The Church is Hierarchical
It has taken me some time to get back to my reflections on the Second Vatican Council. Today I would like to continue the journey through the council documents by taking a look at chapter three of the document on the Church, Lumen Gentium. You might recall that this document begins not by talking about the hierarchy of the Church, but rather the People of God. I am sure that when this document was first released, this would have been a surprise. Too often even today we tend to think of the Church as being made up primarily of bishops and priests, when the reality is we are all the Church.
This being said, there still is a hierarchy in the Church that has been put in place to guard the deposit of faith and to pass it along to those entrusted to their care. There are three offices that make up the hierarchical Church: bishops, priests and deacons. Bishops are those who are given the fullness of the priesthood in order to proclaim the Gospel to all people. Assisting the bishop in this task are priests and deacons. The council fathers describe the role of the bishop in this way,
…all the bishops have the obligation of fostering and safeguarding the unity of the faith and upholding the discipline which is common to the whole Church; of schooling the faithful in a love of the whole Mystical Body of Christ and, in a special way, of the poor, the suffering, and those who are undergoing persecution for the sake of justice; finally of promoting all that type of active apostolate which is common to the whole Church, especially in order that the faith may increase and the light of truth may rise in its fullness on all men.
It has always been striking to me that one of the main functions of a bishop is to be connected to the poor, the suffering and those undergoing persecution. This is very clear in the ordination rite of a bishop as well. I am not sure how many people are aware of this part of the responsibilities given to bishops, but I am glad it has traditionally been seen at the heart of being a bishop. Our current bishop recently taught me that the significance of the red worn by Cardinals is to remind them and others of their commitment to shed their blood for the sake of the Gospel.
Priests are called to assist the bishop in his ministry as shepherd of a local Church. They too are called to preach the Gospel, to celebrate the sacraments and to care for those who are sick and in need of healing and reconciliation. One important thing that I try to remember is that my priesthood is not my own, but rather a sharing in the priesthood of the bishop and ultimately the priesthood of Jesus Christ. It is all too easy to become a lone ranger and to forget that Christ has always called his ministers to work as a team.
Deacons are also called to assist the bishop with a ministry that is first and foremost directed toward service. Charity is at the heart of the ministry of the deacon which means one often times will see a deacon taking part in ministries that serve those most in need.
These three offices are the hierarchy that has been put in place primarily as a means for serving the needs of others. While there are certainly times when people have used these offices for personal gain and a host of other things they were not intended for, there still remains a dedicated group of men who use the gifts that have been given them for the benefit of those in their communities. I need only return to the Gospel reading at my own ordination to be reminded what the true call to ministry looks like.
Jesus called his disciples together and said: “You know how those who exercise authority among the Gentiles lord it over them; their great ones make their authority felt. It cannot be like that with you. Anyone among you who aspires to greatness must serve the rest, and whoever wants to rank first among you must serve the needs of all. Such is the case with the Son of Man who has come, not to be served by others but to serve, to give his own life as a ransom for the many. (Matthew 20:25-28)
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