Palm Sunday Art

The Entry into Jerusalem

www.catholictradition.org/Passion/passion-gallery.htm 

Blessed Is the King Who Come

Attributed to the Master of Moulins, this painting is a veiled celebration of the annexation of Brittany to the kingdom of France. The death of King Louis XI was followed by a period of regency, for the heir Charles VIII was but a boy. Taking advantage of this interreg­num, a coalition of princes in alliance with the duke of Brittany rose in rebellion. The ensuing conflict, known as the "Mad War", came to an end with the defeat of the rebels in 1488 at the battle of Saint-Aubin-de­Cormier, the stronghold of the dukes of Brittany. Its fortress serves here to represent the city of jerusalem. In the foreground, King Charles VIII and his wife Anne of Brittany are portrayed as they were at the time of these events, aged thirteen and eleven.

Christ's triumphal entry into jerusalem is depicted at the centre, with the raising of Lazarus in the back­ground. Seated majestically upon a nobly drawn donkey, jesus is clothed in a long violet robe, symbol of the baptism he is about to undergo: his passion and death. Behind him, a cortege of disciples is led by Peter, followed by John and james, the only apostles present at the resurrection of Lazarus. The people wave olive branches in apparent jubilation. Upon closer scrutiny, however, one detects the latent violence that will break out the next day in cries of "Crucify him!" Focused on the royal person of jesus, Son of David, Prince of Peace, this painting reminds us that we have no other King and Lord but Christ. Beyond every legitimate national loyalty, all that will count in the end is our ultimate alle­giance to the heavenly kingdom .

• Pierre-Marie Dumont
MAGNIFICAT Missalette
Holy Week 2011

Palm Sunday in Jerusalem

Palm Sunday - Jerusalem April 17, 2011

Members of the Catholic clergy take part in a Palm Sunday procession on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem April 17, 2011. The Dome of the Rock, on the compound known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem's Old City is seen in the background.

Catholic nuns hold palm fronds during a Palm Sunday procession on the Mount of Olives

Pope Benedict XVI is framed through incense smoke as he leads the Palm Sunday mass at the Vatican April 17, 2011.

COMMENT

---- Forwarded Message ----
From: Anne Marie ...
To: Fr Donald ...
Sent: Sat, 16 April, 2011 22:50:38
Subject: Re: [Dom Donald's Blog] Ephraim TAYBEH Jn11:54 Jesus' Last Retreat

Thanks for this,  as we walk into the last days of  Lent it seems right to be looking at images from the holy land.
I was listening to music called the seven lasts words yesterday and I thought it would be lovely accompanied by images from the holy land.  I might do that as my offering for holy week.

Sent from my iPad
Anne Marie

Ephraim TAYBEH Jn11:54 Jesus' Last Retreat

Sat 16th April 20011
At Mass, as the Intercessions followed the Gospel, mention was made of the verse of John 11:54,  "So Jesus no longer went about openly among the Jews, but left the district for a town called Ephraim, in the country bordering on the desert, and stayed there with his disciples." 
My two visits made at Taybeh-Ephraim (2004) come alive with vivid memories, and prepare the mind and heart on Jesus Last Rest and heading towards Palm Sunday in our Liturgy tomorrow.

Taybeh

West Bank

This Taybeh Website http://www.seetheholyland.net/taybeh/  provides precious information on this amazing place.

Christian village of Taybeh (© Custodia Terrae Sanctae)

The Palestinian village of Taybeh, the onlyChristian town left in Israel or the Palestinian Territories, holds fast to its memory of Jesus seeking refuge there shortly before his crucifixion.

The Gospel of John says Jesus went to Taybeh — then called Ephraim — after he raised Lazarus to life and the Jewish authorities planned to put Jesus to death.

“Jesus therefore no longer walked about openly among the Jews, but went from there to a town called Ephraim in the region near the wilderness; and he remained there with the disciples.” (John 11:54)

                     Taybeh  (pronounced Tie-bay) is 30 kilometres northeast of Jerusalem and 12 kilometres northeast of Ramallah. From its elevated site between biblical Samaria and Judea, it overlooks the desert wilderness, the Jordan Valley, Jerichoand the Dead Sea.

Living amidst Muslim villages, Israeli settlements and military roadblocks, Taybeh’s inhabitants (numbering 1300 in 2010) are intensely proud of their Christian heritage.

The village’s Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic(Latin) and Greek Catholic (Melkite) communities maintain an ecumenical spirit — even celebrating Christmas together on December 25 according to the Western calendar and Easter according to the Eastern calendar.

Patron is St George

The village was first settled by Canaanites about 2500 years before Jesus came to visit. It is mentioned as Ophrah (or Ofrah), a town of the tribe of Benjamin, in Joshua 18:23, and shown on the 6th-century Madaba mosaic map as “Ephron also Ephraia where went the Lord”.

The Muslim sultan Saladin changed the biblical name to Taybeh (meaning “good and kind” in Arabic) around 1187 after he found the inhabitants hospitable and generous.

Pomegranates complementing icon in Catholic church, Taybeh (Seetheholyland.net)

The villagers regard St George — whose traditional birthplace is Lod, near Tel Aviv airport — as their patron. The Greek Orthodox and Melkite churches are both named in his honour.

They also see the pomegranate as a symbol of the fullness of Jesus’ suffering and Resurrection. This fruit appears as a motif in religious art in Taybeh.

A tradition says Jesus told the villagers aparable relating to this fruit, whose sweet seeds are protected by a bitter membrane. Using this image, Jesus explained that to reach the sweetness of his Resurrection he had to go through the bitterness of death.

Old house illustrates parables

Entrance to ruins of St George's Church, Taybeh (© vizAviz)

The original Church of St George, built by theByzantines in the 4th century and rebuilt by theCrusaders in the 12th century, lie in ruins on the eastern outskirts of Taybeh, behind the Melkite church. It is called “El Khader” (Arabic for “the Green One”), a name customarily given to St George.

A wide flight of steps leads up to an entrance portico, nave, two side chapels and a cruciformbaptistery with a well-preserved font.

Next to the Greek Orthodox church a 4th-century mosaic depicting birds and flowers has been found. A chapel has been built over the site to protect the mosaic.

Door of Parable House, Taybeh, with hole for small animals underneath (Seetheholyland.net)

In the courtyard of the Roman Catholic church stands a 250-year-old Palestinian house, occupied by a local Christian family until 1974. The entrance is claimed to be 2000 years old, with five religious symbols of that time engraved in the stone façade above the door.

Known as the Parable House, it has rooms on three levels — for the family, for large animals and for smaller animals (who also have an access hole under the old wooden door).

The house and its domestic and agricultural furnishings illustrate the context of many of theparables of Jesus and also offer an insight into how the Nativity cave at Bethlehem may have been configured.

Priest’s retreat is remembered

Another celebrated visitor to Taybeh was Charles de Foucauld, a French-born priest, explorer, linguist and hermit who was beatified by the Catholic Church in 2005.

Charles de Foucauld shrine at Taybeh (© Custodia Terrae Sanctae)

De Foucauld passed through Taybeh as apilgrim in 1889 and returned in 1898 for an eight-day retreat that is recorded in 45 pages of his spiritual writings.

After his death (he was shot dead by raiding tribesmen in Algeria in 1916, aged 58), his example inspired the founding of several religious congregations.

In 1986 a pilgrims’ hostel called the Charles de Foucauld Pilgrim Centre was opened in Taybeh.

Brother Aidan RIP Homily

Abbot Mark officiating at the ceremonies
of the obsequies of Brother Aidan Hunt at Nunraw.

Abbot Mark - Homily on the life of Br. Aidan. Con-celebrating priests, and family.

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Mark Caira
Sent: Fri, 15 April, 2011 21:06:51
Subject: Re: Funeral Thursday 14th. 1.00 P.M.  

Homily at Br Aidan’s Funeral                          Thursday 14 April, 2011 Br Aidan and I entered the Abbey here at Nunraw in what doesn’t now seem all that many years ago.  I was senior to him by date of entry but junior to him in almost everything else.  He would have told you that himself, so it must be true.  He was in fact older in years and experience of work and I suppose it remained that way as we rubbed shoulders and clashed heads together over the years.  That’s the way we sometimes get to know others and appreciate what they are made of. When I began working in the woods as a very young monk, it was Aidan who had the work experience and could tell us what and how to do it.  He had been with the Forestry Commission for a number of years.  But when I began helping on the farm, I was the one who became the ‘old hand’ and he ‘the chicken’.  For his first main job at Nunraw Br Aidan was put to work as part of the building squad at the new Abbey.  During that time he made many friends among the camp workers who came over the years to help put up this solid building that is now our home. After a good number of years on the building site, Aidan was sent to the farm to help Br Carthage, the farm manager.  (There is a saying in monastic circles, that it is not good to help someone for too long or you will end up with the job yourself).  He learned quickly a lot of the skills involved in caring for the cattle, and experienced the unsociable hours involved in looking after sick animals and helping cows when they were having a difficult calving.  (They call this a bachelor’s life!)  Eventually he did become farm manager in his own right.  With the advice of people like Michael Sheridan, a well-known and shrewd cattle dealer, and long time friend of the community, Aidan learned how to produce a fine herd of beef cattle.  There are others who could be named who were also good friends and advisors.  They know who they are. I don’t want to mention a long list of names as it would be embarrassing in the extreme to leave someone out. But Br Aidan didn’t come into the abbey just to work, though that played a large part of his monastic life.  The basic call of the monk, as St Benedict tells us, is to seek God simply and truly.  That was what Aidan came to do.  His long working day allowed the choir monks to pray the Divine Office at the set times, unhindered as far as possible from pressures of work.  But he had his own times of prayer, before and after his work periods, which he kept to faithfully.  He was always up at the early community Mass.  If he wasn’t there, it meant he was either called out to some emergency on the farm or that he wasn’t well..  It is so easy for us to make excuses to stay in bed or opt out of what is going on.  If he had been ill, he would be up and about his business as soon as he was fit enough. Besides his work on the farm, Aidan had many other little useful jobs within the monastery itself.  For years he performed miracles repairing our broken-down or damaged shoes and sandals.  Someone said that he should get some else to do that work as he had enough to do, but Aidan said that it was good to have a hobby, something different from his normal work to keep him relaxed.  He was always ready to help out in other little chores that needed doing and that kept community life running smoothly. The hot cup of tea, for example, we enjoyed after the Christmas and Easter Vigil celebrations before going out into the cold on the way home, had been prepared by Aidan while the Mass was in progress in the Church Only a few days before he died, Br Aidan went with a few of the community to see the film “Of Gods and Men”.  The film was about seven of our fellow Cistercian monks living in Algeria who were unwittingly caught up in the political unrest, which still continues in that country.  They lost their lives in a way that is still not clear.  He was hesitant about going to see it.  He had said these kind of films don’t always live up to expectation.  In fact he went and did enjoy it.  The film showed how the monks and their mainly Muslim neighbours related to each other.  When the individual monks were pondering about what they should do, to leave because of the danger to their lives or to stay, one of their Muslim neighbours told them ,’We are here because you are here’.  Br Aidan was asked by a friend at the film if he thought they were right to stay.  His reply was, ‘Probably yes, because our lives are for others.’ Aidan had made many friends over the years among those who came to help build the Abbey and also from within the numerous farming contacts he had made as farm manager and he was good at remembering them For his friendship and the good he has done in his life we thank God and we pray for his eternal happiness with God.

Three Parishes annual Lent Stations of the Cross at Nunraw Abbey

Our Lady, Saint Matthew and Saint Margaret

5th Sunday of Lent  

http://www.rbgcatholics.co.uk/   

LENT
Nunraw Pilgrimage  -  next Sunday, 10th April.
Parish PP. Canon Hugh White (centre). Fr. Raymond(left)

Fifth Sunday of Lent John 11 1-48

Resurrection of Lazarus

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Raymond

Sent: Sun, 10 April, 2011 16:59:20
Subject: MARTHA AND MARY

HE WANTS TO SEE YOU.

The raising of Lazarus from the dead is perhaps the climax of all Jesus’ healing
miracles.  It comes at the climax of his public life; it is the most
dramatically performed of them all – we might even call it the most theatrical,
with all the crowds gathered round and the sisters in tears and even Jesus
himself weeping and groaning.  Then the command to remove the stone; then the
loud cry: “Lazarus, come forth” and so on.  But for me there has always been one
little detail in that story, a detail I have never understood, yet it always
strikes me as very strange and very significant. Why did Mary stay at home when
Martha ran to meet Jesus?  Why did Jesus have to send Martha back to tell her
that he wanted to see her?

In fact I have always found that if there is anything strange, anything
puzzling, in a passage of Scripture, then there is a meaning hidden there. The
Gospels, like all of the Scriptures, are like a kind of Divine Crossword Puzzle;
full of strange sayings and events that are all really clues to the truths that
God is trying to impress on us.  God knows the human mind and its workings and
he knows that we all love to solve a puzzle. We are all intrigued by a mystery
and like to work out the explanation.  So, although he tells us things clearly
in one place, he puts them obscurely and in a puzzling way in another.  In this
way he draws our attention to focus more strongly on the truth that he wants to
impress on us.  Our Newspapers, for example, in their own way, do exactly the
same thing: they always contain a crossword puzzle.  They know how intriguing
they are and how some people buy the newspaper mainly because they enjoy doing
the crossword-puzzle in it.  So let’s try to work out just why Mary stayed at
home when Martha ran out to meet Jesus.

When Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick he waited for two whole days before
setting off for Bethany.  He knew that Lazarus would die and he knew that Martha
and Mary had trusted that he would come and heal him.
And he knew how disappointed in him they would be; He knew how hard it would be
for them to understand.  But he also knew the depth of their faith and their
trust in him, in spite of all appearances.  He knew that nothing could shake
their certainty of his love for them.
When he did arrive, eventually, four days after Lazarus had been laid in the
tomb, it was Martha, as we have been considering, who ran to meet him.  Mary
stayed on at home.  Why?  We might have thought that Mary, being the
personification of the contemplative soul, the one whose love prompted her to
anoint the Lord’s feet with precious ointment and wipe his feet with her hair;
surely she would be the most eager to run to meet him.  But no, it was Martha
who ran first.  Not that Martha’s first words to Jesus were any different from
those of Mary when she did come: “If you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have
died.”  So we are left with the puzzle: Why did Mary stay at home?
We might understand Mary’s behaviour if we consider her as being the more
contemplative and introvert of the two sisters.  Perhaps therefore, although
she might feel the grief more keenly, yet she was more able to support it and
bear it with her own inner strength.  Martha, on the other hand was more
extrovert; she wore hear heart on her sleeve.  If she was angry she just had to
show it: “Tell my sister to help me instead of just sitting there!”  If she was
heartbroken and uncomprehending she just had to run and tell the Lord.  “If only
you had been here my brother would not have died!”
Surely there is a deep meaning in all this. Surely God has something important
to teach us in this.  In the first Martha-Mary story it is Mary who comes out
tops.  She is the one who chose the better part, but in this story it is Martha
who comes out tops.  The lesson Jesus wants to convey is seen best in Martha
and, as in the first story, it is precisely the contrast between the behaviour
of the two which brings out the lesson.
From this point of view the climax of the story, the punch line of the lesson,
is contained in the words of Jesus to Martha when he tells her to call Mary
because he wants to see her. “Jesus is here and He wants to see you!”, Martha
told her.  From these words Mary learns that no matter how heroic and accepting
she is of Lazarus death, Jesus wants her to understand that it is better for her
to give full human expression to her grief.  She is not an angel, but a human
being of flesh and blood.  There are times when we must wear our hearts on our
sleeves and give full expression to our grief before the Lord.  He doesn’t mind
if we let him know how hurt we are.  It brings us closer to him.  He doesn’t
mind if we complain and ask him why this has to be.
This lovely little story is Jesus’ way of saying to Mary and to us all: “There
are times when you mustn’t hide your feelings from me; no more than you would
hide them from your dearest friend on earth.  Am I not your friend indeed? 
Treat me as such then and tell me just what you feel.”  “Unless you become as
little children………..”.  In the first Martha-Mary story it was Mary who chose the
better part, but in this story it is obviously Martha who chose the better
part.  In the first story it was Mary who best understood the heart of the
Master; in the second story it was Martha who best understood the heart of the
Master.
Let us remember then when our grief is more than we can bear; let us not hide it
in our own hearts like Mary, but let us run like Martha to the Lord and tell him
just how we feel.  Let us wear our hearts on our sleeves.  Let us even be bold
enough to reproach him as Martha did: “If you had been here…..”.  In sending
Martha to tell Mary that he wanted to see her he lets us know that he want to
see all of us come to him with our burdens.

Brother Aidan: funeral to be at Nunraw Abbey April Thursday 14th at 1.00 P.M..

Haddington Courier News, 8th April, 2011

OBITUARY

www.eastlothiancourier.com

Brother Aidan: funeral to be at Nunraw Abbey on Thursday 14th at 1pm.

'Brother Aidan worked until his last day'

Brother Aidan

THE community of Cistercian monks at Nunraw Abbey, by Garvald, is mourning the loss of Brother Aidan Hunt, who passed away suddenly last week after more than 50 years at the county monastery.

The 77-year-old Cistercian monk, who first joined the Sancta Maria Abbey in 1960 and made his solemn profession in 1966, was found unconscious during the early hours of last Wednesday morning.

Despite the best efforts of his brothers and paramedics who were called to attend, he was de­clared dead a short time after.

Born in 1934 in Isleworth in England, Br Aidan was farm manager at Nunraw for the past 32 years; and while officially retired, he remained devoted to the post and was working right up until the day before he passed away.

He had also been the acting Sub-Prior (third Superior) for the -last 15 years at the abbey.

He has been described by Dom Donald McGlynn, a former Abbot of Numaw for 33 years who still resides at the East Lothian abbey, as a "remarkable monk".

"He was attracted to the sim­pler style of the monastic life of manual labour, rather than the clerical, choir form," said Dom Donald.

"He had had a very full life.

After his Gateshead School, he enlisted at Aldershot in 1953, served time in Hong Kong, and the Army Emergency Reserves until 1958.

"He had much and varied ex­perience. None of us was so prac­ticed in just about every manual skill and art - forestry, dairy, cobbling, building construction (of the new abbey).

"Up to the last days he could al­ways oblige any cobbling for our boots, and shoes and sandles." 

Br Aidan is survived by his sis­ter, Enis, his brother, Lawrence and extended family. 

His funeral will take place at the Abbey on Thursday 14th at 1pm.

Of Gods and Men - Atlas Monks - DVD long awaited

Thanks, Andy,
for forwarding this Link:
http://www.indcatholicnews.com/news.php?viewStory=18025

Out on DVD: Of Gods and Men

By: Jo Siedlecka

Posted: Friday, April 8, 2011 9:15 pm

Email  Print

Xavier Beauvois'  award-winning film Of Gods and Men has just been released on DVD. It is Catholic cinema at its best - beautifully filmed, with a haunting soundtrack, sensitive performances and a gripping human story that deals with faith, community, ecumenism, and the meaning of vocation. Set in a monastery in the Atlas Mountains in Algeria, it is based on the true story of a group of Cistercian monks who got caught up in the Muslim fundamentalist uprising in the mid 1990s.  They are a contemplative order, gathering for Mass and singing the Office throughout the day, studying and working quietly in the kitchen and gardens. But they also have strong bonds of friendship in the Muslim community in which they live. One monk, Brother Luc, (Michael Lonsdale), runs a medical clinic for the villagers - he also has a useful stock of children's shoes.  They sell their honey at the market and are invited to attend village celebrations. The Superior, Brother Christian, played by Lambert Wilson, studies the Koran and is friends with the local Mullah. When a group of Croatian workers are murdered, the authorities urge the monastery to accept a military guard, but they refuse,  because the villagers don't have any protection. As more foreigners are killed the monks are urged to leave, and they deliberate slowly and carefully over this. One tells the villagers they are “birds on a branch, not sure whether to fly”, but the villagers tell them they are the branch itself, providing protection from the chaos beyond. Finally the monks unanimously decide to stay in solidarity with their Muslim friends. This group of middle aged and elderly men are very endearing and totally believable. There is a very touching scene when one elderly monk falls asleep in bed with his glasses on, book in hand, and his brother monk gently removes them and covers him with a blanket.  Lambert Wilson gives a masterful performance as leader of the community; his inner struggles play in silence on his features. The tension builds when a group of Muslim fighters break into the monastery just before Christmas Midnight Mass and Fr Christian calmly tells them that he can't help them because it is a sacred day. He quotes from the Koran and the fighters leave them to continue their celebration. In another gut wrenching episode the monks continue to sing while a helicopter gunship swoops round and round over the rooftop.  One says that "staying here is as mad as becoming a monk in the first place." Near the end, Brother Luc decides  to serve wine and play a record of Swan Lake during their evening meal. The camera gently moves around the table playing on the smiles and tears of the men's faces in a scene which is the moral and emotional heart of a remarkable film.

"Abba, Father" (Mk I4:36). In 1966 Joachim Jeremias wrote ... from which I should like to quote two essential insights

 

Lent Reading.

Dipping into Pope Benedict, Jesus of Nazareth,
 is like the depth experience of the Branson flying submarine to be capable of diving seven miles underwater to the deepest points in the ocean...

This brings us to one final point regarding Jesus' prayer, to its actual interpretative key, namely, the form of address: "Abba, Father" (Mk I4:36). In 1966 Joachim Jeremias wrote an important article about the use of this term in Jesus' prayer, from which I should like to quote two essential insights: "Whereas there is not a single instance of God being addressed as Abba in the literature of Jewish prayer, Jesus always addressed him in this way (with the exception of the cry from the Cross, Mark 15:34 and parallel passages). So we have here a quite unmistakable characteristic of the ipsissima vox Jesu" (Abba, p. 57). Moreover, Jeremias shows that this word Abba belongs to the language of children-that it is the way a child addresses his father within the family. "To the Jewish mind it would have been disrespectful and therefore inconceivable to address God with this familiar word. For Jesus to venture to take this step was something new and unheard of. He spoke to God like a child to his father ... Jesus' use of Abba in addressing God reveals the heart of his relationship with God" (p. 62). It is therefore quite mistaken on the part of some theologians to suggest that the man Jesus was addressing the Trinitarian God in the prayer on the Mount of Olives. No, it is the Son speaking here, having subsumed the fullness of man's will into himself and transformed it into the will of the Son.

Pope Benedict xvi, Jesus of Nazareth Gethsemane, pp.I6I-2

we never say "through the Holy Spirit," but rather "through Jesus Christ”.

Fourth Week of Lent Monday Year I


Night Office. Even after Thursday something remains with me from the Monday words, “the conclusion of our prayer we never say "through the Holy Spirit," but rather "through Jesus Christ”. So I read again from Fulgentius "called the best (Western) theologian of his time".

First Reading:
From the letter to the Hebrews (7:11-28)
Second Reading
From a letter by Saint Fulgentius of Ruspe (Ep. 14, 36-37: CCL 91, 429-431)

This extract from a letter written early in the sixth century by a writer who has been called the best (Western) theologian of his time, teaches that it is through Christ that we make our prayer and offer our sacrifice because it is his sacrificial death that has made our offering acceptable to God the Father. The way we conclude our prayers shows the equality of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

Notice that at the conclusion of our prayer we never say "through the Holy Spirit," but rather "through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord." Through the mystery of the incarnation Jesus Christ became man, the mediator between God and men. He is a priest for ever according to the order of Melchizedek. By shedding his own blood he entered once and for all into the Holy Place. He did not enter a place made by human hands, a mere type of the true one; he entered heaven itself, where he is at God's right hand interceding for us. Quite correctly, the Church continues to reflect this mystery in her prayer.

It was in regard to Christ's high-priestly office that the apostle Paul said: Through him, then, let us always offer the sacrifice of praise to God, the fruit of lips that profess belief in his name. We were once enemies of the Father, but have been reconciled through the death of Christ Through him then we offer our sacrifice of praise, our prayer to God. He became our offering to the Father, and through him our offering is now acceptable. It is for this reason that the apostle Peter urges us to be built up as living stones into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices pleasing to God through Jesus Christ; and that is why we offer prayer to God our Father through Jesus Christ our Lord.

When we speak of Christ's priesthood, what else do we mean but the incarnation, by means of which the Son of God, though his state was divine, emptied himself to assume the condition of a slave? As a slave, he humbled himself and in obedience even accepted death. Though he possessed equality with the Father, he became a little less than the angels. Always equal to the Father, the Son became a little less because he became a man. Christ lowered himself when he emptied himself to assume the condition of a slave. It was precisely this self-emptying, this acceptance of a servile condition, that made him a little less than the angels.

By this condition Christ, the only Son of God, became a priest, though he continued to be God by nature. To him with the Father we offer our sacrifice. Yet it is through him as our priest that the sacrifice we now offer is holy, living, and pleasing to God. Indeed. if Christ had not sacrificed himself for us, we could not offer any sacrifice, for it is in him that our human nature becomes a redemptive offering. When we offer our prayers through him, the eternal priest, we profess our faith that he is truly our flesh and blood. Clearly the A postle refers to this when he says: Every high priest is taken from among men. He is appointed to act on their behalf in their relationship to God; he is to offer gifts and sacrifices to God.

We do not, however, only say "your Son" when we conclude our prayer. We also say "who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit" In this way we commemorate the natural unity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is clear, then, that the Christ who exercises a priestly role on our behalf is the same Christ who enjoys a natural unity and equality with the Father and the Holy Spirit