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| FINE ART AMERICA! |
"The Lord hath sworn and He will not repent: Thou art a priest for ever according to the order of Melchisedec" (Ps. cix. 4). The priesthood used to be attached to the primogeniture; it belongs, therefore, to Our Lord, the first born of mankind; and it is His office to offer supreme worship to the Creator on behalf of all. He was, further, appointed to offer the great sacrifice for sins by the shedding of His blood on Calvary. This priesthood is "for ever," because the oblation continues for ever in heaven and on earth. The Apostle saw
"in the midst of the throne . . . a lamb standing as it were slain" (Apoc. v. 6.); and Christ "offering one sacrifice for sins, for ever sitteth on the right hand of God" (Heb. x. 12). The eternal sacrifice as it goes on amongst us, is, according to the order of Melchisedec, under the forms of bread and wine. This is the "clean oblation" (of flour), which the prophet said would be offered among the Gentiles in every place, from the rising of the sun to its setting (Mai. i. 11). Venerate Our Lord as the eternal Priest, always offering the sacrifice of the Mass, in visibly but really, and inviting you to be present at it. There is no event so holy or so efficacious on earth; nothing that corresponds so exactly with the actual facts of heaven.
