•                                            God chose Aaron andhis Sons with the mission to offer sacrifice for the sanctification of the people ofIsrael. God ordered Moses to anoint Aaron.  As per God's direction “Moses brought Aaron and his sons forward,and washed them with water.He put the tunic on him,fastened the sash around him, clothed him with therobe… Then Moses took theanointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and all that was init and consecrated them…
     
                                               And he poured some of theanointing oil on Aaron's headand anointed him, to consecrated him…” (Lev. 8:1-13). This is the beginning of Israel's history of Priesthood. A priest in the OldTestament was set apart to offer worship to the Lord and as such, he was to be blameless and holy. His primary function was to offer sacrifices, gifts and incense to theLord in the name of the people. He was to pray for the people and be a mediator between God and his people. A priest was to be a witness of God's holiness before his people. It was also his duty, as in Leviticus, “to teach the people of Israel all the statutes that the Lord has spoken to them through Moses (Lev. 10:11).
     

    Israel, A priestly people

     

                                     God called Israel out from slavery in order to make them a people who would offer him worship and priestly service. For this purpose, he anointed Aaron and his sons and priests. God told Moses while making covenant at Sinai  “Now therefore, if youobey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of allpeoples; Indeed, the whole earth is mine, but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation” (Ex. 19:5-6).

    The Priesthood of the Old Testament and

    the Priesthood of Jesus

     

                                             Aaron and his sons were specially chosen by God to minister unto the Lord byoffering worship and sacrifice… So priesthood was restricted to Aaron's family and hisdescendants. But the worship and sacrifice, offered by him was incomplete. Jesus in his talks with the woman of Samaria at the well of Jacob brought out the real significanceand meaning of worship. He said, “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when thetrue worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth…” (Jn. 4:23). By this Jesusmeant the sacrifice which he had to accomplish and the sacrifice that has to be offered by the Church.

     

                                          “And every priest stands day after day at his service, offering again and againthe same sacrifices, that can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God”  (Heb. 10:11-12).Jesus offered the real sacrifice to God on Calvary by laying down his life on the cross.Thus he became the eternal high priest. We read in Hebrews: “….he entered once for allinto the Holy place, not with the blood of goats and calves but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption” (Heb. 9:12).

    The Priesthood of Jesus Christ

     

                                        The Church offers worship to God through Jesus, the eternal priest. Jesus wasnot born in the priestly tribe of Levi, but in the kingly tribe of Judea. Therefore He couldnot be a priest according to his birth as he did not belong to the tribe of Levi. But Jesus is a priest as he is the Son of God. Jesus the Son of God become an eternal priest through His sacrifice on the cross. As the new people of God, the Church participates in theeternal sacrifice Jesus offered in his own blood. Through this participation the Church becomes a priestly people and a worshipping community. The members of the Church become holy and redeemed and acceptable to God.

    We are a Priestly People

     

                                            By becoming members of the Church through baptism, we share in the royal priesthood of Christ. St. Peter says, But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people…”1 Pet. 2:9). Those who are chosen specially for theservice of the Church, participate in the ministerial priesthood. Those who are not called to the ministerial priesthood in the Church perform only the functions of royal priesthood.They should perform this function in association with their respective parish The Church, theparish priest and the community of believers. The document on the Church instructs us how Christians should exercise their priestly function.

     

                                        For all their works, prayers and apostolicendeavors, their ordinary married and family life,their daily occupations, their physical and mental relaxation, if carried out in the Spirit, and even the hardships of life, if patiently borne-all thesebecome "spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ"(199). Together with the offering of the Lord's body, they are most fittingly offered in the celebration of the Eucharist. Thus, as those everywhere who adore in holy activity, the laity consecrate the world itself to God (The Church, No.34).

    The Holy Qurbana: The Noblest of all Worships

     

                                  The Holy Qurbana is the highest form of worship the Church can offer to God. Itis offered by Jesus Christ, the head, in association with the Church, his body, to the Eternal Father. At the same time, it is also a worship offered by the Church, the body of Christ, in union with Jesus Christ. Through the Holy Qurbana we participate in the life,suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the eternal priest.

     The Ministerial Priesthood

     

                        As Christians, we share the priesthood of Jesus through baptism. But some are specially chosen and anointed by God in order to minister to the people of God and to offer the sacrifice of sanctification. This is called the ministerial priesthood. However, both the commonpriesthood and the ministerial priesthood are participation in the one and the eternal priesthood of Christ. The one whoshares in the ministerial priesthood serves, leads and sanctifies the community of believers. He performs the holy sacrifice of Mass as a representative of Christ and offers it to God in the name of all the people (The Church, No. 10).

                    We should become a priestly people who offer realworship to God by bearing patiently the sufferings andsorrows of daily life and by offering our bodies to do good for others.

    Word of Godto Read and

    Meditate

     

    1 Pet. 2:1-10
     
     

    Word of God to Remember

     

    “You are a chosen race, a royal
    priesthood, a holy nation,God's own people” (1 Pet. 2:9).
     
     

    Let us Pray

     

    Jesus, our eternal high priest, help us to offer with
    pure hearts the Eucharistic sacrifice, which yougave to the Church to be offered till
    the end of the world.
     

    My Resolution

     

    I shall offer to God all thedifficulties I face in my life in
    union with the sacrificeof Jesus.
     

    To Think with the Church

     

    Though they differ in essence and not only in degree, the common
    priesthood of the faithful and the ministerial or hierarchical priesthoodare none the less correlated one to another; each in its own proper way shares in the one priesthood of Christ (Vat. II, The Church, No. 10)
     
     

    To Know the Mother Church

     

    In early days, there was no seminary training for priestly candidates as we have
    today, among the Mar Thomma Christians. They were put under the care ofsome priests who were
    known for their knowledge and ability, and they trainedthese candidates. The priest who trained such candidates was known as 'Malpan'.The training did not have any specific duration. Those who were judged worthyfor priestly ordination were raised to priesthood by the Bishop on therecommendation of the 'Malpan' who trained him and taking into consideration to
    the need for priests in the parish. Normally these ordained priests served in theirown parish.