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.
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.
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