Dear Parishioners,
“As a priest, what sacrifice do you offer at Mass?” This question is not for me, but for you. Did you know that every baptized Catholic is a priest? Not an ordained priest of Jesus Christ, but a priest of the priesthood of the baptized, as Peter states in today’s First Reading: “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own.” (1 Peter 2:9).
The priesthood of the baptized is a fascinating New Covenant reality with an Old Covenant parallel. In the book of Exodus, God establishes “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Ex 19:6) in the context of the liturgical establishment of the Mosaic covenant (Ex 19:5-8) where Moses consecrated the people of Israel with priests who at that time were the first born son-priests (Ex 19:22) before the Levitical priesthood was established. The acceptance of the covenant brought about Israel’s communal liturgy which included Moses and the elders’ eating and drinking a covenantal meal in the presence of Yahweh himself on Mt. Sinai (Ex 24:11). Immediately following this extraordinary liturgical meal, God commands Moses to make Him a sanctuary “that I may dwell in their midst.” (Ex 25:1,7). What does this—a liturgical meal with a kingdom of priests in the presence of God—sound like? The Catholic Mass!
One of the predominant themes of the Book of Revelation is the priesthood of the baptized, which, according to Cardinal Vanhoye, establishes a very strong connection between worship and life, between the heavenly liturgy and earthly history. With respect to Revelation’s three priestly texts (Rev 1:6, 5:9-10, 20:6), the theme of royal and priestly dignity (along with today’s Second Reading) is presented in a glorious context.
In answering the question—“As a priest, what sacrifice do you offer at Mass?”—from the perspective of the baptized Catholic’s personal relationship with Jesus Christ, Peter answers: “Like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices [a notion referred to 16 times in Scripture] acceptable to God through Jesus Christ (1 Pet 2:5).” That is, to offer under the action of the Holy Spirit one’s entire life to God in one’s day-to-day activities, in imitation of Christ. In our hearts which we “lift up to the Lord” in the Offertory, and our offering of the Eucharistic Prayer and the bread and wine as the symbols of our human life, we surrender everything to God in Christ who, “after consecrating our offering in his Eucharist, will give it back to us in holy communion, the crowning moment of the Eucharistic sacrifice (Louis Bouyer).” In other words, as priests we offer the sacrifice of ourselves united with Christ at Mass and receive the greatest union possible: where “the two (Christ and the Church) shall become one flesh (Ephesians 5:31-32).” May this insight lead us all to a “full, conscious, and active participation” at Mass as priests (Catechism of the Catholic Church, #1141) in the greatest and most important work of the Church.
Peace in Christ,
Father Jim
