The Truth About Holy Orders
By Genevieve S. Kineke

The Catholic Church has two essential dimensions, which together help us to understand how God works through creation. Certainly, the more visible dimension is the Petrine dimension—made up of the Church's hierarchy, composed of those called to Holy Orders. These men are ordered in a particular way to Jesus, the eternal Bridegroom Who offered Himself as the redemptive sacrifice once and for all. In the words of Thomas Aquinas, "Christ is the source of all priesthood: the priest of the old law was a figure of Christ, and the priest of the new law acts in the person of Christ."

The other dimension of the Church is the Marian character, which the Second Vatican
Council reminds us comes before the Petrine. In this form, we understand the Church to
be "mother and teacher" (mater et magistra) and thus a sanctuary in which her members can learn what it is to be a child of God. The maternity of the Church is set in relationship to the Fatherhood of God, so that the dynamic of spousal love can regenerate the flock. With a complete family image, our understanding of "male and female He made them" finds spiritual meaning beyond our own flesh.

As important as these "eternal signposts" are in discerning a deeper meaning to every day life, it would all be lost if the flesh itself didn't matter. Our human sexuality is not an accident to be overcome, but rather an integral part of our path to the Infinite, insomuch as God Himself became Incarnate. Ours is a flesh and blood pilgrimage, in which all sorts of concrete things and actions might bear grace when joined to the sacrifice of Christ.

Thus, we must look at the priesthood in light of the two natures of the Church. Our spiritual mother can only give life if the ministers of the sacrifice are men. Only they can properly act in persona Christi, and serve the people of God by such an immolation as indicated by the Son of God. Just as fatherhood is sterile without motherhood, a woman embracing Holy Mother Church as "minister" could not bear the necessary spiritual gifts to the world.

The bride is the beloved for whom the bridegroom offers himself—hourly, daily, forever. She it is who shares his mission, receives his gift of self, and offers her maternity for the life of the world. Likewise, every woman is charged with the privilege of being a living icon of the Marian Church according to her gifts and state in life.

As creatively as each woman lives her vocation, as unique as her talents may be, her life-giving capacity will only be fully realized in collaborative effort with the fatherhood of men, and ultimately embracing the Fatherhood of God Himself. We must remember that the very Word of God would be barren without the receptivity of woman. Just as Mary's yes was essential to salvation history, every woman's collaboration with the regenerative seeds of love are necessary to spread the kingdom of God

Lest one think that Holy Orders are the ultimate source of power and that feminine receptivity is a secondary vocation, we must recall the words of Lumen Gentium, which defines the office of priest as strictly one of service. This echoes the evangelist Saint Mark, who draws attention to "the model of Christ, who by love made himself the least and the servant of all." Holy Orders bear a unique authority, but it is an authority entrusted by God. It cannot be manipulated or undone—only lived according to the realities of the flesh.

To argue against the nuptial backdrop to the universe is to rail against the human person and his very creation. We are heirs to these truths, not architects. To receive this truth is to be free from the anxiety inherent in retooling reality; the larger lesson to accept is that that God in His goodness has a plan that is grounded in authentic love.

To receive this truth requires a certain receptivity that everyone could learn from women—women at peace with motherhood. Mary knew it, and all generations will call her blessed.