Chapter
VII: SACRIFICES FROM THE TIME OF THE LAW OF MOSES AND INTERVENTIONS IN
THEM OF THE MOST HOLY SOULS OF CHRIST AND MARY.
1. Thus far we have
treated the sacrifices, bloody and unbloo-dy, of the era of the natural
law - as it is called -, those ancient sacrifices that were divinely
inspired in the hearts of men by the Souls of Christ and Mary.
2. But before we treat
the sacrifices of the Mosaic Law we shall take a general view of the
Sacrifice of the Paschal Lamb previous to its legal institution,-
outstanding figure that it was of the sacrifice of the New Testament.
3. Among animals of
sacrifice, the lamb is the ideal victim.
The first bloody sacrifice mentioned in the Sacred Texts is that of
a lamb of Abel's flock. In Egypt, the first-born of the people of Israel were spared
through the blood of the lamb; and as a result all the Hebrews were freed
from slavery under Pharao, symbol of the slavery of Satan. The blood symbolizes the Blood of Christ which frees us from
the power of the devil. The
lamb, in the vision of the Prophet Isaias, is a figure of Christ in His
future Passion,- Christ, on whom God laid the iniquity of us all, Who,
when maltreated "opened not his
mouth, led like a sheep to the slaughter, dumb as a lamb before his
shearer". When
Christ came to Saint John the Baptist to be baptized by him, the Baptist
pointed to Him saying: "Behold the Lamb of God ...". Saint Peter in his first Epistle says that we have been re-deemed,
not with gold or silver, but with the Precious Blood of Christ, as of a
lamb unspotted and undefiled, immolated at the beginning of the world and
manifested in the last times for love of us.
The ineffably sublime liturgy of Heaven described in the Apocalypse
unfolds around its centre, the Immaculate Lamb, which is mentioned no less
than twenty-eight times.
4. In memory of the
marvellous departure from Egypt effected through the blood of the lamb,
Moses by divine mandate in-stituted the yearly celebration of the Paschal
Lamb, the name being given because it was celebrated on the feast of the
Pasch, which means passage, the passage of the Lord killing the first-
born of the Egyptians and sparing those of the Hebrews, and the passage
also of the Chosen People through the Red Sea.
Such was the beginning of the Jewish Pasch.
5. The celebration of
the Paschal Lamb was perfected by the Mosaic Law, which amplified and
enriched it. Here it was
endowed with particular solemnity prescribed by God in most minute detail,
transmitted to His servant Moses at the foot of Mount Sinai.
There were also detailed prescriptions for the place of worship,
the Ark of the Covenant, the sacred vessels and the priestly vestments,
all with symbolic character prefiguring the Sacrifice of Calvary and its
perpetuation in the Mass. The
victim had to be a lamb of one year, without blemish, and had to be
immolated by the levitical priest without breaking a single bone of the
animal. The sacrifice
consisted of three
fundamental parts: the bloodshed, the holocaust of the fat, and the meal
of the flesh in each family. The
ministers of this divine worship were divided into three classes or grades
symbolizing the hierarchical grades of the New Testament.
The celebration of the Paschal Lamb attained its maximum splendour
in the Temple of Jerusalem, sumptuous edifice of surpassing beauty
dedicated to the Divine cult with a profusion of sacrifices.
6. Besides the yearly
sacrifice of the Paschal Lamb, there were others, each with its particular
end: the holocaust of adoration, the sacrifice of expiation, that of
thanksgiving and that of impetration,- symbolizing the four ends of the
Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the one and only sacrifice of adoration,
expiation, thanksgiving and impetration.
7. All the Old
Testament - as we have seen - was full of the presence of the Most Holy
Souls of Christ and Mary, who, as hope of future salvation, presided over
and guided all good acts and great events, most particularly all
sacrifices. In these latter
they fulfilled their priestly mission by inspiring them and breathing life
into them.
8. Thus their presence
and assistance never failed during the most critical moments of the Church
represented by the Chosen People. Of
this we have a remarkably eloquent and persuasive proof in the march of
the Chosen People to the promised land through the desert,- splendid
manifestation of how, during her most critical moments, the Church enjoys
in greater measure the pres-ence and assistance of Christ and Mary.
Let us consider several pertinent biblical passages.
9. Exodus XIII, 21-22.
"And the Lord went
before them to show the way by day in a pillar of Cloud, and by night in a
pillar of Fire: that He might be the he guide of their journey at both
times. There never failed the pillar of the Cloud by day, nor the
pillar of Fire by night, before the people."
10. Exodus XIV, 19.
"And the Angel of God,
who went before the camp of Israel, arose and went behind them, and
together with Him the pillar of the Cloud, leading the forepart." The reference here is to the Souls of Christ and Mary
appearing as Angel and Cloud, respectively.
The two Divine Souls, besides guiding the people, protect them and
give them victory over their enemies.
11. Exodus XVI, 10-11.
"And when Aaron spoke to
all the assembly of the children of Israel, they looked towards the
wilderness: and, behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in a Cloud. And the Lord spoke to Moses..." Here we see Her who
is Temple and Tabernacle of the Most Holy Trinity manifesting to men the
glory enclosed within Her.
12. Exodus XXXIII,
9-11. "And
when he (Moses) was gone into the Tabernacle of the Covenant, the pillar
of the Cloud came down, and stood at the door; and He spoke with Moses.
And all saw that the pillar of the Cloud stood at the door of the
Tabernacle. And they stood
and worshipped at the doors of their tents.
And the Lord spoke to Moses face to face..."
Clear manifes-tation of the intervention of the Souls of Christ and
Mary, identified in the Voice and in the Cloud that contained It, and from
which It issued,- also of the corresponding
sentiments of the people who adored the Divinity hidden in the
Cloud.
13. Exodus XL, 32, 33,
36. After fulfilling all the
in-structions the Lord had given on the erection and consecration of the
Tabernacle, "the Cloud covered
the Tabernacle of the Coven-ant, and the glory of the Lord filled it...
The Cloud covering all, and the Majesty of the Lord shining;... For the
Cloud of the Lord hung over the Tabernacle by day, and a Fire by
night...".
14. Numbers IX, 17.
"And when the Cloud that
covered the Tabernacle was taken up, then the children of Israel marched
forward; and in the place where the Cloud stood still, there they camped."
Eloquent intervention of the Soul of Christ through the Soul of Mary.
Through the movement of the Cloud, Christ makes His will known to
the people and gives His orders.
15. No less admirable
is the astonishing intervention of the Most Holy Souls in the different
sacrifices,- seen, for example, in the first sacrifice offered by Aaron
the High Priest, holocaust which was consumed by the Fire of the Lord in
the presence of all the people. This
Sacred Fire was kept by the priests with the greatest care and attention
in order to fulfill the Lord's command: "This
is the perpetual Fire which shall never go out on the altar"
(Lev. VI, 13). The Fire
always accom-panied the Israelites in the desert.
When they pitched camp, it was placed on the altar of holocaust.
It was maintained in the Temple; and during the Babylonian
captivity it was conserved, later to be placed in the newly rebuilt
Temple. With that Fire they
continued to kindle the wood for the burnt offerings until the death of
Christ.
16. O how provident
the spiritual paternity of the Most Divine Soul of Christ!
How generous and loving, ever-present in the Church of the Old
Testament through that miraculous Sacred Fire!
O living and abiding Shrine of the Divine Souls espoused who, by
that most singular Presence, intervened constantly and indispensably in
the Levitical sacrifices!
17. We cannot however
pass over in silence one of the most grandiose manifestations, one of the
most splendid and impressive interventions of the Most Holy Souls of
Christ and Mary. This occurs
in the supreme moments of the promulgation of the Deca-logue from the
heights of Mount Sinai, and is narrated in Exodus with profusion of detail
and in most vivid and lavish style. It
were as though the Heavens could not contain the glory, with its
magnificent variety of supernatural light, colour and sound, nor restrain
the most ardent love, of the Divine Espousal of the Most Holy Souls of
Christ and Mary, since the very powers of nature were loosed and moved
headlong by this Divine Pair as proof of their presence.
The Divine Soul of Mary thickly covered the Moun-tain of Divine
Legislation with the festive mantle of the Cloud of Her presence; and the
Most Divine Soul of Christ, with the Fire of His presence, let His flaming
voice of command thunder and resound proclaiming the Divine Precepts among
all the Chosen People, stunned and staggered as
they were by this overwhelming ceremony of the Promulgation of the
Law.
18. We cannot conclude
this chapter without mentioning the biblical passage that speaks of the
sacrifice of Manue father of Samson, as well as the passage on the
sacrifice of Gedeon,- both narrated in the Book of Judges.
We shall treat them together since we recognize that the two are
very much alike. In spite of
the simplicity and plainness of the narration, both are distinguished from
others by a particular intervention of the Divine Souls of Christ and Mary
who, with singular priestly action, personally demand the offering of a
sacrifice. The Most Divine
Soul of Christ, appearing as a Man of God, holds it His right hand a
mysterious rod with which He kindles upon the altar the fire that consumes
the holocaust, thus manifesting the glory of God.
There can be no doubt that the human figure of which the Sacred
Text speaks is the Soul of Christ, espoused with the Soul of Mary,- and
that She reveals Herself in the rod that bears the Fire of God, which is
the Soul of Christ,- and also that the Soul of Christ acts through his
Spouse in order to manifest His glory to men and to consume and accept the
sacrifice. Each sacrifice
culmi-nates in the glorification of the two Souls espoused when both
ascend together in the flames towards Heaven, bearing with them the sweet
savour and fragrance of the sacrifice.
