We're going to talk about the order between the seven sacraments, but first I just want to talk a little bit about the whole

problem or mystery, as it were, of juridical delegation.

So, juridical delegation is not simply the, is something, you know, I might say, decides the simple celebration of the sacraments.

If by simple celebration of sacraments, you mean like the actual

conducting of the ritual with form and matter, words, and signs. But it enters into the validity of the

sacraments in various ways, and it has to do with something more than sociological or human

laws or conventions.

It has to do with a mystical or mysterious authority

from Christ and the apostles that is present and active in the church.

So when we think about, and it can touch upon validity, it need not, but it can.

So if you just make some distinctions here, you have sacraments in which the bishop is the

ordinary minister of the sacrament, meaning the power to perform the sacrament typically resides

in the bishop, and that is conditional in some respects, at least the licit celebration requires

that the bishop be in communion with Rome at the very least. So you have Episcopal ordination.

That's to say the bishop alone can ordain priests.

That cannot be delegated.

There's some debate about whether there have been in the Middle Ages priests

who ordained other priests through delegation of bishops,

but let's just consider that a very sketchy,

sort of distant question.

The norm, uh, in all cases that are absolutely typical in the church and which are presumed for validity necessary are that is that the bishop ordains a priest. And that cannot really be

delegated.

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