Good Friday: The Priesthood of Christ on the Cross, when the Victim was Sacrificed
by VP
Posted on Sunday April 03, 2022 at 03:58AM in Meditations
I. The order of its fulfillment.
II. The mode of its fulfillment.
III. Its final accomplishment.
" He said : It is consummated : and bowing His head. He gave up the ghost." — St. John xix. 30.
I. He said: It is consummated. St. Thomas says, that Jesus Christ hung upon the Cross between heaven and earth, in order to shew His quality of Priest and Mediator between God and man ; and St. Augustine says that He then completed that Sacrifice of reconciliation, in which He was one with God, to Whom it was offered, — one with men, for whom it was offered,— and Himself at once both the offerer and the offered. He Himself announced that " all was consummated," for it became Him alone, to Whom were present both past and future, to declare it. All the prophecies, all the figures contained in the sacred Scriptures, were "consummated," as He had already promised : "all things shall be accomplished which were written "(St. Luke xviii. 31); and abundant price had been offered, efficacious means had been merited, to "consummate" all transgression, and to put an end to every sin : "that transgression may be finished, and sin may have an end " (Dan. ix. 24). By "one oblation He perfected for ever them that are sanctified" (Heb. x. 14). He, therefore, being thus "consummated, became to all that obey Him, the cause of eternal salvation" (Heb. v. 9). Let us then meditate on the admirable order with which Jesus fulfilled " the days of His flesh," and let us pray to Him by His most holy death, that, at the hour of our death, we may be found to have "fulfilled the Divine law" (Rom. ii. 27), and to "have finished" well "the course" of our Priesthood (2 Tim. iv. 7).
2. And bowing His head. The manner in which Christ willed to die, was to bow His adorable head, in token of perfect obedience to the command of His Father, to Whom He became " obedient unto death, even to the death of the Cross " (Phil. ii. 8). He proclaimed to the world, that, as He had fulfilled His Father's will through life, so also He rendered Him obedience in His death : "That the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father hath given Me commandment, so do I " (St. John xiv. 31). Thus was it the fire of love, — that is, the Holy Spirit, the hypostatic Love of the Father and the Son, — "Who immolated the Divine holocaust : " Who by the Holy Ghost offered Himself unspotted to God" (Heb. ix. 14). in bowing His Head, Jesus declared to earth, that His Sacrifice had had the desired effect ; that is to say, " into the face of man," once dead in sin, " was breathed the breath of life, and man became a living soul " (Gen. ii. 7). To the sinner, once an enemy, was given the kiss of reconciliation and of peace; when the Savior turned His Face to him, as though to give him the kiss of peace (says St. Bonaventure). O great High Priest, who can thank Thee for all these inventions of Thy mercy ! When shall I begin to love Thee with the fervor which befits one who is Thy minister, and who is acquainted with these august mysteries ? Bow down Thy head to me, and breathe into me Thy love.
3. He gave up the ghost. The Eternal Word, Who had united His Soul to His Body, and assumed both, alone had power to separate them, and so to fulfill the supreme act of Priesthood (says St. John Damascene). Therefore He " gave up " His " spirit " into the hands of His Father, to shew that He had that power of which He had formerly spoken to His enemies (St John x. 18). Then He immolated the Victim, and offered the Sacrifice decreed from all eternity, promised from the beginning shadowed by innumerable types, predicted by so many prophets, begun in Mary's womb, and continued throughout His whole life. Then was homage and thanksgiving, worthy of the Divine Majesty, rendered to God ; and pardon, and every other grace, obtained for all mankind. Christ died and subjected Himself to the punishment of sin, in order to free us from the fear of death, which held men in slavery all their life ; to teach us to die to sin, as He died to the penalty of sin ; and to fill us with all good things. Let us then, on this day, honor His death, which has been the means of salvation both to our soul and body. Our Savior's single death (says St Augustine) saved us from the double death which was our due. With the same holy Father, let us bless God for having given us so holy a Priest, — "a Victim taken from among ourselves, yet without sin, to cleanse us from our sins ; so that the flesh of our Sacrifice is the Body of our Priest Let us thank our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has loved us so greatly, Who has given Himself for us, as if for each one of us alone (Gal. ii. 20). Let us thank Him that, through the merits of His death. He has engrafted us into His Priesthood, to continue the offering of this same Sacrifice. Let us pray to Him that we may die mystically with Him, in order that we may live in Him in this life, and after the death of our body may dwell with Him for ever.
"Into Thy hands I commend my spirit; Thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, the God of truth." Ps. xxx.6
"O great High Priest, who wast made the death of death and the sting of hell, redeem our soul from the hand of hell." From Ps. XlVIII. 16.
Source: Meditations for the use of the clergy, for every day in the year ..., Volume 1 By Angelo Agostino Scotti (abp. of Thessalonica.)
Prayer for Priests (Fr. Lasance)
My God, I believe in the sublime dignity
of the priesthood-a dignity which St. Denis calls divine; a dignity
which surpasses that of kings and angels, as St. Ambrose says. O My
God! Thy priests are the leaders of Thy people, the guardians of Thy
Church, the light of the world, (Matt. v. 14), the dispensers of the
sacraments, the vicars of Jesus Christ, and His coadjutors in the work
of salvation (1 Cor. III. 9). Grant, then, O Lord, to me and to all the
faithful to have the same respect and submission toward the person,
words, and counsels of Thy ministers as toward Thine own, since Thou
Thyself didst say to them: “He that heareth you Heareth Me, and he that
despiseth you despiseth Me"
I ask of Thee, my God, for all the
priests in the world and specially for those who have done any good to
my soul, by seeking to sanctify it, the grace of loving Thee much and
making Thee to be loved by others, so that by their piety, their
virtues, and the ardor of their zeal they may merit a place with Thy
apostles and most faithful servants.
Divine Spirit! Influence
all their thoughts, words, and deeds; take complete possession of their
minds and hearts, so that they may live in Thee and Thou in them. Jesus,
meek and gentle Lamb of God, let their lives resemble the life Thou
Thyself didst lead upon earth!
Holy Mary, Mother of Jesus, do
thou by thy intercession sanctify the souls of all our priests and
second their efforts in the work of saving souls; shield them, and
defend them as thine own. Pray for them that the peace of God may be
always with them, and that they may attain to the everlasting
blessedness of heaven. Amen.
Blessed Sacrament Prayer Book