Leviticus Chapter 21

LEVITICUS 

CHAPTER 

21

1. The LORD said to Moses: speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron and say to them:

No one shall defile himself for a dead person among his relatives, 2. except for his nearest kin: his mother; his father, his son, his daughter, his brother; 3. likewise, for a virgin sister, close to him because she has had no husband, he may defile himself for her. 4. But he shall not defile himself as a husband among his people and so profane himself.

(The Book of Leviticus Chapter 21 verses 1 to 4)

And so it is written in plain black and white that priests are not allowed to be married, even if there are trends of homosexuality in the Roman Catholic Church, even if there is a lack of vocations, priests according to the will of God are not allowed to marry! If we start bending the rules as in that of divorce, separation and annulment we will bring on ourselves the anger of God, for the sacrament of marriage were planned as it is originally since the very beginning of our existence.



5. They shall not make bald spots upon their heads, or shave off the edges of their beards, or make any gashes in their flesh.


(The Book of Leviticus Chapter 21 verse 5)


Oh God, the priest who is Your representative on earth was to be different than the rest of the members of society. Apart from not being able to marry, he was consecrated to You and thus was special as they still are. The old testament priests were prohibited from making bald spots on their heads and shaving off the edges of their beards as was the practice in their society. As members of the universal priesthood, we are also special. Our faith and the way we live is to be a mark of distinction that in a way sets us apart from the rest of society.



6. They shall be holy to their God, and not profane the name of their God; for they offer the LORD's offerings by fire, the food of their God; therefore they shall be holy.



(The Book of Leviticus Chapter 21 verse 6)


As in the case of the priests who have a special calling we are also called to be holy, for even though we do not consecrate the body of Christ in us at the time of communion we become vessels of that same Divine presence, therefore, we are to keep this special place in us also undefiled.



7. They shall not marry a prostitute or a woman who has been defiled; neither shall they marry a woman divorced from her husband. For they are holy to their God, 8. and you shall treat them as holy, since they offer the food of your God; they shall be holy to you, for I the LORD, I who sanctify you, am holy.


(The Book of Leviticus Chapter 21 verses 7 to 8)


For the third time, we have a confirmation that under no circumstances priests are not allowed to marry a woman. The reason is that they are called by You who is Holy and thus shall live a life that is holy thus reflecting You oh God who made us holy.



9. When the daughter of a priest profanes herself through prostitution, she profanes her father; she shall be burned to death.


(The Book of Leviticus Chapter 21 verse 9)


Oh God, this is one of the many good reasons why priests are not to marry. We can only imagine the credibility of the priest whose daughter starts leading a life of prostitution and then her father is to deliver a sermon against this very issue. We can only imagine the reaction of the believers, which could also result in spiritual harm due to the bad example set by the priests' daughter, whom we consider as should have known better due to the good examples that her father the priests were to set for her. I thank You, God, for not permitting priests to be married. I also pray that this will be a rule forever that Your Church will adhere to even though we face a decrease in vocations. Amen.



10. The priest who is exalted above his fellows, on whose head the anointing oil has been poured and who has been consecrated to wear the vestments, shall not dishevel his hair, nor tear his vestments.



(The Book of Leviticus Chapter 21 verse 10)



Oh God, My Father, I thank You for the gift of the priesthood. Even though today the priests have or are appearing to have lost the respect that had long since been attributed to them I still admire those priests who are truly dedicated and really reflect Your presence, by the way, they give service to others. I particularly wish to thank You for a Capuchin friar who serves at San Gwann Parish Church in Malta who is really a good and true friend, and also for Father Walter another Capuchin Friar who inspired me with the idea of writing this blog by using my own words instead of citing quotations from others.



11. He shall not go where there is a dead body; he shall not defile himself even for his father or mother.


(Book of Leviticus Chapter 21 verse 11)


In order to safeguard his God-given consecration, You gave the priest the following rules and regulations on which to base his life. As Roman Catholics, You also gave us a set of rules by which to guide us in preserving our holiness. These are the ten commandments.



12. He shall not go outside the sanctuary and thus profane the sanctuary of his God; for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am the LORD. 13. He shall marry only a woman who is a virgin. 14. A widow, or a divorced woman, or a woman who has been defiled, a prostitute, these he shall not marry. He shall marry a virgin of his own kin, 15. that he may not profane his offspring among his kin; for I am the LORD; I sanctify him.



(Book of Leviticus Chapter 21 verses 12 to 15)



Oh God it seems that in order to preserve his purity, the priest shall be only allowed to marry a virgin who is also pure as himself and not one who is stained by sin such as a woman who has lost her virginity such as a prostitute and similar cases referred to in the mentioned verses that may be the cause of staining his own God-given state of purity. 


As Christians or Roman Catholics, we are also to aim at not being friends or in contact with anyone or anything that can contaminate us especially our souls, for our bodies may come to an end, but our souls will remain forever. Amen.




16.  The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 17. Speak to Aaron and say; None of your offspring throughout their generations who has a blemish may approach to offer the food for his God. 18. For no one who has a blemish shall draw near, one who is blind or lame, or one who has a mutilated face or a limb too long, 19. or one who has a broken foot or a broken hand, 20. or a hunchback, or a dwarf, or a man with a blemish in his eyes or an itching disease or scabs or crushed testicles.  21. No descendant of Aaron the priest who has a blemish shall come near to offer the LORD's offerings by fire; since he has a blemish, he shall not come near to offer the food of his God.


(Book of Leviticus Chapter 21 verses 16 to 21)


I thank You, God for making me so not perfect, for through my need to change I can remain in a state of awareness and humility that makes me always keep in mind that I am not better than others or to think or consider myself better than others. I thank You for my weaknesses for they also help me to keep in mind not to pass judgement on nobody, for I myself am not a pure a righteous person. Thank You, God my Father.


22. He may eat the food of his God, of the most holy as well as of the holy. 23. But he shall not come near the curtain or approach the altar, because he has a blemish, that he may not profane my sanctuaries; for I am the LORD; I sanctify them. 24. Thus Moses spoke to Aaron and to his sons and to all the people of Israel.



(Book of Leviticus Chapter 21 verses 22 to 24)



Oh God, my Father I thank You for loving and accepting me as I am, with all my sins and abnormalities. Even though You gave Moses this instruction You still love people with disabilities, however in order to preserve the holiness and perfection of the priesthood, You ordained that symbolically the priest was to be a person who was considered being of a state of holiness and not tainted by misconduct. Others such as myself were allowed to carry their offering but not approach You directly. I, therefore, thank You more than ever for accepting me as being a member of Your Church. Amen

Oh God my Father I would like to end this chapter with the following prayer:-


I greatly pray for the need of more holy vocations, my God and Father for the need has greatly increased since many priests are of an age and in time will not be able to assist us. I pray that You cover priests, monks nuns and all consecrated people, even husbands and wives under Your protective wings, for the forces of evil are trying to wreck the family and even the Roman Catholic Church. Amen. We need Your protection now more than ever. Amen. Thank You, my God and Father.

Leviticus Chapter 20

LEVITICUS 

CHAPTER 

20

1. The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 2. Say further to the people of Israel: Any of the people of Israel, or of the aliens who reside in Israel, who give any of their offspring to Molech shall be put to death; the people of the land shall stone them to death.

(Book of Leviticus Chapter 20 verses 1 to 2)

Oh God my Father as in the beginning of this chapter of the book of Leviticus You commanded Your people not to offer their new born babies to false gods.  Shamefully for us as a humanity children are still being offered to Satan as in the following link.


It is very important that the content is supervised by an adult before being viewed by children.

Child used to have children for Satan


3. I myself will set my face against them, and will cut them off from the people, because they have given of their offspring to Molech, defiling my  sanctuary and profaning my holy name. 

(Book of Leviticus Chapter 20 verse 3)


Oh God as a parent You love us Your children so much that when we hurt our children it is like we are hurting You, for we are also Your children and You do not like it when somebody hurts us.


4. And if the people of the land should ever close their eyes, when they give of their offspring to Molech, and do not put them to death, 5. I myself will set my face against them and against their family, and will cut them off from among their people, them and all who follow them in prostituting themselves to Molech.

(Book of Leviticus Chapter 20 verses 4 to 5)


Oh God, You love us so much and even our children that You abhor acts that place our children in direct or even indirect harm. You are our one and only God, and we are Your sons and daughters, and it is only to You that we are to offer ourselves in worship.


6. If any turn to mediums and wizards, prostituting themselves to them, I will set my face against them and will cut them off from the people.

(Book of Leviticus Chapter 20 verse 6)


Oh God, my Father indeed such means as wizards and mediums are contrary to Your will as much as fortune telling and the use of uiga boards that appear in the form of a board game but has serious implications. Amen.


7. Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy; for I am the LORD your God. 8. Keep my statutes, and observe them; I am the LORD; I sanctify you.

(Book of Leviticus Chapter 20 verses 7 to 8)


Oh God while in Your presence I would also like to consecrate my life to You, and start living my life completely according to Your will. I would like to offer the following prayer that I invite all to join me in the following prayer.

A prayer of consecration to God


9. All who curse father or mother shall be put to death; having cursed father or mother, their blood is upon them.

(Book of Leviticus Chapter 20 verse 9)


Oh God my Father in this respect I have greatly sinned and plea for Your forgiveness as I have confessed in Church to You in the presence of the friar. My father has hurt me and abused me emotionally many times both throughout my childhood and even as an adult. During such moments, or when I remember such moments, I did curse him. However when considering his state of mind I realize and with the help of people that You sent me in my life, that he does not have the skills to act otherwise. His upbringing was both tough and rough. Instead of cursing him oh God I ask You to bless him, for like many of us including myself, we are not always aware of our actions, and in the process we end up hurting each other and even ourselves.


10. If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death. 11. The man who lies with his father's wife has uncovered his father's nakedness both of them shall be put to death their blood is upon them. 12. If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall be put to death; they have committed perversion their blood is upon them.


(Book of Leviticus Chapter 20 verses 10 to 12)


Oh God my Father, if all such transgressors were to face this penalty, we would solve global overpopulation for this sin is becoming popular during our times. However, those who place work before marriage is also committing adultery, or even those of us who place their favourite online game and give it more time than to the family is also committing adultery, as also those who are passing laws to justify prostitution and making it legal.


13. If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall be put to death; their blood is upon them.


(Book of Leviticus Chapter 20 verse 13)


Oh my, God and Father, You have made it clear to us that both the homosexual and the homosexual act are both to be condemned. There is no way out of the argument by playing around with the logic of the argument and discriminating the act from the person. If the act is wrong it can never be justified nevertheless if it is their fault in being a homosexual or not, or if it is an illness or not. With reference to this issue please refer to the following link:-


The Roman Catholic Church and Homosexuality



14. If a man takes a wife and her mother also, it is depravity; they shall be burned to death, both he and they, that there may be no depravity among you.

(Book of Leviticus Chapter 20 verse 14)


Oh God my Father even though during our times we may not be physically burnt to death as a penalty for our negative acts, however we may still be burnt by the feelings of guilt and or anger, especially if we have to pay dearly for our acts as in the case of a prison sentence or if the same person dies as a consequence of our negative actions.


15. If a man has sexual relations with an animal, he shall be put to death; and you shall kill the animal. 16. If a woman approaches any animal and has sexual relations with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal; they shall be put to death, their blood is upon them.

(Book of Leviticus Chapter 20 verse 15 to 16)


Oh God my Father You made the act of love as being a sacred thing among us humans and we defile it by having sexual relations with other creatures and animals. Evidence throughout history is that of the Minotaur and other creatures who consisted of part animal and part human. When considering that You created humans according to Your image it is indeed worthy of condemnation to perform such acts.


17. If a man takes his sister, a daughter of his father or a daughter of his mother, and sees her nakedness, and she sees his nakedness, it is a disgrace, and they shall be cut off in the sight of their people; he has uncovered his sister's nakedness, he shall be subject to punishment.


(Book of Leviticus Chapter 20 verse 17)


Oh God my Father You made the body holy when You created the human race. You gave us human dignity and value. You also clothed us with a body that we are to care for and not expose to harm. However, rYou also gave us a soul. You told us not to defile this body for it is the temple of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. Therefore when exposing our nakedness to others both online and offline we are shaming this body and setting a bad example for others.


18. If a man lies with a woman having her sickness and uncovers her nakedness, he has laid bare her flow and she has laid bare her flow of blood; both of them shall be cut off from their people. 19. You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother's sister or of your father's sister, for that is to lay bare one's own flesh; they shall be subject to punishment.


(Book of Leviticus Chapter 20 verses 18 to 19)


Oh God, You strictly ordered us to love others as much as we love ourselves, therefore, when we do not show respect love and care we are sinning against both others and even against our, selves. Therefore as a rule, of thumb, we are to do nothing to others that we do not wish others to do to us.



20. If a man lies with his uncle's wife, he has uncovered his uncle's nakedness; they shall be subject to punishment; they shall die childless. 21 If a man takes his brother's wife, it is impurity; he has uncovered his brother's nakedness; they shall be childless.

(Book of Leviticus Chapter 20 verses 20 to 21)



Although this may not be a rule of thumb oh Jesus but maybe this is an answer to why such people remain childless forever. Even though the reasons may appear to be biological, the real reason may be spiritual due to some form of sin.


22. You shall keep all my statutes and all my ordinances, and observe them, so that the land to which I bring you to settle in may not vomit you out.

(Book of Leviticus Chapter 20 verse 22)


Oh God my Father as much as the land may vomit out your people from the land, I pray that as a people we will be found worthy to be residents in heaven which is our only real and true destination, so that we may not be vomited out from Your residence and or that of the world. Amen  




23. You shall not follow the practices of the nation that I am driving out  before you. Because they did all these things, I abhorred them.


(Book of Leviticus Chapter 20 verse 23)



Oh God my Father You want us to be perfect like You, therefore, we are to learn from the previous sinful practices of others and even of our own and take care not to repeat them or else we will be subject to face the consequences of our actions both on earth and even before You, my God and Father.


24. But I have said to you; You shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and honey. I am the Lord your God; I have separated you from the peoples.

(Book of Leviticus Chapter 20 verse 24)


Oh God, You love us so much that You created and called us to Yourself. When we accepted You as our God' and Father, You adopted us as Your sons and daughters. You personally adopted us and set us apart to be holy like Yourself. You promised us an opportunity to be with You in heaven when our journey on earth as humans has reached its end.


25. You shall therefore make a distinction between the clean animal and the unclean, and between the unclean bird and the clean; you shall not bring abomination on yourselves by animal or by bird or by anything with which the ground teems, which I have set apart for you to hold unclean.

(Book of Leviticus Chapter 20 verse 25)


Oh, God my Father throughout these twenty chapters of the book of Leviticus You have given me the rules clearly and in depth on which to base my life. Therefore, I pray for the strength to abstain from the sins referred to in this chapter which is strictly according to Your will. You want us to be holy by not becoming contaminated by anything impure such as the sinful acts referred to throughout these twenty chapters.


26. You shall be holy to me; for I the LORD am holy, and I have separated you from the other peoples to be mine.

(Book of Leviticus Chapter 20 verse 26)


Oh God, You have consecrated us to be Yours alone. Therefore, we can consider ourselves as being special because we are Yours. Our life is Your life it is not our own. When we face the tribulations of life we are not alone for our lives are not ours but Yours oh God. Thank You for sealing the chapter with Your signature.


27.  A man or a woman who is a medium or a wizard shall be put to death; they shall be stoned to death, their blood is upon them.


(Leviticus Chapter 20 verse 27)


Oh  God from all the mentioned vices throughout these twenty chapters, at the very end You again referred to spiritism that is used to make contact with evil spirits either directly or indirectly by means of the medium who is used as a channel between the human world and the spiritual. The great risk during such sessions, is that throughout the session there is no guarantee that no evil spirit apart from that being called upon can use the medium and cause harm to the client with long-term consequences. Oh God we are never to be contaminated by meddling in the spiritual level. Our souls need to rest in Your presence and we need only to pray for such souls instead of contacting them and disturbing them. I  pray oh God that when my time comes and even others we will have many who offer prayers for the salvation of our souls amen.


In light of this issue oh God I would like to include this link which leads us to pray for the souls that are still in the stage of purgatory.


A prayer for the souls in purgatory