General. The Eucharist is celebrated by a Priest, who stands at the head of a congregation which gives praise to God and commemorates the Passion, Death and Resurrection of the Lord. He celebrates Mass on two altars, on the altar of the Word and on the altar of the Sacrifice where as Anointed Priest, he is also victim. Anything short of giving himself up as a victim makes the Priest a mere anchor-man in a Divine Liturgy which loses its lustre of sacrality and reduces itself to a mere TV entertainment show.

Malachy. The prophet is vehement against those priests who have risen to the office merely for lucrative purposes or those of social advancement. There are also those priests who want to modernize God’s teachings, no longer recognizing the power of His Name in their hearts and the Levitic priesthood, and seeking to accommodate people that they might feel good. Woe to them, the prophet says with vehemence, if they foresake the Pact made by their forefathers.

Psalm. The Psalm sings the praise of whoever has a humble heart and has kept silence like a child in his mother’s arms.

First Epistle to the Thessalonians. St Paul draws on the contents of the Psalm and reveals that it was not only through the spreading of the Word that he accomplished his mission but also, and not least, through his work ethic and suffering. This made his listeners accept the Word as not simply a frivolous word of mouth but as one delivered from the heart by a man of faith and backed by deeds.

St Matthew. Jesus goes all out against the Pharisees who preach all sorts of do-s and do not-s but rarely, if ever, abide by those same precepts they preach. There is only One Father and Teacher who can be called the true leader of humanity and priests are only subordinate to Him, without having any right to usurp His powers. Humility is the key-word to this Sunday’s Lessons, by one and all, priests and laymen alike.

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