Former Anglican priest, now Catholic, Father Al. Kimel from Pontifications blog was ordained as a Catholic priest this weekend in the diocese of Newark, NJ by Archbishop John J. Myers . This was through the Pastoral Provision started by John Paul 2 in an attempt to accomodate those episcopal priests desiring communion with Rome.
In this photo, you see apostolic succession in action. Jesus built his Church on Peter and this Church continues to confer holy orders through the laying on of hands. Some bishops are able to trace back their ordination "genealogy" 500 years or more.
In the Creed, we acknowledge that we believe in "one, holy, catholic and apostolic church."
The Church is apostolic on several grounds: her origin, doctrine, authority, and episcopal succession.
- She is apostolic because her origin reaches back to Christ’s call of the apostles and ordaining them to the fullness of the priesthood at the Last Supper.
- She is also apostolic because the doctrine she has taught over the centuries has remained faithful to the teaching of the apostles.
- She is apostolic because the pope’s and bishops’ authority to teach, govern, and sanctify comes from their being direct successors of St. Peter and the first apostles.
- She is finally apostolic because this succession derives not only by delegation or appointment, but is actually rooted in episcopal ordination. When Christ ordained the apostles, He enabled them to confer the same powers they had received from Him. And the bishops ordained by the apostles could transmit their episcopal powers – in unending line – to their successors until the end of time. (Taken from Pocket Catechism)
Keep Father Al in your prayers as well as his family too. There will be unique pressures on a married priest but he has a long succession of godly people (a great cloud of witnesses) who have gone before him to cheer him on and to pray for him.
No comments:
Post a Comment