answer the questions based upon the content of the
various prayers.
Before looking at the first prayer, a few key details about liturgical prayers in general:
 Most prayers in the Liturgy (both in the Catholic Church as well as in Judaism, Eastern
Orthodoxy as well a number of the liturgical Protestant communities) have two main
sections:
o The anamnetic section (“remembering section”) contains anamnesis (the Greek
word for “memorial” or “remembrance”) which recalls God’s love made manifest
throughout history. The main verbs in this section tend to be in the past tense or
refer to the past.
o The epicletic section (“requesting section”) contains epiclesis (the Greek word
for “invocation” or “calling on”) which asks for God’s intervention in the present
and future. The main verbs in this section tend to be imperatives (i.e. commands,
cohortatives, or jussives).
 Liturgical prayers are based heavily in tradition; therefore, they contain many allusions
to the Bible and also borrow much language from the Bible. An allusion is a literary
device in which a text makes reference to another source (i.e. a book, a song, a biblical
passage, etc.). Observing carefully the vocabulary chosen in the prayers as well as the
sources for these allusions allows the reader to understand more deeply the theology
contained in the prayers.
 Each of the seven Sacraments has an essential form (words which are necessary for the
Sacrament to take effect). This essential form, along with a few other requirements (i.e.
matter, minister, recipient, proper intention), are necessary for a Sacrament to be valid;
that is, in the case of Holy Orders, for the man to actually be ordained.
Based on these principles, in this tutorial, you will be drawing from the main prayer of the
ordination rites of a bishop, priest, and deacon and thus learn the main details of the Church’s
theology of Holy Orders.
PART A: ORDINATION OF A BISHOP
Instructions: In this prayer, the single asterisk (*) signals the beginning of the anamnetic section
which runs until the double asterisk (**) which signals the beginning of the epicletic section.
Note that the main verbs (which follow the rules stated above) in the anamnetic section are
underlined once while those in the epicletic section are underlined twice. Also, the essential
form appears in SMALL CAPS.
Prayer of Ordination of a Bishop (from Roman Pontifical, pp. 34-35):
* God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Father of mercies and God of all consolation,
who dwell on high and look upon the lowly, who know all things before they come to be, and
who laid down observances in your Church through the word of grace; who from the beginning,
foreordained a nation of the just, born of Abraham; who established rulers and priests and did not
leave your sanctuary without ministers, and who, from the foundation of the world, were pleased
to be glorified in those you have chosen:
** POUR OUT NOW UPON THIS CHOSEN ONE THAT POWER WHICH IS FROM YOU, THE
GOVERNING SPIRIT, WHOM YOU GAVE TO YOUR BELOVED SON, JESUS CHRIST, THE SPIRIT WHOM HE
BESTOWED UPON THE HOLY APOSTLES, WHO ESTABLISHED THE CHURCH IN EACH PLACE AS YOUR
SANCTUARY FOR THE GLORY AND UNCEASING PRAISE OF YOUR NAME.
Grant, O Father, knower of all hearts, that this your servant, who you have chosen for the
office of Bishop may shepherd your holy flock. Serving you night and day, may he fulfill before
you without reproach the ministry of the High Priesthood, so that, always gaining your favor, he
may offer up the gifts of your holy Church.
Grant that, by the power of the Spirit of the High Priesthood, he may have the power to
forgive sins according to your command, assign offices according to your decree, and loose
every bond according to the power given by you to the Apostles.
May he please you by his meekness and purity of heart, presenting a fragrant offering to
you through your Son Jesus Christ, through whom glory and power and honor are yours with the
Holy Spirit in the holy Church, now and for ever and ever. Amen.
Questions: (Hint: You may wish to consult your class notes on the biblical origins of Holy
Orders to assist you with some of the questions that ask about the biblical allusions present in the
prayers.)
1. What are some of the “observances” in the Church “laid down” by God to which the
anamnetic section of this prayer alludes?
2. Who are some of the “rulers and priests” to which the first paragraph of the prayer refers?
3. List three of the desired qualities of the man being ordained a bishop that this prayer
requests from God during the epicletic section (paragraphs 3-5) of the prayer.
4. To which Sacrament (other than Holy Orders) does the fourth paragraph of the prayer
seem to refer? Why?
PART B: ORDINATION OF A PRIEST
Section One: Analysis
Now that you have seen how one analyzes a liturgical prayer, apply that knowledge to the
following prayer of ordination of a priest by marking the prayer as follows:
 Place one asterisk (*) at the beginning of the anamnetic section. (Disregard the
imperative verb “[d]raw near” at the beginning of the prayer.)
 Place two asterisks (**) at the beginning of the epicletic section. (Again, disregard the
imperative verb “[d]raw near” at the beginning of the prayer.)
 Underline all of the verbs typical of the anamnetic section (as discussed in the
Introduction above).
 Circle (or double underline) all of the verbs typical of the epicletic section (as discussed
in the Introduction above).
 Once again, the essential form appears in SMALL CAPS.
Prayer of Ordination of a Priest (from Roman Pontifical, pp. 94-95):
Draw near, O Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God, author of human dignity: it is
you who apportion all graces. Through you everything progresses; through you all things are
made to stand firm. To form a priestly people you appoint ministers of Christ your Son by the
power of the Holy Spirit, arranging them in different orders.
Already in the earlier covenant office arose, established through mystical rites: when you
sat Moses and Aaron over your people to govern and sanctify them, you chose men next in rank
and dignity to accompany them and assist them in their task.
So too in the desert you implanted the spirit of Moses in the hearts of seventy wise men;
and with their help he ruled your people with greater ease.
So also upon the sons of Aaron you poured an abundant share of their father’s plenty, that
the number of the priests prescribed by the Law might be sufficient for the sacrifices of the
tabernacle, which were a shadow of the good things to come.
But in these last days, holy Father, you sent your Son into the world, Jesus, who is
Apostle and High Priest of our confession. Through the Holy Spirit he offered himself to you as
a spotless victim; and he made his Apostles, consecrated in the truth, sharers in his mission. You
provided them also with companions to proclaim and carry out the work of salvation throughout
the whole world.
And now we beseech you, Lord, in our weakness, to grant us this helper that we need to
exercise the Priesthood that comes from the Apostles.
GRANT, WE PRAY, ALMIGHTY FATHER, TO THIS YOUR SERVANT THE DIGNITY OF THE
PRIESTHOOD; RENEW DEEP WITHIN HIM THE SPIRIT OF HOLINESS; MAY HE HENCEFORTH POSSESS
THIS OFFICE, WHICH COMES FROM YOU, O GOD, AND IS NEXT IN RANK TO THE OFFICE OF BISHOP;
AND BY THE EXAMPLE OF HIS MANNER OF LIFE, MAY HE INSTILL RIGHT CONDUCT.
May he be a worthy co-worker with our Order, so that by his preaching and through the
grace of the Holy Spirit the words of the Gospel may bear fruit in human hearts and reach even
to the ends of the earth.
Together with us, may he be a faithful steward of your mysteries, so that your people may
be renewed in the waters of rebirth and nourished from your altar; so that sinners may be
reconciled and the sick raised up. May be joined with us, Lord, in imploring your mercy for the
people entrusted to his care and for all the world.
And so may the full number of the nations, gathered together in Christ, be transformed
into your one people and made perfect in your Kingdom. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your
Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever.
Amen.
Questions:
1. What differentiates the verbs in the anamnetic section from those in the epicletic section?
2. According to the anamnetic section of the prayer, why did God give the Apostles
“companions”?
3. According to the prayer, what are some of the ways in which the priest is called to be a
“worthy co-worker with [the] Order [of Bishops]”?
4. What is the ultimate goal of a priestly vocation according to the last sentence of the
prayer (before the concluding doxology)?
5. Identify a sentence in the epicletic section of the prayer that describes the munus docendi
(office of teaching).
6. Identify a sentence in the epicletic section of the prayer that describes the munus
sanctificandi (office of sanctifying).