Holy Orders and the Deaconate

[Rick_Bohler]

I had understood that Holy Orders is a sacrament that can only be recieved once,because of its “indellible mark”. One of course, thinks of the priesthood. But isn’t the ordaining of a man to the deaconate a form or level of Holy Orders? If the man is later ordained as a priest, does he recieve the sacrament again, or simply an expansion of faculties?
Rick Bohler <*><

 

[Jim_Blackburn]

There are three “degrees” of Holy Orders: episcopate (bishop), presbyterate (priest), and diaconate (deacon). A man receives the Sacrament of Holy Orders only once. “As in the case of Baptism and Confirmation this share in Christ’s office is granted once for all. The sacrament of Holy Orders, like the other two, confers an indelible spiritual character and cannot be repeated or conferred temporarily.” (CCC 1582)

When a deacon becomes a priest, or a priest becomes a bishop, he does not receive the sacrament again but, rather, is conferred the higher degree.