By Tom Thomas –
A few days ago, I arrived a little early for the morning Mass, and was in a pew at the back of the Church. It was a dark morning touched by the cool weather that the last days of the winter season bring us. I noticed across from me, a priest kneeling down and praying before Mass. This set me thinking, how many times do I actually pray for a priest, God’s ordained one?
Most times I come to Mass to unburden my worries onto the Lord, without thinking about the whole meaning of Mass, the sacrifice made by my priest, and in fact the many priests over the ages, commanded by the Lord, to be Holy and offer their whole lives as a sacrifice for all of us, emulating the Lord Jesus Christ. Whatever sacrifice, that I as a husband/ father/ son, make towards my family cannot ever compare with the sacrifice made by a priest for us.
The mandate of the priesthood springs from the tribe of the Levites, a tribe set aside by the Lord solely for the priesthood. Recently our Bible study group embarked on the study of the Book of Leviticus. It is the middle book of the Torah or Pentateuch, preceded by Genesis and Exodus , and succeeded by Numbers and Deuteronomy. Arguably one of the most difficult books in the Bible to read, with its emphasis on rule after rule in great and excruciating detail. While we are in the initial chapters of study itself, it becomes clear why it is so important to read Leviticus . This Book details the expectations of God’s chosen people, the Israelites, covering a span of one year from the time they left Egypt to erecting of the “tent” or Tabernacle. The types of sacrifices or offerings are mentioned, what is pleasing to the Lord, as well as the roles and responsibilities of Priests.
There is a structure in the manner in which the Book of Leviticus is laid out. Here is a rough guide:
- Ch 1-7: Different types of offerings (the burnt offering, the grain offering, the fellowship offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering)
- Ch 8-10: Priesthood
- Ch 11-15: Holy and unclean
- Ch 16: The day of atonement
- Ch 17-22: Common and holy/sacred
- Ch 23-25: Worship
- Ch 26-27: Concerning vows
The study of Leviticus has fascinated many great Bible scholars over the years. One of the early Church Fathers Origen’s ‘Homilies on Leviticus’ is one example. The great theologian Thomas Aquinas in his Summa Theologiae dwells in depth on the points of Leviticus from a logical and theological perspective. It makes a for great reading to supplement the understanding of Leviticus. For example, on the aspect of sacrifices and rituals he writes:
“The ceremonies of the Old Law had a twofold cause, namely, a literal cause, according as they were intended for divine worship; and a figurative or mystical cause, according as they were intended to foreshadow Christ; and in either way the ceremonies pertaining to the sacrifices can be assigned to a fitting cause.”
The term “sacrifice” is used so often in the Mass today, that it really helps in understanding the Mass itself better, how to participate worthily and offer up ourselves as a sacrifice, the role of the Priesthood and great sacrifices they make for us, if we can have a read through Leviticus this Lent season, when we are free of our normal distractions.
In closing, I quote a verse on the Priesthood from Leviticus that helps us realise how important is the Priest for us. Let us emulate their life’s example to allow our whole selves – warts , gifts and all – to be blessed, broken and distributed to others to give them life. This is the meaning of Sacrifice.
“In this way the priest will make atonement for them before the LORD, and they will be forgiven for any of the things they did that made them guilty.” – Leviticus 6:7