Malachi 1:14 – 2:2, 8-10 / 1 Thess 2:7-9, 13 / Matthew 23:1-12
In the Catholic Church, the highest and most important form of worship is the Mass.
The Mass, is essentially, the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross for the salvation of humanity.
Because it is God the Son, offering Himself to God the Father, hence the Mass is a divine worship.
But in the Catholic church, there can be no Mass if there is no priest.
Because when the priest celebrates and offers the Mass, the priest stands in the person of Jesus Christ.
So, when the priest consecrates the bread and wine, it becomes the Body and Blood of Christ, because he does it under the authority of Christ.
In other words, it is Christ Himself who consecrates the bread and wine into His Body and Blood.
That is why, the Mass is the source of all blessings, and it is also the highest expression of our faith.
So, the Mass and the priesthood are closely connected; when there is no priest, then there can be no Mass.
That is why, we must pray for more vocations to the priesthood.
The priesthood is a Divine calling, because a priest is called to do a holy and sacred work for God.
As much as we need to pray for more vocations to the priesthood, we also need to pray for priests who are already serving the Lord.
Undeniably, the priest is also human. As a human being, he has physical limitations, and he can fall sick and become weak.
He can also be adversely affected emotionally and spiritually.
And the priest is also the prime target of the devil's temptations, so that the priest will be distracted and lose focus on what he is called to do.
In the 1st reading, we hear of the Lord God issuing a warning for the priests of the Temple.
The wrongdoing of the priests was that they had strayed from the ways of the Lord, and have caused many to stumble.
They have defiled the Covenant of the Lord, and showed contempt for the House of the Lord.
So, the Lord God declared that there will be punishment for those unfaithful and corrupted priests.
Those are certainly strong words, which are reiterated by Jesus in the gospel.
Jesus warns His disciples and the people not to follow the corrupted and crooked ways of the scribes and Pharisees.
So, it can be seen that from the Old Testament to the New Testament to the present-day Church, it is littered with priests and religious who have gone astray and have led people astray.
They gave wrong teachings, and have broken up the Church of God with scandals.
It is embarrassing and shameful to go further into the details.
But as much as there is the dark side of the priesthood, it is also undeniable that there are shining examples of priests who are holy and faithful to God.
There is Saint John Vianney, who converted the whole village of Ars back to God. He was a much sought after Confessor because he had the gift of insight into souls.
By his simple and humble ways, sinners were drawn back to God.
There is Saint Padre Pio, who did penance for sinners, and bore the pains of the wounds of Christ in his body.
These are just two of the many examples of holy and simple priests who served Jesus faithfully.
They showed the People of God, the face of Jesus Christ, and brought about conversion and healing.
Today's readings give us two messages as well as two lessons.
One is for the priests, that they must be holy and be faithful and obedient to God.
The other message and lesson is for the People of God, that they need to pray for priests to be holy and to serve God faithfully.
When the priest is holy, then the people will be formed in the ways of holiness and walk in the ways of the Lord.
When the priests and the People of God are united in holiness, God will pour forth His abundant blessings of peace, joy and love.