Priests, Deacons and Bishops

Becoming a Deacon in Aotearoa New Zealand is usually the final step towards becoming a priest. The responsibilities of deacons are to preach the Word of God and give homilies. They can baptise people into the Church, bless marriages and conduct funeral services.

The Priest is called to be the spiritual leader of a parish. His first responsibility as a priest is to preach and teach the Gospel. He leads the sacramental celebrations, especially the celebration of the Eucharist, the two Sacraments of Healing and Baptism. He is to build up the community of the parish leading the people to God and helping them grow in holiness.

The Bishop is called to be the leader of a diocese. His role is to be like Christ as teacher, priest and shepherd of all the People of God in his diocese. He is given the power to minster all the sacraments including Confirmation and Holy Orders.

What is the name of the Sacrament by which men are ordained as bishops, priests or deacons?

Sacrament of the Holy Orders.

1. Sign- laying on of the hands and anointing with chrism.

2. Lectionary Readings for the Sacrament.

3. Prayer of Consecration proper to each ordination.

a. Bishop

b. Priest

c. Deacon

The deacons who are about to be ordained, lie down and do certain postures and gestures as a sign of a transformation of a man into a representative of Christ on Earth. The priest puts the oil on the palms of the deacon's hands. The deacon is given a bible because he will be a minister of a Church. In some Churches, the priests are approached and are given a kiss on their hand.

Prayer of Consecration

Almighty Father,

Grant to this servant of yours

the dignity of the priesthood.

Renew within him the Spirit of Holiness.

As a co-worker with the order of bishops

may he be faithful to the ministry

that he receives from you, Lord God,

and be to others a model of right conduct.

May he be faithful in working with the order of

bishops,

so that the words of the Gospel

may reach the ends of the earth,

and the family of nations,

made one in Christ,

may become God's one, holy people.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.

Amen.

Do this in memory of me!

Did you know that the hole in the ozone layer can affect what happens in our future?

The Ozone layer is a part of the stratosphere that absorbs most of the sun's radiation. At ground level, the ozone gases can be harmful to life but in a higher level, it protects and absorbs the majority of ultraviolet sunlight which is very powerful source of radiant energy from the sun. Our ozone layer is like a natural sunscreen for us, if we were exposed to the sun and there was no ozone layer surrounding the Earth our skin would burn almost immediately.

A hole had been discovered in the ozone layer around the time of 1980's by scientists and it had been and still is being discussed by politicians for years now. This is also known to be titled as the ozone depletion. The ozone layer which use to be thick, has slowly become thinner every year and scientists have gathered proof that our human-made chemicals are the cause of the damage in the ozone.

Most people are trying to find as many possible ways to repair the damage that's already been done by us. We can start first by informing others about the damage we have created to our ozone and what we can do about it. Refrigerants containing CFC damages the ozone layer. CFC is a combination of carbon, hydrogen, chlorine and fluorine which are usually gases that come from refrigerants and aerosols. When the sunlight waves hit the CFC gases in the higher atmosphere, a bond between carbon and chlorine breaks. When chlorine gas from substances such as aerosols reacts with an ozone molecule it breaks it apart and creates or makes the hole larger in the ozone.

As part of trying to prevent this from maintaining it's damage to the ozone we should also start recycling fridges instead of simply throwing them away. Another reason which is causing our ozone to take damage is global warming and climate change. When our cars, trucks and buses release fossil fuel gases which is found in heavy vehicle traffic interacts with sunlight, it forms a low-level ozone. Low-level ozone can also result to widespread respiratory problems, facilitating their infections and worsening asthma. Damage to the ozone can also reduce the growth of plants and their hydration. By us starting now to prevent damage, it could also prevent future environmental disasters which may already be happening now.

I have used information from the book: Closer look at the Ozone Hole by Alex Edmonds

We should treat pests with more respect!

Today I participated in an online discussion based around how I felt about the view from a group of people known as: Nature Watcher's. This group of people believe that 'Animals who are called pests by the predator free groups should be treated with more respect'.

Animals that are called ‘pests’ by the Predator Free groups should be treated with more respect. These pests have already adapted to climbing trees and eating chick eggs. However, this does not mean that we should wipe out all pests using 1080 poison drop in the places that they roam around. These pests are use to the habit of hunting chick eggs and killing birds. It is a part of their life that we cannot take away from them. Although, I do believe that bird's lives certainly matter but is it really fair that we are killing a substantial amount of other living animals just for the safety of only these birds? We can prevent the extinction of these native birds and animals but also at the same time we can also prevent these pests from being poisoned and killed. For a solution to this problem, I personally think that we can build separate sanctuaries, where the birds can live a similar lifestyle to how they would have lived in the wild while the pests can live their normal life, without being poisoned by 1080 pellets.  Not only do the pests die from 1080 poison but any other living animal that come in physical contact with this substance can result to a very slow and torturous death and the reactions to the poison include respiratory failure, seizures and rapid labored breathing and to think about it, it is an absolutely awful experience that any innocent animal has to go through. All animal lives matter and I believe that there is always a solution to our problems if we all work together as New Zealanders to help these animals.

Science learning Hub

About 1080 Poison

Sacrament of the Holy Orders!

How are we an Apostolic Church?

Learning Intentions: 
-Explain what it means to call the Church Catholic. 
-Explain what is means by the Church being apostolic. 

A Community of Disciples