Homily: Tuesday - 7th Week of Easter 2016 - Jesus the High Priest (School Mass)

There are many titles applied to Jesus throughout the Scriptures: he is the Messiah, the Savior, the Son of God, the Son of Man.  He is also called the High Priest.  Each title focuses on a particular aspect of who Jesus is.

I want to talk a little bit about why Jesus is called, the High Priest, and what that means for us. On the night of the Last Supper, as we heard in the Gospel today, Jesus turned towards his Father in prayer, just like a priest at Mass turns to God in prayer.  He prayed for himself, just like a priest does, and then he prayed for others, just like a priest does.

In his High Priestly prayer, Jesus prayed for several things.  He prayed that God might be glorified as he died on the cross the following day.  He prayed that his sacrifice might bring about eternal life for his followers, and that his followers would be faithful to God in all things. Jesus knew that we would need God’s help in being faithful to Him, in witnessing to Him, and so he prayed for us.

He prayed for us because each member of the Church is a sort of priest. Each one of us are called to do what our High Priest, Jesus, has done.  We are called to glorify God in the sacrifices and good deeds of our life, we are called to help others come to eternal life by teaching people about Jesus and leading them to the faith, and we are called to be obedient to everything Jesus teaches us, no matter how difficult or inconvenient.  We are to make Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer our own.

In the mid 20th century, Blessed Pope Paul VI explained how Jesus had made every member of the Church into a sort of priest.  Pope Paul said, “In Jesus Christ all the faithful are made a holy and royal priesthood; they offer spiritual sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ… there is no member who does not have a part in the mission…but each one ought to hallow Jesus in his heart, and in the spirit of prophecy bear witness to Jesus.”

So, boys and girls, as you walk through the hallways of your school, as you sit in your classroom, as you prepare for your summer vacations, you can say to yourself, “I’m a priest”. But that means each of you also has a job to do every day.  You can’t take a vacation from being a member of Jesus’ priestly people.  Every day you must glorify God, you must pray, you must love, you must sacrifice, you must obey.

Jesus the High Priest offers Himself to us at this Holy Mass, and we are able to receive the fruit of His Sacrifice in Holy Communion—His very Body and Blood.  Let us recognize Jesus Our High Priest in this Holy Sacrifice today, for he is the Priest, the Altar, and the Lamb of Sacrifice at every Mass.  May this celebration help us to be faithful to God in our own priestly vocation for the glory of God and salvation of souls.