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Three sides to a story: the most important The Truth.
We all know the old adage about there being two sides to every story. Well, recently I read that there are in fact three: your side, my side, and the truth. The truth is what we as Christians are about. It is what we try to follow and to show to the world around us.
The truth was also what our blessed Lord was about. In today’s Gospel, we hear him asked, “Are you the king of the Jews” The response ultimately to this line of questioning from Pilate was “Yes, I am a king. I was born for this, I came into this world for this: to bear witness to the truth; and all who are on the side of truth listen to my voice.”
All who are on the side of truth listen to my voice. Are we on the side of truth? If we are on the side of Jesus who conquered death, then yes we are. But if we are, we need to bear in mind what that triumph cost.
That triumph that saw truth conquer falsehood, and good conquer evil saw the Son of God tortured, humiliated, whipped, and ultimately killed upon the tree of the Cross. This is the moment in history that we, as Catholics, have before us as we celebrate the Eucharist every single day.
On the Altar today, as at every Mass, we have the body of Our Lord Jesus Christ, broken there for us as on the tree on the hill of Calvary. and we have the Blood of Our Lord poured out for us mixed with water as it flowed from his broken body that aweful day outside Jerusalem.
Holy Eucharist (Photo credit: jardek)
But our Altar is not just a reminder of the Cross. No, it is also a reminder of our Lord’s Resurrection. Not just is our Lord’s Body present in a state of mystic death, but also there gloriously resuscitated. Our Altar is the throne of the Risen God. We approach it without fear, for the divine Conqueror of death, so resplendent in His glory, is more loving and affable than ever.1
The truth, for which Jesus ultimately was killed, and for which His followers yet today suffer is that He is the King of Kings, He is our Lord. He is present here today, and He is our Lord and our God. He is the author of all truth, and if we follow him, we will know His peace, His love, and His comfort.
How many of us come and spend time in adoration before the throne of God? How many of us take time to come to Benediction when it takes place? Do we, as priests, allow the faithful to participate in this often enough? Our Lord is present in all the tabernacles of churches up and down the land, but in how many of them is he left alone, apparently unloved?
As we start towards the new liturgical year next week, might I suggest that we take the opportunity to prepare to make a new year’s resolution. That we will at least spend some time, maybe 15 minutes, maybe an hour in adoration before our Lord. It doesn’t have to be each day, it could be simply one visit in the week. If we believe Him to be the Truth, if we believe Him to be the King of kings, ought we not to be approaching Him personally and seeking His assistance? Or are we not able to watch with Him one hour?
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
Notes
1 cf. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass by Fr Michael Müller, C.Ss.R.
Jesus is Priest and King of all: none is excluded.
Meditations on today’s readings
Melchizedek and Abraham. Painted Limoges enamel plaque, 1560-1570. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)ns on today’s readings
by Fr Alban FSDM
For some of the priests of our Fraternity today is the Feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ the King, but preparing this meditation I find that in the Ordinary Form of the Mass it is the Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time. What is the link? Is there a link? It appears that there is.
When we heard read the second reading at Mass today we heard the words spoken of our blessed Lord, “You are my son: this day I have begotten you;” and “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek”. Two phrases from the Psalms which we believe point forward to the Christ. The first phrase from Psalm 2 verse 7 states that our blessed Lord is the son of God. Psalm 109 from which the second phrase is taken is a psalm pointing forward for the assurance of Victory for God’s Priest-King. Here is the link, Jesus, our blessed Lord, is a priest according to the order of Melchizedek.
But who is Melchizedek? Why is he important? He is the first person in the Bible to be explicitly identified as a priest (Genesis 14.18), indeed throughout all of Genesis he is the only person to be identified as a priest of ‘God the Most High’ the God that Abraham knows as ‘the Lord’. Secondly, he is identified as the king of Salem (Gen. 14.18). Salem is Jerusalem the holy city (see Ps. 75.2). Thirdly, Melchizedek ministers to Abraham as a priest not just by blessing him but by bringing forth bread and wine. We remember this giving of bread and wine in the Mass during the Roman Canon, “be pleased to look upon these offerings… and to accept them, as once you were pleased to accept… the offering of your high priest Melchizedek.”
Melchizedek was a priest in the patriarchal order that existed long before the ordination of Aaron and his sons took place at Mount Sinai (Lev. 8.1-36). This is the original form of priesthood in an age of natural religion. Priestly authority was rooted in the family and exercised by the father whose sons inherited it particularly the first-born.
Melchizedek is identified with the patriarch Shem by many ancient sources. Noted theologians including Alcuin and Peter Lombard found insight in the this identification. There is a parallel between Melchizedek, first-born of Noah, and Jesus, the Father’s “first-born” (Heb. 1.6).
All of this points forward to our blessed Lord being both Priest and King. For much of the Old Testament period these two offices were in different families: Aaron and his descendents from the tribe of Levi were the priests and David and his descendants from the tribe of Judah were the kings. However if our Lord is both ‘my beloved Son’ and ‘a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek’ then He wear the crowns of both ruling and religious authority. He truly is our Priest and our King.
Jesus, our blessed Lord, is Priest and King of all. The first reading at Mass makes this clear. In the great return from Exile none was excluded, from the north and from all over the earth they are to come, the blind, the lame, and those with child will be gathered together. It is a picture of universal participation. Our blessed Lord seeks to exclude no-one from his Kingdom. In the Gospel, He includes even Bartimaeus, the blind man by the wayside, that the many told to be quiet. Bartimaeus knew that Jesus was the Son of David – that he was the King. And he called out to him, “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me”. Our blessed Lord called Bartimaeus and asked what he wanted. He said that he wanted to see. The Priest-King told him “Go your way: your faith has saved you.” and his sight was restored.
When we have faith like Bartimaeus, when we recognise our blessed Lord both as our High Priest and as our King, we will find that He will do great things for us. We will be able to truly say the response from the Psalm this morning, “The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.”
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All things are in Thy will, O Lord…
Our Lord Jesus Christ forgives us as we forgive others.
All things are in Thy will, O Lord; and there is none that can resist Thy will: for Thou hast made all things, heaven and earth, and all things that are under the cope of heaven: Thou art Lord of all.
Blessed are the undefiled in the way: who walk in the law of the Lord.
—Introit from the Mass of the Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost.
Today in the liturgy of the Mass we are reminded that God is good towards us. As He is good towards us, let us be the same to our brothers and sisters. If we pardon them from the bottom of our hearts, then we can be sure that Our Lord Jesus Christ will do the same for us.
St Frideswide, Patroness of Oxford
St Frideswide’s Shrine (Photo credit: Lawrence OP)
St Frideswide is the Patroness of Oxford.
A holy virgin, worthy to be reckoned
Among the wise, O friends, we celebrate;
A daughter she of the king’s mother Mary,
Adopted sister of the Son of God.
She with the curb of fasting tamed her flesh,
And cut off luxury by suffering’s sward.
With all the enemy’s assaults she wrestled;
Trusting in Christ, she smote and vanquished him.
With joyous spirit following the bridegroom,
Who from the courts of heaven did visit her,
Into his chamber hastened she to enter.
O thou, in fullness of delights abiding,
Plead before Christ our present low estate,
And make for us a plenteous consolation.
—from the Sarum use.
John Whitehead tells us that in the Oratorian church in Oxford the following hymn has been sung after Mass in her honour.
St Frideswide, pray for Oxford.
Frideswide our patron, clear our clouded sight;
Help dissolve our darkness, bring us God’s own light.
Child of royal parents, courted by a king,
Sought a crown of glory, spurned a wedding ring.Frideswide our patron, clear our clouded sight;
Help dissolve our darkness, bring us God’s own light.Powerful and peaceful, vowed to God alone,
Frideswide chose a heavenly, not an earthly throne.
Prayer and meditation raised her soul above
All this world’s attraction; Jesus held herlove.Frideswide our patron, clear our clouded sight;
Help dissolve our darkness, bring us God’s own light.Algar of Leicester planned to do her wrong,
Sent his men to seize her, Frideswide’s faith was strong –
In an instant blinded then his sight restored,
They knew both the wrath and mercy of the Lord.Frideswide our patron, clear our clouded sight;
Help dissolve our darkness, bring us God’s own light.Wonders of healing Frideswide’s prayers obtained –
Crooked limbs were straightened, speech the dumb regained.
Through her intercession may the grace be ours
For God’s use to offer all our gifts and powersFrideswide our patron, clear our clouded sight;
Help dissolve our darkness, bring us God’s own light.Light filled the city as she passed away
Journeyed through death’s shadow into endless day,
There we hope to join her, by the truth set free,
Where we have our treasure, there our hearts shall be.Frideswide our patron, clear our clouded sight;
Help dissolve our darkness, bring us God’s own light.
Priestly Fraternity of the Dowry of Mary 