Two sacraments are directed toward the salvation of others. Through them, people receive a particular mission in the Church and serve to build up the People of God. Their own holiness grows precisely by serving others.
In Holy Orders, a baptized man is configured by the Holy Spirit to Christ the Head of the Church. Bishops receive the fullness of the sacrament, priests share in their priesthood, and deacons are ordained for service. The Church teaches that she has no authority to ordain women as priests, because Christ chose only men as His apostles and the Church has always followed His example. This is not about dignity: Mary, the greatest of all creatures, was not an apostle.
In the Latin Church, priests are normally chosen from men who freely embrace celibacy for the sake of the Kingdom, a sign of undivided love for God and His people. Eastern Catholic Churches may ordain married men as priests, and some married former Protestant ministers have become Catholic priests. Bishops are always chosen from celibate men.
Matrimony is the covenant in which a baptized man and a baptized woman give themselves to each other for life. They are the ministers of the sacrament, through their free consent given before the Church. Christ made marriage a sacrament, a sign of His own love for the Church. Married love is meant to be free, total, faithful and fruitful.
Consent must be free and complete. If something essential was missing from the start, for example if someone was forced, or did not intend a lifelong, faithful union, the Church can, after careful study, declare that a valid marriage never existed. This is a declaration of nullity, sometimes called an annulment. It is not a Catholic divorce: a valid sacramental marriage that has been consummated cannot be dissolved by any human power.
Every Christian family is a “domestic church,” a little Church where faith, prayer and love are learned. Married couples and priests both need prayer and support. Whatever your future vocation, you are preparing for it already, by learning to love, to keep promises and to serve.