Priesthood in the Old Testament

The idea and the call of the priesthood of Christ is not unique to the Church. The
origins and ministry of the priesthood of Christ,which both priests and the lay
faithful share today, was pre-figured in the Old Testament when God called
Aaron and his sons from the tribe of Levi to serve as priests of God Almighty for
the Chosen People of Israel.

We Celebrate What does it mean to be a mediator? Do we need to possess special talents and
Life abilities to be mediators? The answers to these questions can be found in the
story that follows.

The Parable of the Mediator

There once was a man who wanted something very much. It seemed more important
than anything else in his life. In order for him to have his desire,he incurred a great
debt. He had been warned about going into that much debt, and particularly about his
creditor. But it seemed so important for him to do what he wanted to do and to have
what he wanted right now. He was sure he could pay for it later.
The man signed a contract that he would pay off his debt some time along the way.
He didn't worry too much about it, for the due date seemed such a long time away. He
had what he wanted now, and that was what seemed important. But as it always does,
the day came, and the debt had not been fully paid. His creditor appeared and
demanded payment in full. Only then did he realize that his creditor not only had the
power to repossess all that he owned, but the power to cast him into prison as well.

“I cannot pay you, for I have not the power to do so,” he confessed.

“Then,”said the creditor, “we will exercise the contract, take your posses-sions, and
you shall go to prison. You agreed to that. It was your choice. You signed the contract,
and now it must be enforced.”

“Can you not extend the time or forgive the debt?” the debtor begged.“Arrange
some way for me to keep what I have and not go to prison. Surely you believe in mercy?
Will you not show mercy?”

The creditor replied,“Mercy is always so one-sided. It would serve only you. If I show
mercy to you, it will leave me unpaid. It is justice I demand.Do you believe in justice?”
“It is justice that demands that you pay the contract or suffer the penalty,” the creditor
replied. “That is the law. You have agreed to it and that is the way it must be. Mercy
cannot rob justice.”

“If you do not forgive the debt there will be no mercy," the debtor pleaded.“If I do,
there will be no justice,” was the reply.

It happened this time that the debtor had a friend. He came to help. He knew the
debtor well. He knew him to be shortsighted. He thought him fool-ish to have gotten
himself into such a predicament. Nevertheless, he wanted to help because he loved
him. He stepped between them, faced the creditor,and made this offer, “I will pay the
debt if you will free the debtor from his contract so that he may keep his possessions
and not go to prison.” As the creditor was pondering the offer, the mediator added,
“You demanded justice.Though he cannot pay you, I will do so. You will have been justly
dealt with
UNIT II Jesus, the Eternal Priest
and can ask no more. It would not be just if you don't take my offer.” And so the creditor
agreed.
"Every high priest is taken from
The mediator turned then to the debtor. “If I pay your debt, will you accept me as your among men and made their
creditor?”“Oh yes, yes,”cried the debtor. “You save me from prison and show mercy to me.” representative before God,to
offer gifts and sacrifices for
“Then,” said the benefactor, “you will pay the debt to me and I will set the terms. It will not be sins.”
easy, but it will be possible. I will provide a way. You need not go to prison.”
Heb 5:1
And soit was that the creditor was paid in full. He had been justly dealt with.No contract
had been broken. The debtor, in turn, had been extended mercy. Both laws stood fulfilled.
Because there was a mediator,justice had claimed its full share, and mercy was fully satisfied.
www.lds.org/manual

ACTIVITIES
Fill in the box below to describe the characters of the parable.
Characteristics of Characters

The Debtor The Creditor The Mediator

Answer the following questions.

1.What was the problem between the creditor and the debtor?

2. Who helped them solve the problem? How was he able to solve the problem?

3. How was justice and mercy served in the proposal of the mediator?

4. Will you agree to the proposal of the mediator? Justify your answer.

"Love is transformed into mercy when it is necessary to go beyond

the precise norm of Justice."-John Paul ll

Lesson 6 Priesthood in the Old Testament 55

We The vocation of priesthood in the Old Testament is described in the text that
Celebrate follows.

God's Word Ordination of Aaron and His Sons

The Lord said to Moses: “Take Aaron along with his sons, the vestments,the anointing oil, the
bul for a purification offering, the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread, then
assemble the whole community at the entrance of the tent of meeting.” Moses did as the Lord
had commanded.When the community had assembled at the entrance of the tent of
meeting,Moses told them: “This is what the Lord has ordered to be done.” Bringing forward
Aaron and his sons, Moses first washed them with water. Then he put the tunic on Aaron,
girded him with the sash, clothed him with the robe,placed the ephod on him, and girded him
with the ephod's embroidered belt,fastening the ephod on him with it. He then set the
breastpiece on him,putting the Urim and Thummim in it. He put the turban on his head,
attaching the gold medallion, the sacred headband, on the front of the turban, as the Lord had
commanded Moses to do.

Taking the anointing oil, Moses anointed and consecrated the tabernacle and all that was in
it. Then he sprinkled some of the oil seven times on the altar, and anointed the altar, with all
its utensils, and the laver, with its base,to consecrate them. He also poured some of the
anointing oil on Aaron's head and anointed him, to consecrate him. Moses likewise brought
forward Aaron's sons, clothed them with tunics, girded them with sashes, and put skullcaps on
them, as the Lord had commanded him to do.

Lv 8:1-13

God Calls Priests for His People

The Bible tells us how the priesthood was established and ordained to take care of the
worship and holiness of the Chosen People. The idea of priest-hood, however, was not
new nor unique to the people of Israel since there were already priests among the
neighboring countries who acted in behalf of their gods, and offered sacrifices as they
worshipped their gods and made themselves holy before them. The word priest comes
from the Semitic word “kohen” which was widely used to denote officials or holy persons
who served as mediators between the gods they worshipped and themselves.
We Celebrate
But priests in the Bible are different. They were not to make offerings to gods. God
God's Message chooses the priests who will act on His behalf. In the different stories of the Old
Testament, priests performed different roles.

+ The Priest-kings-priests who were not only rulers of a certain kingdom,but also were
considered chosen by God to maintain the holiness of His people. One such example was
Melchizedek, king of Salem, whom Abraham gave a “tenth of everything” (cf. Gn 14:18-
20) as he offered the sacrifice to God for Abraham and his people. Later on, his person
was used as an

UNIT II Jesus,the Eternal Priest

allusion and symbolic model to the Messiah (priest-king) between the two great persons in the
Bible: (1) King David whose rule and dynasty was con-sidered to be God's presence for His
people, and whose descendants built for God, the Temple in Jerusalem (cf. 2 Sa 6:17), and (2)
the Lord Jesus,the Messiah whom God promised to save us from our sins by offering His life as a
perfect sacrifice to God, the Father (cf. Heb 7).
+ The Levitical priesthood - priests chosen from the tribe of Levi were set apart (consecrated) to
offer sacrifices, and took care of the worship of the whole people of Israel. The ones chosen in
their number were to become the High Priest and his assistants. As we have read from the Word
of God,God called Aaron and his sons from the tribe of Levi to become priests for His people
Israel who were also chosen to be “a kingdom of priests and a consecrated nation” (cf. Exo 19:6).
They were the tribe chosen from among the twelve tribes to serve the Lord God for His people
Israel. The first High Priest chosen from the tribe of Levi was Aaron and his sons became his
assistants.
+ The Prophet-priest - certain periods in the life of the people of Israel,such as the monarchy and
the exile, saw the rise of prophets who revealed to the people the will of God through oracles
and visions. God called those who are deemed to be worthy to be His prophets and this included
even priests. Such examples of prophets who belonged to the priestly ministry are Jeremiah and
Ezekiel.

The Responsibilities of Priests

in the Old Covenant
As priests acted on behalf of God, they fulfilled different roles for the People of God. In
the Old Testament,they were tasked with a lot of responsibilities towards the people of
Israel. They saw to it that the proper prescriptions of the Law were followed especially
those that concerned the holiness of the Temple as well as the people who approached
God in the Temple himself. They took charge in choosing and forming future priests who
will assist them and the other priests in the taking care of the sanctuary. From their
number also arose teachers and judges who gave instructions to people with what the
Law and the Prophets had to say. In ancient times, those who were deemed truly chosen
and consecrated by God often determined the will of God for His people. But most of all,
it was through them that God imparted His power and blessing among the people not
only through cultic sacrifice, but also by constant prayer done either individually or
collectively.

5
Lesson 6 Priesthood in the Old Testament
7
 OldTestament
fulfilled in the exercise of their ministry, three of the most prominent are:

The main function of the priesthood of ancient Israel was to offer sacrifices
and to those who seek atonement. Since they were deemed holy by their the
sacrifices as well as the ritual purifications for the people especially
thesefunctions,they believed that God imparted to them His blessings, the
forgiveness of sins, and the promise of salvation.
* Manifestation of the Divine Will
Priests also had the role of communicating to God's people His divine the Urim and
Thummim, which he used as an instrument to determine the will of God to those who
sought it. Later on, this function of knowing God's will extended to the instruction of
the Law to the people because of the call of the prophets before the exile to renewal
by following it. From among the priesthood of Israel arose teachers, scribes, and
judges who were arbiters of the Law and settled disputes among them.

+Upkeep and Maintenance of the Sanctuary

Another important function of the priesthood of Israel was to maintain the upkeep
and sanctity ofthe house of the Lord God. This does not only mean its cleanliness and
orderliness, but also meant maintaining its sanctity especially in the Holy of Holies,
where the Ark of the Covenant was housed,and where they believed the presence of
God dwelt. To maintain the upkeep of the sanctuary, the priests used the tithes
collected from the people for expenses in making the sanctuary holy and sanctified as
well as for their living and sanctification.

Priests of the Old Covenant served the people of Israel as they fulfilled many
roles and responsibilities. They lead the people to holiness not only in the
forgiveness of their past sins but also in their daily lives. They also taught and
instructed them according to God's law.

The Priesthood of the Old Testament as the

refiguration of Jesus,the Eternal High Priest
Covenant they were to fulfill as they are God's Chosen People,it was not
As time went by, the people of Israel, and later on Judah, often forgot to

UNIT II Jesus,the Eternal Priest

live in the ways of the Lord God, and began to forsake the promises they made to Him in
many events of their history. Even the priests themselves at times contributed to the sinful
structures that were built by the sins of the people both individually and collectively.
Often, priests reminded the people of Israel that for all their actions, it was mercy and
obedience that God desires, and not sacrifice; to have knowledge of God's will rather than
burnt offerings at the altar (cf. Ho 6:6). Nevertheless,this priesthood was not useless as the
functions, roles, and responsibilities of the priests of ancient Israel were a prefiguration of
the priesthood of Jesus and the New Covenant He has made with the Father with His
sacrifice. The symbols, practices, and meaning that the priesthood of the Old Covenant had
were just a foretastes of that day when Jesus became both the Priest and the Victim of
Sacrifice. When He offered His life for the forgiveness of our sins, He gave us the final
fulfillment of that salvation God has promised His people.Jesus performed the function of a
priest, only this time He is the High priest who is both offeror and victim.
The liturgy of the Church and the salvific actions of Christ were foreshad-owed by the
actions of the priests of the Old Testament by their offering of sacrifice (the offering of the
Eucharist), the manifestation of the divine will (the discernment of God's will with the whole
Christian community in the light of the Gospel), and the upkeep of the Temple (the role of
ordained ministers to sanctifythe true body of Christ, the Church). The actions of the
priesthood of the Church, though not the same with the priesthood of the Old Covenant,
brings the People of God in the New Covenant towards holiness and salvation as we journey
towards the fulfillment of God's ulti-mate promise, the eternal union of His People with Him.

The actions and roles of the priesthood of the Old Covenant prefigured the actions
of the priesthood of Christ which is now shared by the People of God,
the New Covenant,the Church.

Already in the Old Testament, through Moses God called all the Israelites to be “a kingdom of
priests, a holy nation” (Ex 19:6), while consecrating one of the Twelve Tribes, Aaron and his
descendants,the tribe of Levi,for priestly ministry (cf. Lv 8:1-12; Ex 28-30;CCC 1539). Now, a
priest is someone appointed to act on behalf of the people “as their representative before
God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins” (Heb 5:1). But this Old Testament priesthood was
powerless to effect definitive salvation.
Since the Law had only a shadow of the good things to come and no real image of them, it
We Celebrate
was never able to perfect the worshippers by the same sacrifices offered continually year
after year... for it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats take away sins (Heb 10:1-4).
the Teachings
CFC 1950
of the Church

Lesson 6 Priesthood in the Old Testament

 LET'S DO THESE
Complete the verses from Lv 8:1-13 by filling the blank with the correct answer
found in the box.

purification ephod headband consecrate

unleavened bread embroidered turban girded
tent of meeting breastpiece tabernacle skullcaps
Aaron Urim and Thummim utensils seven
sash medallion laver tunic

1. The Lord said to Moses: "Take Aaron along with his sons, the vestments, the anointing oil, the
bull for a offering, the two rams,and the basket of_ then assemble the whole community at
the entrance of the

2. Bringing forward Aaron and his sons, Moses first washed them with water.Then he put the .
on Aaron, girded him with the clothed him with the robe, placed the on him,
and girded him with the ephod's. belt,fastening the ephod on him with it.

3.He then set the on him, putting the. in it. He put the on his head, attaching the gold
the sacred ,on the front of the turban, as the Lord had commanded Moses
to do.
4. Taking the anointing oil, Moses anointed and consecrated the and all that was in it. Then he
sprinkled some of the oil times on the altar,and anointed the altar,with all its ,and the
-,with its base,to them.
5. He also poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron's head and anointed him,to consecrate
him. Moses likewise broughtforward Aaron's sons, clothed them with tunics, them with
sashes, and put on them,as the Lord had commanded him to do.

Put a check before the number if the character described in the items shows holiness.
1. Linda wants to go to the mall even if it is a Sunday. She just tells herself that she can
go to Mass some other day.
2. Robert kindly helps an old lady with her belongings as he was going home from class.
3. Santino wants to watch the latest movie even if its rating is PG. He feels he is old
enough to understand the movie.
4. Laila does not want to join the choir even if she has a good voice.She just wants
to stay home after Mass and text her friends all day.
5. Harry joins the BEC group in their community as he wants to help the elders of
the community to understand the Word of God in their lives.

UNIT II Jesus, the Eteral Priest

6.Mario wants to join the volunteer catechists because he wants to let everybody to
admire him since he knows a lot about the Bible and the Catechism.

7. Sally goes to church in the afternoon because she wants to see her crush who often goes to the same Mass
every Sunday.

8. Rio joins the Sunday Catechism class to know more about Jesus and the Church.

9. Rory wants to join the altar servers as he was inspired by his parish priest Fr.Joe to serve the Church.

10. Zaldy regularly goes to Mass every Sunday to get high grades in his CLE class.
Identify the concept/person or object referred to in the items thatfollow.Write the concept/person or object
on the space before each number.
1. This was used to consecrate Aaron and his sons as well as the tabernacle and all that was
in it.

2. They were chosen by God to act on his behalf.

3. The king of Salem who was also a priest. To him Abraham gave a "tenth of everything."

4. From this tribe, Aaron and his sons came. It is also from this tribe where the High Priest and
his assistants were chosen.

5.Jeremiah and Ezekiel belonged to this particular group of priests.

6. This is the main function of priests in the Old Testament.

7. One of the functions of priests in the Old Testament is to keep the holiness of this place.

8. Besides mercy, this is what God desires and not sacrifice.

9. He is both the priest and victim of sacrifice.

10. It was through him that God called all the Israelites to be a "kingdom of priests."

Briefly answer the following questions.

1. How does priesthood on the Old Testament prefigure the priesthood of Christ?

2. In what ways did St. Gaetano Errico show that he is truly a man of God?

3. What important responsibilities do the Old Testament priests perform?

63
Lesson 6 Priesthood in the Old
Testament
 The Priesthood of Christ
Our Christian faith shares the same confession of the Lord Jesus, the Son of God,as the
This lesson will present the teaching of Christ as the High Priest whose self-giving sacrifice
is the perfect offering to God the Father. His perfect sacrifice became the source of our
salvation and forgiveness of our sins. It restored our relationship with God and gave us the
assurance of eternal union with Him when the end comes.

We Celebrate Life Life is one of God's greatest gifts to us, His children. But if we offer this life out
of love for God and for our brothers and sisters, we offer to God the greatest
gift-martyrdom. Martyrdom and a holy life were the gifts of St.Maximilian Kolbe
to God. Read his story and be inspired by his example.

“I Am a Catholic Priest”
The Martyrdom of St. Maximilian Kolbe
The story of St. Maximilian Kolbe's martyrdom is well known. In his labor to protect many
Jewish refugees,Kolbe found himself a Nazi target, was arrested,and sent off to Auschwitz in
1941. There, in the midst of the death camp's unimaginable daily horrors, he worked to
encourage his fellow prisoners by setting an example of faith and hope.

One day a prisoner escaped, and in order to bring an end to any future plans of the same,
the guards decided to punish 10 inmates of cellblock 14by condemning them to death by
starvation in an underground bunker. One of the ten was Franciszek Gajowniczek, who
began to weep and cry out,“My poor wife and children! I will never see them again!” At that
moment,Fr. Kolbe calmly and purposefully stepped forward and told the guards,“I wish to
die for that man. I am old; he has a wife and children.” Such an unusual offer surprised the
“Therefore, since we have a deputy commandant, who asked Kolbe to identify himself.His response was simple and
great high priest who has direct: “I am a Catholic priest.”Those words said far more about the saint than any name
passed through the possibly could. The commandant agreed to grant the request.
heavens,Jesus,the Son of God,
let us hold fast to our Thrown into the dank, crowded underground bunker with the other men,Maximilian Kolbe
confession.” continued to set an example of faith and hope, leading them in prayers of praise and adoration
to God, singing hymns, and encouraging them to focus on the certain and irrevocable promises
Heb 4:14 of Christ.Looking back on those events, we see that Fr. Kolbe's food, in imitation of the
Savior,was to do the Father's will (Jn 4:34), for weeks later it became necessary to kill him by
lethal injection.

Maximilian Kolbe, a martyr for charity, was canonized by Pope John Paul II on 10 October
1982, with the surviving Franciszek Gajowniczek present.

www.catholic.org/homily/
yearoffaith
ACTIVITY
Answer the following questions.

1. How did St. Maximilian Kolbe inspire the prisoners of Auschwitz who were suffering in the
concentration camp?

2. What heroic act of charity did St. Maximilian Kolbe do while in prison? What prompted him to do
it?

3. What message does St. Maximilian's heroic act convey?

4. How will you show the heroic virtue of St. Maximilian Kolbe? Give some examples.

To be truly human is to feel the needs of others and render loving service to them.This call to
loving service requires one's total self-giving even to the point of death.Those who give up their
lives for others become martyrs because of the charity they show. We Celebrate
God's Word
Priesthood is a blessing that persons receive from God and not something he bestows upon himself.
This blessing also carries with it challenging responsibilities.

Christ as Priest
Every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God, to offer gifts
and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal patiently with the ignorant and erring, for he himself is
beset by weakness and so,for this reason, must make sin offerings for himself as well as for the
people. No one takes this honor upon himself but only when called by God, just as Aaron was. In
the same way, it was not Christ who glorified himself in becoming high priest, but rather the one
who said to him: “You are my son; this day I have begotten you”; just as he says in another place:
“You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” In the days when he was in the
flesh, he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to
save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.Son though he was, he learned
obedience from what he suffered;and when he was made perfect,he became the source of eternal
salvation for all who obey him,declared by God high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

Heb 5:1-10

6
Lesson 7 The Priesthood of Christ
7
 We Celebrate
Melchizedek:The Figure of the Priesthood
God's Message
of Christ
Priests act as mediators of God before His people. Being mediators, they
represented the people before God,while becoming the agent of God's
power,mercy,and compassion at the same time. Choosing the High Priest in the time
of the Old Testament was not by human means or by human decision.It is God who
chooses whom He wishes to become priest. Like Aaron and Melchizedek, God had a
hand in choosing who becomes His priest,the one who will bring His people to Him,
and Him to His people.
In the book of Genesis, we see Melchizedek as the one chosen by God to bless
Abraham who became the father of many nations. In the story of Abra-ham's rise to
be be the “father of many nations”, he encounters Melchizedek who comes out of
nowhere, was described as the King of Salem, the fifth king Abraham encountered
after defeating four other kings. But rather than treating Abraham as an enemy, he
sees him as the one chosen by God for a great destiny. Being chosen by God Himself
as His priest, He blesses Abraham by offering a sacrifice to God. This is important to
remember as priests in the Bible didn't appoint themselves as worthy or that they
chose themselves to be priests. Such a sacred responsibility in the appointment to
this office comes from God. After Melchizedek offers the sacrifice to bless Abraham,
Abraham gives him a tithe from his possessions. This act is very symbolic in that
Abraham acknowledges that while he was chosen by God,he recognizes a figure who
is superior to him as he too was chosen by God to be both priest and king at the
same time.

In the Psalms, we see how the future Messiah was described by the psalmist as a
figure like Melchizedek as he goes: “The Lord has sworn and will not waver:'You are
a priest forever in the manner of Melchizedek.'” (Ps 110:4)The writer of the Psalm
who knew Melchizedek reveres him as the king of Peace (salem) and Righteousness
(sedeq), and believes that the Messiah is also such a figure who brings salvation to
His people.
Like the writer of the Psalm, the early community shared their belief that the Lord
Jesus was the Chosen One promised by God to bring salvation and lasting peace. The
figure of Christ who offered His life for the sins of many was likened to the High
Priest who in understanding the sinfulness of the world; offers sacrifice for their
forgiveness. And since Christ's priesthood is not like the priesthood of the Old
Testament who repeated their duty to offer sacrifices for the forgiveness of sins, He
was once and for all, the Eternal High Priest who made the perfect offering of His life
that all may receive salvation definitively. In this sense, Jesus is like Melchizedek as
He is chosen by God to make that perfect and final offering once and for all.

UNIT II Jesus Christ,the Eternal Priest

The Priesthood of Jesus Christ, the Eternal High
Priest:The Source of Our Salvation
The text taken from the letter of Paul to the Hebrews served as a timely reminder to the early
Christians regarding their faith in the Lord Jesus. At the time the letter was written, the faith of
the early Christians was wavering because of the trials they were experiencing. In their desire to
be free from persecution and the sufferings that go with it, some of them wanted to go back to
the finer Jewish rituals that formed them when they were younger.They wrongly believed that
those rituals could guarantee them the salvation they have been seeking. The Letter to the
Hebrews presents to its listeners a great reminder that Christ became the High Priest of God by
the offering of His life that all may experience God's friendship again. Paul reminds them that
their attitude towards their trials should not be one of surrender and of going back to their old
ways, rather they must grow in their love of Christ who shares in their suffering. Paul reminded
them that in the giving of His life, they have experienced life with God as He redeems them.
Paul asserts that Christ is the Eternal High Priest chosen by God. He is unlike any priest
whether in the Old or New Testament because he was with-out sin. As God fulfilled the promise
He made to our ancestors of faith, He sent Jesus in the fullness of time in order to restore the
relationship between Him and His children that sin destroyed. This happened when Jesus
became obedient to the will of the Father, and gave His life for all. Again, Christ is unlike any
other priest because in fulfilling His mission of salvation, He becomes not only the High Priest
that offers (His life), but that He is also the offering as the life He offers to God is His own. Christ,
therefore, made the perfect offering to the Father for the atonement of the sin of humankind. It
is unlike the offering made by the priests in the Old Testament which have to be repeated
constantly and which do not have salvation as its effect.The offering of Christ of His life was done
once and for all and it effected our salvation. Even until this day, this perfect offering is made in
the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
The uniqueness of the priesthood of Christ also lies in his very person and his actions. Christ as
priest is one Mediator between God and humankind.He was not simply someone who spoke on
behalf of God, he made God present in the midst of humankind because he is the Emmanuelle.

The priesthood of Christ is unique because his whole life was a priestly act (CFC 1955).

6
9

Lesson 7 The Priesthood of Christ

We Celebrate
Jesus Christ, the Eternal High Priest:
the
Teachings Victim and Offeror
The death of Jesus as His offering to the Father will not be complete without
of the Church the acceptance of the offering. This happens in His resurrection when Christ not
only rose from the dead by the power of God making Him divine, but also
marking the vindication of God regarding His shameful death on the Cross. His
sacrifice done in humility, suffering, and obedience to God's will was accepted,
and has become the source of both our faith and salvation.Jesus in bearing the
shame of His death even though He didn't deserve it,but knowing that He was
doing this out of following God's will made the perfect offering out of His self-
giving love. God, in His justice and mercy accepts His offering in the moment of
His resurrection.
And thus, the priesthood of Christ becomes eternal thereby fulfilling the
promise of salvation God made with our ancestors of faith, to Abraham, to
Moses, to David, and the whole people of Israel in the Old Covenant. This
priesthood established by Christ is eternal, and the act of offering was once and
for all. Those who believe in Christ find in Him salvation now, and in the world
to come. As Jesus reconciled us to the Father, we are given the hope of a future
promise that we shall all
be one on the day when
heaven and earth are one
in the fullness of the
Kingdom of God. Hence,
the priest-hood of Christ
is the source of our
salvation as well as focal
point of our ongoing
mission that we share
with Him. He,the Victim is
also the Offeror.The
Father did not only accpt
His gift but glorified Him.
The perfect offering of
Jesus was accepted by
the Father,thus the
otherwise shameful
1855
UNIT II Jesus Christ, the Eternal Priest
death was vindicated when God raised Him from the dead in the moment of His
resurrection. This proclamation of Jesus' resurrection assures us of salvation
as long as we profess our faith in Him.
The New Testament proclaims Jesus as the unique Mediator of the New
Covenant between God and humankind. Jesus is not just the spokesman for
God like Moses, Aaron and Elijah; He is God-made man, Emmanuel,God among
us, in whose very being the New-the perfect union of man and God-is fully
realized. But Jesus is uniquely priest not only by reason of His very being but
also by His actions. He brought His role as mediator to complete fulfilIment
when He offered Himself on the Cross, thereby opening for us, once and for all,
access to the Father's house.
Moreover, the whole life of Jesus was a priestly act. By emptying Himself in
becoming man, by His public ministry, by His Passion, Death,and Res-urrection,
Jesus brought us into the fellowship of the Holy Spirit in which He lives with the
Father.
CFC 1854-
 LET'S DO THESE
Circle the letter of the correct answer.

1. The experience of the people who were addressed by the author of the Letter to the Hebrews

a.joy

b. persecution and suffering

c.indifference
2. The act of offering done by Jesus which gave us salvation

a.public ministry

b. performing miracles

c. passion and death

3. The King of Salem who was also a priest

a. Aaron

b.Jeremiah

c. Melchizedek
4. The word that describes the offering that Jesus made on the cross

a. painful

b. passive

c. perfect

5.The way the whole life of Jesus was described in the light of the Letter to the Hebrews

a. a priestly act

b. a rebellious act

c. royal act
6. The moment when the shameful death of Jesus was vindicated as His perfect offering was accepted

a.His baptism

b.His birth

c. His Resurrection
7. He was known as the Apostle of South America

a. St. Louis Bertrand

b. St. Maximilian Kolbe

c. St. John the Apostle

8. The Franciscan martyr who asked to replace a person who had a family in the death chambers of Auschwitz

a.St.Louis Bertrand

b. St. Maximilian Kolbe

c. St. John the Apostle

9. Jesus a Priest is both

a.King and Savior

b.Prophet and King

c. Victim and Offeror

7 Christ
Lesson 7 The Priesthood of
3
 Using your Bible,read the following verses and explain what they teach us about the
eternal priesthood of Christ.

+ Heb 4:14-16

+ Mt 26:36-44

+ Mt 27:46-50

+Jn 15:13

+ Heb 5:5-6

List down five things you will do to render loving service to others. In each item,describe
how you will accomplish each task you have set to do.

Action/Task

How I will do/accomplish the task?

* Action/Task
 How I will do/accomplish the task?

UNIT II Jesus Christ, the Eternal Priest

+Action/Task

How I will do/accomplish the task?

+Action/Task

How I will do/accomplish the task?

+Action/Task

How I will do/accomplish the task?

Make a Pledge of Commitment to be a person for others like Christ and St.
Maximilian Kolbe. Formulate your pledge following the format of the Baptismal
Promises.
 We Celebrate
Our Commitment

Lesson 7 The Priesthood of Christ 75

Christ
Shares
His Priesthood

Christ, the Eternal High Priest of God,

deemed to share His priesthood by
raising “a kingdom and priests for our
God and Father."(cf. Rev 1:6) This He did
by forming a community of disciples
who shared His vision, and willing to
offer their lives just as He did for the
growth and fullness of the Kingdom.

We Celebrate Life
Below is a poem written by Dr. Chun-Ming Kao, who was once a political prisoner in Taiwan. He sought to denounce
the human rights violations that were committed against the people. He was implicated in the Kahosiung Incident
which led to his imprisonment. He wrote this poem while he was in prison.
“Worthy are you,O Lord,to receive the scroll and to break open its seals,for You were slain and with your blood you purchased for God those from every tribe
and tongue,people,and nation.”

Rev 5:9-10

Written while in prison for 4 years, 3 months, and 21 days

www.thetempestgirl.blogspot.com

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ACTIVITIES

Name the different things that the poet asked God for as he prayed, and what God gave
istead. Describe also what happened to the things God gave Him.Accomplish all these using
the table below:

What the poel asked God What Gd gave him as the What happoned to what
for answer to his prayer God gave after some fime

Answer the following questions.

1.What do you think is the message of the poem?
2. Were there times in your life that you prayed to God for something, but instead what He
gave was different from what you were expecting? Tell how you felt about God's response.

God knows what is best for us. He gives us not so much what we pray for but what He knows, out of His
eternal wisdom, will be good for us. When we are able to appreciate

the wisdom of God,we shal be able to share our appreciation of it with others.

Lesson 8 Christ Shares His Priesthood

ACTIVITIES
We Celebrate

Jesus chosemen and women who will help Him in His mission.He shares God's Word the gift of
His mission with them and they willingly embraced it.The text from the Gospel of Matthew
shows Jesus sending them on their mission.

Mission-Sending

Jesus sends His disciples on a mission, with these words: “Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be
shrewd as serpents and simple as doves. But beware of people, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their
synagogues, and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans. When they
hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are
to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.Brother will hand over brother to
death, and the father his child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all because
of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved.”
cf.Mt 10:16-22

Jesus Encourages His Followers by the Spirit

We Celebrate

God's Message
The apostles are the followers and companions of Jesus. When He called them to follow Him, they readily gave up their
former way of life to go wherever He goes. The word “apostle” means “one who is sent.” As the apostles are named by
Jesus, He commissions them also to go out to the open and do the same actions Jesus is performing to demonstrate that
the Kingdom is at hand. By His act of sending His apostles and giving them power and authority to proclaim the Kingdom
to others,Jesus begins to share His ministry with them. Before sending them out though, He warns them about the nature
of their mission, and the things and reactions they should expect from the people they approach. But He also encouraged
them not to give in to fear, and never to lose hope.

Concretely, Jesus asks them to be prudent in dealing with the people they will encounter as they proclaim the message of
the Kingdom. To understand what Jesus means when He gave them this warning, we must understand that not everyone in the
communities that the apostles will visit will agree with them nor share the hope for the coming of Jesus. The writer of the
Gospel of Matthew may have experienced being threatened by the people with expulsion from the synagogue because of their
disbelief and disagreement over the way he expressed faith in Jesus. Others especially the most powerful rulers of that time had
threatened to kill and execute the apostles because of their faith in the Lord Jesus. Despite these experiences,the evangelist and
his community drew inspiration and courage from the words of Jesus who gave encouragement to the Twelve to face what
trials, persecutions,

UNIT II Jesus Christ,the Eternal Priest

ACTIVITIES
and rejections they will face as they begin to share in the mission of Jesus.

Jesus encourages His apostles and inspires them to face whatever suffering that will
surely come their way. Jesus never hid from His followers the fact that His whole life and
mission was one that led to humility and suffering.The message of the Kingdom requires
complete conversion from the way of the world which is a total opposite to the values of the
Kingdom, i.e., justice,peace, and love. The Kingdom recognizes the Reign of God, and this will
never be accepted by people in power and authority. In this, the Twelve and the other
followers will be “hated on account” of Jesus. (cf.Lk 6:22)Yet,Jesus assures the Twelve that
despite this, they will never b afraid because it is the Holy Spirit who will guide, teach, and
instruct them on what to say to those who will challenge and persecute them. He gives the
promise that those who will endure, will be one with God as they experience total and lasting
salvation.
Jesus sent the apostles on their mission and as He did so,He wamed them of the trials they will face as
they proclaim the coming of the Kingdom of God. Yet, He also encourages them to endure andnot be
afraid,because the Holy Spirit is with them.

The Church Shares in the Priesthood of Christ

Jesus' act of making His life the perfect offering so that the whole of creation may be
redeemed is a priestly act. This offering of life was done once and for all, but its effect
continues to bless generation after generation with the gift of salvation. This became
possible because Jesus shared His mission with those who believed in Him-the Twelve
Apostles. He commissioned them to go and proclaim the same message of the Kingdom
He preached out into the open. He went on to gather His community of disciples and led
by the Twelve, they began to be instructed by Jesus on the ways to the Kingdom of God.
Later on, this community of disciples that Jesus formed became the Church when on that
fateful day of the Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came down on them, gave them power and
authority, and began to boldly go and proclaim the same message: “The Kingdom of God
is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel." (Mk 1:15)

We belong to the Church. This means that we too share in the priesthood of Christ
by our baptism. In the Sacrament of Baptism, God gave us the power of the Spirit as we
became His children by adoption. Incorporated into the Church, we become sharers in her
mission to proclaim the Kingdom just as the first community of disciples did during the
time of Jesus. We call this in our faith, “the priesthood of all believers.” As Jesus was
anointed by the Spirit during His baptism (Mt 3:16), we are also anointed by the same
Spirit when we were first baptized, and later on received the Sacrament of Confirmation.
We are also a “royal priesthood” because we became a people under the New Covenant
which Christ established with

Lesson 8 Christ Shares His Priesthood

ACTIVITIES
His death on the cross. In offering His life on the cross, Jesus “has made us into a kingdom
[and] priests for his God and Father.” (Rev 1:6) This means that Christ had called the
community of disciples who were led by the twelve apostles to share in His work, and even
after His death continued this work.And now, we who belong to the Church share the same
heritage and mission.It follows then, that just as Christ made the priestly act of offering His
life for the salvation of the world, so too are we called to give our lives as we share in the
mission of salvation that Christ was entrusted with.
All of the faithful share in the priesthood of Christ, yet there are among us to
whom the work of the apostles were handed down-the Pope,bishops,priests, and other
members of the clergy. They belong to what we call the “ministerial priesthood.” By
virtue of them receiving the Sacrament of the Holy Orders they have been given the
responsibility and the task to govern,sanctify, and teach the members of the Church so
that they may never go astray in the way they practice their Catholic faith.
Being consecrated does not make the ordained over and above the lay faithful.The
“priesthood of all believers” and the “ministerial priesthood”both share in the mission
of Christ. The former denotes the whole Church while the latter had been given the
responsibility to guide the believers as they live out the common priesthood they
share. In this,we see that the Church shares constantly in the Eternal Priesthood of
Christ as both “royal”and “ministerial” priesthood work hand-in-hand in the task of
bringing to fruition the Kingdom of God which Jesus had proclaimed.
We the members of the Church,share in the priesthood of Christ by virtue of our baptism in which we are
anointed by the Spirit. Out of these are chosen those who will belong to the "ministerial priesthood" ordained
in the Sacrament of the Holy Orders.

Trials and Persecutions as Opportunities to Strengthen

One's Faith
As we share in the priesthood of Christ, we have to expect trials and persecutions to
come our way. In the different eras of our journey as a Church, we always come to
grips with the pain of suffering and rejection. The early Church suffered persecution
from the rulers of the people as well as the might of the Roman Empire. Also, many
Christians were martyred on account of their faith in Christ while doing missionary
work. Even lay partners and companions of the missionaries were also killed on
account of not giving up their faith like our Filipino saints, St. Lorenzo Ruiz and St.Pedro
Calungsod. And even in our times, there are still those who died as witnesses for their
faith like Blessed Oscar Romero of Argentina, and Fr.Rhoel Gallardo, CMF, the Filipino
Claretian who was killed in Basilan by

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ACTIVITIES
the Abu Sayyaf as he refused to renounce his Christian faith. One quality that stood out among all of them
was the courage and trust they have in the Lord knowing fully well that they have to take the path of
humility and suffering just as Jesus did in His life when He accepted the Father's will.
To be a priest is not easy. Jesus tells the Twelve that they must expect trials and persecutions to come their way
as they share in His mission. But Jesus also tells them never to be afraid as the Holy Spirit will be their guide,their
protector, and their comforter when they face those situations. Jesus did not even promise triumph and success in
doing the mission He has begun to undertake. All He promised them was that salvation will come to them when they
endure all the rejections and suffering they will undergo; that the Holy Spirit will let them feel Jesus' presence the
moment the pain and the suffering become unbearable. In this, we see how our martyrs and heroes of the faith
endured even the worst of situations, and this is because they had given their lives in complete and total surrender
to God.We too,are challenged to take the road of humility and suffering. We may not need to undergo the same
“fire” the martyrs endured, but we are asked to bear our “small” sufferings and pains in life because these are
opportunities that will make our faith in God grow. The Church grew from the faith and courage of the martyrs who
gave their lives so that the faith of others in the Church may grow. So we too are challenged to offer our own small
pains and suf-ferings that our faith in God will grow, and we will also become instruments of God's salvation to the
whole of creation.

We Celebrate
the Teachings
of the Church
"The one Priesthood of Christ, then, is shared differently by the “common”or “royal priesthood” of all the
baptized, and the ministerial priesthood of those who have received the Sacrament of Orders. Vatican II
states:“Though they differ essentially and not just in degree,” nevertheless they ordered one to another (cf. LG
10). In his “Letter to Priests,” Pope John Paul II describes how through the sacrament of orders, the priestly
ministry “tends to make the faithful aware of their common priesthood and to activate it.It
reminds them that they are the People of God and enables them to offer spiritual
sacrifices” (Novo Incipiente Nostro, 6 April '79, 4). Similarly, it is the common
experience of priests that they come to know their ministerial priesthood as it is called forth by
the faithful whom they serve(cf.LG 24).”
CFC 1964

Lesson 8 Christ Shares His Priesthood

ACTIVITIES
My Faith Words royal priesthood The priesthood exercised by the lay faithful. Itis
through the sacraments hood through sharing, according to each one's
proper vocation, in the mission of Christ as Priest, Prophet and King (CFC
1960).
ministerial priesthood of the ordained These are the ministers among the faithful ap-have not the same function. These men were to
hold in the community of the faith the sacred power of Order, that of offering sacrifice and forgiving sins.They would exercise their
priestly office publicly on behalf of men in the name of Christ (CFC' 1962).

LET'S DO THESE
Write true if the statement is true, and false if the statement is false. Write your answer on the blank
provided.

1. The priesthood of Christ is His offering and so we are prevented to share in it.
2. Trials and persecutions are to be expected if one wishes to respond to the call of Christ.

3. Jesus warns the apostles of the dangers that face them to prevent us from imitating them.

4. The twelve apostles were called by Jesus to share in His mission as they were sent out into the open to proclaim the
Kingdom of God.

5. The Church sees the suffering of Christ in the poor and the marginalized and so are called to work for their liberation.

6. We belong to the "royal priesthood" of believers by virtue of our reception of the Holy Eucharist.

7. Martyrdom is for a chosen few, therefore, very few are called to make sacrifices for the faith.

8.The royal priesthood and ministerial priesthood are opposed to each other.
9. St. Julia continued to help persecuted priests during the French Revolution despite her sickness proving that anyone can
answer the call of God.

10. Jesus promised instant victory and success in life to those who choose to believe in Him.

Answer briefly the questions asked below.

1. What tasks are the ordained ministers called to perform? How do these tasks help in accomplishing the mission of
the Church?

2. How does the Holy spirit sustain us in our work of proclaiming the Kingdom of God?

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Our Way to the Father

All called to follow the footsteps as a disciple of Jesus are "the Way, the Truth, and the Life" (cf. Jn
14:6). It is in discipleship, and in sharing in the mission of the Church, Jesus ‘community of disciples
today, that we reach our destination, fullness of life, and grace with God the Father.

We Celebrate Life

Sometimes what we desire to do is not what we actually do. Sometimes,our honest intentions are not
translated into concrete actions.This conflict between what we want to do and what we actually do is expressed in the
poem that follows.
Blessings
Yet once again when day was done I praye “O Lord,bless everyone.”

But as I prayed,into my ear

there came a voice that whispered clear,

“Pause now, my son, before you pray.

Whom bave you tried to bless today?

I knelt to pray when day was done And prayed,“O Lord, bless everyone,Lift from each saddened beart the pain And let the sick be well
again.”And then I woke another day And carelessly went on my way,The wbole day long I did not try To wipe a tear from any eye.I did not try
to share the load Of any brother on the road.I did not even go to see The sick man just next door to me.

God's sweetest blessings always go

by bands that serve bim bere below.”

And then I bid my face and cried,

“Forgive me,God,I bave not tried,

But let me live another day

and I will live the way I pray.”

"In these last days,He spoke to us through a son,

whom He madeheir of all things and through
whom He created the universe, who is the
refulgence of His glory,the very imprint of His
being, and who sustains all things by His mighty
word. When He had accomplished purification
from sins, He took His seat at the right hand of the Majesty on high."

Heb 1:2-3

UNIT II Jesus Christ, the Eternal Priest

ACTIVITIES

www.inspirationalarchive.com/2986

UNIT II Jesus Christ, the Eternal Priest

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On the table below write down the things the man prayed for onone side,and the things he did not do on
the other side.

The things the man prayed for The things he did not do

1.What was God's response to the person praying? What did the person praying realize after listening to God?

2. What do you think are the lessons you can gather from the poem? How does it speak to you as a Grade 8 student?

3. Learning from the message of the poem, how will you put into actionwhat you desire to do as expressed in your
prayers to God?
As God patientty listens to our prayer, He challenges us in our daily experiences to make

real what we are asking from Him especially if what we pray for are the things

He asks us to do in love.

Lesson 9 Jesus,Our Way to the Father

ACTIVITIES
We Celebrate In the text taken from the Gospel of John found below, Jesus assures His God's Word
followers of the glorious reward that awaits them because of their fidelity to Him.

Jesus' Promise of a Place for His Apostles

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in Me. In my Father's house there are
many dwelling places. If there were not,would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And ifI go and prepare a place
for you, I will come back again and take you to Myself,so that where I am you also may be. Where [I] am going you know the
way.”Thomas said to Him, “Master, we do not know where You are going;how can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way
and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you know Me,then you will also know My Father. From
now on you do know Him and have seen Him.”
Jn 14:1-7

Jesus: The Way to the Father

We Celebrate
God's Message
As Jesus was about to leave this world, He gave His last words to His followers whom He had now considered His
friends. He comforts them and tells them that they should not be sad when He leaves them because He will prepare
a place for them in His Father's place. This is meant to console the disciples whom we imagine were surprised as He
says He is about to return to God the Father. As He comforts them, He also assures them that He will never abandon
them. As the disciples heard His words, they could not help but ask questions. They were uncertain of their fate once
Jesus left them. He has guided them, taught them, protected and defended them, and empowered them for three
years and it is therefore understandable why they felt sad and uncertain now that He was about to leave them.
The first to ask Jesus was Thomas, the Twin, (and the one who doubts Jesus' resurrection later). He
asked Him, “Lord, how can we know the way?”Jesus' answer teaches us the true mark of discipleship: “I am
the Way,the Truth, and the Life.No one comes to the Father except through Me”(Jn 14:6).For us who
follow Jesus, this is the most important teaching if we wish to be with God now, and later on, when we get
to see Him face-to-face in the fullness of the Kingdom of God. If we wish to be with God, then we must
know, acknowledge, and follow Jesus' example and His life-giving virtues.To know Jesus is to know God the
Father because Jesus is the embodiment of God here on earth. And if we acknowledge Jesus as our Lord
and God (cf.Jn 20:28), then God the Father will also recognize us as HIis own for Jesus is “the firstborn of all
His creatures”(cf.Col 1:15),His“Beloved Son”(cf.Mt 3:17). There is no other way to know God the Father
except through Jesus as we journey towards the fullness of life. Hence the words, “I am the Way,the
Truth,and the Life.”

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ACTIVITIES
Jesus is "the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” without Jesus, we can never experience

the fullness of life God offers us. Indeed, we profess in our lips what we are expected

to do in our thoughts, words, and actions and that is to seek Jesus

and make Him the center of our lives.

Jesus as the High Priest of God:

The Unique Mediator Between God and Us
When we recognize Jesus as the way to the Father, we strengthen our lives and share in His role as the High
Priest of God the Father. Jesus is the unique and only Mediator between God and us, there is no other way to
God except through Jesus. This is because He is the Son of God, our Lord, and Savior. As He is the Son of God,
He is intimately related to the Father. The way the Father loves His Son is the same mutual love the Son has for
the Father. It is because of this love that the Son was sent to the world in the person of Jesus,who showed to all
that He encountered through His teachings and powerful actions, the life-giving presence of the Father who
loved His creation.

Jesus being the Son is intimately connected with His being High Priest.After the Fall, our relationship
with God was broken with the sinful con-sequences made by our first parents. But just as sin came through
them,salvation came in the person of Jesus whose actions and words brought all to God's embrace. As He
was sent by God to the world, Jesus made it His mission to reconcile humankind with God. This
reconciliation was the goal of His entire life-all His teachings,His work,His healing, His passion, death,and
resurrection centered on this mission of reconciliation. The whole life of Jesus as the Son of God is a
priestly act since by His life we were reconciled,and called back to the Father's loving embrace.

Jesus: The Fullness of the Priesthood We Share

We are also called to share in the priesthood of Christ. By becoming children of God through the Spirit, we
become sharers in the mission entrusted by Christ to the Church (cf. CCC 1213). Sharing in the mission of the
Church means sharing in His priesthood because we are called to do the same priestly role that Jesus was called
to do: to bring all of God's creatures back to Him, and be reconciled in His Father. Yet, this will never be unless
we follow Jesus who is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life. “This makes us realize that if we are to share in “the
priesthood of all believers” then we must show in thoughts, words, and actions that we are disciples of Jesus
who follow in His footsteps.

Lesson 9 Jesus,Our Way to the Father

ACTIVITIES
To share in the priesthood of Jesus entails discipleship. If we are to become disciples of Jesus, we must learn and
understand His life, His teachings,and obey His commands in order that we can do to the best of our ability our shared
ministry with Him. Jesus shares His ministry with us who are called His "community of disciples.” By Baptism, we become
part of this commu-nity, which is the Church, and as members of the Church, we continue the mission that Jesus left to us-
to proclaim His Word that the Kingdom of God is with us. This shared ministry in the Church, this “priesthood of all
believers" finds its fullness as we respond to the call of God to follow Jesus as one community of faith, hope, and love.

We share in this ministry of the "priesthood of all believers" as it is derived from the High Priesthood that Christ assumes as His mission from
God the Father.

We Celebrate
the Teachings
of the Church
Jesus Christ revealed in Himself “the perfect and definitive features of the priesthood of the
New Covenant” (PDV 13; cf. CCC 1544).Thus,the New Testament proclaims Jesus as the
unique Mediator of the New Covenant between God and humankind. “There is one Mediator
between God and men,the man Christ Jesus, whogave Himself as a ransom for all” (1 Tim 2:5).Jesus is not just
the spokesman for God like Moses, Aaron or Elijah; He is God-made-man, Emmanuel, God among us, in whose
very being the New Covenant-the perfect union of God and man-is fully realized. For “it pleased God to make
absolute fullness reside in Him, and by means of Him,to rconcile everything in His person, on earth and in the
heavens,making peace through the blood of His cross” (Col 1:19-20).
CFC 1954

We Believe
We Celebrate What do these words of Jesus mean? “I am the Way, the Truth,and the Life.Our
Faith No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

We Act
What concrete actions will you undertake to show you eagerly share in the priestly mission of Christ?

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Let's Pray
This is the classic prayer attributed to St. Francis of Assisi.It speaks of how we ask
God for the strength and the grace to be His disciples. The words of the prayer show us
how to do ourbest to proclaim the Kingdom especially to the hopeless and helpless.

The Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi

Lord,make me an instrument of Tby peace.

Where there is batred,let me sow love;

Wbere there is injury,pardon;

Wbere there is doubt,faith;
Where there is despair,bope;

Where there is darkness,ligbt;

Where there is sadness,joy.

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek

To be consoled as to console,

To be understood as to understand,

To be loved as to love;

For it is in giving tbat we receive;

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

It is in dying to self that we are born to eternal life.

Amen.

My Faith Words apostolic succession The power and authority given by the Lord
Jesus to the apostles which was handed down to their successors. In the
Church today, the apostolic succession is given to the Pope and the
bishops.
magisterium the teaching authority of the Church which is composed of the Pope and the bishops of the universal Church

LET'S DO THESE
Complete the statements below. Underline the correct answer.

1."Lord, how can we know the way?" asked Jesus.

a.Jude
b. Philip
c.Thomas
2. The key to know and experience God the Father is

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ACTIVITIES
a. Jesus
b. the Holy Spirit
c. Mary
3. The way we can journey to God the Father is to be a
a. master
b. disciple
c. slave

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4.We see the life of Jesus to be a act.
a.cowardly
b.priestly
c.fatherly
5.The Sacrament of -enables us to share in the priesthood of Christ.
a.Confirmation
b.Eucharist
c.Baptism
6.We are nourished by the Sacrament of the _as we are strengthened to become good
disciples of Jesus.
a.Baptism
b.Confirmation
c.Eucharist
7.The ones Jesus calls us to be with as we live the values of the Gospel are the
a.rich
b.poor
c. middle-class
8. Jesus proclaims that he is "the Way, the Truth and the Life" in the Gospel of
a.Matthew
b.Mark
c.John
9.Jesus is the unique between God and humanity.
a.Lord
b.Savior
c.Mediator
10.For being faithful to his Christian faith despite the sufferings he experienced in life,St.was martyred.

a. Francis of Assisi
b. Dominic de Guzman
c. Marciano Jose

Answer briefly the questions asked below.

1. Why is Jesus is the unique Mediator between God and us?
2. How is the Sonship of Christ connected to His being HighPriest?

Lesson 9 Jesus,Our Way to the Father

ACTIVITIES

Jesus Offers The Ultimate Sacrifice

Discipleship in Jesus, the High Priest of God will not be complete without the act of self-giving. As we
see in the example of the Lord Jesus, He makes the ultimate sacrifice by His death on the cross. In doing
so, Jesus comes into fullness in fulfilling His three-fold ministry: priestly, prophetic, and kingly (royal).

We Celebrate Life The death of Christ on the Cross shows how much he loves us. It is this love for us, not the promise of heaven nor the frightening
prospect of hell that should move us to love him. This is the message of the poem that follows.

Sonnet to Christ Crucified

I am not moved to love You,Lord,

By promises of paradise;

Nor does the bell that terrifies

Move me to want to sin no more.

You are the one that moves me, Lord,

When to Your cross I turn my eyes

To see Your wounds, bear insults, lies;

I'm grieved to know You're dying, Lord.

Your love moves me in such a way That without beav'n I'd love You still,And without bell, I'd
fear to stray.

I need no goads or giveaway;For even ifmy bopes were nil,I'd love You as I do today.

English translations ofthe anonymous Spanish poem

Soneto a Cristo Crucificado by Hugh Seay, Lent, 1978

users.ipfw.edu/jehle

ACTIVITY
Answer the following questions.

1. According to the writer of the poem, what two things do not move him to love Jesus?

"1 delight to do your will, 2. What moves the writer of the poem to love Jesus? my God; your law is in my inner being!”

Ps 40:7-9

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3. Do you think the reason the writer gives for loving Jesus is a good reason? Explain your answer.

4.What reasons do you have for loving Jesus?

5.What does loving Jesus move you to do?
6. How will you tell others about the love of Jesus?
No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's frends.

What benefits do we get from the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross? The text We
Celebrate from the letter of Paul to the Hebrews points out what those benefits are.
God's Word

Jesus Redeems Us by His Own Blood

“When Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come to be, passing through the greater and more
perfect tabernacle not made by hands,that is, not belonging to this creation, He entered once for all into the sanc-
tuary, not with the blood of goats and calves but with His own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. For if the
blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkling of a heifer's ashes can sanctify those who are defiled so that their flesh is
cleansed, how much more will the Blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself unblemished to
God, cleanse our consciences from dead works to worship the living God.”
cf.Heb 9:11-14

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Jesus ‘Self-Giving as the Ultimate Priestly Act

We Celebrate
God's Message
The writer of the poem at the beginning of the lesson points out that it is Jesus suffering and death that move
him to love Jesus. One reason that could perhaps be cited is that death is the ultimate proof of His love and
obedience to the Father.

Jesus knew that obedience was a requirement for all priests who would offer sacrifices to God for the
forgiveness of sins. Unlike the priests of the Old Testament who only offered sacrifices like a sheep as a function
without guarantee of lasting salvation, Jesus perfects the offering of sacrifice by His obedience to the Father's
will. His obedience to the Father moved Him to endure sufferings in His life: He was born poor, He was a
homeless preacher, He suffered a criminal's death, and did not even have His burial place.

Thus, Jesus is also High Priest of God not only by His being the Son of God, set apart by God, but also
by His actions. His whole life, not just His passion, death, and resurrection, was ultimately a priestly act. His
coming during His birth fulfilled what was foretold about the eternal salvation we will experience as
reconciliation and healing will come with His deeds.Later on, He proclaims the goodness and grace of God
as a loving Father as He announces the coming of the Kingdom of God to us. Both the gentle power of His
words and deeds make those who hear Him believe in Him. Indeed,in going to the lost house of Israel, He
shares the message of imminent sal-vation by His teachings, by His miracles and by breaking bread with
people regardless of their status and dignity in their society. He came not to the righteous, but to the
sinners so that they may experience the love of God who is higher than any law or precepts that they have
followed. His actions that brought the promise of the Kingdom of God was a priestly act as He brought
humanity back to God's loving embrace. But His actions will have a lasting effect later on, as He makes the
ultimate priestly act, that is accept-ing even death, death on the cross as a testimony to a life of loving
service,and the fulfillment of God's promise of salvation to all who believe in Him.

Jesus' life was marked by the priestly ministry as His life was given as an offering of love

and compassion. From His birth to His public ministry and in His death, Jesus was

the Eternal High Priest who offered not animals but the witness and thetotal giving

of one's self out of great love and humility.

The Cross of Jesus: The High Priest Becomes the Offering to God
The paschal mystery was the culmination of Jesus' life, a life that was devoted to the coming of the
Kingdom of God, a life that was marked by the compassion and mercy of a loving God, a life that was
the consequence of giving one's self in loving service to others. St. Paul tells us that the Cross

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of Jesus is hindrance to the Jews, and a foolishness to the Gentiles, but is the wisdom and
power of God to those who believe (cf.1 Cor 1:23-24). Indeed,who can understand the mystery
of the Cross? This is why to understand the mystery of this Cross, one must first believe in
Jesus, His teachings and works, and ultimately who He is to us who believe in Him.

The Cross of Jesus becomes the ultimate priestly act of Jesus because He gives Himself
as the perfect and acceptable offering to the Father. His death on the Cross was compared
to the sin offerings that were offered yearly by the Israelites as atonement for the sins they
had committed against God and their neighbor. And while such sacrifice guaranteed the
cleansing of the people from the iniquities they have done, it did not guarantee total salva-
tion as it only gave them the reason to sin again. Hence, the offering of the Old Covenant
was not perfect as the hearts of the people were prone to sin and death. With Christ's
giving of self however, it was perfected because the suffering and sacrifice that Jesus had
undergone was not done out of selfishness,greed or hate, but of love, compassion, and
selflessness. What makes it perfect is that He gave up His life so that we may experience
the love and compassion of God the Father, which heals us from the brokenness wrought
by sin and death.

Jesus' Priestly Act is also Prophetic and Royal

We see in the priestly act of Jesus the totality of His mission. In looking at this priestly
act, we also see the other dimensions of His three-fold ministry, that of being prophetic
and royal. In the ultimate priestly act of Jesus, we also see His prophetic ministry
because it brings across the important message of God's love and compassion towards
us. If in His ministry, He was the embodiment of this loving God by His teachings,
miracles, and fellowship with others most especially sinners, then in undergoing
suffering, and by dying on the cross, we see the total conviction of a person who is
willing to die not only because He wanted to practice what He preached, but to show
His total love and obedience to the Father who sent Him.Thus,we see how His priestly
act also manifests His being a prophet, a messenger of God's love. Jesus is the ultimate
prophet because He manifested God's love not simply by preaching but His act of
dying.
Jesus also exercised His kingly ministry by His priestly act. By giving up
His life He shows us what it means to be a true leader. In His ministry,He kept
challenging the structures of power in His day. He challenged the Sadducees
and the Pharisees, the authoritative teachers of His timeas they

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did not practice properly the power given to them. He often challenged their interpretation of the law which was to
Him shallow. In doing so, He brought back to those who listened to Him the true Spirit of the Law: the practice of the
genuine love of God by being truly loving and compassionate to one's neighbor. He often spoke about this indirectly
through sharing parables and teachings to the people, and directly by critcizing those who are in power.And when
the time came when He was about to give His life,He gave a very valuable example in humility by washing the feet of
His disciples (cf.Jn 13:1-20).When He was asked by Pilate about His claim to kingship, He answered,“My Kingdom
does not belong to this world. If My Kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants [would] be fighting to keep me
from being handed over to the Jews.” (Jn 18:36). All in all, His Kingdom was not about lording it over others, but by
the practice of loving service.Hence,His kingly act was marked with loving service towards others, and this was the
heart of all who are to belong in God's Kingdom. The truth that Jesus calls us to belong to God's kingdom is the spirit
behind the ecunemical movement.

By His priestly act of offering the ultimate sacrifice, Jesus shows us that to be king is to serve others.
By dying on the cross, Jesus manifests through His action His claim that, “I came not to be served but to
serve” (Mk 10:45).

In Jesus' ultimate priestly act of the total giving of His entire life,we see the coming
together of the other facets of His three-fold ministry: being prophetic and kingly (royal).

In His priestty act, we see the prophetic dimension of Jesus as He proclaims God's

message of love and the royal dimension because His offering of His life
was done in loving service to others.

We Celebrate
the Teachings
of the Church
The whole life of Jesus was a priestly act. By emptyng Himself in becoming man,by His
public ministry, by His Passion, Death, and Resurrection, Jesus brought us into the
fellowship of the Holy Spirit in which He lives with the Father”(Synod 1967,I, 1). In
thinking of Christ's Priesthood, then, we must keep before our eyes a unique, incomparable
reality that also includes the prophetic and royal office of the Incarnate Word of God.
CFC 1955

We Believe
We Celebrate How does the priestly act of Christ give rise to His prophetic
and kingly Our Faith ministries?

UNIT II Jesus Christ,the Eternal Priest