Today, the readings truly focus on Jesus Christ Himself, who is the High Priest of all mankind, as mentioned in the First Reading, and as the Bridegroom of the faithful, the Church. Today we focus especially on the nature of the priesthood itself. For priests in our Catholic tradition are men who have given themselves fully to God, and in doing so, they do not marry or seek to marry anymore, why? This is because they are indeed married, married to God, and to His beloved people the Church. It is in the footsteps of Christ who has loved us so much that He gave us His life for our salvation, that those who choose to become priests, also dedicate themselves to a life of holiness and service, out of pure love for God and all creations.

Christ is the High Priest, who offered Himself as the Lamb, the pure and unblemished Lamb whose Precious Blood cleanses all the filth of sin and freed us from slavery of death and evil. He is the High Priest in the order of Melchizedek, just as all our priests are priests of that same order. Once a priest, you are a priest forever. Who is Melchizedek? He is the King of Salem, Priest appointed by God, and named as the Priest of God the Most High, who presented the offering of bread and wine to God, and blessed Abraham, our forefather in faith. Today, priests also do what Melchizedek did, which is to offer bread and wine as offering to God, but yet, through Christ, this has become a truly Divine Offering, as not just any bread and wine is offered, but the very Precious Body and Blood of Christ Himself, the only Sacrifice worthy of our sins, countless and innumerable as they are. No one but Christ can redeem us from the incomprehensible nature of our sin’s extent.

Christ suffered for our sake on the cross, blood streaming down His Body from the cross, endured curses and spits from those who He had come to save. But yet, Christ obediently gave Himself, that even these who had rejected Him, may yet have hope of eternal life. He forgave those who cried out for His death, and although as human as He was as we are, He was also tempted to abandon His final task, but He accepted the chalice of sin and bitterness, submitting Himself fully to the will of God. This is why, He is our High Priest, through whom all of us are finally free from the certainty of death and separation from God.

For indeed God loves us so much that He sent us His only Son, and through the obedience of the Son, and through His Love, He endured all our sins that we are now hopeful of His Kingdom. He represents us before God bringing gifts of offering for our sins, but His gift is He Himself, who is the only worthy gift of all creation to cover for all our sins, both before, present, and after. So, therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us strive not to sin anymore, as whenever we sin, let us remember that we burden Christ with ever more and more sin. Let us rather turn to His Love, and listen to His words that we all will truly be worthy of He who died for us.

That is why priests today are who they are, they dedicate themselves fully to God, and they give their time fully for God and His people, all of us, alone. For He, just like Christ, in the image of Christ, offer the gifts of the Precious Body and Blood of Christ in the bread and wine every time we have Mass, that all of us are saved. This offering is neither separate nor symbolic from the Ultimate Sacrifice of Christ, since the bread is Real Body, and the blood is Real Blood, and the offering of the Sacrifice is truly one and in union with the Ultimate Sacrifice of Christ on the cross, who through the priests in the Mass, gave Himself to us, His Body and His Blood, that we will have eternal life in Him. Pray for our priests and all the religious who dedicated themselves to God, that they will stay pure, that they will stay faithful in their mission and their dedication to God.

Jesus also mentioned about the wine and wineskins, and the cloth and the coat, and how new things should not be put together with old things, or they will destroy each other. This is because, Christ Himself, as the Lord, has brought a new Covenant to all people, not just limited to the people of Israel, that through His Sacrifice on the Cross, and through His blood, He made a new Covenant with all peoples that they all can be saved through Him. He is the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Old Testament and the prophets, and He brought a new rule of Love and Faith in God. The people no longer have the need to regularly sacrifice sheep, goats, and other animals to redeem them from their sins at the temple, for now God, as mentioned, has done it once and for all, as our High Priest. Gone are the rules and precepts of the past, and with it, the new teachings of Christ came into place. The new wine and the new cloth are Christ and His teachings, which render the old ones outdated, as Christ fulfills the prophecies, and He also made perfect the Law which had been passed down from Moses, so the old Law no longer applies, but the new Law of Christ, which is based on Love of God, and love of one another just as He loves us.

Today is also the Feast Day of St. Agnes, who we remembered as both a virgin and a martyr. Just like Christ, St. Agnes gave herself up to the executioners without complaints at the age of 13, rather than abandoning her faith and her chastity by marriage to the son of a Pagan prefect of the Roman Empire. St. Agnes is a shining example of faith and love to God, whom priests and indeed all of us should follow. That rather than betraying God and our soul, she chose death rather than promise of material wealth and fame. This is not to say that we all should choose death, but in our daily lives, we should constantly remind ourselves of our faith, and our ties with God, and always do all things in the name of the Lord, and in His honour. Let us ask St. Agnes to pray for us, that our faith in God will ever be strengthened, that whenever we falter in our faith and love for God, the Lord will send His angels and the Holy Spirit to empower us and renew our commitment in Him.

St. Agnes, pray for us, and may we be able to follow in your footsteps in loving our God and dedicating ourselves to Him, and also pray for our priests, especially those tempted by the worldly temptations and sin. Amen.