Priest, Altar, Victim, Shepherd

This is a computer-generated transcription that has been included to make the homily searchable.  It has not been verified by the author.

“Every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.” There’s maybe never been a time in history when priesthood has seemed so irrelevant and unimportant as our times, the times that we’re living right now.  It’s our priesthood is in crisis, and that’s not, you know, that’s not news. It’s been so attacked, and there’s been all the terrible scandals that have come out, and many people see the role the priest as mainly a community leader, who teaches, who preaches, who counsels, maybe presides religious ceremonies. But this letter we have today to the Hebrews is revealing a mystery of the priesthood and a mystery that affects all of us. And so let’s look at this a little bit, because it’s actually a critical element for God’s plans for our time. And so the first thing it makes clear is that Jesus Christ is the great high priest. As the Catechism says, “He is the one mediator between God and man.” And that would have been very surprising for the people who heard Jesus preaching, because they could understand Him as a great teacher, as a great prophet. But the priest were the sons of Levi who served in the temple, and Jesus was not one of them. And so this is surprising to call Jesus the great high priest, because it’s obviously a very different type of priesthood. So Jesus is the great high priest, the one mediator between God and man, but He calls us to participate in His priesthood, and in two different ways. When we as Catholics, when we think of priests, we think of those who have been ordained to the priesthood. That’s called the ministerial priesthood, and there’s three orders. There’s the bishops and the priests and the deacons. But there’s that priesthood is for another priesthood which is actually even more important, and that’s the priesthood that all the baptized are called to share, what’s called the royal priesthood of all the faithful. And so all of them, all the faithful, by beginning with the grace of baptism, are called to share in the priesthood of Jesus Christ; by following him, by living for God and for others, offering the sacrifices of their life, offering the service of their life. And the greatest example of this royal priesthood is our Blessed Mother. So she is the greatest example of someone living this, the priesthood of Jesus, the royal priesthood of the faithful. And last time we had these readings. I preached on that, on that royal priesthood, but so I want to focus on this ministerial priesthood.  But what I’ll be saying about the ministerial priesthood is, a lot of it, is also true in a slightly different way for all of us, so it affects all of us. And for priests, for priests to be faithful to their ministerial priesthood that they have, they have to also live themselves, this royal priesthood of the faithful. And so it says that the priest is a mediator between God and man. And so this shows like the two poles of priesthood, between the human and the divine. And so this reading we had today says that the priest is chosen from among men. So he’s human like everybody else, and so he has all the weaknesses and defects and struggles against sin that all humans have, and yet he is called by God. So it’s not something that comes first of all from the community, from the organization. It’s not just because he was born of a certain family. But there has to be a divine calling, true priest. So he says, chosen by God. So he’s a human, but chosen by God Himself, called and anointed by God, and so made to be a mediator between God and men. The passage today said, “he’s appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God,” act for men in relation to God. So a mediator between God and men, “to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.” And that’s what we’re doing right now. That’s especially as we celebrate this Holy Mass. And we have, for instance, thinking of someone like Padre Pio, who he had in his body the stigmata, and which experience the pains of the stigmata, the Passion of Our Lord, especially during Mass. And so what that is reminding us is that the priest is at Mass, especially the Mass is making present the suffering, the sacrifice of Jesus. And but the wounds of Padre Pio are a sign of his own sacrifices and his own offering of himself, that is his living, the ministerial priesthood, the priesthood that all of us are called to live by offering our own sacrifices, our own offerings to the Lord. So Padre Pio was a special sign, even in his flesh, of how those who are called to the ministry of priesthood have to, above all, live the royal priesthood of offering their own sacrifices to the Lord. And so I wanted to share with you all today a message that the Lord gave which we hadn’t made public yet. This was given in December, last December, so almost a year ago, and it was a question I had asked. It was a response to me to a question I had asked, but as you’ll see, that the answer is obviously meant for much more than me. And it’s, as I said, it’s a message for priest, for those who are called to the ministerial priesthood, but also a message for all of us, for the royal priesthood, that all of us are called to live. And a need, there’s such a need for priests today. and our brother, Mikael, I think we believe the Lord is calling him to the priesthood, but we’ve had to make the sacrifice, and he’s had to make the sacrifice of waiting because of these mysterious plans of the Lord and the problems in the Church today. So this is a prayer for all those, for all those who are priests and all those who are called to be priests.  It says, “My priest sons, how much power and how much good is entrusted to you, and how you are hated and attacked because of this.” And I’ll come back to that attack. He says, “I have established an order within My Church for the good of all that the order that reigns in heaven and is reflected in all creation be also present in My Church. To each is entrusted a different role, a different way of cooperating in My work.” And like Saint Paul says that in the body, each member of the body has a different role. So in the Mystical Body of Christ, which is the Church, each part has this different role in that. And when it all works together, then there’s that order that our Lord talks about. So he talks about the role of priests. And again, as I’m as I’m reading this, you can think of how it applies to ministerial priesthood, but also to how it applies to the priesthood of each of us. “To my priests, the work of continuing most closely the work of my Jesus is entrusted.” So that’s the importance – the role, the work of continuing most closely the work of my Jesus is entrusted. And he speaks of four aspects of that, of that role. He says, “Priest, victim, altar and shepherd. Shepherd is perhaps the one that’s most understandable. In fact, it’s the one that Protestants, you know, that’s the term they use, the shepherd or Pastor. Pastor, which means Shepherd. That’s a term they use for their leaders, the pastor, the leader of their church. So a leader, you know, a person who guides, who leads, who teaches, but Jesus? What does Jesus say about the Good Shepherd? He does? What is the Good Shepherd called to do? To give his life? So it’s not just to guide or to teach, but it’s to give his life. So that’s the shepherd. But the other terms are even more mysterious, priest, but then he also says altar and victim. So. He’ll come back to those terms. So how are they supposed to fulfill this mission? He says, “the ones who,” and this is very important, this point, He says, So, how are they going to do this? He says, “by emptying themselves completely can be filled by Me and be used completely as My instruments of grace and mercy.” So notice what He’s saying. It’s not by the priests own capacities. It’s not by all the studies that have filled them once they’ve studied a lot and learned a bunch of stuff. He says that the key formation for the priest is to be emptied. You know, again, we think of formation often as filling. But He says the main thing a priest needs is to be emptied. You know, think, for instance, like a glass, say, you have a glass, and you want to pour wine in it, but it’s full of water, and so you can’t, you can’t pour it, and it’s already full. And so the recipient needs to be emptied before it can be filled. He says, “By the ones who, by emptying themselves completely, can be filled by Me and be used completely as My instruments of grace and mercy.” So this is already showing us that, for instance, a doctor, you know, when a doctor comes into medical school, you don’t say the main thing the doctor needs is to be emptied, right? You want a doctor who knows a bunch of stuff, right – who knows about his role. But Jesus is showing that this is supernatural, that the priest role is not to be an expert. It’s to be an instrument. And the only way he can be an instrument is if he is empty. You know, that’s what Scripture says, that Jesus emptied Himself, the beautiful Greek word kenosis, Jesus emptied Himself. And so this is already showing that the priest’s will is very mysterious. It’s to be emptied. And so a lot of I mean, for me, it’s very helpful to read that, because that’s what I feel like this, my experience with the Lord has been, it hasn’t been being so much filled with a bunch of knowledge. It’s been a path of being emptied more and more. He says, “this is an authority and responsibility that can only be lived out by a complete abandonment to My will.” Because the danger whenever someone has authority, there’s always a human danger of pride and of imposing themselves. And that, you know, that’s a danger in the positions in the Church. And so he says, “Then the priest needs complete abandonment to My will,” which you know that’s an act of humility, of trusting in the Lord, of loving Him and letting Him act. And so again, this is true for ministerial priest, but it’s true for all of us to live our royal priesthood. And so that helps us to understand why so much of life is about being emptied. And it’s so hard for us, right? It’s so hard for us to be emptied, but so much of life is to being emptied of our ideas and our sense that we’re in control and that we have every, we can do it, we need, and we understand, and we can do it. We have to be emptied of that if God is going to use us as His instruments. And so then He talks about the how priest, the priesthood is under attack. You see now – “You see now my children why and how the priesthood has been decimated, made into a mockery, into a treason, and thus my little ones are left bereft, and what a crushing weight falls upon My faithful priest sons who obey Me, who believe Me. Only I know their suffering, and I say to you, My sons, I am with you. Your pierced hearts and crushed souls sustain My little ones and prevent them from being devoured by our enemy.” So notice what He says. He doesn’t say, your human excellence, your human knowledge, your human skills, your human virtues. “Save my flock,” He says, “Your pierced hearts and crushed souls prevent My little ones from being devoured.” And so that’s true for them, those called to the ministerial priesthood, and it’s called for all of us, called to share in the priesthood of Jesus. “Has your heart sometimes felt pierced? Has your soul sometimes felt crushed,” and you think, I can’t do anything because I’m so crushed, and the Lord’s saying it’s precisely that that permits us to be His instruments. And that’s why I took the example of Padre Pio, because in Padre Pio, the Lord was showing in a visible way, in visible wounds, what is true for all true priests, and whether it’s ministerial priesthood or the royal priesthood, for all true priests, it’s sharing in the suffering of Jesus. That’s what makes us capable of being His instruments. “I bless you, My sons. Remain in My love. I will vindicate you.” And then He talks about His blessing. “I entrust My blessing to you, that you may bestow it in a visible manner over My children in so much need.” So God can obviously bestow His blessing however He wants. And He’s not limited to priests, but He uses this as a visible way, “the blessing which comes forth from My heart.” So the blessing from His heart, from the mystery of the Divine union, “and contains the power,” – so priests are called to be ministers of His blessing that comes from His heart – and He says, “contains the power to recreate, to heal, to expel all demons, to bring light and peace and the assurance of My Love.  This blessing which comes to you through the pierced heart of My Jesus and can only be given through Your Own pierced hearts in obedience and trust in Me.” So just as the blessing of Jesus came from His heart, which was pierced on the cross, so for the priest to be instruments, they have to let also their hearts be pierced. And again, this is true for all of us. And now He’s talking, now He’ll talk about this anointing as altar and victim. “It is not studies or pastoral this or pastoral that,” – you know, if you’re in the Church today and you don’t know what to say, just say pastoral, because everything is pastoral, pastoral, pastoral, pastoral – So He says, “it is not studies, or pastoral this, or pastoral that, or programs or committees,” and maybe I could add a sentence – “that allow me to use you as my instruments of grace, protection and salvation.” So what is it, if it’s not that? “It is your faith, your obedience, your willingness to be the victim and the altar upon which My will is accomplished, in and through you. When My priestly anointing is being bestowed upon you, bestowed, not earned, when you are being anointed, before men and before angels.” So what He’s saying, when He says before angels, is He’s saying that this is not some it’s not just a mere show, it’s not just a formality. The angels who see what is spiritual realities are seeing this happen. “You are being anointed as altars and victims.” And so He’ll explain a little bit what that means, “An altar that is devoid of everything in order to receive everything from Me,” so an altar that receives, “an altar covered in the pure linen of faith in order to receive the divine mysteries, guard them and feed My children with them.” So the altar that can receive the gift from heaven, that can feed His flock. And then He also speaks of victims. He says, “I anoint you as My victims that united to the one perfect victim, you may offer yourselves and all My children to Me in a holocaust of love, adoration and reparation.” As a victim, that’s why the example of Padre Pio is so important, and that’s why we have the crucifix above the altar, because the priest is called not just to offer the sacrifice. Jesus was not just the priest who offered the sacrifice. He was the victim who was offered. And everyone who is called to share the priesthood as minister or the world priesthood is called also to be a victim. “When you accept this anointing as altars and victims, you truly become My priest.” So to truly be His priest, we have to accept that anointing as altars and victims, “and I fill you with My light and My grace for the good of My little ones, that you may be a visible sign of My presence, of My guidance, of My protection, of My strength, of My truth.” And then He talks sadly of the priests who are not truly His. He says, “There are many priests,” and he puts that in quotation marks, “who are not mine.” Say many who are not mine, “who dress and act and speak as shepherds and priests, but who do not have My anointing and truth, for they never received the essence of the priesthood, and thus are empty shells with nothing to offer, with no effective means of helping My children. My sons, My faithful sons, pray for your brothers who have forgotten My anointing, who have abandoned the altar and the cross. Pray for their flocks that they may be nourished and protected by your priesthood until they return to Me.” So that’s a sign of the terrible crisis that if it, if it affects the priest and other members of the hierarchy, it then affects all the Church. “My sons, how much I love you, how much. Your Father, your Abba, blesses you. Take care of My little ones.” And so just to conclude, I’ll repeat that phrase of the Lord. “I anoint you as my victims, that united to the one perfect victim, you may offer yourselves and all My children to Me in a holocaust of love, adoration and reparation.” That’s what we come to do at this critical time for our country and for our Church here in this Mass, in our little mission. So we pray for all priests in this crisis, and all those who are called to the priesthood to be servants of the sacred ministries and act in the person, in Persona Christi, in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the great high priest. He is the altar, the victim, the good shepherd who offers Himself and is present in this sacrifice. And Mary, the mother of the priest, is the greatest example, the royal priesthood of the faithful, doing what each of us are called to do in this Mass, offering ourselves in union with Jesus. All of us are called to this royal priesthood, and all of us are called to live it right now in this holy Mass to as again, those words of the Lord, “offer yourselves to Me in a holocaust of love, adoration and reparation.” Amen.

KEYWORDS / PHRASES:
Hebrews 5:1-6