Priesthood Sunday 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
Intro:
WELL ……………. IHM School had a HALLOWEEN DAY yesterday (FRIDAY) at the end of the school day.
Children paraded around the GYM in costumes and received a candy treat! You should have seen them………. there were:
Super-Heroes, Dorothy from the Wizard of OZ, Saint Michael the Archangel
Dopey, Sneezy, Happy, Grumpy, DOC, Bashful, the SEVEN DWARFS from SNOW WHITE
There was even the Immaculate Heart of Mary!
CREATIVE
CREATIVE
CREATIVE!!!
When I was passing out the candy …. I could not really tell who was who?? Their faces were both covered with a masks or make-up!!!
BUT, in another sense, I really did recognize each one because each child to me is seen as a member of the PRIESTHOOD of JESUS CHRIST! Members of the priesthood of Jesus make requests and offerings. These are children who petition God for different things and JUST LIKE EACH ONE OF US DO AS WELL.
These “children of God”, these “little disciples” like EACH OF YOU have that “birthmark”!! It is beautiful in all of you; this birthmark that makes you petition God and also includes you into the priesthood of Jesus Christ!
Yes, on this 31st Sunday of Ordinary Time, the church also designates today to be PRIESTHOOD SUNDAY! And YES, it is meant to give recognition, support, and prayers to your priest.
But I want to teach you that within Scripture and tradition, each member, each follower of Jesus, each child of God shares in His priesthood, the priesthood of JESUS CHRIST.
This isn’t always understood or thought about by you, the importance of being sharers in His priesthood.
Yes, JESUS, the HIGH PRIEST, offered the ULTIMATE SACRIFICE, petitioning to God for our redemption, by death on the cross. It is the same sacrifice that ordained priests today offer at the most holy sacrifice of the Mass FOR YOU!!! A HOLY privilege, to request from God to bring all the most precious body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ.
HOW MANY TIMES HAVE EACH OF YOU petitioned God on behalf of?
your own personal needs
Your children
Your fears
Your health?
You see when you make those petitions for yourself or for others you are giving to GOD a request for help. Just as Jesus gave to God the Father HIS SACRIFICE so that God would answer His petition for us to be redeemed.
On this weekend we also REMEMBER the many deaths of our loved ones who as members of the priesthood of Jesus did live good lives and they petitioned God on behalf of their family members over years, always wanting the best for them. This is how they shared in the priesthood of Christ.
CONCLUSION
Take a moment now and ask yourselves, “as a member of Christ’s priesthood, what petition am I offering to God in order to receive His answer?”