Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:00:02 Okay.
Speaker 1 00:00:05 A few weeks ago on the feast of Christ, the King, we considered the fact that God has the right to have a Supreme dominion overall creation, be expressively recognized, but as rational creatures, those are the angels and the man in other words, rational creatures, angels, and man, Oh, submission, obedience, adoration, and do worship and praise to God. We saw that in fact, is the divinely appointed duty of the Catholic church to instruct us in exactly these matters so that we will know exactly what it is that God expects of us. We saw that one of our specific duties is to join the Holy angels in the adoration and praise of God. On behalf of all creation, to beg from him, the grace is necessary for mankind to fulfill their duties and to render and do worship. And this is so important that God has set aside certain men specifically for his task priests and religious.
Speaker 1 00:01:03 The last time we consider the importance of divine office from this point of view today, let's briefly consider some aspects of the Holy sacrifice of the mass. Now some of this in the beginning will be a review. We'll start at the beginning in the garden of Eden. Why? Because everything in our Holy religion is related in some way to the garden. The word paradise means a hedge tune garden. Now Moses tells us that in the beginning, before the garden was destroyed and the great flood there, therefore four great rivers flowing out of the garden of Eden since Eden was head skin. And since rivers flow down Hill, this tells us that the garden Eden was an enclosed sanctuary set on top of a mountain. It's the very threshold of heaven. It's an intersection between heaven and earth where a man could commune with God, but it wasn't the kind of place where men were supposed to just lounge around.
Speaker 1 00:02:05 Man was supposed to keep and guard the guard. The privilege of living in God's presence is based on obedience. That man anticipate he'd be punished with that man disobeyed. The whole natural order would be disruptive. And man disobeyed childbearing would be painful and anticipate where could we come? Difficult and tiring. If man disobeyed, he'd be driven away from the privilege of living in intimate union with God, he'd be driven away from the privilege of living in God's presence. He'd be banished from the garden, with the tree of life. He would no longer be able to live in that beautiful sanctuary on the mountain top out of which float rivers of water
Speaker 0 00:02:52 And what happened, man disobeyed
Speaker 1 00:02:57 And all these disasters fell upon him and he's driven out needing it was close to him. Dan's turns to Eden was closed. It was covered. It was veiled. Man was no longer Holy the Holy place. When mad once walk with God was veiled. He no longer had access to it and God placed cherubim and a flaming sword turning every way to keep anyone from entering the car and then approaching the tree of life. We all know the results of that original sin, sin sickness, suffering and death entered the world. Man loses the life of grace. He lose the privilege of a close, intimate relationship with God heaven, a slam shut, and then are now in bondage to say, now what lessons can we draw from eating in the garden of Eden? We see a prototype of the conditions and environment, which man can safely encounter God, for example, or introduced the idea that separation is an essential aspect of holiness and that there are degrees of holiness.
Speaker 1 00:04:01 Time has different levels of holiness in time. The Sabbath is more Holy than the other days of the week. It's been set aside for God. Space has different levels of pulling us the sanctuary the garden on the mountain top this whole year from the outside. Things have different degrees of holiness. The tree of life is holier than the other trees in the garden. People have different levels of holiness. There's no comparison between Adam's holiness before he fell and afterwards. So the keynote is it. Holiness is determined by the degree to which something has been set aside for and dedicated to God. Was she a basic pattern? Adam was given the command to keep and guard the first sanctuary on earth. The garden of Eden, he disobeyed and he, and all his descendants were driven out. The basic principle here is that the closer man approaches to an affably Holy presence of almighty God, the more his accountability increases and the stricter is punished with become plenty and fractions.
Speaker 1 00:05:04 We see a basic result of sin immediately after the fall, when God is questioning Adam, Adam begins making excuses for his sin. God asks, quote, have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat? The man said the woman who gave us to be with me, she gave me food to the tree and I ate close quote. Adam makes excuses. He throws the blame for his sin on his wife. And even on God, the woman you made for me gave me the fruit. The fall of man clearly teaches us that sin not only leads to further separation from God, but even from one another. There's a very important symmetry here, holiness, obedience, and closest to God all go together and are opposed to sinfulness, rebellion and distance from God. And one another. Was she a basic temptation? The idea of self determination.
Speaker 1 00:05:59 I'll do what I want. The lie of the serpent was it man could be as a God deciding what was good and evil, but in spite of the devil's lies, man remains a creature. And therefore he is bound by the laws of his creator. In other words, he's gone to do what God wants and that can only have a true relationship with God by carefully keeping his divine laws. Thanks a lot to Adam man is now seriously damaged by original sin and born without grace. The gifts under the dominion of the devil does exorcisms before baptism. Aren't there for nothing. The Saint Paul puts it by nature. We are born children of wrath. Thanks a lot, Adam. So lessons we can draw from Eden. Eden are one. Holiness is determined by the degree to which something has been set aside for and dedicated to God, to the cluster man approaches to the ineffably Holy presence to almighty God, the Mars accountability increases and the stricter punishments come for any infractions, three holiness, obedience, and closest to God all go together and are opposed to sinfulness, rebellion and distance from God and one another.
Speaker 1 00:07:14 And for the basic temptation is the idea of self determination. I'll do what I want. That's all that in mind, let's consider a few of the events of the accidents. 50 days after Israel passed to the red sea, Moses goes up, I'm not Sinai. He receives the 10 commandments, a cloud veil, the Lord. So protected Moses and made it possible for him to enter into God's presence without being killed during all this. When Moses on top of the mountain, the mountain is shaking. It's smoking, there's earthquakes, there's flames and bolts of lightning, roar, thunder, the blaring of trumpets and whirlwinds and storms. And when all this is going right there at the base of the mountain, the people rise up and commit idolatry. Now think about that right in front of him is this huge mountain it's smoking covered with a cloud flames and lightning and thunder and trumpet glass.
Speaker 1 00:08:07 And they rise up in sin, set up an idol, right in God's face, and then refuse to serve him then to try believe I takes the Lord side and kills thousands of eye doctors because they're are obedience. What does God do? He sets the tribe of Levi aside to be his priestly tribe at Mount Sinai. We see that the word of God carved on stone tablets. The law is handed down from God to man on a mountain, top and elevated sanctuary and the destruction of the centers by the store to Levi's. We can see that the closer man approaches to almighty God, the mowers accountability increases and the stricter, his punishments become for any infractions. And the selection Levi's is a priestly tribe. We, again, that keynote that obedience to God's will leads to holiness. And the holiness means being said farther apart from profane use and dedicated to God, God dictated to Moses, even the smallest details of how the old Testament religious ceremonies would it be performed.
Speaker 1 00:09:13 The can't like church that Israel used before they built the temple, it's called the tabernacle and it was designed by God. The Holy of Holies was the most sacred part of the tabernacle. And later the tempo, which has a permanent structure built on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem, built to the same basic pattern. As the tabernacle inside the Holy of Holies was the Ark of the covenant God, because a golden box, which contained the 10 commandments and a jar of man, the bread from heaven. It had a golden lid with two cherubim all on it, although which the glory cloud of the Lord appeared. And that's the old Testament equivalent of the real presence. The Holy of Holies was covered with a massive veil embroider with the images of cherubim, because it's a symbolic garden of Eden and Mount Sinai and heaven. How can it be symbolically a garden V that's easy.
Speaker 1 00:10:08 This is where the glory cloud of the Lord, the presence of God would dwell. But since the fall, Nan was no longer to go to 12 in the presence of the Lord, which is why the Holy of Holies, this liturgical guard and Baden is veiled. Who's closed. Why was her chair of him glided on the veil just as God placed chairman at the entrance of the garden of Eden to keep Nan out after the fall. So also the chair of him on the veil are symbolically, guarding away into the Holy of Holies, reminding everyone, even the priests, there's no longer any access to this intimate presence of God, except in the case of the high priest. And that's the only once a year. There's no longer access at all to the inside of the arch, to the man or the bread from heaven. These things have been veiled to men.
Speaker 1 00:10:54 Now Aaron was consecrated as the high priest and ceremonies that took seven days. First he's washed to remove the soil and the stains of the fallen world. And he's protected by the blood of the lamb when Moses sacrificed to Ram the dog, that's blood in their ear and ear and big toe and these clothes, beautiful vestments. Now, all this was done so that Aaron is the high priest could work safely at the very threshold of the sanctuary in front of the presence of the Lord and was then ordered to guard the tabernacle to stand in the doorway for seven days and seven nights under the pain of death. And then on the eighth day, the first day of the new week, Aaron offers up sacrifice for himself and the people. And God is so pleased with the sacrifice that he sends down fire from heaven, which burns the offerings on the altar.
Speaker 1 00:11:43 What does all this mean? It's a re creation week. The eighth is the first day of the new week. The new creation symbolically liturgically. Aaron has been consecrated as the new Adam who is supposed to faithfully guard the new garden. The words that sacred scripture use it to describe the duties of the priests and Levis as they work on and guard the sanctuary are exactly the same words they're used to describe the Adam's duties of working in garden. The garden, see the job of the priests, representing the people of Israel. It's your form rights that symbolize the service of the nation as a whole, right there in front of the Holy of Holies, right there at the very threshold of the place where God is present. We should also know that God dictated even the smallest details of how the religious ceremonies would it be carried out. And every detail was to be carried out under the pain of death. Did God really mean that you better believe it right after the ordination? Two of Aaron's sons tried to offer instance in a way such as God had not commanded them close quote, what happened? The Bible tells us quote, fire came forth from the presence of the Lord and devoured them. And they died before
Speaker 2 00:13:04 Close quote, God killed.
Speaker 1 00:13:06 It was on priests because of liturgical abuse. He means what he says, and that was a divine punishment for liturgical abuse in the olden days. Okay. We can see how the Holy of Holies represents the garden of Eden. What does it have to do with Mount Sinai just as the clout of Mount Sinai served as avail and made it possible for Moses to be in safe in God's presence. So also the caught him incense using the sanctuary, protected the priest, the old covenant from the divine presence of the Holy of Holies at Mount Sinai, the faithful couldn't see God giving the tablets to Moses and in a temple, the faithful couldn't see dark could a covenant and they couldn't see the altar of incense, but just as they could see the smoke and the fire on Mount Sinai salsa, they could see the smoke pointing out from the top that have, are not clear to the temple when incidence was offered. And so also they could see the altar of burnt offerings in the courtyard of the temple. And on that alter, they could see this perpetual fire that had fallen down from heaven and the priest had to keep burning on the alternate. Now we could go on and on trying more and more of these prefigurement out and later we will, but we've got to start tying this together today. Let's start by selling. Today's summarizing by pointing out that the rubrics matter, which is to say that doing rituals by the book exactly as written
Speaker 2 00:14:19 The central, the job
Speaker 1 00:14:21 Catholic priests was prefigured by the priests in the old Testament and justice or sanctuary of Eden or the tabernac was a very threshold of heaven where man came into communion with God. So also an altar right here in church is the very threshold of heaven where the priest by his strict obedience to liturgical real bricks, not only visibly proclaims the holiness of God's name, but even brings God down into community with man. And now the priest can go behind the veil into the Holy of Holies, not just once a year, but every day he can give us the fruit of the tree of life. He can open the Ark, which is a civil Orien, because he can do that. We can receive that heavenly bread every day. Only. Now it's not a shadow. It's not a prefigure man. It's God himself. This just came down from the Holy Mount with the word of God, carved into stone tablets.
Speaker 1 00:15:19 The priest comes down with the word of God. Flesh notice also that even come up here during ceremonies, we have to have on special clothing and act in very special, specific ritualistic ways because we're in the holiest place. The celebrant compared to the alter boys has, you know, even more specialized vestments. Each one of these has been consecrated specifically to be used in the worship of God. And they have special prayers that I say is I'm putting each one of them on each particular part of the, uh, each, each, uh, vestment has a particular prayer that has to be said for each article that's put on. It is fair to say that the liturgy directly forms our notion of the holiness. God, look at Sinai, look at the tabernacle. Look at this sanctuary. We took seven years in seminary, not seven days, seven years going through a series of consecrations being set ever farther.
Speaker 1 00:16:19 Apart from the rest of you, giving up all kinds of natural goods and pursuit of holiness and all of this has done precisely. So we can work up here safely so that we can safely take your police to God and bring this message to you. So we can act in the person of Christ and not be a scandal and a stumbling block tall. Y'all our job is to reform rights that express the servants and obedience and the church as a whole right there in front of the Holy of Holies, right there at the very threshold of heaven, we spoke of the idea of a re creation. This is critical to understand God has designed the structure of reality in such a way that the liturgy repairs and restores creation, God has designed the structure of reality in such a way that the liturgy repairs and restores creation it reestablishes the limits and restores the damages on leash by sin.
Speaker 1 00:17:18 What goes on in the divine liturgy determines what goes on out in the world, the Gracies that were lost by Adam, the terrible offenses that have been offered to God. The liturgy makes amends for all this, the liturgy reorders, our fallen world. At once, we realized that the liturgy reorders all creation, we can begin to understand the real horror of liturgical. What is a priest saying when he deliberately abuses the liturgy symbolically liturgically he's, re-enacting the original sin, right? In God's face. Instead of order, he's bringing disorder. Instead of grace, he's bringing sin instead of spiritual health, he's bringing spiritual sickness instead of everlasting life. He's bringing spiritual death. Instead of keeping the serpents out of the garden and away from his people, he's turning to them and inviting them to come on in, in effect, the priest is saying, I will not, sir, I'll do it my way. I will dictate liturgical relationships to God. I will set myself apart from his law. I will be a law unto myself. I will exalt myself.
Speaker 0 00:18:53 Yeah.
Speaker 1 00:18:53 Imitating the sons of Aaron. And unless he repents, he'll get the same kind of funny,
Speaker 0 00:19:01 But it is
Speaker 1 00:19:01 Just the priest who's going to suffer. We're all going to suffer all of us. What goes on in the divine liturgy, determines what goes on in the world. That's reality. That's the way it is. So what are we saying? We're saying when massive numbers of the officially appointed ambassadors who represent the church militant before the heavenly court, when massive numbers of these divinely appointed a basters that is to say, priests are constantly and consistently reenacting the original sin, right? In the face of God, we're going to get exactly what we got. The first
Speaker 0 00:19:41 Sin suffering, nakedness
Speaker 1 00:19:45 Disorder, despair, death, and the reign of Satan. We're saying, we're going to get exactly what we are getting this culture of death. This present darkness, this new paganism, the culture of death is the natural result of massive liturgical abuse. The culture of death is the natural result of massive utricle abuse. The most important aspect of the solution to the problem of all these kinds of societal problems is liturgical. It always has been, and it always will be no, we've got a lot more conclusions, but no more time. So we'll pick this topic up again. Later. After the end of the world, sermons, Saint Alphonsus says, quote, the Lord commanded the priest and the old law to tremble, to reverence when a poaching is sanctuary and still we see scandalous irreverence, the priest, the new, uh, when stand at the alter in the presence of Jesus Christ. Saint Teresa of Abilene is to say, I would give my life for a ceremony of the church and will a priest despise the ceremonies of the Holy mass close quote, Saint Theresa, will you say, I would give my life for a ceremony in the church, will a priest despise the ceremony of the Holy mass.
Speaker 1 00:21:17 Let's pray, dear Lord. So many priests forgotten that they are your chosen souls. As we pray for them, help us to remember our own other weakness, misery and nothingness. We're not for your grace. We would be far, far worse than those for him. We pray, Lord, we beg you pour down your grace upon a priest with this very moment needed the most help. Those priests who are faithful to remain faithful to those who are falling, stretch forth, your divine hand, they make crass as their support. If for those poor unfortunate souls who have fallen, lift him up in the grand ocean of your mercy, that being in golf there, and they may receive the grace to return to your great loving heart hail Mary full of grace. The Lord is with thee blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. Jesus, Holy Mary mother of God. Pray for us sinners now and at the house, our death, amen name named the father and the son and the Holy ghost. Amen.
