Day 46: Set Apart for God

Exodus 30:22-23 Blessed oil is used in several of the Sacraments of the Church including the Sacrament of Holy Orders. Anointing signifies a consecration to inaugurate a particular MISSION and is a sign of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The Hebrew messiah, which means “the anointed one” (in Greek, christos, meaning “christ”), is the title of Jesus as the Anointed One promised by God to redeem the world. (CCC 436, 453, 1293-1294)

Ch 31:15-17 The Sabbath ordinance is repeated, again asking the people to set the Sabbath apart for worship, to contemplate and acknowledge the magnificence of God’s creation, and to recall Israel’s liberation from the oppression of the Egyptians. (CCC 2171)

Ch 31:18 The hymn Veni Creator Spiritus refers to the Holy Spirit as the “finger of the Father’s right hand”; It is sung at Vespers (Evening Prayer) on Pentecost and many other events in the Church’s life when the Holy Spirit’s assistance is sought. (CCC 700, 2056)

Psalm 115 Our God is in...whatever he pleases: This psalm acclaims powerfully the God of Israel as the one true God, while the other alleged deities are mere inanimate objects of human origin. God who is Almighty knows no rival to his power. Furthermore, God, in his infinite love and might, provides for the needs of his people, both physical and spiritual. Those who make them are like them: Just as the graven images of idols are spiritually lifeless, so is the case among those who worship them. 

May you be blessed...heaven and earth: The term “heaven and earth” means ALL creation. God alone made all that exists and, therefore, is the source of knowledge of every created thing in relation to himself. He reveals himself through creation since the effect of any work reflects its cause. This indirect revelation of God through his creation was greatly enhanced through his direct Revelation to the people of Israel. (CCC 268-269, 287, 303, 325-327, 2112)

Whenever Israel was defeated in battle or easel to foreign lands, the taunt from its pagan neighbors would be heard: “Where is your God now?” Periodically, the Lord would allow foreign powers to have their way with his people, causing them great suffering. However, God permitted these hardships to provoke a repentance by which they would commit themselves again to the fidelity to the covenant. Here, the psalmist spoke with the wisdom gleaned from Israel’s long history: God is our help and shield who saves and defends us. The pagans have no validity to their taunting; their gods are inanimate objects made by human hands, while the God of Israel is the ETERNAL AND LIVING GOD, Ever-present and All-powerful. (Cf. St. John Paul II, General Audience, September 1, 2004)

(*The Didache Bible RSV-CE Ignatius Edition, 2006)

• The Levitical priesthood was given to the tribe of Levi and not the other tribes (we will find out why soon)

• We are going to find that Leviticus is about the CODE OF HOLINESS

• Yes, Leviticus is about rules

• But what Leviticus is TRULY about is HOLINESS

• Leviticus is about being SET APART

• That’s what it is to be HOLY

• To be CONSECRATED TO THE LORD is to be MADE SACRED FOR THE LORD

• To be MADE SACRED FOR THE LORD is to be MADE HOLY

• To be MADE HOLY is to be SET APART

• As Catholics, we have this tradition of blessing stuff

• We bless ourselves

• We bless our homes

• We bless our cars

• We bless our meals

• We bless our medals

• We bless our Rosaries

• We bless our crucifixes

• What does it mean to bless those things?

• It doesn’t just mean that we invoke the Holy Spirit on them (although that is one of the things that happens)

• We are SETTING THEM APART FOR A CERTAIN PURPOSE

• We are SETTING THEM APART FOR A DEDICATED PURPOSE

• Whenever you have asked a priest to bless something, you have asked for it to be SET APART

• It is no longer an ORDINARY THING

• It is now an EXTRAORDINARY THING

• When you were BAPTIZED, you were set apart for a CERTAIN PURPOSE

• When you were BAPTIZED, you were set apart for a DEDICATED PURPOSE

• You are NO LONGER ORDINARY

• You are NOW EXTRAORDINARY

• If you have a Cross that was blessed, it is NO LONGER JEWELRY

• It is now set apart FOR A PURPOSE

• It MUST BE WORN THAT WAY and it MUST BE TREATED THAT WAY

• That’s what God is saying throughout Exodus and Leviticus

• When something is set apart, it is no longer just to be used whenever and however we want to use it (if you’ve ever heard someone say that they are “living their truth” you know there’s no such thing)

• Even when it comes to the anointing oil or incense

• God said that incense mixture was not to be copied or used to perfume their homes, it was to be used to fill the PRESENCE OF GOD with that sweet smelling smoke (and how sweet it is)

• God said that the oil mixture was to be dedicated to a specific purpose, for ANOINTING and ORDINATION 

• Pope St Pius X: “Sanctity alone makes us what our divine vocation demands, namely men crucified to the world and to whom the world is crucified. Men walking in the newness of life who as St. Paul tells us, ‘show themselves to be ministers of God, in laborers and in sleepless nights. In fastings, in innocence, in knowledge, in long suffering, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in unaffected love, in the word of truth, who seek Heavenly things alone, and strive in every way to lead others to them.” 

• This sanctity is meant to be exhibited and lived by the PRIESTS

• This sanctity is to be a part of every family yet belong to none

• This sanctity is to be a part of every relationship yet belong to none

• This sanctity is to be a friend of all and yet exclusive to none

• How can a priest live in a way that is truly consecrated to the Lord?

• St. Paul: “I have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me.”

• That’s what it means to be a ministerial priest

• We see this in Exodus and Leviticus

• If you are baptized, you are a KINGDOM PRIEST

• The priesthood OF THE FAITHFUL

• You and I are also called to live in a way that is set apart and CONSECRATED

• You and I are called to be TRULY HOLY

• Sometimes, in the history of the Church, there has been a big deal made over the dignity of the Priesthood

• It is also important to have gifted and skilled laborers

• Bezalel and Oholiab are skilled artisans

• It wasn’t just that they were very good at their jobs

• Exodus 31:3 “I have filled him with the Spirit of God…”

• What does that mean? It means they can do their skilled labor well

• Samson killed the Philistines because he was filled with the Holy Spirit

• David led the armies of Israel into battle because he was filled with the Holy Spirit

• Our Lord Jesus battled Satan in the desert because He was filled with the Holy Spirit

• Or for you and I, we are filled with the Holy Spirit and  going off to work

• Our work might be ordinary but since we are consecrated, set apart, and holy, our work IS EXTRAORDINARY

• These ordinary laborers did EXTRAORDINARY LABOR because they were FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT OF GOD

• All of their work was FOR GOD

• This is true for ALL OF US who work, whether your work is in an office or in a factory or in an airplane or on a farm or in a hospital or in the home

• If you work with the Spirit of God, even ORDINARY WORK BECOMES EXTRAORDINARY

• Even secular work becomes sacred, why?

• Because the one who is doing it has been sanctified, has been consecrated, is sacred

• We are SET APART

• We are CONSECRATED

• We are SACRED

• We are FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT OF GOD

• WHAT A GIFT

• Even the most ordinary day can be EXTRAORDINARY

• We have the Spirit of God

• Because of that, our work is TRANSFORMED

• It is now not just the work of man

• It is now the work of a son or daughter of God

• Only 5 days left in Exodus and Leviticus 

• We will soon be onto Numbers, Deuteronomy, and onto a HOLY, CONSECRATED, EXTRAORDINARY LIFE :)

Prayer by Fr Mike: “Father in Heaven, we do give you praise right now and forevermore, as you continue to reveal your heart to us, as you continue to recall us to give you our hearts and you make those hearts holy, because you are the Lord and you are the one who makes us holy. You are the one who is the source of all goodness. Every time we come into contact with you, we come into contact with true goodness. Help us, Lord, today to hear your word and to allow that word to transform our minds, to transform our hearts, and to transform the way that we see this world. We make this in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.”