THE

CRUCIFIED RABBI
JUDAISM AND THE ORIGINS
OF CATHOLIC CHRISTIANITY TAYLOR MARSHALL

ORIGINS OF CATHOLIC CHRISTIANITY TRILOGY

Volume One

SAINT JOHN PRESS MMIX

Copyright © 2009 Taylor Reed Marshall All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or
by any information storage and retrieval system without the permission in writing from the publisher or
author.

Please visit The Crucified Rabbi on the web at: www.crucifiedrabbi.com

‫נביא מקרבך מאחיך‬
‫כמני יקים לך יהוה‬
‫תשמעון׃ אלהיך אליו‬

- Deuteronomy 18:15


εἰ γὰρ ἐπιστεύετε Μωϋσεῖ, ἐπιστεύετε ἂν ἐμοί περὶ γὰρ ἐμοῦ ἐκεῖνος
ἔγραψεν. εἰ δὲ τοῖς ἐκείνου γράμμασιν οὐ πιστεύετε, πῶς τοῖς ἐμοῖς ῥήμασιν
πιστεύσετε; - John 5:46-47


Notus in Judæa Deus : in Israël magnum nomen eius.

- Psalm 75:1-2 Vulgata





CONTENTS

How I Discovered the Jewish Origins of Catholicism

Introduction
1. Jewish Messiah, Catholic Christ

2. Jewish Kingdom, Catholic Church

3. Jewish Tevilah, Catholic Baptism

4. Jewish Passover, Catholic Mass

5. Jewish Kohenim, Catholic Priests

6. Jewish Vestments, Catholic Vestments

7. Jewish Temple, Catholic Cathedral

8. Jewish Synagogue, Catholic Parish

9. Jewish Nazirites, Catholic Monastics

10. Jewish Marriage, Catholic Marriage

11. Jewish Holy Days, Catholic Holy Days

12. Jewish Tzaddikim, Catholic Saints

13. Jewish Afterlife, Catholic Afterlife

Epilogue: Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem

Appendix: Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus Christ

Bibliography

About Taylor Marshall, Ph.D.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This book began as a collection of notes for a series
of public lectures that I delivered at the Catholic Information Center in
Washington, D.C. during the Spring of 2007. I am grateful to the Rev. Msgr.
William Stetson who encouraged me to organize these notes into the book that
you now have before you. I would also like to thank Kevin Jones at the Catholic
Information Center for his feedback.
I don’t know how to begin thanking Jeffrey Morrow, Ph.D. Jeffrey is a
Jewish convert to Catholicism and is one of the most gifted young theologians of
our day. He read the manuscript and provided comments of incalculable worth—
everything from theological observations to specifics regarding Hebrew
grammar and vocabulary. Thank you Jeff. I am also grateful to Dwight Lindley
who edited the manuscript. Special thanks are do to Albert Doskey for his edits
and suggestions regarding the distinctions between Pre-Pentecostal Judaism and
Post-Pentecostal Judaism, which are now found in the fourth printing of this
book. Charles Page gave the manuscript an extra polish by correcting mistakes
found in the first printing.
My thanks are also due to Bishop Kevin Vann to whom this book is
dedicated, to William Cardinal Baum, Archbishop John Myers, and Bishop
Kevin Farrell for their support and encouragement, to Rabbi Jacob Neusner
for his earnest engagement with Christianity, to Mark Drogin, David Moss,
Roy Schoeman for their perspective as Hebrew Catholics, to Douglas Greene
and Michael Kelly at Westminster Theological Seminary for teaching me
Hebrew, to Peter Enns, Peter Leithart, and James B. Jordan for opening my
eyes to the Old Testament, to N.T. Wright, Scott Hahn, James Dunn, Michael
Barber, Mary Moorman, Matthew Levering, Mike Aquilina, Brant Pitre
and Pope Benedict XVI for their theological insights, to Thomas Howard,
Marcus Grodi, Jim Anderson, Robert Barham, Robert Dunikoski, Dave
Armstrong, Bill Soltesz, Christopher Malloy, Doug Pearson, Klemens Raab,
Dave Palmer, Neal Judisch, Bryan Cross, Tim Troutman, Sean Dollahon,
Tom Brown, Matt Yonke, Tom Riello, Andrew Preslar, John Kincaid, and
Jonathan Deane for their friendship and encouragement along the way, and to
David Mills and Raymond Arroyo for introducing me to the realm of
publishing. I would like to thank the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal for their
prayers. My gratitude is also due to my loving and supportive parents William
and Jennifer.
Most of all, I thank my wife Joy who is for me the virtuous and noble wife
of the Hebrew Scriptures: Many women have done excellently, but you surpass
them all (Prov 31:29).

Her influence and advice are present on every page of this book.
With profound humility, I present this book to our Lord Jesus Christ and
pray that every bit of chaff be disregarded and that anything of worth be
attributed to His divine mercy.
xi

9
THE JEWISH ORIGINS OF CATHOLICISM

 HOW I DISCOVERED
THE JEWISH ORIGINS OF CATHOLICISM

A priest and a rabbi walked into a hospital…

This is not the beginning of a joke, but the beginning of my journey to the
Catholic Faith. I discovered the Jewish origins of Catholicism while I was still a
Protestant clergyman, an Episcopalian priest to be exact. God quickened the
process of my conversion to the Catholic Faith with an insight that I gained from
a Jewish rabbi. Without his knowing it, this rabbi opened my eyes to a
connection between biblical Judaism and Catholicism. As I pursued the matter, I
began to see that Jesus Christ fulfilled the Old Testament by instituting the Holy
Catholic Church. As a minister in the tradition stemming from King Henry
VIII’s break from the Catholic Church (the Church of England), I realized that I
had no other choice—I renounced my ministry and sought reception into the
Catholic Church.
This journey began one morning as I sat at my desk in a black suit and
white clerical collar. I had been ordained as an Episcopalian priest only a few
weeks. The pastor of the parish came into my office with a smile on his face.
“Taylor, someone has requested a hospital visit.”
This was my first official hospital visit as a clergyman. The pastor
continued, “Now when you get to the hospital, be sure to introduce yourself at
the administration office. Tell them that you are a new minister and that you
need clerical tags for your car so that you can park in the ‘reserved for clergy’
parking spaces. This will save you time and you won’t have to pay for parking.”
“Great. I’m on my way.”
“One more thing. Always wash your hands before going into a hospital
room, and be sure to also wash your hands when you leave the hospital. Make
sure that you always wash. Washing protects you and it protects the patients.”
“Got it. Anything else?”
“Oh, and when you talk to people in their hospital beds, always be sure to
stand at their feet so that they can see your face and hear your voice. Don’t make
the mistake of sitting next to the person’s head, otherwise the poor soul must
stretch his aching body to look you in the eye.”
“Get parking tags. Wash my hands. Stand at the end of the bed. I’ll be sure
to do that. Anything else?”
“Make sure you bring a prayer book. Sometimes a medical situation can
become tense and you may not know how to pray. It’s good to have a few
standard prayers to which you can turn in a time of confusion.”
“Alright. I’ve got it. Let me get my stole and I’ll be on my way.”
“You’ll do fine. I’ll say a prayer for you,” said the pastor. “Do you have
any questions?”
“Just one,” I replied.
“What’s that?”
“Who am I going to see?”
The pastor told me the name of a woman who would be receiving a
surgery at 1:00 pm. I wrote down her name, and then grabbed my prayer book,
stole, and holy oil.
When I arrived at the hospital I obtained my “clergy parking” tags, washed
my hands, and went upstairs to surgery. The waiting room was packed with
people waiting for their loved ones to return from surgery. I went to the desk,
smiled at the receptionist, and said, “My name is Father Taylor Marshall and I’m
here to see someone before she enters surgery.” I reported the woman’s name.
Her fingernails stopped clicking on the keyboard. “Great. You can just go
on back there and see her.”
I turned around and saw two swinging medical doors at the end of the
waiting room.
“Through there?”
“Yes, Father. Just go on in. She is already with the anesthesiologist.”
It was clear that she believed that I had done this before, but it was my first
time. As I came to the doors, I pushed the button and the automatic doors swung
open. I walked forward and they closed behind me. Everyone beyond those
doors seemed to be scrubbed and masked. I was amazed that no one stopped me.
I expected someone to say, “What are you doing here?” or “How did you get
back here?” The white collar around my neck opened door after door as I
navigated my way toward the room where patients prepared for surgery. Finally,
I came into a large room with eight beds. A nurse smiled at me.
“Pardon me. Can I help you?”
I reported the woman’s name and asked if I could pray with her.
“She’s over there in Bed Number One.” She pointed to the bed. “The
anesthesiologist has already been here. She’s probably already asleep.”
“That’s okay,” I said. “I’d still like to pray for her.”
The nurse had no problems with this and left me alone in the room.
I walked over to Bed Number One and saw a woman already fast asleep in
her hospital gown. I opened my copy of the Book of Common Prayer where a
gold ribbon marked the section entitled, The Order for the Visitation of the Sick.
I then gently laid my right hand on the arm of the sleeping woman.
Her eyes flung open with an expression of fright. “Who are you!” The
anesthesia had not yet begun its work.
I was as startled as she. I pulled my hand away from her arm. “Excuse me.
My name is Father Taylor. I’m here to pray with you before you go into
surgery.”
She took one look at my clerical collar and said, “But I’m Jewish!”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I must have the wrong bed. I was looking for someone
named Joanna.”
“That’s me. I am Joanna.” She obviously had no idea why a Christian
minister stood over her bed with a prayer book in his hand.
I paused and thought to myself: Is this some sort of joke that older priests
play on new priests? The pastor sends me off on my first hospital call with all
sorts of sound advice, but neglects to tell me that the lady is Jewish! I collected
myself.
“Wait, I recognize you,” the lady said. “I was at St. Andrew’s with my
husband a few weeks ago.” She yawned. “You preached a sermon on the
creation of Adam from the dirt—how people are supposed to have humility
because we come from the earthly humus of the ground. I liked that.”
I remembered the sermon. I had compared Adam’s creation from the earth
to Christ’s resurrection from his earthen tomb. I knew why she found the portion
about Adam particularly interesting, and not necessarily the part about Christ.
Nevertheless, my confidence returned with the compliment.
“Well, would you like me to pray for you before you go into surgery?” I
asked.
“Oh, I would love that. Thank you so much.”
I placed my right hand once again on her arm and began with a petition
from the Book of Common Prayer:

O GOD of heavenly powers, who, by the might of thy command, drivest

away from men’s bodies all sickness and all infirmity. Be present in thy
 goodness with this thy servant, that her weakness may be banished and her
strength recalled; that her health being thereupon restored, she may
bless…

The prayer ended with, “thy holy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”
Secretly in my heart, I prayed that last line, but I didn’t know whether it would
be appropriate to invoke the name of Christ given the circumstances. Thinking
fast, I continued instead with the words:

…that she may bless the holy Name of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob. Amen.
She responded with a heartfelt “Amen,” likely amazed that this young priest had
brought with him a prayer book containing Jewish prayers recalling the memory
of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I shared some words of comfort, but already her
eyes were growing heavy with sleep. I left the room by the way I entered.
As I came back into the waiting room, I saw a bearded rabbi enter the
reception area. So the priest (me) walked up to the rabbi (him) and said, “Are
you here to see Joanna?”
The rabbi answered, “Yes. As a matter of fact I am.”
“Go through those doors and follow the hallway to the left. Bed Number
One. She’s already asleep.”
Looking into the perplexed eyes of the rabbi, I could see what he was
thinking: “Why does this priest know all of this about Joanna?” He thanked me
and disappeared behind the automated doors with a push of a button. He had
obviously done this before.
Just after that, I recognized someone in the waiting room. It was Mr. Smith
from St. Andrew’s. Now I understood why I had been called upon to pray with a
Jewish woman—she was married to an Episcopalian. Up until now, I had not
known that his wife was Jewish. He was nervous about her surgery and we
talked for a while until the rabbi returned to the waiting room. Mr. Smith
formally introduced me to the rabbi, and we shared an interesting conversation
about how some Jews bend their knees and raise up on their toes when they pray.
Then the rabbi asked Mr. Smith a very unusual question. “What is the
Hebrew name of Joanna’s mother?”
The husband thought about it for a moment. “Gee, I don’t know. Why do
you ask?”
“Well, I was going to ask Joanna the name of her mother, but she was
already asleep by the time I found her.”
“Why would you need to know her mother’s name?” asked her husband.
The rabbi explained, “We Jews believe that if someone is suffering and
you invoke the name of his or her mother in prayer, God will be more merciful
in granting your prayer for that person.”
My first reaction was to dismiss the rabbi’s explanation as superstitious.
However, as I ruminated on the rabbi’s answer, I realized the profundity of it.
This rabbi believed that God was especially merciful when a mother was
invoked for the sake of her child. As a “high-church” Episcopalian priest I
already had a budding devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. It was then that I
realized the implication of the rabbi’s words. I believed that Mary was
important, because she was truly the Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ and
therefore the Mother of God (Lk 1:43). God had chosen this human woman to be
the pure virginal vessel of His Incarnate Son. If Jews believed that invoking the
mother of someone caused God to be more gracious in answering an
intercession, then wouldn’t the name of Mary be worth invoking? Even more,
Mary wasn’t just any ordinary mother. She was the only person ever created who
could speak to God about our Son. That’s when it hit me. Catholic devotion to
Mary is not merely based on sound Christological arguments. Veneration for the
Blessed Mother is not just only in the writings of the early Church. Reaching
back even further, the Church reveres and invokes the Blessed Mother because it
inherited the Jewish custom of showing profound reverence for the spiritual role
of the mother in a family. The rabbi’s answer was a surprising confirmation that
Catholic customs are rooted in a Jewish understanding of reality.
This experience opened up an entirely new way of appreciating
Christianity, that is to say Catholic Christianity. I soon learned that Orthodox
Jews pray for the dead—as do Catholics. Jews have a special ark in their
synagogues to house the Word of God. Catholics have a special tabernacle in
their churches to house the Word of God made flesh in the Eucharist. All of the
fascinating elements of the Old Testament—the liturgies, the holy days, the
vestments, the lamps, the vows, the rituals—all of these were preserved or
transformed in the sacramental economy of the Catholic Church. I later
discovered that the Catechism of the Catholic Church had this to say about the
connection between the Jewish People and the Catholic Church:

The relationship of the Church with the Jewish People. When she delves
into her own mystery, the Church, the People of God in the New
 Covenant, discovers her link with the Jewish People, “the first to hear the
Word of God.” The Jewish faith, unlike other non-Christian religions, is
already a response to God’s revelation in the Old Covenant. To the Jews
“belong the sonship, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the
worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and of their race,
according to the flesh, is the Christ,” “for the gifts and the call of God are
irrevocable” (no. 839).

The following year I renounced the ordination that I had received in the
Episcopal Church after a considerable amount of prayer, study, and counsel. The
Episcopal Church possessed many ancient elements and practices, but I came to
see that the Anglican schism of the sixteenth century, and the Protestant
Reformation in general, did not reflect the original trajectory of the New
Testament. I came to believe that the Church is the Body of Christ and the
Temple of the People of God. In the Old Testament, the People of Israel were
not free to create a “new Israel” or to form a new denomination of “Protestant
Israelites.” No matter how corrupt the priests, the high priests, and the kings of
Judah became, the covenant of God remained in effect. As I reflected on this, I
perceived that the Protestant Reformation rejected the scriptural belief in a
united, visible Church—a notion taken for granted in the Book of Acts and the
epistles of Saint Paul.
My wife and I entered into full communion with the Catholic Church on
May 23, 2006, along with our four children. I became a Catholic Christian
because I realized that the Catholic Church alone could trace her doctrine,
liturgy, customs, and morality back to those Jewish beginnings when a rabbi
named Jesus roamed the Holy Land with a band of Jewish disciples. As a
Catholic Christian, I am linked not only to the early Church, but also to the
ancient tradition of the Old Testament. I can now say with the Apostle Paul (who
was once Rabbi Saul):

I share the faith of Abraham, for he is the father of us all.

- Romans 4:16


31
INTRODUCTION

 INTRODUCTION

Does the Pope Wear a Yarmulke?

IN DOING RESEARCH FOR this book, I found that one of the most common questions
that Jews have concerning the Catholic Church is: “Why does your Pope wear a
yarmulke?” They are referring, of course, to the small, white “beanie” that the
Pope wears in public and in the liturgy. To be accurate, the Pope does not
actually wear a yarmulke, but a zucchetto, which is Italian for “little gourd,” as
in the vegetable we call the zucchini. The zucchetto is a round cap of eight
triangular panels that have been sewn together. The cap somewhat resembles
half of a small pumpkin, hence the name “little gourd” or zucchetto.
The official Latin name for this little skullcap worn by Catholic clergy is
pileolus. It is also called the soli deo (Latin for “to God alone”) because it is a
sign that a man is wholly dedicated to the Lord. Zucchettos are color-coded to
denote rank in the Catholic Church: the Pope wears a white zucchetto, cardinals
wear red zucchettos, bishops wear purple zucchettos, and priests wear black
zucchettos, though priests nowadays rarely wear them.
We know that the Israelite priests of the Temple wore special turbans
when they ministered in the presence of the Lord. Covering the head in the
presence of God was a sign of humility. This act of humility was also observed
in ancient Rome—slaves were required to cover their heads while freemen
remained bareheaded.
Although, Moses never commanded Jewish laymen to cover their heads
with yarmulkes, it seems that Jewish men began to observe the custom for two
reasons. The first was to imitate the Jewish priests who covered their heads when
they served in the Temple. After all, even laymen should live as though they
were in the presence of Almighty God. Secondly, the act of covering the head
symbolized that a man was not a freeman, but a spiritual servant of God. Rabbi
Honah ben Joshua once said that he never walked more than four steps with his
head uncovered, “because the Divine Presence is always over my head.”[1]
 It was obviously very difficult to take a turban on and off throughout the
day. As a result, the small round skullcap became the simplest and most
convenient way of covering the head. While Jews may wear any kind of hat, the
most common hat is the skullcap known as the kippah meaning “dome” in
Hebrew. It is commonly designated by the Yiddish word for the skullcap
—yarmulke. The word “yarmulke” seems to derive from the Polish word for cap
—jarmulke. However, there is another Jewish tradition that the name comes
from the Aramaic phrase Yari Mulka, meaning, “Fear the King” since God is the
King of Israel.
Whether one calls this religious skullcap a zucchetto, pileolus, soli Deo,
kippah, or yarmulke, the idea is the same. It designates that a man is a servant of
the Most High, ever standing in the presence of God. Every Catholic bishop
dons the zucchetto whenever he exercises his apostolic ministry in communion
with the Catholic Church. There is one important exception. All Catholic
bishops, including the cardinals and the Pope, must remove the zucchetto when
they stand at the altar and recite the Eucharistic Prayer. When the bishop
consecrates the Body and Blood of Christ, he acts in persona Christi (“in the
person of Christ”). The bishop therefore removes the zucchetto during this time
since he “loans” his voice and body to Christ so that the true High Priest might
transform the bread and wine into His very own Body and Blood.[2]
Throughout this book, the reader will discover that many similarities
between biblical Judaism and Catholicism are incidental, as in the case of the
yarmulke. In other cases, elements of the Catholic Faith derive directly from
Jewish origins. Sometimes the connection between Judaism and Catholicism is
direct (as in the connection between the Passover and the Holy Sacrifice of the
Mass)—at other times a certain element of Catholicism does not possess an
organic link to biblical Judaism. In these cases, the link is accounted for by the
common religious presuppositions of Judaism and Catholicism. An example of
this would be the use of vestments by Catholic priests. The vestments worn by
Catholic priests do not derive directly from the Old Covenant vestments, but the
idea of priests wearing ceremonial garments during acts of sacrifice is a
presupposition that Catholicism received from the Old Testament rather matter-
of-factly. The Church eventually saw its own vesture as hearkening back to the
priestly vesture of the Old Covenant Temple, but the Old Testament custom is
not (as we shall see) directly tied to the Catholic custom.

Is Catholicism Anti-Semitic or Philo-Semitic?

The presence of a what might appear to be a yarmulke on the head of the Pope
does not necessarily mean that Catholics have always honored the Jewish people
as “beloved,” as described by Saint Paul in Rom 11:29. Some Jews suspect that
the Catholic Church is inherently anti-Semitic. Sadly, some Catholic Christians
have committed injustices against the Jewish people throughout the centuries.
Before addressing the issue, we must first define the term “anti-
Semitic.” The word Semitic refers to those who derive their genealogy from
Shem—one of the just and noble sons of Noah. Noah had three sons and
according to tradition his son Japheth is the father of those who lived beyond
Mount Caucasus north of the Holy Land (hence the term Caucasian). Noah’s son
Ham was the father of the Egyptians, Babylonians, and Africans. Noah’s son
Shem was the father of the Syrians, Persians, Arabs, and Jews. Hence, Shemites
or Semites are those people deriving from Shem. In English, to be anti-Semitic
usually refers to being anti-Jewish; however, to be anti-Arab or even anti-Syrian
would also qualify as being anti-Semitic, strictly speaking.
Regretfully, the term anti-Semitic is thrown about irresponsibly today.
For example, if one were to state that Jews, like all human persons, require the
Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior in order to enter Heaven—as Saint Peter
proclaimed to Jewish priests in Acts 4:12—this assertion might be labeled as
anti-Semitic or racist. That Christ is the only Savior of mankind is a religious
belief pertaining to the core of Christianity—it is not something directed
specifically against Jews and their descendents. Sometimes, one is wrongly
labeled anti-Semitic for opposing the political ideology of the contemporary
state of Israel. To disagree with Zionism or Israeli politics is not anti-Semitism.
Anti-Semitism, rightly defined, is a hatred for the Jewish people—not the hatred
of Jewish theories, actions, or policies. One can be opposed to the Jewish
Talmud, Zionism, Israeli politics, and even the Jewish religion without hating
Jews or seeking their extermination.
Despite the recent overtures made by the Catholic Church to ethnic and
religious Jews, there is a growing body of secular literature claiming that
Catholicism is anti-Semitic by its very nature. The accusations are made to
varying degrees. Some understand Catholicism as inherently anti-Semitic
because it claims that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah and exclusive Savior of
mankind (Jn 14:6). Others accuse the New Testament itself of anti-Semitism
because Christ’s enemies are sometimes referred to collectively as “the
Jews.”[3] Others cite Catholic history and point to Catholic-led persecutions
against Jewish victims. More recently, some authors and journalists have
accused Pope Pius XII of having been “Hitler’s Pope,” even suggesting that Pius
XII assisted with the Nazi holocaust. Recent secular and Jewish scholarship
however, has shown that this claim is false and inspired by anti-Catholic bigotry.
[4]
We must be fair and confess that there are numerous examples of violence
against Jews in Christian history. However, history also shows that Catholicism
as a religion has not shown hatred for Jews. Few are aware that the fifth Pope of
Catholic Church, Pope Evaristus, was an ethnic Jew. Pope Saint Gregory the
Great (AD 590-604) was the first Pope to take a protective position toward the
Jews. Saint Gregory’s correspondence reveals that he believed that Jews should
not be destroyed nor forced to receive Baptism.
Nevertheless, after Pope Urban II authorized the First Crusade in 1095,
there was the unfortunate event in 1096 when the Crusaders attacked the Jewish
community of Worms, Germany. It should be noted that it was not Pope Urban’s
intention that the Crusaders should murder Jews. The aim of the First Crusade
was to liberate the Holy Land from the Muslims who had conquered it.
Nevertheless, it was baptized Catholics who committed these crimes. The Jews
of Worms were offered sanctuary only if they received baptism. Most of the
Jews refused and eight hundred were slaughtered. Frequently, the local bishops
and laity attempted to protect the Jews, but they were not often successful. When
the Crusaders captured Jerusalem in 1099, they rounded up the Jewish
population of the city into a synagogue and burned them alive.
In response to these crimes, Pope Calixtus II in about AD 1120 issued a
bull to protect Jews who had suffered during the First Crusade. The name of the
bull Sicut Judaeis (“and thus to the Jews”) is a reference to a phrase originally
employed by Pope Saint Gregory the Great in a letter addressed to the Bishop of
Naples. In continuity with the teaching of Pope Saint Gregory the Great, Pope
Calixtus II instructs that Christians should neither kill nor force Jews to receive
Baptism.
The bull was reaffirmed by Popes Alexander III, Celestine III (1191-
1198), Innocent III (1199), Honorius III (1216), Gregory IX (1235), Innocent IV
(1246), Alexander IV (1255), Urban IV (1262), Gregory X (1272 & 1274),
Nicholas III, Martin IV (1281), Honorius IV (1285-1287), Nicholas IV (1288-
92), Clement VI (1348), Urban V (1365), Boniface IX (1389), Martin V (1422),
and Nicholas V (1447). The bull reads as follows:

They ought to suffer no prejudice. We, out of the meekness of Christian
 piety, and in keeping in the footprints or Our predecessors of happy
memory, the Roman Pontiffs Calixtus, Eugene, Alexander, Clement, admit
their petition, and We grant them the buckler of Our protection.

For We make the law that no Christian compel them, unwilling or
refusing, by violence to come to baptism. But, if any one of them should
spontaneously, and for the sake of the faith, fly to the Christians, once his
choice has become evident, let him be made a Christian without any
calumny. Indeed, he is not considered to possess the true faith of
Christianity who is not recognized to have come to Christian baptism, not
spontaneously, but unwillingly.

Also, no Christian ought to presume...to injure their persons, or with
violence to take their property, or to change the good customs which they
have had until now in whatever region they inhabit.

Besides, in the celebration of their own festivities, no one ought disturb
them in any way, with clubs or stones, nor ought any one try to require
from them or to extort from them services they do not owe, except for
those they have been accustomed from times past to perform.

We decree…that no one ought to dare mutilate or diminish a Jewish
cemetery, nor, in order to get money, to exhume bodies once they have
been buried.

If anyone, however, shall attempt, the tenor of this degree once known, to
go against it…let him be punished by the vengeance of excommunication,
unless he correct his presumption by making equivalent satisfaction.

So then, while crimes were no doubt committed against Jews, the papal
magisterial decrees officially taught that Christians should not harm Jews.
Moreover, the Supreme Pontiffs even threatened excommunication against those
Christians who harmed them. Modern-day writers seeking to label the medieval
Popes as inhumane toward the Jews often neglect this important tradition of the
Church.
Another frequently cited example of anti-Semitism is the decree of the
Fourth Lateran Council in 1215, the Council Fathers decreed: “Jews and
Saracens of both sexes in every Christian province and at all times shall be
marked off in the eyes of the public from other peoples through the character of
their dress.”[5] However, if we read the entire canon from 1215, we discover
that this measure was not so much discriminatory as it was preventative. There
was a growing problem of Christians marrying (or committing fornication) with
Jews and Saracens (Muslims) without knowing that they were not Christians.
This entailed canonical problems and the risk of offspring being born from
mixed marriages.
The thirteenth century witnessed the first of several Jewish expulsions.
England was the first kingdom to expel its Jewish population formally. King
Edward I ordered the Jewish expulsion in 1290. It is believed that he and the
nobility greatly benefited by this act, whereby they received the assets of the
Jewish population of England. The English Jews were ordered to leave on the
ninth day of the Jewish month of Av (July 18 of that year)—a Jewish day of
mourning that commemorates the destruction of the First Temple by the
Babylonians (586 B.C.) and the Second Temple by the Romans (A.D. 70).
France expelled its Jewish population between 1306 and 1394. In response
to these persecutions and in defense of the Jews, Pope Martin V issued his
Declaration on the Protection of the Jews in 1419 that stated:

Whereas the Jews are made in the image of God, and a remnant of them
will one day be saved, and whereas they have sought our protection,
following in the footsteps of our predecessors: We command that they be
not bothered in their synagogues; that their laws, rights and customs be not
assailed; that they be not baptized by force, constrained to observe
Christian festivals, nor to wear new badges, and that they be not hindered
in their business relations with Christians.

Nevertheless, Austria expelled their Jewish population in 1421. Spain did the
same in 1492—the year Columbus discovered America. Spain in particular was
concerned about the conversos—those Jews who pretended to be Christian and
even received baptism, but did in fact continue to believe and practice as Jews.
These so-called conversos converted primarily for political or monetary gain and
not from a true change in heart. Portugal followed Spain in 1497 by expelling all
Jews. Jews were not permitted in Orthodox Russia from the fifteenth century
until 1772. In nearly every case, Jewish persecutions were sparked by secular
politics, but we cannot deny that it was baptized Christians who committed these
acts of injustice.
 We have already quoted the bull Sicut Judeis, reissued by over fifteen
Popes, and Pope Martin V’s Declaration on the Protection of the Jews of 1419.
Another important institutional teaching came in 1566, when the Catechism of
the Council of Trent did not blame all Jews exclusively for the crime of Deicide
—killing God on the cross. Rather, the Catechism lays the fault chiefly on
Catholics who know Christ and yet continue to sin, and by doing so “lay violent
hands on Him.”

In this guilt are involved all those who fall frequently into sin; for, as our
sins consigned Christ the Lord to the death of the cross, most certainly
those who wallow in sin and iniquity crucify to themselves again the Son
of God, as far as in them lies, and make a mockery of Him. This guilt
seems more enormous in us than in the Jews, since according to the
testimony of the same Apostle: If they had known it, they would never
have crucified the Lord of glory; while we, on the contrary, professing to
know Him, yet denying Him by our actions, seem in some sort to lay
violent hands on Him.[6]
Papal condemnations of violence against Jews were re-iterated in the twentieth
century under Pope Pius XI. In response to the rise of Nazism and Hitler’s “final
solution,” Pope Pius XI issued the 1937 encyclical Mit Brennender Sorge
condemning the Nazi ideology of racism and totalitarianism, as well as Nazi
violations of the concordat. Copies of the encyclical were smuggled into
Germany and then were read from every pulpit.
In 1938, in an address to Belgian pilgrims, Pius XI described true
Catholics as “Spiritual Semites.”
Mark well that in the Catholic Mass, Abraham is our Patriarch and
Forefather. Anti-Semitism is incompatible with the lofty thought, which
that fact expresses. It is a movement with which we Christians can have
nothing to do. No, no, I say to you it is impossible for a Christian to take
part in anti-Semitism. It is inadmissible. Through Christ and in Christ we
are the spiritual progeny of Abraham. Spiritually, we [Christians] are all
Semites.[7]
The identity of Catholic Christians as “spiritual Semites” goes back to the
prophets, Saint John the Baptist, Christ our Lord and Saint Paul.
Saint John the Baptist warned the Jews of his day that their carnal
genealogy connected them to Abraham would not attain their salvation:

And think not to say within yourselves: We have Abraham for our father.
For I tell you that God is able of these stones to raise up children to
Abraham. For now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree
therefore that doth not yield good fruit, shall be cut down, and cast into the
fire (Mt 3:9–10).

The Jews of that time boasted in their biological descent from Abraham. They
assumed that their ethnicity deriving from Abraham somehow commended them
to God’s favor. However, it is by supernatural grace that a man is saved. This is
the Gospel proclaimed Saint John the Baptist and Christ our Lord. Christ also
confronted this false doctrine of carnal Judaism. When the Jews of His day
challenged His Messianic proclamation and mission, Christ rebukes them
sternly, even telling them that Satan, not Abraham, is their spiritual father.

They answered and said to him: Abraham is our father.

Jesus saith them: If you be the children of Abraham, do the works of
Abraham. But now you seek to kill me, a man who have spoken the truth
to you, which I have heard of God. This Abraham did not. You do the
works of your father.

They said therefore to him: We are not born of fornication: we have one
Father, even God. Jesus therefore said to them: If God were your Father,
you would indeed love me. For from God I proceeded and came. For I
came not of myself: but he sent me. Why do you not know my speech?
Because you cannot hear my word.

You are of your father the devil: and the desires of your father you will do.
He was a murderer from the beginning: and he stood not in the truth,
because truth is not in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his
own: for he is a liar, and the father thereof (Jn 8:39–44).

Christ our God confronts the poor theology of those Jewish scribes and Pharisees
making accusations against Him. Salvation consists in the remission of sins and
the inner renewal of the soul.
 Saint Paul made this teaching of being a “spiritual Israelite” explicit in
the ninth chapter of Romans. He begins by distinguishing children of Israel
according to the flesh and those according to the promise of God. Are they the
carnal descendents of Abraham with an unbroken pedigree the children of God
by virtue of the flesh? No, the true Israelites are those who have true faith in God
the Father and His Son Jesus Christ.

Who are Israelites, to whom belongeth the adoption as of children and the
glory and the testament and the giving of the law and the service of God
and the promises: Whose are the fathers and of whom is Christ, according
to the flesh, who is over all things, God blessed for ever. Amen. Not as
though the word of God hath miscarried.

For all are not Israelites that are of Israel. Neither are all they that are the
seed of Abraham, children: but in Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is to
say, not they that are the children of the flesh are the children of God: but
they that are the children of the promise are accounted for the seed (Rom
9:4–8).

So then, salvation is not found in natural generation but in supernatural
regeneration. This is why Pope Pius XI called Catholics “spiritual Semites.” We
may not be natural descendents of Abraham, yet in Christ we are children of
Abraham through faith.
The Catholic Church rightfully condemns historical acts of anti-Semitism.
When John Paul II visited Jerusalem on March 27, 2000 he paused by the
Western Wailing Wall, bowed his head in prayer, and placed a written prayer in
the wall. As the Holy Father turned to leave the historic site, he paused once
more and turned back to the wall for another moment of silent prayer. The
printed prayer that John Paul II inserted into the wall read as follows:
God of our fathers, you chose Abraham and his descendants to bring your
Name to the Nations. We are deeply saddened by the behavior of those
who in the course of history have caused these children of yours to suffer,
and asking your forgiveness we wish to commit ourselves to genuine
brotherhood with the people of the covenant.

Pope John Paul II‘s actions and words demonstrate that authentic Catholicism
leads not to anti-Semitism, but instead leads us in the opposite direction toward
philo-Semitism, a love for people of Israel, whom John Paul II calls the people of
the covenant. Here, John Paul II does not mean that Jews are saved by a
covenant other than the new and eternal covenant inaugurated by the Precious
Blood of Christ at the cross. John Paul II’s phrase “people of the covenant”
should be read in continuity with the teaching of Pope Pius XI before him.
On October 17th 1925, Pope Pius XI consecrated the entire human race to
the Sacred Heart on the feast of Christ the King. In this solemn consecration, His
Holiness specifically consecrated the Jewish people with the words:

Turn Thine eyes of mercy toward the children of that race, once thy chosen
people. Of old they called down upon themselves the Blood of the
Saviour; may it now descend upon them as a laver of redemption and of
life.

This entire prayer (which includes the section cited above) was later indulgenced
for recitation by the lay faithful. It became a plenary indulgence when meeting
the usual conditions and recited daily for a month.[8]
So then, the language of the Sovereign Pontiffs reveals that the children of
Israel are not utterly cast off from God, but that they are not longer the chosen
people since their rejection of Christ renders them without redemption and
eternal life. Salvation is possible for the Jew just as it is possible for the Gentile
through repentance and faith and Jesus Christ. There is a vast difference between
the biblical Judaism of Moses and the Talmudic Judaism of the rabbis in the
centuries after Christ. The Old Testament faith of Moses rightly finds its
fulfillment in Christ. The faith of the Jewish rabbis after Christ is not that of the
Patriarchs and Moses, as Christ Himself teaches:

Think not that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one that accuses
you, Moses, in whom you trust. For if you did believe Moses, you would
perhaps believe me also: for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his
writings, how will you believe my words? (Jn 5:44-47)
Moreover, Saint Peter exhorted all the Jews at the Feast of Pentecost to “Repent
and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission
of your sins. And you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). The
supernatural grace of Christ saves. It is the feast day of Pentecost that
demarcates the promulgation of the New Covenant. Jewish pilgrims traveling to
Jerusalem in AD 33 for the Jewish feast of Pentecost were in good faith and
presumably in a state of grace. However, once they arrived and heard the words
of Saint Peter, they were required to make an additional act of faith. At that first
Pentecost Sunday, Peter proclaimed to the Jewish populace in Jerusalem:

Therefore let all the house of Israel know most certainly that God hath
made both Lord and Christ, this same Jesus, whom you have crucified.

Now when they had heard these things, they had compunction in their
heart and said to Peter and to the rest of the apostles: What shall we do,
men and brethren?

But Peter said to them: Do penance: and be baptized every one of you in
the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of your sins. And you shall
receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is to you and to your
children and to all that are far off, whomsoever the Lord our God shall
call. And with very many other words did he testify and exhort them,
saying: Save yourselves from this perverse generation
(Acts 2:36–40).

While the Old Covenant was consummated and perfectly fulfilled at the death
and resurrection of Christ, the New Law of the Gospel was not promulgated until
Pentecost.[9] It was on Pentecost that the New Testament and the need for
baptism became absolutely binding and necessary. Pre-Pentecostal Judaism in
expectation of the Messiah was the true religion instituted by God through
Abraham. Post-Pentecostal Judaism is a dead letter—a religion unknown to the
pages of Sacred Scripture.[10]
In summary, Jewish ethnicity in itself does not save. The Old Covenant is
no longer salvific. Nevertheless, the Jewish people continue as a sign to the
Gentiles, and Gentiles should revere the Jewish people as kinsmen of Christ.
After all, is it not the case that Catholics worship a Jewish Rabbi as the very Son
of God and identify Him as the Jewish Messiah? The faith and flesh of Israel are
integral to the humanity of the Redeemer. Catholics also show great veneration
for the Jewish maiden, Mary the Mother of the Messiah and extol her as the
Queen of Heaven.
The original Apostles, from which every Catholic bishop succeeds, were
Jewish. Jewish authors wrote every book of the Catholic Bible, with the
exception of the Gospel of Saint Luke and the Book of Acts. The liturgy of the
Mass derives from the prayers of the Jewish synagogue and temple. We teach
our children the Hebrew stories about Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David,
Esther, and Daniel. We employ Hebrew words in our liturgy: “Amen” and
“Alleluia.” The vestments, incense, candles, processions, jubilees, and many of
the priestly customs likewise derive from Jewish practice. Many Jews who visit
a Catholic Mass often comment that it all seems so very Jewish. The reason for
this is that the Catholic Church grew out of the Judaism of its original Rabbi and
High Priest, Jesus the Messiah.

Rabbi Israel Eugenio Zolli - The Catholic Rabbi

The intimate relationship between biblical Judaism and Catholicism is
beautifully expressed in the life of Rabbi Israel Zolli. Rabbi Zolli was born in
1881 and became the Chief Rabbi of Rome beginning in 1939. When the Nazis
occupied Rome, they commanded Rabbi Zolli to pay them tribute of fifteen
kilograms of gold. Failure to comply would result in the deportation of the
Jewish population of Rome. Unable to produce the required gold, Rabbi Zolli
called upon Pope Pius XII for help. Pius XII graciously gave the needed gold to
Rabbi Zolli, and the Jews of Rome were spared.
Not long after this episode, Rabbi Zolli saw a vision of Rabbi Jesus as he
celebrated Judaism’s most solemn holy day—Yom Kippur. Jesus said to Rabbi
Zolli, “You are here for the last time. From now on you will follow Me.” Later
that evening, his wife confided to him that she too had seen a vision during the
Yom Kippur liturgy: “Today while you were before the Ark of the Torah, it
seemed to me as if the white figure of Jesus put His hands on your head as if to
bless you.” His daughter Miriam also confided to her father that Jesus Christ had
visited her in a dream.
The following year on February 13, 1945, Rabbi Zolli received baptism
and became a Catholic Christian. In gratitude to Pope Pius XII who had dutifully
protected the Roman Jews, Rabbi Zolli took as his Christian name “Eugenio,”
the Christian name of Pius XII before he had been elected Pope. Zolli later
explained:
I can accept only that Church which was preached to all creatures by my
own forefathers, the Twelve Apostles, who, like me, issued from the
Synagogue.
Rabbi Zolli and his family experienced what Saint Paul and the Apostles had
experienced—the Rabbi named Jesus was the fulfillment of their faith in the God
of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It was not a new religion, but the climax of the
covenant that God had established with Abraham. The Old Covenant awaited the
New.

Then Jesus said to them, “These are my words which I spoke to you, while
I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses
and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”

Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them,
“Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise
from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be
preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem” (Lk 24:44-
47).

This rabbi named Jesus was crucified and He rose from the dead. This changed
everything for those first Jewish disciples. Christ’s resurrection and His gift of
the Holy Spirit ushered in that which we now know as Catholic Christianity.


43
JEWISH MESSIAH - CATHOLIC CHRIST
 1. JEWISH MESSIAH, CATHOLIC CHRIST

People! I tell you, Tzeitel, if God lived on earth, people would break his
windows!
- Joseph Stein‘s Fiddler on the Roof EVERY ANCIENT CULTURE HAS legends about
super-humans who settle the score by triumphing over evil. Just as Clark Kent
rips away his business suit and reveals that he is Superman, so everyone hopes
that there is someone, somewhere with a little something extra—someone who is
able to rip off the clothing of ordinary life and oppose the forces of evil. Every
child is waiting for a Messiah. Every tragedy calls for one.
Most people are aware that the concept of the Messiah is Jewish in origin.
The word “Messiah” is an anglicized version of the Hebrew word Mashiach or
Moshiach meaning “anointed one.” The title Christ is a Greek translation of the
word Mashiach or “anointed.” In the Old Testament, a prophet or priest anointed
the king of Judah in order to signify that the king had been anointed by God and
belonged to the royal dynasty of David. Hence, the Old Testament king was
God’s “Anointed” or “Messiah.”
God originally chose King Saul to be his anointed king, but Saul forfeited
his kingship through disobedience. God then chose a young shepherd named
David as the anointed king of Israel, because he was “a man after God’s own
heart” (1 Sam 13:13-14; Acts 13:22). The Davidic kingdom came to an end in
586 B.C. when the Babylonians sacked Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple.
Since that time, the Judeans (i.e. Jews) lived either in exile or under the foreign
rulers of Palestine. The only time of political reprieve was the short era of
national independence established by the Maccabean revolt in the second
century before Christ lasting until the Roman intervention of 64 B.C. The Jewish
festival of Hanukkah commemorates this successful Maccabean era of political
independence.
Even those Jews living in the Holy Land considered themselves to be “in
exile” because the Holy Land did not yet belong to them. They were simply a
vassal state to the pagan powers of the day. The Jewish people eagerly awaited
the coming of a new monarch in the royal lineage of King David. This new king
would free Israel from bondage, bring them out of exile, and inaugurate the
glorious Kingdom of God. These expectations were based on the Old Testament
prophecies foretelling the coming of a Messianic king who would reestablish
God’s kingdom and covenant on earth. The prophecies are appropriately called
Messianic prophecies.
 What is Messianic Prophecy?
Messianic prophecy is any prophecy that foretells the coming of the expected
Messiah. There are literally hundreds of such prophecies in the Old Testament
(this book’s APPENDIX contains a rather exhaustive list of Messianic prophecies).
Some are clear. Some are obscure. The prophecies were written by different
authors ranging from Moses to Malachi and are recorded over a period of about
one thousand years. The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls further substantiates
that these prophecies were written down long before the birth of Christ and were
not altered afterward in order to “fit” the life of Jesus of Nazareth.
 The Old Covenant “Proto-Gospel”
Jesus fulfills not merely the individual Old Testament references and prophecies
concerning the coming Messiah, He fulfills the Old Testament itself.

Jesus said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you:
Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses,
the Prophets and the Psalms” (Lk 24:44).
Jesus fulfills the entire story of humanity. The historical account from the time
of creation to the last of the Jewish prophets is a story told in expectation of
Him. When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, we read that God
spoke the following words to Satan: I will put enmity between you and the
woman,
and between your seed and her seed.
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel (Gen 3:15).
An alternative translation from the Hebrew, as captured in the Latin Vulgate and
an ancient tradition, foretells that “the woman” will crush the head of the
serpent: I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her
seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel (Gen 3:15).

Christian theologians refer to this passage as the protoevangelium or “First
Gospel” because it foretells a day when “the woman” will bear an heir that will
“bruise the head” of Satan. Historically, there has been a debate over how to
translate this verse and render it from the Hebrew original. The debate centers on
whether God says “he” shall crush Satan’s head or whether “she” shall crush
Satan’s head.
Now both readings are orthodox and true. The seed, who is Christ, crushes
the head of Satan absolutely, and the mother of that seed, who is Mary, crushes
the head of Satan by virtue of her role as the Mother of God and New Eve.
For Catholics, the “she” reading is the traditional reading of the Latin
Vulgate and it is important because it highlights the importance of “the woman”
(Mary) in human salvation. The translation “she shall crush” supports the
Catholic argument that Mary’s role as Mother of God reveals her Mediatrix and
her role as New Eve reveals her Coredemptrix.
 The obvious solution to this problem would be simply to look at the
original Hebrew. But that is where the problem begins. Most medieval Hebrew
Masoretic manuscripts read “he shall crush.” There are, however, two Hebrew
manuscripts that read “she shall crush.”[11] Yet there is good reason to doubt the
majority Hebrew reading of “he shall crush.”
Our three best Jewish witnesses to Gen 3:15 interpret the passage as “she
shall crush.” These are Philo Judaeus, Josephus the Roman historian, and Moses
Maimonides, the great medieval Jewish Rabbi and philosopher. Philo argues that
the Hebrew parallel poetry of Gen 3:15 demands the reading of “she shall
crush.” Josephus, also writing in Greek, describes the passage for us as reading
“she shall crush,” when he wrote “the woman should inflict wounds on his
head.”[12] Then last of all, Maimonides also states that Gen 3:15 teaches that the
woman shall crush the head of the serpent.[13]
So then, these three great Jewish scholars testify to the traditional Catholic
reading of the Latin Vulgate. Why are the Hebrew manuscripts that we have
today different from these ancient Jewish witnesses? The answer is that the
Masoretic manuscript tradition has been corrupted—something claimed by the
both the Eastern and Western Fathers throughout the centuries.
In Ineffabilis Deus decreed in A.D. 1854, Pope Pius IX cited the struggle
of the serpent with the woman and her seed foretold in Genesis 3:15 as a
prophecy of the purity of both the Blessed Mother and her divine Son Jesus
Christ: These ecclesiastical writers in quoting the words by which at the
beginning of the world God announced His merciful remedies prepared for the
regeneration of mankind—words by which He crushed the audacity of the
deceitful serpent and wondrously raised up the hope of our race, saying, “I will
put enmities between you and the woman, between your seed and her seed”—
taught that by this divine prophecy the merciful Redeemer of mankind, Jesus
Christ, the only begotten Son of God, was clearly foretold: That His most
Blessed Mother, the Virgin Mary, was prophetically indicated; and, at the same
time, the very enmity of both against the evil one was significantly expressed.
Pope Pius XII reaffirmed the interpretive importance of the protoevangelium of
Genesis in his apostolic constitution Munificentissimus Deus in A.D. 1950
stating: We must remember especially that, since the second century, the Virgin
Mary has been presented by the holy fathers as the New Eve, who, although
subject to the New Adam, was most closely associated with Him in that struggle
against the infernal enemy which, as foretold in the Protoevangelium (Genesis
3:15), was to result in that most complete victory over sin and death.
Not only Popes Pius IX and Pius XII, but the Fathers of the Second Vatican
Council also highlighted the prophetic place of this protoevangelium in the
Catholic tradition. Dei Verbum, the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation
of the Second Vatican Council, cites this verse as the original scriptural promise
of divine redemption: “After the fall, He buoyed them up with the hope of
salvation by promising redemption.”[14] This verse in Genesis also indicates
that the child of “the woman” will suffer a “bruised heel” as he seeks to trample
down the head of the primordial serpent. Satan shall be utterly defeated by the
Savior who Himself will be wounded.[15]
Genesis 3:15 is the first Messianic prophecy of the Bible and it created an
expectation that a woman would one day give birth to a hero who will save us
from death, sin, pain, toil, and sorrow. The Old Testament is the story of God
choosing the particular people of Israel who in turn set the stage for this great
redeemer. The stories of death, miracles, exile, return, prophets, priests, kings,
and sacrifice ultimately point forward to the birth of this triumphant savior, born
of a woman.
The Old Testament is the divinely guided story of that expectation: first for
the Jew, then for the Gentile (Rom 1:16). The expectation of a redeemer became
concrete in the life of Abraham and the promise was passed down through his
descendents—the children of Israel. God made a covenant with Abraham saying,
“And by you and your seed shall all the families of the earth bless themselves”
(Gen 28:14). We see here that “the promise of the seed” mentioned in the
protoevangelium of Genesis 3:15 concerning the “seed of the woman” now
comes to rest on the person of Abraham. A thousand years after the time of
Abraham, “the promise of the seed” focuses again on the person of King David
when God makes a covenant with him: When your days are fulfilled and you lie
down with your fathers, I will raise up your seed after you, who shall come forth
from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my
name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever (2 Sam 7:12-13).
We see here that the expected “seed of the woman” will be a descendent of
Abraham and also a descendent of David. This is why the New Testament begins
with what has bored most readers of the New Testament for centuries: a
genealogy. Yet, this genealogy is pivotal if we understand that the promised
savior would be both a descendent of Abraham and David. The Gospel of
Matthew begins with the words: “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the
son of David, the son of Abraham” (Mt 1:1). The genealogy that follows this
verse is an abbreviated list of ancestors consisting in three sets of fourteen
generations, beginning with Abraham, passing through David, and ending with
Jesus Christ. This threefold arrangement highlights the two covenantal ancestors
pertaining the prophecy of the anointed seed in Genesis 3:15—Abraham and
David. The final heir is the promised seed of Eve—the Lord Jesus Christ. The
genealogy may seem boring to us, but to a Jew living at the time of Christ, this
genealogy would have been one of the most exciting passages in the Matthew’s
Gospel. In the words of this genealogy is the fulfillment of the prophecy given to
Adam and Eve.
 Specific Messianic Prophecies Fulfilled by Christ
Jesus of Nazareth fulfills at least three hundred specific prophecies concerning
the coming Messiah. Statistically speaking, Jesus must be the Messiah foretold
in the Hebrew Scriptures. The only reasonable explanation is that God
predestined this marvelous story of redemption. Several volumes could be
dedicated to a detailed examination of the hundreds of prophecies fulfilled by
Jesus Christ. For our purposes, I have selected twelve notable Old Testament
prophecies that were clearly fulfilled by Jesus of Nazareth:

1. The Messiah Would be Born in Bethlehem

But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of
Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old, from ancient times (Mic 5:2).

The New Testament records that Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the
days of Herod the king (Mt 2:1). This Old Testament passage is noteworthy
because it indicates the eternal preexistence of the Messiah. We find a rare
awareness of this truth in the medieval Jewish tradition: “You find that at the
very beginning of the creation of the world, the king Messiah had already come
into being, for he existed in God’s thought even before the world was
created.”[16]

2. The Messiah Would Come from the Tribe of Judah
The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between
his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the
nations is his (Gen 49:10).
This passage stipulates that the Messiah will come from the tribe of Judah, one
whose rule will be all-powerful. The New Testament (Lk 3:23-34; Mt 1:1-16)
relates that the ancestors of Jesus go back to Judah, who was one of the twelve
sons of Jacob. Jacob’s twelve sons were the fathers of the Twelve Tribes of
Israel.




3. A Prophet in the Desert Would Precede the Messiah

A voice of one crying in the desert, “Prepare the way for the Lord; make
straight in the wilderness a highway for our God” (Isa 40:3).

Saint Matthew records how John the Baptist fulfilled this prophecy:
In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea, and
saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near” (Mt 3:1-2).[17]

4. The Messiah Would Enter Jerusalem Riding on a Colt

Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See,
your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding
on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey (Zech 9:9).

Saint Luke graphically describes the fulfillment of Zechariah’s prophecy:

They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it.
As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road. When he came
near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole
crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the
miracles they had seen (Lk 19:35-37).

5. The Messiah Would be Betrayed by a Friend during Supper
Even my close friend, whom I trusted, he who shared my bread, has lifted
up his heel against me (Ps 41:9).
Saint Mark records the fulfillment of the prophecy through the workings of
Judas Iscariot:

And as they were eating at table, Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, one of
you will betray me, one who is eating with me.”

They began to be sorrowful, and to say to him one after another, “Is it I?”
He said to them, “It is one of the Twelve, one who is dipping bread into
 the dish with me. For the Son of man goes as it is written of him, but woe
to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! It would have been
better for that man if he had not been born” (Mk 14:18-21).

6. The Messiah Would be Betrayed for Thirty Pieces of Silver

I told them, “If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it.” So
they paid me thirty pieces of silver (Zech 11:12).
Matthew’s Gospel associates the thirty pieces of silver with price of the
Messiah’s betrayal:

Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief
priests and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him to you?” And
they paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he sought an
opportunity to betray him (Mt 26:14-15).
7. The Messiah Would Remain Silent before His Accusers

He was smitten and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led
like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so
he did not open his mouth (Isa 53:7).

The Gospels record the amazement of Pilate as Christ remained silent before his
accusers:

When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no
answer. Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the testimony they are
bringing against you?” But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single
charge – to the great amazement of the governor (Mt 27:12-14).
8. The Messiah Would be Spit upon and Beaten
I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled
out my beard. I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting (Isa 50:6).
Matthew gives an account of how Christ was cruelly abused in this way:

Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists. Others slapped
him and said, “Prophesy to us, Christ. Who hit you?” (Mt 26:67-68)
9. The Messiah’s Betrayal Money Would be Used to Purchase a Potter’s
Field

Then the Lord said to me, “Cast it into the potter”—the lordly price at
which I was paid off by them. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and
threw them into the house of the Lord to the potter (Zech 11:13).

New Testament explains how the ransom price was likewise cast by Judas into
the temple and later used to buy the potter’s field:
So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and
hanged himself. The chief priests picked up the coins and said, “It is
against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money.” So
they decided to use the money to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for
foreigners (Mt 27:5-7).

10. The Messiah Would be Crucified and Pierced through His Hands and
Feet
Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have
pierced my hands and my feet (Ps 22:16).

and again:

And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem
a spirit of compassion and supplication, so that, when they look on him
whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an
only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn (Zech
12:10).

and again:
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our
iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his
wounds we are healed (Isa 53:5).
Saint John confirms that the Messiah suffered death by being nailed to a cross,
pierced through his hands and in his feet:

But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and
place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in his side, I
 will not believe” (Jn 20:25).

11. The Messiah Would Be Killed with Transgressors

Therefore, I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the
spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was
numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made
intercession for the transgressors (Isa 53:12).
The Sacred Scriptures recounts how Christ was “numbered with the
transgressors” by being crucified between two robbers (Mt 27:38). Moreover, in
Christ’s hour of death, He made “intercession for the transgressors” by praying,
“Father forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Lk 23:34).

12. The Messiah Would Rise from the Dead on the Third Day

For thou dost not give me up to the grave,
or let thy holy one see the pit (Ps 16:10).

and again:

O LORD, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave, restored me to life
from among those gone down to the pit (Ps 30:3).

and regarding the Messiah’s resurrection on the third day:
On the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him (Hos 6:2).

The four Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, and Saint Paul recount that Jesus
rose from the dead on the third day after His death. Jesus Himself foretold it:

From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to
Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and
scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised (Mt 16:21).

Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them,
“Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise
from the dead” (Lk 24:45-46).

The Apostles also testified to the historical fact that Jesus rose again on the third
day:

God raised Him on the third day and made him manifest (Acts 10:40).

Christ was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with
the Scriptures (1 Cor 15:4).

If Jesus of Nazareth fulfills these and hundreds of other Jewish prophecies, why
didn’t the Jewish people of the first century recognize Him as their Messiah?
This question has puzzled readers of the Bible for two thousand years. The
Apostle Paul addressed this perplexing state of affairs: “I ask, then, has God
rejected his people?” (Rom 11:1). His answer is simple: “By no means! I myself
am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin…I
want you to understand this mystery, brethren: a hardening has come upon part
of Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles come in” (Rom 11:2, 25). Saint
Paul implies that the partial Jewish rejection of Jesus allows for the inclusion of
all Gentile (non-Jewish) nations.
As we shall see in the next chapter, many Israelites did and do recognize
Jesus as the Messiah. The traditional Jewish objections to the Messianic status of
Jesus focus on His apparent failure to bring about the Messianic Kingdom of
God. The next chapter examines over twenty rabbinical conditions that allegedly
disprove the Messianic status of Jesus and explains how Catholic Christians
answer each objection. This brings us to nature of the Kingdom of God as it
relates to the Church.



69
JEWISH KINGDOM - CATHOLIC CHURCH
 2. JEWISH KINGDOM, CATHOLIC CHURCH

The basic question is actually about the relationship between the Kingdom of
God and Christ. It is on this that our understanding of the Church will depend.
- Pope Benedict XVI




AS WE HAVE SEEN, the concept of the Messiah derives from the Jewish hope that
God will be faithful to his covenant with David, the archetype for the Messiah.
The primary Jewish criticism against Jesus’ status as the Messiah derives from
His apparent failure to institute the Messianic Kingdom on earth. Before delving
into this controversy, let us first examine the nature of the kingdom of Israel and
the Jewish paradigm for Messianic kingship in the person of King David.
The promise of the Davidic kingdom to the “anointed” Messianic kings
derives from the covenant that God made with David in 2 Samuel 7:9-16. This
covenant involved three promises to David:

1. David’s son shall build a house for God’s name, i.e. a Temple (7:13).
2. God will establish the throne of his kingdom forever (7:13, 16).

3. God will be his father, and he shall be His son (7:14).

The Davidic Covenant involved an exchange between David and God. The
genealogical House of David shall build a literal House for God. This turns out
to be the Temple that David’s son Solomon built for God. In exchange, God
promises to establish the “house” or dynasty of David as an eternal monarchy.
This promise is based on God’s relationship to David as his Father: “I will be his
father, and he shall be my son” (7:14). This divine covenant with David
anticipates that the ultimate Davidic Messiah will truly be the eternally begotten
Son of God.[18] Jesus can call God “Father” because Jesus of Nazareth is not
only fully human and fully Davidic, but also fully divine.
 Mary as the Queen Mother of Jerusalem
When most non-Catholic Christians look at the Catholic Church, they often
question the authoritative role of the Pope and what appears to them as “Mary
worship.” Many Christians misunderstand the significance of the Pope and the
Blessed Virgin Mary precisely because these Christians are not familiar with the
way in which the Davidic Covenant structured the Messianic kingdom. In other
words, non-Catholics are not aware of the profoundly Jewish significance of the
papacy and the Virgin Mary.
The royal and messianic Kingdom of David held its capital in Jerusalem,
beginning with King David ca. 1004 B.C. and was eclipsed in 586 B.C. with the
capture of King Zedekiah and the forced exile of those Jews who were still alive.
Prior to the tragic Babylonian exile, the true King of Judah and heir of David sat
enthroned in Jerusalem. Moreover, there were two other important political
figures alongside the Davidic king in the messianic court of Jerusalem. Next to
the king, the second most important person in the Kingdom of Judah was the
Gebirah. This Hebrew title translates literally “Mighty Woman” and refers to the
mother of the Jewish king. Most translators render Gebirah as “Queen
Mother.”[19]
This Jewish Gebirah possessed a powerful influence over the kingdom.
This power and authority flowed from her status as the mother of the Davidic
king, not from her own personal importance. Rightly understood, the Queen
Mother held a political office and signified the legitimate genealogy of the king.
King Solomon the Wise instituted the formal place of the Queen Mother when
he ascended to the throne of his father King David. One of the first things King
Solomon did after his enthronement was to place a throne at his right hand and
enthrone his mother as the Gebirah: So Solomon sat upon the throne of David
his father; and his kingdom was firmly established …So [his mother] Bathsheba
went to King Solomon, to speak to him on behalf of Adonijah. And the king rose
to meet her, and bowed down to her; then he sat on his throne, and had a seat
brought for the king’s mother; and she sat on his right (1 Kings 2:12-19).
King Solomon rose to greet his mother and bowed down before her—not
because he worshipped her as a goddess, but rather because he as King
understood the honor due to Queen Mother. Her presence in the court signified
that Solomon was the legitimate heir of King David because she literally served
as the flesh and blood link between father and son. Given the importance of
genealogical dynasties, the office and role of the Queen Mother existed in many
other cultures, as well. A similar office of a Gebirah was also honored in the
northern kingdom of Israel. “We are going down to visit the princes and the
family of the queen mother” (2 Kings 10:13).
Jeremiah highlighted the place of preeminence held by the Queen Mother
by the end of the Davidic Kingdom when he wrote: “Say to the king and to the
queen mother: Come down from your throne” (Jer 13:18). The end of the
Davidic reign from Jerusalem is signaled by the dethronement of the Davidic
king and his mother. The Queen Mother was so important that the end of the
kingdom meant that she must also be deposed.
We see here that it is quite natural for Catholic Christians to honor the
Blessed Virgin Mary. Her son is the true Davidic King and she is rightly
enthroned at his right hand as the Gebirah and Queen Mother of the Kingdom of
God. The position of Solomon‘s mother at his right hand is the reason why Mary
is nearly always depicted in religious artwork as seated in heaven at the right
hand of Christ. The exalted place of the Virgin Mary in Catholicism did not arise
from medieval superstition but from a Jewish understanding of kingship. Just as
Bathsheba served as the flesh and blood link between her son Solomon and King
David, so also the Blessed Virgin Mary is the flesh and blood link uniting Jesus
to the Messianic privileges of the Davidic Kingdom. Christians honor and revere
the Blessed Virgin Mary because her lineage confirms that Jesus is the rightful
heir of God’s promises. Mary is the final link in a thousand-year-old chain of
Messianic prophecy.
 The Pope as the King’s Royal Steward
The next highest office under the Messianic King of Jerusalem was that of the
Royal Steward or Prime Minister. As in nearly every monarchical society, there
is a royal steward, prime minister, vizier, or chamberlain who oversees the day-
to-day business of the kingdom. We learn that King Solomon instituted the
office of Royal Steward in 1 Kings 4:6 when he appointed Ahishar as the one in
charge of the royal household. Isaiah 22:15-25 provides a vivid description of
the office of Royal Steward when he records the transfer of office from one
Royal Steward to another—from the old steward named Shebna to the new
steward named Eliakim. The Royal Steward of Jerusalem is described as:
Being over the household of Judah (22:15) Holding an “office” and “station”
(22:19) Clothed in a robe and cincture (22:21) Holding authority (22:21)
A father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the house of Judah (22:21)
Bearing the key of the house of David with which “he shall open, and none shall
shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open” (22:22).
The Royal Steward was not the Davidic King and yet by appointment he bore
the authority and government of the Davidic King. His role as the Royal Steward
is further highlighted by the fact that “he shall be a father to the inhabitants of
Jerusalem and the house of Judah” and that he bears “the key of the House of
David.”
We should therefore not be surprised to find that Christ as the Davidic
Messiah appointed one of His Apostles as His Royal Steward using the image of
the key as a sign of authority: And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I
will build my church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it. I will give
you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be
bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven (Mt
16:18-19).
The Catholic Church holds that Peter and all of his successors are the Royal
Stewards of the Christ’s Kingdom. The presence of a “prime minister” in the
Church is simply presupposed by what we know of God’s plan in the Old
Testament. Each successor is called “Pope” from the Latin word papa meaning
“daddy” because the Royal Steward in the Davidic monarchy was “a father to
the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the house of Judah” (Isa 22:21). This is also
why the Pope is addressed as “Holy Father.”
Just as the Catholic Church looks to the Blessed Virgin Mary as the Queen
Mother of the Church, so also the Catholic Church sees the Pope as the Royal
Steward of Christ’s Kingdom. The authority of the Pope (and even the idea that
the Pope wears special vesture) derives from the Messianic office of the Royal
Steward. Peter himself seemed to pick up on what Christ had intended in Luke
12:41-43: Peter said, “Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for all?”

And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and wise steward, whom his
master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the
proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master when he comes will
find so doing” (Lk 12:41-43).

The papacy is this line of stewards that “his master will set over his household.”
Most Popes have administered their duties well. Sadly, some have not. In either
case, the Catholic Church recognizes these Royal Stewards—these Popes—as
representatives of Christ.
 Were Jewish Expectations Left Unfulfilled?
As we asked in the previous chapter, if Christ established a Kingdom that
remains to this day, and if He fulfilled so many Old Testament prophecies, why
haven’t the Jewish people come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah? Before
answering this question, we must note that it is not correct or fair to speak of
“the Jews” as corporately rejecting Christ. The early Church was almost entirely
Jewish. All the Apostles were Jewish and Saint Paul himself was a Jewish
Rabbi. The Blessed Virgin Mary was Jewish. Moreover, Saint Peter’s first
sermon on the day of Pentecost led to the mass conversion of some three
thousand Jews in a single day.
Jesus of Nazareth did not fulfill all the Messianic prophecies at His first
coming. The world is not yet a place of perfect peace, and the lion has yet to lie
down with the lamb. Jews look around and say, “If Jesus was the Messiah, why
isn’t the world a better place?” This discrepancy is accounted for by the Apostles
in their teaching that there are two separate comings of the Messiah—the first
advent included His birth, life, passion, death, and resurrection; and the second
advent will include His judgment of the living and the dead when He finally and
perfectly establishes His Kingdom forever. The liturgical season of Advent
commemorates both the first and second comings of Christ as mysteriously
linked to one another.
The idea of “two comings” is not foreign to Jewish thought. After studying
the twelfth chapter of Zechariah, some rabbis concluded that there would be two
different Messiahs. The first they call Messiah ben Joseph (“Messiah son of
Joseph”).[20] According to the rabbis, this Messiah would be a suffering,
humiliated Messiah who would prepare the way for the second Messiah: It is
well with him who explains that the cause is the slaying of Messiah the son of
Joseph, since that well agrees with the Scriptural verse: “And they shall look
upon me because they have thrust him through, and they shall mourn for him as
one mourns for his only son.”[21]
The rabbis refer to the second Messiah as Messiah ben David (“Messiah son of
David”). The Messiah ben David is an apocalyptic Messiah who will reunite the
children of Israel around him, march into Jerusalem, vanquish God’s enemies,
and reestablish the Kingdom of God on earth. When a Jewish person refers to
the Mashiach or Messiah in an unqualified manner, he typically refers to
Messiah ben David, the one who is a descendant of King David, who is expected
to reassemble the lost children of Israel, and deliver Israel from all its enemies.
For the Christian on the other hand, there are not two Messiahs, but one
Messiah who comes to earth twice. The Catholic Church grants that these rabbis
are correct about there being two messianic stages in history. However, the
Church would simply correct their misunderstanding by explaining that these
two stages do not describe two different men, but one unique man—the Lord
Jesus Christ. The first advent of Jesus was an advent of humility and suffering,
but His bodily resurrection and ascension were a pledge that He would return
with glory to bring about the final victory for God’s people at the end of time.
The double advent of Christ is for a specific reason. Christ did not
immediately establish the Kingdom of God in its fullness on earth because the
Gospel of the Kingdom must first extend to all those who are not Jewish, that is
to say, to all the Gentiles. God desires to save not only Israel but also all people
from every nation (1 Tim 2:4). Hence, the end of the world is delayed until the
“fullness of the Gentiles come in” (Rom 11:25).
Other rabbis have specified several other prophecies that the Messiah must
also fulfill. The conditions of these rabbis are listed in the left hand column. The
Catholic interpretation of each prophecy is found in the right hand column.

Rabbinic Conditions 1. The Catholic Interpretation 1.
magisterial Sanhedrin will be Christ established the magisterium
reestablished (Isa 1:26).[22] headed by the Pope (Mt 18:18).

2. The nations do look to Christ
2. Once he is King, leaders of for guidance as His Vicar the
other nations will look to him for Pope binds and looses in His
guidance (Isa 2:4). name (Mt 16:19).

3. The whole world will worship 3. The Church is catholic
the One God of Israel (Isa 2:17). meaning that it is universal (Rev
5:9).
4. He will be descended from
King David (Isa 11:1) via King 4. The New Testament genealogy
Solomon (1 Chr 22:8-10). testifies that Christ is a
descendent of David and
5. The Messiah will be a man of Solomon (Mt 1).
this world, an observant Jew with
 “fear of God” (Isa 11:2). 5. The Messiah was a man, born
of Mary and remained an
observant Jew until the day of
6. Evil and tyranny will not be His crucifixion (Lk 2:52).
able to stand before his
leadership (Isa 11:4). 6. This shall be fulfilled when
Christ returns to judge the
7. Knowledge of God will fill the nations (Acts 10:42).
world (Isa 11:9).
7. Knowledge of the Hebrew
Scriptures has spread through
Christian missionary efforts.
8. He will include and attract
people from all cultures and 8. Jesus the Messiah has gathered
nations (Isa 11:10). together people from every tribe,
tongue, and nation in the Catholic
Church (Rev 5:9).

9. Israelites will return to their 9. In our own day it seems that
homeland (Isa 11:12). Jews are being allowed to return
to the Holy Land; however, this
may be interpreted as referring to
the saints and the Promised Land
of Heaven.

10. When Christ rose from the
dead he showed us that death no
10. Death will be swallowed up longer has dominion over us (1
forever (Isa 25:8). Cor 15:54-57).

11. Hunger, illness, and death have
not yet ceased but they will when

Jesus returns at the end of time.
11. There will be no more hunger
or illness, and death will cease
12. The Catholic Church believes
(Isa 25:8).
in the resurrection of the dead at
the end of time (1 Cor 15).

12. All of the dead will rise again 13. The Catholic Church teaches
(Isa 26:19). that the Jewish people will
experience an end times
corporate conversion to Christ
(Catechism of the Catholic
Church, nos. 673-674).
13. The Jewish people will
experience eternal joy and 14. Christ said, “Peace I leave with
gladness (Isa 51:11). you; my peace I give to you” (Jn
14:27).

15. The Judgment of Christ of the
nations will bring about the
14. The Messiah will be a justice of God
messenger of peace (Isa 52:7).
16. Christ quoted this verse when
He cleansed the Temple in
15. Nations will recognize the Jerusalem (cf. Mk 11:17).
wrongs they did Israel (Isa 52:13-
53:5). 17. This will occur at the end of
time.

16. The Messiah will establish
God’s House as a house of prayer 18. This we await at the end of time
for all nations (Isa 56:3-7). as described by the Apostle John
(Rev 20-21).
17. The ruined cities of Israel will
be restored (Ezek 16:55). 19. The Catholic Church does not
desire to rebuild a physical
18. Weapons of war will be Temple because the Church
destroyed (Ezek 39:9). herself is a holy Temple in which
the sacrifice of the Mass is
constantly offered to the glory of
God (1 Pet 2:5).
19. The Temple will be rebuilt,
resuming many of the suspended 20. The world will be perfected at
 ceremonial commandments of the second coming of Christ (Rev
Moses (Ezek 40).[23] 21:4).

21. This refers to the presence of
the Holy Spirit in the Christian
believer (1 Jn 3:24).

20. He will then perfect the entire 22. This occurs when we pray in
world to serve God together the name of Christ (Jn 16:24).
(Zeph 3:9).
23. This is described in the Book of
21. Jews will know the Torah Revelation as occurring at the
without study (Jer 31:33). end of time (Rev 22).

22. The Messiah will give you all
the desires of your heart (Ps
37:4).

23. The Messiah will take the
barren land and make it abundant
and fruitful (Isa 51:3, Amos 9:13-
15, Ezek 36:29-30, Is 11:6-9).
 Messianic Judaism
An interesting phenomenon began during the second half of the twentieth
century. Many Jews began to identify the historical Jesus of Nazareth as the
Messiah of Israel; however, they desired to maintain their Jewish identity and
customs. Therefore, rather than calling themselves Christians, they identified
themselves as Messianic Jews. Before 1967, there were only a few thousand
Messianic Jews in America. By the mid 1970s, Time Magazine reported that
there were some 50,000 Messianic Jews in America.[24] The number grew to
160,000 by 1993. It is believed that there are currently about 350,000 Jewish
converts to Christianity worldwide. Indeed, there are now about 5,000 Jewish
converts to Christianity in the state of Israel alone.
Nonetheless, the Catholic Church has shown reticence in accepting
Messianic Judaism since it is a Protestant movement that rejects certain
magisterial teachings of the Church (such as the structure of the New Covenant
and the nature and role of the Church). However, the 1970s experienced the birth
of two “Hebrew Catholic” apostolates. Jewish convert Mark Drogin and Father
Arthur Klyber, a Redemptorist priest who had been raised as an Orthodox Jew,
founded Remnant of Israel in 1976. Father Elias Friedman, a Carmelite friar who
was also a convert from Judaism, founded the Association of Hebrew Catholics
in 1979. The Association of Hebrew Catholics received a papal blessing from
John Paul II in 1998. Each of these two Jewish Catholic apostolates seeks to
preserve Jewish identity and promote a general awareness of the heritage of
Judaism within the Catholic Church.
 What about the Accusation of Supersessionism?
As we have seen, the role of the Church in relation to Judaism has always been a
difficult question for Christians. To complicate matters, the relationship of
contemporary Judaism with Christianity is one of the most difficult and
misunderstood topics of our time. Many often ask what is the proper way for
articulating this relationship. In particular, what about the term
“supersessionism.” Did the Catholic Church supercede the Jewish people at
Pentecost in AD 33?
The original printing of this book spoke of supersessionism as an
“erroneous teaching” but feedback over the past several years has led to a
revision in this regard. Supersessionism often means different things to different
people. Some, if not most people, believe that supersessionism refers to a belief
God has rejected the Jewish people permanently and that the Jews no longer
have any part in the plans of God. This version of supersessionism would fall
into conflict with the teaching of the Church Fathers and Saint Thomas Aquinas
that holds that carnal Israel just prior to the Second Coming of Christ will
convert to the Catholic Faith in anticipation to the final conflict between the
Church and Antichrist.
Supersessionism can also mean that the covenantal seal of baptism has
replaced that of circumcision. In other words, the people of God are marked and
gathered through the sacraments of the New Law and not through the rites of the
Old Law. Hence, the people of God, or the New Israel, is the Catholic Church.
Saint James refers to the universal Church of Christ as “the twelve tribes, which
are scattered abroad” (Jas 1:1).
In a similar way, Saint Paul refers to the Church of Christ as the
reconstituted “Israel of God” in his Epistle to the Galatians: “For in Christ Jesus
neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision: but a new creature.
And whosoever shall follow this rule, peace on them and mercy: and upon the
Israel of God” (Gal 6:16). Paul’s blessing falls on the Israel of God who are new
creations in Christ—the baptized faithful.
Regarding Saint Paul’s words, Saint John Chrysostom writes:

For they who pursue these things shall enjoy peace and amity, and may
properly be called by the name of “Israel.” While they who hold contrary
sentiments, although they be descended from Israel and bear his
 appellation, have yet fallen away from all these things, both the
relationship and the name itself. But it is in their power to be true
Israelites, who keep this rule, who desist from the old ways, and follow
after grace.[25]

So then, for Saint Paul and the early Church, the Catholic Church was the New
Israel. The salvific covenant of God and the sacramental demarcation for the
people of God was no longer carnal Israel.
What then is the right way of describing this transition?
Supersessionism, like so many other “isms,” has a negative connotation. In
puzzling over this term and speaking to theologians and priests about it, I have
considered other options. One is to use the language of the Latin Vulgate’s
version of Romans 11:24:

For if thou were cut out of the wild olive tree, which is natural to thee; and,
contrary to nature, wert grafted {insertus} into the good olive tree: how
much more shall they that are the natural branches be grafted {inserentur}
into their own olive tree?

Saint Paul explains that Jews were “broken off” and then replaced by Gentiles
that were “grafted in.” The language of engrafting or insertion is certainly
biblical and traditional. One then might think of the transition from the Old
Testament to the New Testament as insertionism. I, however, find this language
somewhat artificial.
In my opinion, the best term for describing the transition from the Old
Testament to the New Testament is substitution. This conviction is based on the
language employed by Saint Thomas Aquinas. Saint Thomas uses the Latin
substituendus to describe the relationship between the Jews that rejected Christ
and the Gentiles that received Christ:
Jacob’s assertion that he was Esau, Isaac’s first-born, was spoken in a
mystical sense, because, to wit, the latter’s birthright was due to him by
right: and he made use of this mode of speech being moved by the spirit of
prophecy, in order to signify a mystery, namely, that the younger people,
that is the Gentiles, should be substituted {substituendus erat} for the first-
born, that is the Jews.[26]
The language of substitution includes replacement, but not permanent
replacement. Saint Paul teaches that the unbelieving Jews were broken off and
replaced by Gentiles who were grafted in. This does not represent a permanent
arrangement. In fact, Saint Paul uses this illustration to warn Gentile Christians
not too become proud: “But thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear.
For if God hath not spared the natural branches, fear lest perhaps also he spare
not thee” (Rom 11:19–21). Jews, who through infidelity were replaced by
Gentiles, could very well be reinserted by faith in Christ. Unlike terms such as
“replacement theology” and even “supersessionism,” Saint Thomas Aquinas’
term “substitution” preserves the nuance that the races of Gentiles have
permanently replaced the race of Israel. Rather, that faith in Christ is primary
and that both Gentiles and Jews can be substituted for one another on the
criterion of faithfulness to Christ our Lord.
Regardless of the terms used, Saint Paul the Apostle explained that
although not every single Jewish person has believed that Jesus is the Messiah,
the Jewish people as a whole “are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. For
the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (Rom 11:28-29).
Saint Thomas Aquinas also teaches that Israel will be incorporated into the
Church in his Commentary on Epistle to the Romans:

And this is in accord with what the Apostle says below about the salvation
of the Jews, namely, that after the fullness of the nations have entered, “all
Israel will be saved,” not individually as at present, but universally.

This means that the people of Israel continue to be a perpetual eschatological

sign of God’s love.[27] They are a reminder that the “gifts and calling of God is
irrevocable” (Rom 11:29). The persevering presence of Israel on earth is perhaps
that best proof that God exists and that His covenant extends “to a thousand
generations” (Deut 7:9).
We began this chapter with an examination of the covenant that God made
with King David. David’s kingship began with his promise to build God a house
– “a house of prayer for all nations.” David’s great-grandmother Ruth was a
Gentile. Moreover, David modeled his kingship on the pattern of the pre-
Abrahamic priesthood of Melchizedek (Ps 110:4). These facts show that David
was already aware that God’s plan of salvation included both Jews and Gentiles.
In the next chapter, we will examine the Jewish significance of baptism and
Christ’s teaching on how both Jews and Gentiles can enter into the Kingdom of
Heaven through “water and the Holy Spirit” (Jn 3:5).


79
JEWISH TEVILAH - CATHOLIC BAPTISM
 3. JEWISH TEVILAH, CATHOLIC BAPTISM

In Christ you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by

putting off the body of flesh in the circumcision of Christ. You were buried with
Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with Him through faith in the
working of God, who raised Him from the dead.
- Apostle Paul
Col 2:11-12


DID YOU KNOW THAT Judaism has its own form of baptism? They call it a tevilah,
which is Hebrew for “immersion” and the word refers to the various ceremonial
washings or ablutions prescribed by the Law of Moses. A tevilah is usually
performed within a mikvah or a dedicated pool prepared for purification rites.
The Hebrew word mikvah recalls the “gathered waters” of creation: God called
the dry land earth, and the waters that were gathered together (mikvah) he called
seas (Gen 1:10).
The mikvah is an essential part of Orthodox Judaism—so necessary that the
rabbis teach that a mikvah must be made ready before a synagogue is built. In the
Law of Moses, God commanded the construction of a large brazen pool to be
placed outside the Temple for similar ritual washings. Washing in this mikvah
was necessary for the High Priest before he celebrated the service on the Day of
Atonement and before the priests participated in the Temple liturgies. A Jewish
tradition dating to about A.D. 200 claims that the Ezra taught that every male
Israelite should immerse himself before praying or studying.[28]
It is important to note that the tevilah washing is not merely a bath to
remove dirt or odor. The tevilah signifies an inward spiritual cleansing and
renewal. We see this theme in the biblical story of Noah and the Flood. God
could have killed the evil inhabitants of the world with disease, fire, or any other
means. Instead, he chose the element of water. The biblical flood was not simply
a punishment; the flood was also a rite of purification. The story of Noah
explains how God transformed the entire earth into a mikvah pool. The world
reemerges from the flood renewed and purified, just as a person rises renewed
and purified from a mikvah. The connection of the tevilah with the story of Noah
and the Flood is one that the Apostles used to describe ceremonial cleanliness
accomplished through the Christian sacrament of baptism.
Centuries after Noah, God revealed the laws concerning ritual purity to
Moses. Any contact with disease, blood, or death caused an Israelite to be
unclean. Ritual impurity is understood not as being “dirty” but as probation for
having come into contact with the forces of life (semen, blood, childbirth) and
death (disease, corpses). Ritual impurity was a visible symbol of judgment as it
pertained to life and death occasions. The prescribed tevilah restored the impure
person to purity.
Orthodox Jews perform ceremonial washings for various occasions:
1. The hands are washed when waking from sleep.
2. The hands are washed prior to eating any bread with a meal.
3. The fingertips are washed after eating a meal.
4. The hands are washed after touching something impure (e.g. one’s genitals,
leather shoes, an insect, an impure animal, or a grave).
5. A kohen (“priest”) has his hands washed by the Levites before pronouncing
priestly blessings on Jewish holy days in the synagogue.
6. A woman undergoes a tevilah or immersion in a mikvah after she concludes
her menstrual period.
7. The ritual of immersing in a mikvah is required in Orthodox Judaism on the
eve of Yom Kippur (“Day of Atonement”).
8. During the Passover Seder the participants wash their hands twice as part of
the meal. (Once without a blessing in order to eat some vegetables in
“purity,” and once with a blessing prior to the eating of bread).
9. Prior to burial, the body receives a ritual washing and immersion into a
mikvah. This is called tahara or “purification.”

In every case, the washing indicates a spiritual renewal and an intention to live
(and die) with purity.
 John the Baptist and the Tevilah
The miraculous birth of John the Baptist is recorded in the first chapter of Luke’s
Gospel where we learn that he is the cousin of Jesus and nephew of the Blessed
Virgin Mary. We also learn that John’s father was a priest of the Old Covenant,
which would also mean that John the Baptist was a priest since the priesthood
was passed from father to son. We learn that John the Baptist was filled with the
Holy Spirit while still in his mother’s womb, and that he was chosen to prepare
the way for the Messiah in the manner of Elijah the prophet.
We may find it perplexing that Christ began his public ministry with a
ceremonial washing administered by John the Baptist. Even though Christ was
without sin, he still received this tevilah “to fulfill all righteousness” (Mt 3:15).
Saint Ignatius of Antioch (writing before A.D. 108) said that Christ was baptized
not so that the water should purify Him, but rather “that He might purify the
water,” so that others might be saved through baptism.[29] It is also at this
moment that God the Father announces his love for His Son, and the Holy Spirit
descends upon Jesus to confirm that He is the anointed Messiah. This is the first
depiction of the Christian doctrine of the Holy Trinity, and this is why Catholics
are baptized “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
The image of the Holy Spirit descending on Jesus echoes the account in Genesis
where the Spirit of God was “moved over the face of the waters” (Gen 1:2). At
the baptism of Jesus, the Holy Spirit once again hovered over the waters as God
inaugurated a New Creation.
According to the Catholic Church, the baptism of John the Baptist was not
the sacrament of baptism, but a Jewish tevilah preparing the Jewish people for
the advent of the Messiah. John the Baptist did not administer the Christian
sacrament of baptism because he did not baptize in the Trinitarian name.
Moreover, the Apostles re-baptized those who had received “only the baptism of
John” (cf. Acts 19:1-4). Saint Augustine wrote, “Those who were baptized with
John’s baptism needed to be baptized with the baptism of our Lord.”[30]
The Christian sacrament of baptism is an incorporation of a person into the
death and resurrection of Christ for the remission of sins (Rom 6:4-6). Christ
instituted the sacrament of baptism when John baptized Him in the Jordan River.
Nevertheless, the full significance of being baptized into Christ’s death and
resurrection was not revealed until He actually died and rose again.[31] The
twelve Apostles first administered the sacrament of baptism on the day of
Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended upon them and enabled them to
proclaim the Gospel to the Jewish pilgrims of Jerusalem (Acts 2:1-41).
 Baptism, the Tevilah of Conversion
The Jewish rabbis also use the tevilah washing as a sign of conversion. Thus,
Orthodox Jews require that a convert to Judaism: • be instructed about how
to live as a Jew • undergo kabbalat ol mitzvot (“receiving the charge to obey
the commandments”) • receive mila (“circumcision”) • undergo a tevilah
(“immersion” in a mikvah) A court of three witnesses must also supervise the
conversion. Women converts cannot be circumcised for obvious reasons and so
they receive only the tevilah immersion in a mikvah pool.
In light of the established Jewish customs for conversion, the debates in
the early Church over whether Christian converts were obligated to receive both
baptism (tevilah) and circumcision can be better understood. The Apostles
decided at the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15) that converts to Christianity need
not be circumcised. The Apostle Paul, who was present at this council, later
explained why Christians do not require the rite of circumcision: In Christ, you
were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the
body of flesh in the circumcision of Christ. You were buried with him in baptism,
in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God,
who raised him from the dead (Col 2:11).
Baptism as the sacramental tevilah of the Church is sufficient to incorporate a
believer into the Kingdom of God (Jn 3:3-5). The Christian has already received
“spiritual circumcision” by virtue of his being incorporated into the circumcised
body of Christ. The circumcision of Christ applies to the baptized Christian
because the believer is united to Christ’s person and enjoys all the blessings of
Christ’s sonship. In a similar manner, Christians are counted as having fulfilled
the Mosaic Law because Christ perfectly fulfilled the Law of Moses.
Therefore, Catholics baptize infants for the same reason that Jews
circumcise infants. The children of believers are accounted as “holy” (1 Cor
7:14) and are entitled to the covenantal blessings received by being incorporated
into the communal life of the Church. For this reason, Saint Peter said that the
promise of baptism “is to you and to your children” (Acts 2:39). A Jewish man
or woman at the time of the Apostles would not have been able to comprehend
the modern Evangelical claim that babies and young children cannot and do not
belong to the ritual life of the community.
 Is Baptism a Ceremonial Washing?
The Hebrew word tevilah was translated by the Greek word baptisma. They both
mean wash or immerse. The idea of plunging into water is associated with Christ
plunging into death and rising again in newness of life (Rom 6:4-6). Baptism
unites us to the mystery of Christ’s death and resurrection and it is therefore
associated with regeneration, recreation, the forgiveness of sins, life everlasting,
and the final resurrection of the body. Christ spoke of his death as a “baptism”
when he asked John and James, “Are you able to be baptized with the baptism
with which I am baptized?” (Mk 10:38) As we can see then, Christ brings all the
ceremonial washings of the Old Testament to fulfillment in His own body and
ministry. The Old Covenant water rites find their fulfillment in His institution of
New Covenant baptism: All the Old Covenant rites find their fulfillment in
Christ Jesus. He begins His public life after having himself baptized by St. John
the Baptist in the Jordan. After His resurrection Christ gives this mission to His
Apostles: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to
observe all that I have commanded you” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no.
1223).
The Spirit over the waters at creation, the Great Flood and deliverance of Noah,
the passing through the Red Sea with Moses, the crossing of the Jordan River,
the customary ceremonial washings—all these events point toward Christ and
find their fulfillment in the sacrament of baptism.
Saint Paul teaches that we enter into Christ’s death and resurrection by
“putting on Christ” (Gal 3:27) and being regenerated through the Holy Spirit
(Titus 3:5). Baptism formally identifies us with Christ’s death (for the
forgiveness of sins) and his resurrection (for our resurrection and eternal life).
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus
were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by
baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory
of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life (Rom 6:4-6).
Baptism also plants in us the “incorruptible seed” of God’s Word (1 Pet 1:23) so
that we might grow to full maturity in Christ.
 Catholic Baptism as the Tevilah for Original Sin
Ultimately, the root of all impurity is the stain of original sin. The ceremonial
washings of the Old Covenant were simply that—ceremonial. They did not
remove the stain of original sin. They pointed forward to Christ’s remedy for sin,
but such washings could not wash away the spiritual impurity inherited from our
first parents. Baptism washes away not only original sin but also all previous
personal sins, both mortal and venial. This is not because baptism is magical, but
because baptism is intimately bound to the once and for all sacrifice of Christ
and His victory over sin and death. For this reason, there is only “one baptism”
(Eph. 4:5), and baptism can never be repeated.

Incorporated into Christ by Baptism, the person baptized is configured to

Christ. Baptism seals the Christian with the indelible spiritual mark
(character) of his belonging to Christ. No sin can erase this mark, even if
sin prevents Baptism from bearing the fruits of salvation. Given once for
all, Baptism cannot be repeated (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no.
1272).

The unrepeatable nature of Catholic baptism speaks to its effectiveness. Baptism

is not something “we do for God.” Rather it is something “God does for us.” To
seek re-baptism is to claim, “God didn’t baptize me. It is something that I must
do for Him.” This attitude undermines the Gospel message that salvation is
initiated and accomplished by God on our behalf. Baptism is something we
receive, not something that we perform. Unlike the sacraments of the Eucharist
or Penance, we receive baptism passively. Baptism does not merely wash our
bodies or symbolize a new life. It begins a new life by washing away the stain of
original sin. Saint Peter describes baptism in this way: Baptism, which
corresponds to this [the Flood of Noah], now saves you, not as a removal of dirt
from the body but as an appeal to God for a clear conscience, through the
resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Pet 3:21).
Baptism is “an appeal to God for a clear conscience.” The Old Covenant
ceremonial immersions had to be repeated because they never washed away the
ultimate source of our spiritual impurity—original sin. Catholic baptism is not
repeated because it reaches down to the root of the matter.
The unique claim of Catholicism is that our sacramental tevilah is “once
for all.” The unrepeatable property of baptism speaks to the power of the
Messiah to overcome all sinful impurities of the human condition. Infants and
adults alike receive baptism because all possess the stain of human sin. Hence,
the tradition of baptism is not unique to the New Covenant, but finds its origins
in the redemptive history of mankind through the Jewish people. As we shall
see, baptism is not the only Catholic sacrament with origins in the Old
Testament.


91
JEWISH PASSOVER - CATHOLIC MASS
 4. JEWISH PASSOVER, CATHOLIC MASS

And when your children shall say to you: What is the meaning of this service?
You shall say to them: It is the victim of the passage of the Lord, when he passed
over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, striking the Egyptians, and
saving our houses. And the people bowing themselves, adored.
- Exodus 12:26–27

IF THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM is the entryway into the Kingdom of God, then the
Catholic Mass is the earthly manifestation of that Kingdom. It could also be said
that the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the fulfillment of the entire Old Covenant.
It fulfills the Passover, the exodus, the temple, the sacrifices, the priesthood, and
the Messianic expectation for the Kingdom of God, because the Eucharist is in
fact the Messiah present with us as Emmanuel—God with us (Mt 1:23).
For our purposes, we are primarily concerned with how the Holy Mass
fulfills the ancient Jewish rite of the Passover sacrifice and meal. The Israelites
had lived in the land of Egypt for centuries. At first, they received prime real
estate in the region of Goshen by order of a special grant from the Pharaoh. The
Israelites originally migrated to Egypt because of an unbearable famine in the
Holy Land. The Israelites enjoyed their life in Egypt where the Egyptians held
them in favor until an unfriendly Pharaoh assumed the throne.
This new Pharaoh commanded the murder of every infant male Israelite.
Eventually, Israelite daughters would have no other option but to marry Egyptian
men. These marriages would lead to the eventual re-inheritance of Israelite land
back to the Egyptians. As time passed, the Pharaoh subjugated the Israelite
people to slavery. However, they remembered their God and called out to Him in
prayer. In response to their prayers, God sent Moses. “Let my people go!” Yet
Pharaoh was unwilling. Ten plagues followed and reached their climax in the
death of Egypt’s firstborn sons. The children of Israel were protected from this
plague by celebrating the Passover meal (Ex 12:21-27).
 The Passover Meal
The word passover, then, signifies that the curse of death “passed over” the
Israelite houses and struck down the first born of the Egyptians (Ex 11:5). In
order to be spared from this curse, Israelite families sacrificed a perfect lamb and
spread its blood upon the doorposts of their homes. Next, they were to prepare
and eat the lamb in haste. By doing so, the final plague of death would not come
upon their home. On the night of the fourteenth day of the Jewish month of
Nisan, the plague took the life of Pharaoh’s firstborn son and all the firstborn
sons of Egypt. At last, the Pharaoh relented and allowed the Israelites to make
their exodus from Egypt under the leadership of Moses. As a result, God
commanded the Israelites to commemorate this Passover meal every year as a
memorial of their deliverance from Egyptian slavery.
The Hebrew word for Passover is Pesach. The corresponding Greek and
Latin word for Passover is related to the Hebrew word and is pronounced:
Pascha. This is where the Catholic Church derives the word Paschal, as in the
Paschal Vigil, the Paschal candle, and Paschal mystery.

The Paschal mystery of Christ’s cross and resurrection stands at the center
of the Good News that the apostles, and the Church following them, are to
proclaim to the world. God’s saving plan was accomplished once for all by
the redemptive death of His Son Jesus Christ (Catechism of the Catholic
Church, no. 571).

Next to their status as children of Abraham, the most important identity borne by
Israelites is their corporate memory that God redeemed them out of Egypt. The
Passover meal was a ritual sacrament recalling that deliverance from slavery.
During the time of Christ, Jews were likely puzzled by something said by
John the Baptist. Before he baptized Jesus, he cried out: Behold, the Lamb of
God, who takes away the sin of the world! (Jn 1:29) John’s announcement
revealed that God was about to bring about the final exodus of His people. Egypt
was a type of the slavery common to all mankind—the slavery of sin and death.
Theologically speaking, a type is any person, place, or thing in the Old
Testament that prefigures a future reality in the New Testament. The white and
innocent Passover lamb sacrificed for Israel’s redemption is a type of Christ
crucified. Christ came to be the Messianic Passover Lamb that would redeem
mankind not from the bondage of Egypt, but from the bondage of sin.
By His sacrifice, Christ brought us out of the slavery of sin into a new
freedom of righteousness. But thanks be to God, that you who were once
slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of
teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin,
have become slaves of righteousness (Rom 6:17-18).
 But Why the Mass?
Non-Catholic Christians rightfully believe Christ is the Passover Lamb and that
He shed His blood to redeem us from the bondage of sin and death. However,
one element of the Passover is missing from their theology—that the Passover is
a meal. The climax of the Passover involved a supper in which the recipients
consumed the flesh of the sacrificial lamb. God did not leave it at slaying the
Passover lamb and shedding its blood. God also asked the Israelites to eat and
consume the lamb.
Why was it necessary to eat the lamb? Eating the sacrifice signified that
the recipient actually partook of the redemption that God had provided through
the blood of the Passover lamb. The redemption was not merely external, but it
became internal through eating the sacrifice. The recipient “became one” with
the sacrifice. There was, as we would say, a communion with the sacrifice that
God provided.
The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, then, is the fulfillment of the Passover
meal. We actually do come forward and partake of the true Passover Lamb who
is Jesus Christ. He was slain two thousand years ago in Jerusalem, yet that same
sacrifice is re-presented to us in the Holy Mass. We are allowed to partake in His
sacrifice. In other words, we have communion with Christ and His redemptive
act on the cross.
We know that Christ intended this because He died in the context of the
Jewish Passover. Moreover, on the evening before Christ died on the cross, He
instituted a sacramental meal that involved eating His flesh and drinking His
blood. When we share in the Paschal Mystery of the Holy Mass, we share not
only in Christ’s sufferings, but we unite our own sufferings to His sufferings.
We become united to His sacrifice in a way that is both real and intimate.
So we can say with Saint Paul in the New Testament, “Christ our Paschal
Lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us, therefore, celebrate the feast” (1 Cor 5:7-8).
 What is Manna?
After God led Israel out of Egypt through the Red Sea, the people became
hungry and grumbled against God, Moses, and Aaron. Their complaint
amounted to this: “Sure, we were slaves in Egypt. We toiled under Pharaoh and
made bricks, but at least we had something to eat. At least our children didn’t go
hungry. We now have our freedom but we don’t have any food! Did you lead us
out of Egypt so that we could starve to death in the wilderness?”
This is often the kind of gratitude that we return God after He has
delivered us from great peril. We forget the miracles. We don’t recall all the
graceful provisions that God has given us in the past, and we say, “God, why are
you leaving us here to die?”
However, the Lord, because He is good and loving toward His people, had
mercy on Israel. Even though the children of Israel grumbled against Him, God
provided a wonderful miracle: “I will rain down bread from heaven for you” (Ex
16:4). When the children of Israel saw the miraculous bread they said to one
another, “What is it?” because they did not know what it was (Ex 16:15). The
word manna is Hebrew for “What is it?” and this question became the name
associated with this new kind of daily bread.
Manna was small, white, flat, round, and tasted like “wafers made with
honey” or “bread tempered with oil” (Ex 16:31; Num 11:7-8). It resembled the
host Catholics receive in the Holy Eucharist. The Israelites gathered the manna
every day for forty years. If they attempted to save extra manna for the next day
it would rot and become useless. The only exception was on Fridays when God
provided two day’s worth of manna so that the Israelites would not need to
gather food on the Sabbath.
The miracle of the manna is the longest performed miracle in the Old
Testament. God provided manna for almost forty years as Israel wandered in the
wilderness. When the Israelites arrived at Gilgal on the day of the Passover, they
began to eat the grain grown in the region and the miracle of the manna ceased.
Notably, the miracle of manna ceased in conjunction with the Passover feast.
Here we observe the connection between the Passover and the miracle of the
manna. This connection between the “bread from heaven” and the Passover lamb
will reach its culmination in the sacrifice of Christ’s Holy Eucharist, because the
Eucharist is both the true Bread from Heaven and Christ’s sacrifice on the cross,
as we shall examine in detail below.
 Details surrounding the Ark of the Covenant also confirm the relationship
between the manna and Christ’s Eucharist as the true Bread from Heaven. The
Israelites preserved a vessel filled with manna and stored it within the Ark of the
Covenant, along with Aaron‘s staff that had budded, and the Ten
Commandments (Heb 9:4). The Ark of the Covenant was in turn kept in the
innermost sanctuary of the Tabernacle, the Holy of Holies. This inner sanctum
was where the High Priest would encounter the presence of God on the Day of
Atonement in a cloud of incense.
The Ark of the Covenant contained these three items as three types of
Jesus Christ. As described above, a type is a person, place, or thing that
foreshadows a future reality. A type is a theological a sign that foreshadows a
greater reality called an antitype. For example, the flood of Noah is a type of
baptism, and thus baptism is the antitype or fulfillment of Noah’s flood. The best
way to summarize it is to say that the Old Testament contains types and the New
Testament contains antitypes, because the Old Testament finds fulfillment in the
New Testament.
Therefore, the three objects in the Ark of the Covenant are three types of
Jesus Christ. First, the vessel containing the manna pointed toward Christ as the
supersubstantial Bread that came down from Heaven. Second, the priestly rod of
Aaron pointed toward Christ as the High Priest. Third, the stone tablets of the
Ten Commandments pointed toward Christ as the Word of God, not in stone, but
made flesh.
The fact that the Ark of the Covenant contained these symbols of Christ is
one reason why the Blessed Virgin Mary is often referred to as the Ark of the
Covenant, because she contained Christ inside her womb. The Ark of the
Covenant was thus a type of the Blessed Mother. The fact that the Blessed
Virgin gave birth to Christ at Bethlehem is even more revealing since Bethlehem
means “House of Bread” in Hebrew.
 The Bread of Life, the Eucharist
Christ explains the significance of the Old Testament manna in the sixth chapter
of John’s Gospel. The chapter begins with two of the seven miracles in John’s
Gospel: the multiplication of the seven barley loaves and two fish (Jn 6:1-14),
and Jesus walking on water (Jn 6:18-21). Each miracle reveals that Jesus Christ
possesses miraculous power over the realm of nature. He can transform the
properties of bread (by multiplying it) and he can transform the properties of
water (by walking upon it). In each case, the Apostle John prepares his readers
for Christ’s greatest miracle—the ability to transform natural elements into His
Body and Blood in the miracle of the Holy Eucharist as “the true bread from
heaven.”
The people were so amazed by the multiplication of the bread that they
wanted to proclaim Jesus as the Messianic King right then and there, but He
withdrew to a mountain (Jn 6:15). When they found Him they asked for a sign
similar to Moses’ miracle of the manna. Jesus responded by telling them that it
was the Father, not Moses, who gave them the bread from heaven. So they said
to Jesus, “Lord, give us this bread always” (Jn 6:30-34). While standing in a
synagogue, Christ responded to their request with these telling words:

And Jesus said to them: I am the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall
not hunger: and he that believeth in me shall never thirst. But I said unto
you that you also have seen me, and you believe not. All that the Father
giveth to me shall come to me: and him that cometh to me, I will not cast
out…
The Jews therefore murmured at him, because he had said: I am the living
bread which came down from heaven. And they said: Is not this Jesus, the
son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How then saith he: I
came down from heaven? Jesus therefore answered and said to them:
Murmur not among yourselves. No man can come to me, except the
Father, who hath sent me, draw him. And I will raise him up in the last
day. It is written in the prophets: And they shall all be taught of God.
Every one that hath heard of the Father and hath learned cometh forth me.
Not that any man hath seen the Father: but he who is of God, he hath seen
the Father. Amen, amen, I say unto you: He that believeth in me hath
everlasting life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the
 desert: and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven:
that if any man eat of it, he may not die. I am the living bread which came
down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and
the bread that I will give is my flesh, for the life of the world.

The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying: How can this man
give us his flesh to eat?

Then Jesus said to them: Amen, amen, I say unto you: except you eat the
flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you shall not have life in you.
He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath everlasting life: and I
will raise him up in the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed: and my
blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood
abideth in me: and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me and I live by
the Father: so he that eateth me, the same also shall live by me. This is the
bread that came down from heaven. Not as your fathers did eat manna and
are dead. He that eateth this bread shall live for ever. These things he said,
teaching in the synagogue, in Capharnaum. (John 6:35-60)

Jesus mentions His flesh seven times in this passage in order to stress that His
Body and Blood are “true food and true drink.” It proved to be an unpopular
teaching. Many of his disciples complained. It was a hard saying indeed.
 “Who can listen to it?”
When Israel first learned of the miracle of the manna, they asked a
question: “What is it?” When Christ’s disciples first heard of the miracle of the
Eucharist, they also asked a question: “Who can listen to it?” These first
disciples were not strangers to Christ. These were Christ’s friends and
companions. They had seen the miracles. They had heard his preaching. Yet, the
Scriptures record: “After this, many of his disciples went back and walked no
more with Him” (Jn 6:67).
I’m not aware of any other passage where the Scriptures describe a certain
doctrine as a hard teaching. How can this Rabbi become our Manna? How can
Jesus of Nazareth become our daily bread? How can we eat him? Yet, Jesus
repeats “you must eat my flesh” six times. Christ did not provide any other way
to understand this saying. It was quite literal. At that point, many disciples no
longer followed Jesus.

Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?”

Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the
words of eternal life. We have believed and have come to know that you
are the Holy One of God.”

Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is
a devil?” He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he being one of
the twelve was to betray Him (Jn 6:67-71).
John draws our attention to two details. First, even though the Apostles did not
understand, Peter stood up and stated, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have
the words of eternal life. We have believed and have come to know that you are
the Holy One of God.” Peter believed the difficult teaching even though he did
not understand. Peter speaks for the Apostles by testifying to their steadfast
commitment to Christ’s teachings. Despite the subsequent failures of Peter and
the Popes after him, the papacy has successfully protected this misunderstood
doctrine for two thousand years.
The second interesting aspect of this passage is that this episode is the first
time that we learn about Judas’ betrayal of Christ. Jesus says, “One of you is the
devil,” not “One of you will become a devil.” Judas is already diabolical when
Christ speaks these words. The present tense suggests that at this stage in
Christ’s ministry, Judas had already turned away from Christ in his heart. Christ
reveals Judas as His betrayer amidst the confusion over how one must “eat His
flesh.” Perhaps Judas’ inability to believe in the “edibility” of Christ is the point
at which Judas lost faith in Him.
It is also interesting that Judas left early at the Last Supper (the first Mass)
in order to betray Christ. Scripture connects Judas’ betrayal to Christ’s teaching
on the Eucharist (Jn 6), and it also connects Judas to the Last Supper when he
leaves early in order to betray Christ to His enemies. In both accounts, Christ is
teaching His disciples that they must eat His Body and drink His Blood.
Therefore, it seems that the apostasy of Judas is intimately connected to Christ’s
teaching on the Eucharist.
Unlike Judas, Catholic Christians rejoice in the mystery of the Manna. The
Bread of Life given for the life of the world is present on our altars and in our
tabernacles as a willing prisoner of His own love for us. It is a great mystery. Let
us not grumble like the Israelites of old. God has given us the perfect provision
as we wander through the wilderness of this life: the true Flesh and Blood of His
very own Son. We should expect the world to ask, “Manna? Manna?—What is
it? What is it?”
The answer: “It is Our Lord Jesus Christ.”
And if they should then say, “This is a hard saying. Who can listen to it?”
We should answer with Peter: “To whom else shall we go? We have
believed and have come to know that He is the Holy One of God.”


111
JEWISH KOHENIM - CATHOLIC PRIESTS
 5. JEWISH KOHENIM, CATHOLIC PRIESTS

And they shall bring all your brethren out of all nations for a gift to the Lord…
And I will take of them to be priests, and Levites, saith the Lord.
- Isaiah 66:20-21

SACRIFICE REQUIRES A PRIEST. Since the Eucharist is a sacrifice, as we observed in
the previous chapter, we would rightly expect the New Covenant to have priests
as well. The Hebrew word for “priest” is kohen, meaning one who offers
sacrifice. If you have ever had a Jewish friend with the last name of Kohen,
Kohan, Cohn, Kahn, Kohn, Coen, or Cahn, it is likely that your Jewish friend
possesses a priestly ancestry. Kohenim (plural of kohen) were the priests of the
Old Covenant. These priests exercised their sacred ministry through a divinely
established hierarchy. In our democratic and egalitarian society, we often resist
notions of hierarchy. However, hierarchy is built into the very nature of creation:

The hierarchy of creatures is expressed by the order of the “six days” from
the less perfect to the more perfect (Catechism of the Catholic Church no.
342).
The natural order of creation is hierarchical because nature is oriented toward
efficiency, and efficiency is accomplished through a chain of command. This is
why mankind possesses a natural tendency toward hierarchical structures.
Whenever victory, survival, or success becomes necessary, mankind invariably
conforms to a hierarchical structure. Football teams, the military, and the
Catholic Church organize themselves into clear hierarchies, not because
hierarchy is contrary to nature, but because hierarchy appropriately conforms to
nature.
Any military unit would undoubtedly be defeated in war if it were to
function under democratic principles. If a football team were to vote as to which
play to run, there would be chaos leading to defeat. For this reason, hierarchy
also proves to be efficient in the most important of human tasks: the salvation of
souls.
Christians may wish to ignore the natural principle of hierarchy, but both
the nation of Israel and the Church of Jesus Christ are monarchical and
hierarchical. Neither Israel nor the Church existed as democratic republics.
Christ was not elected—the Father enthroned Him as King of Kings. Beginning
with creation, we see that Adam was placed as both lord and priest over creation.
By virtue of the incarnation, Christ was made “a little lower than the angels” (Ps
8:5) to become the perfect mediator between God and creation. Although Christ
is a Divine Person, He nevertheless assumed a human nature and united this
human nature to his divinity (without blending or confusing the two).[32] The
divine hierarchy of redemption flows from the incarnation of Christ since all of
creation is submitted to Him.
 The Firstborn Priesthood before the Law of Moses
Before God gave the Law to Moses at Mount Sinai, the father of the family
exercised the office of priest. The father handed on his priesthood to his firstborn
son by way of a blessing. Saint Thomas Aquinas regards this “primogeniture
priesthood” of the firstborn sons as an institution established in natural law.[33]
Thomas wrote that natural law guided men to understand this “fatherly” notion
of priesthood. The father of the family received a natural charge to teach his
family and provide atonement for the sins of his wife and children. The firstborn
son naturally became the primary heir and religious head of the extended family.
He took his father’s place as the mediator and judge for his family’s religious
and legal customs.
We see several examples of this paternal priesthood in the book of
Genesis. Noah offered blood sacrifices (Gen 8:20) on behalf of his family.
Likewise, Abraham and Jacob offered blood sacrifices (Gen 15:9; 22:1-13;
31:54). Isaac offered his own body in sacrifice (Gen 22). The story about Jacob
outwitting his brother for their father’s dying blessing is a story of how Jacob
received the covenantal blessings and paternal “ordination” from his father Isaac
(cf. Gen 27). The most striking example of paternal priesthood is found in the
narrative about Job:

Job would send and sanctify them [his family], and he would rise early in
the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all;
for Job said, “It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their
hearts.” Thus Job did continually (Job 1:5).
Job’s fatherhood is intimately bound to his priesthood. The father bore the
spiritual authority of his family. The Catholic custom of calling priests “Father,”
then, derives from this ancient and natural association between priestly
mediation and natural fatherhood.
 The Levitical Priesthood in the Law of Moses
When God brought Israel out of Egypt, he denoted the people as “my firstborn
son” (Ex 4:22, 36:12) among the nations. Just as the firstborn son mediated the
inheritance of his father to his siblings, so Israel mediated the inheritance of God
to the nations. This is why God says of them: “You shall be a kingdom of
priests” (Ex 19:5-6).
Shortly after the people of Israel received this priestly status, they
abandoned their divine vocation by worshipping the golden calf. Moses
shattered the tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments, and the Levites
punished the idolaters in an act of zeal for God. In return, God rewarded the
steadfast devotion of the tribe of Levi by displacing the priesthood of the
firstborn sons in favor of that of the Levites. Moses formally oversaw this
depressing change of the guard. The Israelites forfeited their status as priests,
and the Levites became the only recognized priests for the people of God.
Hence, the fatherly priesthood of the firstborn sons of Israel was transferred to
the Levites alone (Num 3:5-51; 8:15-19). This begins the Levitical priesthood
that characterizes the rest of the Old Testament until the death of Christ.
The clerical hierarchy of the Levites was threefold. At the top was the high
priest, the first of which was Aaron. Below the high priest were the descendents of Aaron—the
priests. Third, were all the Levites who were not descended from Aaron. The
Levites in general served as assistants to the priests.
The first Kohen Gadol (“High Priest”) was Aaron, the brother of Moses;
however, he is rarely referred to as the high priest. Scriptures simply described
him as Ha-Kohen (“the priest” Num 3:6). The high priest is also called the:
great priest (Lev 21:10) head priest (2 Kings 25:18) anointed priest (Lev
4:3) high priest consistently in the New Testament[34]
God instructed Moses to consecrate Aaron and his sons as priests with Aaron
serving as their leader: Then bring near to you Aaron your brother, and his sons
with him, from among the people of Israel, to serve me as priests – Aaron and
Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. And you shall make holy
garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty (Ex 28:1-2).
The consecration of the high priest consisted in his being anointed with oil (Lev
8:12). Psalm 133 describes the anointing of Aaron as fragrant oil running down
from his hair, down his beard, and onto his vestments, all the way to the hem at
his ankles. This aromatic holy oil consisted of myrrh, cinnamon, calamus, cassia,
and olive oil (Ex 30:23-25).[35]
The office of high priest was passed down from Aaron to his firstborn son
and so on—so that it remained within the family of Aaron (Lev 6:22). If the high
priest did not have a son, then the office passed to the next oldest brother.[36]
The high priest was the only priest allowed into the Holy of Holies, and
this only once a year on the Yom Kippur (“Day of Atonement”). It was the most
glorious and tremendous function of the high priest. It was also his most
dangerous duty. In fact, the other priests would tie a rope around his ankle so
that if he should die in the presence of God, he could be tugged out of the Holy
of Holies without another going into the sacred place to fetch his body. These
priests knew that only the high priest could look upon the Ark of the Covenant
while he made atonement for the sins of all Israel.
After the Babylonian captivity in the sixth century B.C. the office of the
high priesthood became a pawn in the political maneuverings of civil authorities.
The high priest typically received his “appointment” from a Gentile magistrate—
a far cry from what God had intended.
Old Testament priests were consecrated in the same way as Aaron‘s sons
(Ex 40:12-14; Levi 8:1-36). Men were not called to the priesthood, they were
born into the priesthood. Priests were simply “the seed of Aaron the priest” (Lev
21:21). It did not matter whether a descendent of Aaron were pious or not—he
would be a priest by birthright. The priesthood was strictly hereditary.
An Aaronite male entered duty as a priest at the age twenty and was
“decommissioned” at the age of fifty (2 Chr 31:17) On entering into office, a
priest took a tevilah bath of purification (Ex 29:4; 40:12), was anointed with oil
(Ex 29:21; Lev 8:30), and put on the sacred vestments. The obvious parallel
between Old Covenant ordination and the Catholic rite of baptism should be
obvious. Both include a washing, an anointing, and clothing in white vesture. If
the Aaronite male possessed any bodily defects, he was barred from the
priesthood. The following ten conditions were physical impediments to the
priesthood (Lev 21:18-20): Blindness or cataracts Lameness
Mutilated face Disproportionate limbs Defective feet or hands
Hunched back or being a dwarf Leprosy Crushed or missing testicles
The law also required that an Aaronite priest marry a Jewish virgin—he could
not marry a divorced woman or a Gentile (Lev 21:7). The Aaronite priests did
not serve the Temple full-time, but only at appointed times during the year.
Aaron had twenty-four grandchildren and the Aaronite priesthood fell into
twenty-four corresponding divisions (1 Chr 24:1-19). The twenty-four priestly
divisions ministered at the Temple on a weekly cycle. This means that each
division would minister at the Temple for at least two weeks every year. All
twenty-four divisions would be present for major holidays. We see an example
of this system at work in Luke’s account of the conception and birth of John the
Baptist. Zechariah the priest serves in the Temple according to his priestly
division: In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named
Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. Now while he was serving as priest before
God when his division was on duty, according to the custom of the priesthood, it
fell to him by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense (Luke 1:5, 8-
9).
While on duty, the Aaronite priests were not allowed to have sexual intercourse
with their wives, nor were they allowed to drink alcohol. Moreover, any
ceremonial impurity rendered any Levite, Priest, or High Priest unable to
function at the Temple. God required absolute purity from his priests because
they held up the standard of holiness for all of God’s people. The biblical list of
their sacred duties reveal that priests were engaged in both religious and
practical matters: 1. Offer the daily sacrifices and incense (Ex 29:38, Ex 30:7)
2. Examine lepers as to whether they are clean or unclean (Lev 13-14; Deut
24:8; cf. Mt 8:4) 3. Preserve the fire on the altar for burnt sacrifices (Lev 6:9)
4. Teach the Law of Moses to the people (Lev 10:11; Deut 33:10) 5.
Replace the Bread of the Presence on the golden table (Lev 24:9) 6. Renew
the oil in the golden menorah (Lev 24:1) 7. Appraise all gifts vowed to the
tabernacle (Lev 27) 8. Prepare the cursed water for wives suspected of
adultery (Num 5:12-31) 9. Offer sacrifice for those who broke the law of the
Nazirites (Num 6:1-21; see CHAPTER NINE regarding Jewish Nazirites) 10. Blow
the trumpets on holy days (Num 10:1) 11. Arbitrate lawsuits (Deut 17:8; 19:17;
21:5) 12. Preserve the Book of the Law (Deut 17:18) The High Priest oversaw
the ministries of the Aaronite priests and functioned like the Bishop of all Israel.
The Aaronite priests were also assisted by the Levites, who functioned like
Deacons.
The Levites, Priests, and High Priest received their income from the tithes
and the first fruits. They also had rights to the remaining meat from the
sacrifices, as well as the hides of the animals (Lev 27; Num 8:14). They were the
best-educated class in Israel and were held in honor by the people. The prophets
often rebuked them for abandoning their call to holiness (cf. Jer 5:31; Ezek
22:26; Hos 6:9; Micah 3:11; Mal 1:7).
The Levites and priests ceased functioning when the Romans destroyed the
Temple in Jerusalem in A.D. 70, an event predicted by Jesus Christ in the
twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew: You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to
you, there will not be left here one stone upon another, that will not be thrown
down…Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away till all these things
take place (Mt 24:2; 34).
It is worth noting that “rabbis” are not priests in the Old Testament sense of the
word. They are simply scholars of the Law. In contemporary Judaism, rabbis
function in a pastoral role, but they are not priestly.
 Christ the High Priest
On the night before He was betrayed, Christ instituted a new rite in the context
of the Passover—the sacrament of His Body and Blood. By doing so, He
commissioned or ordained the Apostles who sat at table with Him saying: Do
this in memory of me. The following morning He was tried before Pilate,
scourged, and crucified. He transformed the wood of the cross into an altar and
there He offered the perfect sacrifice of obedience, the oblation of His own flesh
and blood.
According to the book of Hebrews, Christ performed this sacrifice as the
High Priest of the New Covenant. He did not make atonement for Israel alone,
but for the whole world—Jews and Gentiles. The offering was not the blood of
bulls and goats, but the blood of His sacred humanity that He gained from the
womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary. At the moment of His death, the veil in the
Temple was torn in half from top to bottom. This event signifies that the High
Priesthood of Christ surpasses and fulfills the High Priesthood of the Old
Covenant. Christ ever lives to make intercession for those that belong to Him
through faith. At every Holy Mass, Christ is the true celebrant who re-presents
the memorial of His death and passion.
 The Order of Melchizedek
Despite the similarities between the threefold hierarchy of the Old Covenant and
the threefold hierarchy of the Catholic priesthood, the Church finds its model of
priesthood in the priesthood of Melchizedek. The person of Melchizedek is a
mysterious figure of the Old Testament who was both a priest and a king. He is
remembered for his alliance with Abraham against the four kings who had
captured Abraham’s nephew Lot. After the victorious battle, “Melchizedek king
of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High” (Gen
14:18). Melchizedek then blessed Abraham. Abraham responded by giving
Melchizedek a tenth of his spoils, thus initiating the tradition of the tithe (Gen
14:18-20).
The book of Hebrews teaches that Christ was not a priest according to the
order of Aaron, but “a priest in the order of Melchizedek,” quoting Psalm 110:4.
This indicates that Christ is not only a priest, but also a king. According to the
author of Hebrews, Melchizedek is superior to Abraham because Abraham
received a blessing from Melchizedek—not the other way around. “It is beyond
dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior” (Heb 7:7). If Melchizedek is
in fact Shem, the firstborn son of Noah, as many rabbis and Church Fathers
taught,[37] then we can understand the priesthood of Christ as a reversion to the
original priesthood of the firstborn. Christ’s priesthood is superior to that of the
Levites because Christ’s priesthood is based on His status as the “firstborn son
of God” (Heb 1:6).
The author of Hebrews makes his case that Christ is in the “order of
Melchizedek,” because Christ is both a king and a priest. Moreover,
Melchizedek offered a sacrifice of “bread and wine,” not an animal sacrifice. In
this way, Melchizedek foreshadows the priesthood of Christ. After the time of
David, the messianic monarchy was irrevocably assigned to the tribe of Judah.
Previously, the Old Covenant priesthood was given to the tribe of Levi. Within
this arrangement, there was a perfect separation of Church and State. The priests
were from one tribe (Levi); the kings were from another tribe (Judah). Unlike
ancient pagan kings, the king of Jerusalem could not pretend to be a pontiff who
served as both king and priest. The Jewish king was not and could never be the
Jewish high priest. However, there are hints in the Old Covenant that David was
“priestly” in a certain sense. David truly loved God. David brought the Ark of
the Covenant to Jerusalem. David wore an ephod, the garment of a priest. David
decreed the construction of God’s Temple. David even ate the Bread of Presence
reserved in the Temple for the priests alone. David typified the kind of priest that
God originally desired—priests that acted as loving sons in the presence of the
divine Father. After all, God said of David, “I will be his father, and he shall be
my son” (2 Sam 7:14). David, then, seems to have been a kind of “priest-king”
based on his covenantal status as an adopted son of God, but this tension was not
fully resolved until the Jesus revealed Himself as the true Son of God—a priest
in the order of Melchizedek.
Jesus the Messiah is not only the Davidic king, He is also the High Priest
of the New Covenant. Christ is not a Levite and He is not a descendent of Aaron,
and so He cannot be a priest according to the Levitical laws of Moses. Instead,
the New Covenant sees in Christ the fulfillment of Melchizedek as both king and
priest. Jesus is the descendent of king David and so He is the rightful messianic
king of all Israel. The priesthood of Christ is a royal priesthood based on his
status as the “firstborn Son” of the Father (Heb 1:6) not on any pretence of being
Aaronite.
We have seen all along that the Levitical priesthood was an inferior
substitute to the priesthood of the firstborn that God desired for Israel. After all,
the original familial model of priesthood reflected the divine life of God who is
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Priesthood is founded on the Divine Fatherhood
and Sonship. We come to learn this through the incarnation of the Son of God
and His perfect sacrificial offering to God the Father.
The love of Christ for the Father and His obedience unto death, even death
on a cross (Phil 2:8), reveals that Christ is truly the High Priest of a royal
priesthood. Christ as a priestly king recalls Melchizedek, and so Christ ordained
His Apostles to be priests like Melchizedek. This is why He took bread and wine
and commanded them to “Do this in memory of me” (Lk 22:19). Christ
transforms the primitive bread and wine offering of Melchizedek into the
sacrifice of the Holy Eucharist.
Remember that Melchizedek was not a child of Abraham and therefore not
technically an Israelite. Nevertheless, Melchizedek enables Abraham to bless
God and receive the divine covenant. The rabbinical tradition identifies
Melchizedek with Shem and linked him to Shem’s identity as the father of the
Hebrew people.[38] We do not know who Melchizedek was for certain, but the
tradition of identifying him as Shem would link Noah to Abraham. Noah is the
father of Shem and Shem blesses Abraham, hence providing perfect continuity
from Noah to Abraham.
 The ministerial priesthood of Christ does however resemble the Aaronite
priesthood in a number of ways. Both priesthoods are hierarchical. Both Old
Covenant priests and New Covenant priests were charged with instructing the
people in the Sacred Scriptures. Both offer sacrifice, but the Catholic priest
offers the unbloody sacrifice of Calvary, not the blood of bulls and goats. The
one sacrifice of Christ is effective and applies the grace of the universal
redemption to believers. This sacrifice is offered through the transubstantiation
of bread and wine into Christ’s body and blood.
 The Catholic Priesthood of the New Covenant
The New Covenant Catholic hierarchy, like the Old Covenant hierarchy, is
arranged in a threefold manner: Deacon, Priest, and Bishop—just like the Old
Covenant hierarchy of Levite, Priest, and High Priest. The deacons assist the
priests as they offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The bishop is also a priest
and serves as the chief priest or pastor of the local community. In the Old
Covenant, there was only one Jewish high priest who oversaw one geographic
location. In the New Covenant, there are thousands of bishops who oversee
thousands of geographic regions. This transition from one high priest to a
plurality of bishops entailed the ordination of non-Jewish priests since every
nation on earth would require local priests. The prophet Isaiah foresaw a day
when God would transform the Levitical structure and choose Gentiles to serve
as His Levites and Priests:
And I will also take some of them [i.e. Gentiles] as priests and as Levites,
says the Lord (Isa 66:21).

The Catholic priesthood is also the fulfillment of the prophecy that God’s name
would be great among the nations and that Gentiles would offer a priestly “pure
offering” to the Lord (Mal 1:11).
Martin Luther objected to a ministerial priesthood in the New Covenant by
claiming that Christ alone is the High Priest, and that the Church has no need for
ministerial priests on earth. Luther also cited Saint Peter, who wrote that all
baptized Christians belong to “the holy priesthood” (1 Pet 2:5). In fact, Saint
Thomas Aquinas anticipated this objection by stating:

Only Christ is the true priest, the others being only his ministers.[39]
The Catechism of the Catholic Church echoes this statement:

The redemptive sacrifice of Christ is unique, accomplished once for all;

yet it is made present in the Eucharistic sacrifice of the Church. The same
is true of the one priesthood of Christ; it is made present through the
ministerial priesthood without diminishing the uniqueness of Christ’s
priesthood: “Only Christ is the true priest, the others being only his
ministers” (no. 1545).
In other words, Christ is the only true priest, because He is the only firstborn Son
of God (Heb 1:6). Christians participate in Christ’s priesthood in two ways: the
baptismal priesthood and the ministerial priesthood. The Catechism of the
Catholic Church explains that the baptismal priesthood is conferred “through the
sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation” (no. 1546). Through baptism, we are
born again and share in Christ’s priestly Sonship. God becomes our Father and
we become His priestly children.
On the other hand, the ministerial priesthood is conferred by the sacrament
of Holy Orders. This ministerial or hierarchical priesthood is at the service of the
common priesthood. It is directed at the “unfolding of the baptismal grace of all
Christians” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1547). Regarding the
ministerial priesthood, Saint Paul uses priestly language when he describes
himself as:

a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the

Gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable,
sanctified by the Holy Spirit (Rom 15:16).
Consequently, the ministerial priesthood does not compete with the true
priesthood of Christ, but it participates in the priesthood of Christ in a deeper
manner.
 Priestly Celibacy
The ministerial priesthood of the Catholic Church differs from the Old Covenant
priesthood in the manner by which a man enters into ministerial service. The Old
Covenant priests received their priesthood through natural generation, but New
Covenant priests do so by a supernatural vocation. Old Covenant priests married
in order to produce more priests, since only their sons could become priests.
Thus, an Old Covenant priest “produced vocations” to the priesthood by rearing
boys who would be priests by birthright. New Covenant priests, on the other
hand, are typically characterized by celibacy (as in the Latin Rite of the Catholic
Church) because of their supernatural vocation. Catholic priests do not receive
their vocation to the priesthood because they were born into it, but because the
Holy Spirit called them to accept this great vocation of self-sacrifice on behalf of
the Church. Catholic priests foster future vocations to the priesthood not by
having biological sons, but by nurturing spiritual sons through Christian
discipleship.
Many non-Catholic Christians are confused by the Catholic discipline of
clerical celibacy. It should be noted that celibacy and continence are not
requirements unique to the New Covenant. Temporary sexual abstinence was
required of all Old Covenant priests while they ministered in the Temple. Elijah
and Elisha lived lives of celibacy. Likewise, Jeremiah the prophet was celibate in
obedience to the direct command of God: “You shall not take a wife, nor shall
you have sons or daughters in this place” (Jer 16:2). Hence, celibacy has its
origins in Judaism.
Now, it should be said that the discipline of celibacy in the Catholic
Church does not imply that marriage or human sexuality is evil or unclean. A
good analogy is that of fasting from food. The value of fasting from food is not
derived from a belief that food is evil. Rather, fasting from food is commendable
and spiritual because it is the sacrifice of something good for an even greater
good. God often asks us to sacrifice our best. For example, God asked the
Israelites to sacrifice only the strongest and healthiest animals—not the worst.
When a man sacrifices the prospect of marriage and a family, he is not rejecting
sex as something evil or vile. Instead, he is making a substantial sacrifice. This is
why Catholicism honors the vocation of celibacy. It is a sign of self-sacrifice in
conformity to the self-sacrifice of Jesus Christ the true High Priest—who also
lived as a celibate man.
 Is the Pope a High Priest?
If Christ is the High Priest according to the royal priesthood of Melchizedek, and
all Christians participate in this priesthood through baptism (and some more
deeply through ordination), can it rightly be said that the Pope is somehow also a
High Priest? Yes and no.
We have already seen how Christ is the only true priest and that all others
are His ministers. How then can the Pope be called the Vicar of Christ? The
Latin word vicarius denotes that the Pope stands in the place of Christ.[40] The
word vice as in Vice President comes from this same Latin word. The Vice
President of the United States stands in for the President when the President is
not physically present. As the Vicar of Christ, the Pope is, you might say, the
“Vice High Priest.” The Pope therefore functions on earth as the High Priest—
not in place of Christ, but as a guarantee of Christ’s universal priesthood as
exercised in heaven.
Christ built His Church on Saint Peter to whom He gave the keys of the
kingdom of heaven. These Messianic keys extend Peter’s jurisdiction over the
entire earth: “Whatever you bind on earth is bound in heaven” (Mt 16:19). The
Catholic Church in no way diminishes the High Priesthood of Christ when she
describes the Pope as Supreme Pontiff. The Pope himself and all the faithful
know that ultimately Christ is the true High Priest at every Mass. The Pope is
only the servant and steward of the true Head of the Church, the Lord Jesus
Christ who ministers and reigns from the right hand of the Father.
In summary, the Catholic priesthood (either exercised by the local parish
priest or the Pope himself) is nothing less than the ministerial work of Christ on
earth. Catholic priests do not compete with Christ’s High Priesthood. Rather,
they participate in His priesthood as stewards of God’s kingdom (1 Cor 4:1).
Although the Catholic hierarchy does correspond to the threefold structure of
Levites, priests and high priests in the Old Covenant, the Catholic priesthood
conforms to Christ’s heavenly priesthood, which is able to perfect the faithful by
Christ’s one sacrifice on the cross (Heb 10:14). Since this priesthood is not
restricted to Israel, it is administered universally. The next two chapters examine
this cosmic dimension of Christ’s priesthood as it relates to priestly vestments
and church architecture. We will discover how God prescribed strict rules for
liturgical symbolism—a custom preserved in the tradition of Catholic
Christianity.


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JEWISH VESTMENTS - CATHOLIC VESTMENTS
 6. JEWISH VESTMENTS, CATHOLIC VESTMENTS

Now such was the raiment of the high priest, for both it and its parts have a
meaning that must not be passed over in silence. For the whole vestment is in
fact a representation and copy of the cosmos, and the parts are representations
of its several portions.
- Philo Judæus of Alexandria


WHEN A COUPLE MAKES reservations to dine at an elegant restaurant, they expect
four things. First, they expect that an exceptional dining experience will cost
more than what they typically pay at other restaurants. Second, they expect
superior cuisine and exceptional wine. Third, they expect an attractive and
formal environment: white tablecloths, dim lights, sophisticated artwork,
appropriate music, and candlelight. Last but not least, they expect prompt and
respectful service.
The prompt and respectful service depends entirely on the waiter. In part,
the waiter communicates his ability to serve his guests by his attire. If a couple
is willing to spend $500.00 on one dinner and a bottle of wine, they would be
rightly offended if their waiter arrived at the table in jeans and a t-shirt. This is
because attire matters.
A survey of important human landmarks reveal that what we wear
communicates our respect for an occasion: the vesture of a bride and groom on
their wedding day—the clothing we wear for a funeral—the robes we wear at
graduation—the attire we wear for a job interview or a first date. Whenever the
occasion calls for it, we dress appropriately. A waiter at a fine restaurant wears a
tuxedo for the same practical reason that a priest wears certain vestments for the
Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. In each case, the clothes of the server communicate
the fact that he knows the importance of the occasion, and how best to fulfill his
duties. If a fine dinner presumes proper attire, how much more so the Holy
Sacrifice of the Mass by which God becomes present?
 There is also a theological reason why Catholic priests wear vestments.
We must remember that mankind was originally created naked. The first
symptom of human sin was an awareness of nakedness:

She also gave some to her husband, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were
opened, and they knew that they were naked. They sewed fig leaves
together and made themselves aprons (Gen 3:6-7).

Before the Lord expelled Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, “He made for
Adam and for his wife garments of skins, and clothed them” (Gen 3:21). God
clothed Adam and Eve as a sign of His fatherly love for them. The clothes we
wear bear a theological reference to our sinfulness.
Everyone wears clothes for certain events. Therefore, it is fitting that when
a man represents God, as in the case of a priest, he wears clothing to reveal this
mystery. The priests of the Old Covenant were commanded by God to wear
special garments when they served in the presence of the Lord. These vestments
were signs to denote the sacred calling of the priest, but even more, the
vestments reminded the priest that he stood in the presence of the thrice-holy
God. The Old Covenant vestments were prescribed by direct revelation and
pertained to the Old Covenant hierarchy of the High Priest, the Priests, and the
Levites.
 Cosmic Clothing
According to the Wisdom of Solomon, “the whole universe was upon Aaron‘s
garment” (Wis 18:24). In a similar manner, Philo of Alexandria described the
high priest’s vestments as a copy of the cosmos:
Now such was the raiment of the high priest for both it and its parts
have a meaning that must not be passed over in silence. For the whole
vestment is in fact a representation and copy of the cosmos, and the parts
are representations of its several portions.[41]
The predominant color of the priestly vestments was blue, because blue is the
color of the heavens and of the sea. The Psalms describe the heavens as a
garment: “The heavens will all wear out like a garment. You change them like
clothing, and they pass away” (Ps 102:25-27). Psalm 104 also describes God as
wearing a “garment of light” (Ps 104:2). Following this biblical theme, the
Jewish historian Flavius Josephus understood the colors of the Jewish vestments
as cosmic symbols depicting the heavens, the earth, and the seas:
The tunic of the high priest signifies the earth since it is made of linen, and
the blue color signifies the vault of heaven…And I believe that the ephod
represents the nature of the universe, which God thought good to make of
four components; it was woven with gold signifying sunlight which beams
upon all things. And he arranged the breastplate in the midst of the ephod
after the manner of the earth, for it also has the most central place. And he
surrounded it with a girdle, thereby signifying the ocean, for this too
comprehends everything.[42]
According to Jewish tradition, water represents both the frightful depths of
unseen chaos and the wellsprings of life. Water is correspondingly a sign of
death and life. According to the Psalms, only the Messiah would be able to tame
the waters of the world:
I will set his hand on the sea and his right hand on the rivers, and he
shall cry “You are my Father” (Ps 89:25).
The Fathers of the Church interpreted “his hand on the sea and rivers” as an
allusion to the sacrament of baptism. As the Son of God, Jesus tamed the chaotic
waters by transforming them into an instrument of salvation. The Old Testament
often personifies these chaotic waters as the mythical Leviathan that God
conquers in the sea (Ps 74:14; Is 27:1). Josephus identified the High Priest’s
girdle as the conquered serpent of the seas:
The girdle was loosely woven so that you would think it was the skin
of a snake…and the girdle, which was around the high priest, represented
the ocean.[43]
Philo explains that ultimately the High Priest bore on his body the universe
whenever he wore the sacred vestments:
In this way the high priest is adorned and sent forth for his holy task,
so that whenever he enters offering the ancestral prayers and sacrifices the
whole universe may enter with him by means of those copies which he
bears upon himself.[44]
The incarnational images of Jesus “putting on the body” and “putting on Adam”
are intended to show that humanity might once again be clothed in divine glory
through the resurrection of the body. For this reason, the newly baptized
Catholic Christian is clothed in a white robe. This white robe, or alb, also
corresponds to the first garment that a Catholic priest puts on before vesting for
Mass.
 Old Covenant Vestments
For the Jews, the High Priest was the supreme mediator between God and the
People of the Covenant, and the spiritual head of every synagogue in the world.
As we saw above, the High Priest’s vestments symbolized the redeemed
universe. The Torah stipulates that the High Priest should wear eight vestments,
while all the other priests should wear four vestments. God did not prescribe any
particular vestments for the Levites; however, in the time of David and Solomon,
the Levites wore simple garments of linen (1 Chr 15:27; 2 Chr 5:12). The four
priestly vestments common to all Old Covenant priests were as follows:

1. Breeches: This linen garment (Ex 28:42) covered the loins of the
priest since the altar stood elevated above the heads of others (20:26).

2. Tunic: This linen garment was like a shirt reaching to the ankles.
Apparently, it had a checked design (Ex 28:39).

3. Girdle: This was a linen belt or sash that held the tunic close to the
body.

4. Turban: Also made of linen, the turban wrapped around the head in
a conical shape.

In addition to these four vestments, the High Priest wore four additional
vestments:
5. Robe of the Ephod: This was the blue outer garment of the High
Priest (Ex 28:31-34). The lower hem of this robe was fringed with woven
pomegranates and golden bells. Pomegranates symbolized fertility since
they contain many seeds. The bells jingled as he walked, and this was
necessary because of the extreme danger of his office: should the bells stop
jingling in the Holy of Holies, the other priests would know that the high
priest had died, and pull him out by the rope around his leg
6. Ephod: In the Old Testament the ephod was the most important
vestment worn by the High Priest. It was a linen apron woven with gold
and colored yarn. It covered the back and chest, and fell to the knees (Ex
28:6-12). Two black onyx stones were set into the shoulder straps. Into
 these onyx stones were engraved the names of the twelve tribes of Israel.

7. Breastplate: Attached to the ephod was a breastplate also bearing

the names of the twelve tribes engraved on precious stones (Ex 28:6). Gold
chains secured the breastplate to the chest. The breastplate contained the
mysterious Urim and Thummim. This breastplate signified to Israel that
righteousness originates with God. For this reason the breastplate is
sometimes called the “breastplate of judgment.”

8. Gold Crown: The High Priest also wore a special golden plate
attached to his turban (Ex 28:36-38). The words “Holy to the Lord” were
engraved on this golden plate. The Hebrew word for this golden plate is
tsits, meaning, “flower.” This indicates that the High Priest wore a budding
“golden flower” on his head. This same word is used for the priestly staff
of Aaron as a rod “flowering with flowers” (Num 17:8).

These priestly vestments were prescribed for use only during the liturgical rites
of Moses. When not in use, they were stored in a receptacle and guarded.[45] As
nothing is said of shoes or sandals, the priests likely performed the services
barefooted as Jewish tradition indicates.
 New Covenant Vestments
Christian vestments did not originate in the tradition of priestly dress of the Old
Testament. Rather Catholic vestments developed from the secular dress of the
Greco-Roman world. There are two historical exceptions to this claim. The first
is the account of Polycrates, the second century bishop of Ephesus. Polycrates
claims that John the Apostle wore a gold plate upon his turban, just like the one
worn by the Jewish High Priest. This indicates that the early Church saw John as
a kind of high priest.
The other early testimony of an Apostle wearing Jewish vestments relates
to Saint James of Jerusalem. Saint Jerome writes that Saint James lived as a
consecrated Nazirite (see CHAPTER NINE). James was so respected by the Jews in
Jerusalem that he “alone had the privilege of entering the Holy of Holies, since
indeed he did not use woolen vestments but linen and went alone into the
Temple and prayed on behalf of the people, insomuch that his knees were
reputed to have acquired the hardness of camels’ knees.”[46] It is unlikely that
an early Christian leader would have been allowed to enter the Holy of Holies,
but there really is a tradition that Saint James was widely revered by the Jews of
Jerusalem. Regardless, it may indeed be true that Saint James wore linen robes
similar to those worn by the priests. He may have even been an Old Covenant
priest for that matter. For the most part, early Christian bishops and presbyters
celebrated the liturgy in the clothes of the Roman world, woven from linen and
kept scrupulously white.
The Canons of Hippolytus read: “As often as the bishop would partake of
the Mysteries, the presbyters and deacons shall gather round him clad in white,
quite particularly clean clothes, more beautiful than those of the rest of the
people.” Jerome in his commentary on Ezekiel 44:19 explains, “We, too, ought
not to enter the Holy of Holies in our everyday garments…when they have
become defiled from the use of ordinary life, but let us hold in our hands the
Sacrament of the Lord with a clean conscience, and in clean garments.”
By the fourth century, the garments worn at liturgical functions had been
separated from those in ordinary use, though still identical in form. After
Constantine’s legalization of the Church, the bishops in the East began to wear
the garment known in the West as the pallium. About this time, the orarium
(“stole”) also became a regular liturgical vestment. Christian vestments
continued to develop until about the ninth and tenth centuries when the style
became fixed in the West. For simplicity’s sake, we will only examine the
vestments worn in the contemporary Roman rite.
 Description of Catholic Vestments
The basic vesture of any Catholic cleric is the alb. The alb is a simple white
(traditionally linen) robe with sleeves and an opening for the head. It is
traditionally put on over the cassock. Before the usus recentior, all clerics wore
an amice around their neck to cover their collar and protect the vestments from
sweat and oils from the skin.
Over the alb, the deacon wears a stole across his chest in a diagonal
direction from his left shoulder to his right hip. Over this he wears a dalmatic
that matches the color of the liturgical season. The dalmatic is a decorated robe
with sleeves. Prior to the post-conciliar revision, the deacon, priest, and bishop
wore a maniple on their left arm as a symbol of service—similar to the napkin
that a waiter wears over his arm.
The priest likewise wears an alb and places a stole over his neck that he
secures with his cincture or girdle. Over this he places the chasuble, which is a
decorated vestment with an opening for his head.
The Catholic bishop wears everything the Catholic priest wears with the
addition of the mitre. This pointed hat somewhat resembles a flame, recalling the
tongues of fire that rested on the heads of the Apostles on the day of Pentecost
(Acts 2:3). The bishop also wears a pectoral cross, traditionally worn beneath the
chasuble. Before the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, a bishop sometimes
wore the tunicle of the subdeacon and the dalmatic of the deacon under his
chasuble to denote that he bore the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders.
Bishops now rarely wear an extra tunic and dalmatic. The bishop also previously
wore gloves, buskins (silk stockings), and pontifical sandals. These garments
amplify the point made at the beginning of this chapter—clothing must be
appropriate to the situation. The more meaning a situation bears, arguably, the
more complex its accompanying vesture should be. For example, a four-star
general dresses differently than a private. Likewise, the bishop’s vesture is
different from that of an altar boy.
The symbolism of these priestly garments overflowed into the prayers of
those who wore them. These “vesting prayers” were a final opportunity for the
priest to prepare himself before going to the altar. The bishop and priest
traditionally prayed the following petitions as they clothed themselves with each
vestment: Amice: Place upon me, O Lord, the helmet of salvation, that I may
overcome the assaults of the devil.
 Alb: Purify me, O Lord, and cleanse my heart; that, being made white in
the Blood of the Lamb, I may come to eternal joy.

Cincture: Gird me, O Lord, with the girdle of purity, and extinguish in me
all evil desires that the virtue of chastity may abide in me.

Maniple: Grant, O Lord, that I may so bear the maniple of weeping and
sorrow, that I may receive the reward for my labors with rejoicing.[47]
Stole: Restore unto me, O Lord, the stole of immortality, which was lost
through the guilt of our first parents: and, although I am unworthy to
approach Your sacred Mysteries, nevertheless grant unto me eternal joy.

Chasuble: O Lord, Who said: My yoke is easy and My burden light: grant
that I may bear it well and follow after You with thanksgiving. Amen.

Each vestment symbolizes different dispositions that the priest must carry with
him as he prepares to celebrate the Sacrifice of the Mass. Again, the clothing
symbolizes the cosmic dimension of the ministerial task.
In addition to the normal vestments of a bishop, an archbishop will also
wear the pallium if he has previously received it from the Pope. The pallium is a
white woolen garment worn on the shoulders to symbolize the archbishop’s
unity with the Holy See. Pope Benedict XVI has chosen to distinguish the papal
pallium from the metropolitan pallium by wearing an ancient form of the pallium
that is wider and longer than the version received by today’s archbishops.
 Catholic Choir Dress
When not celebrating Mass, Catholic clergy wear “choir dress” for liturgical
occasions. Choir dress consists of the cassock, biretta, and surplice (or rochet).
The Pope wears a white cassock, cardinals wear red, bishops wear purple, and
priests and deacons wear black. The biretta is a stiff hat with wings that matches
the color of the cassock. The surplice is a white “mini-alb” that reaches to
various lengths and sometimes consists of lace for decoration. The Pope, the
cardinals, and the bishops also wear a matching shoulder cape called a mozzetta
over their rochet and their pectoral cross. The Pope’s mozzetta does not match
his cassock—rather it is red.
As discussed at the beginning of this book, the Pope, cardinals, and
bishops of the Catholic Church wear a small cap resembling the Jewish
yarmulke. As stated in the Introduction, this cap is the zucchetto and it
symbolizes a bishop’s humble acknowledgment of Christ as the true Head of the
Church. All Catholic bishops, including the cardinals and the Pope, must remove
the zucchetto when they stand at the altar and recite the Eucharistic Prayer.
When a bishop or the Pope consecrates the Body and Blood of Christ, he acts in
persona Christi (“in the person of Christ”). The bishop therefore removes the
zucchetto during this time since the bishop “loans” his voice and body to Christ
so that the true High Priest might transform the bread and wine into His very
own Body and Blood.
This mystical connection between the priest and Christ recalls the words of
Philo of Alexandria regarding priestly vestments, that the vestment is “a
representation and copy of the cosmos.” The celebrated Archbishop Fulton
Sheen aptly related the cosmic dimension of priesthood to the ministry and
vesture of priests:

Localized at one point in space and one moment in time, Calvary is now
universalized in space and time. The priest takes the cross of Calvary with
Christ still hanging on it and plants it in New York, Paris, Cairo, and
Tokyo, and in the poorest mission in the world. We are not alone at the
altar; we are in horizontal relations with Africa, Asia, our own parish, our
city—everyone.

Clinging to the chasuble of every priest are six hundred million souls in
 China who as yet know not Christ…the stole is the sling in which the
priest carries on his shoulder living stones, the burden of the churches, the
missions of the entire world.[48]

Priestly vestments, then, reveal the Church’s rich symbolism. The priest does not
simply wear starched and pressed garments like a waiter in a tuxedo. Rather, the
Catholic priest clothes himself in the Messiah and in the world for which the
Messiah died.


135
JEWISH TEMPLE - CATHOLIC CATHEDRAL
 7. JEWISH TEMPLE, CATHOLIC CATHEDRAL

He looks around, around He sees angels in the architecture Spinning in infinity

He says Amen! and Hallelujah!

- Paul Simon

THE CONCEPT OF CONSECRATED space goes back to creation, just as clothing
hearkens back to God’s provision of garments for Adam and Eve. Both concepts
relate to the created cosmos. We read in the second chapter of Genesis that God
placed Adam and Eve in the verdant Garden of Eden.

And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden to the east. There He put the
man whom He had formed. The LORD God took the man and put him in
the garden of Eden to till it and keep it (Gen 2:8, 15).

The Garden of Eden was a beautiful place where the Lord God “walked in the
cool of the day” (Gen 3:8). The garden was the place of God’s fellowship with
mankind. God was present in this sacred precinct. The Garden of Eden was also
the exclusive location of the “Tree of Life” that bore fruit enabling its recipients
to have eternal life and the “Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil” that bore the
divinely prohibited fruit (Gen 2:9).
Adam received a vocation from God “to till and keep” the Garden of Eden.
Adam failed at this task when he and his wife fell into sin. God’s response was
to clothe them with animals’ skins (Gen 3:21) and cast them out of the Garden of
Eden.

Therefore, the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till
the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man; and at the east
of the Garden of Eden he placed the cherubim, and a flaming sword that
turned every way, to guard the way to the Tree of Life (Gen 3:23-24).
The sinfulness of Adam and Eve meant that they could no longer remain in the
sacred presence of God. After God exiled Adam and Eve from Eden, he placed
cherubim (not fat babies, but beast-like angels!) at Eden’s eastern portal “to
guard the way to the Tree of Life.”
This means that the Garden of Eden was the original sanctuary, shrine,
tabernacle, or temple of God’s presence that Adam and Eve forfeited through
sin. At the time of Moses, God commanded the Israelites to create a mock-up
version of the Garden of Eden—the Tabernacle.
 The Garden of Eden as Archetype
The Old Covenant Tabernacle or Temple was a miniature version of the Garden
of Eden. For example, the door of the Tabernacle faced to the east, just as the
gate of the Garden of Eden faced to the east (Gen 3:24; Ezek 40:6). Moreover,
images of cherubim were woven into the tabernacle veil to symbolize that they
were guarding God’s presence, just as God posted cherubim to guard the
gateway to the Garden of Eden (Gen 3:24; Ezek 28:14). The great golden
menorah inside the Temple was molded to resemble a burning Tree of Life (Ex
25:31-36).[49]
The decor of the Temple consisted of garden imagery like that found in the
Garden of Eden (1 Kings 6-7). The Garden of Eden is said to be the source of the
world’s watercourses and so a huge water basin was placed at the door of the
Temple (Gen 2:10; Ezek 47:1-12; Rev 21:1-2). The Bible describes the Garden
of Eden as elevated on a mountain, and the Temple itself was situated on a
mountain (Ezek 28:14, 16; 40:2; 43:12). Most importantly, the Temple and the
Garden of Eden were the places where God dwelt in the midst of His people
(Gen 3:8; Lev 26:11-12; Deut 23:14; 2 Sam 7:6-7).
Another interesting parallel is the linguistic similarity between the
description of Adam’s original vocation in the Garden of Eden and the
description of the vocation of the priests in the Temple. Adam is called to
“work” (Hebrew: abad) and “keep” (Hebrew: shamar) the Garden of Eden.
Those two Hebrew words are used to describe the work of the Levites in the
Temple. The Levites “keep” (shemari) the tabernacle (Num 8:26)—the same
word used to describe Adam’s custodial work. The priestly service of offering
sacrifice is referred to as abad (Num 8:26; Josh 22:27; Is 19:21)—the same
Hebrew word used to describe Adam’s labor.
 Temple Cosmology—Creation and Worship
Judaism in particular understands that God’s creation of the universe was
essentially the creation of a cosmic temple. Judaism asserts that creation is
inherently good because its Creator is good. Creation was made as a place for
man to worship God and have fellowship with Him. This mystery is made clear
when the Lord answers Job “out of the whirlwind,” concerning the creation of
the universe as His own sacred building (Job 38). God first laid the foundation
(v. 4); determined its measurements and stretched out a line upon it (v. 5); sunk
the bases and established its cornerstone (v. 6). Meanwhile the “morning stars”
and “sons of God” (i.e. angels) sing in adoration (v. 7). These singing choirs
within this sacred building recall how David commissioned the Levites to sing in
the tabernacle (1 Chr 15:16). God then installs the “doors” (v. 8), and secures the
structure so that water may not enter (vs. 9-11). Lastly, God established the
clouds (v. 9) that recall the glory-cloud of God’s presence over the Temple (1
Kings 8:11). We read in Genesis that God blessed creation when it was complete
(Gen 2:2-4). Moses likewise blesses the tabernacle when it is complete (Ex
31:12-17; 39:43; 40:9).
 Blueprints of the Old Covenant Tabernacle
The worship of the Old Covenant centered on the Tabernacle. The Tabernacle
was a portable tent constructed by Israel under Moses. It consisted of three
courts. The outer court was walled off by curtains and contained the altar of
holocaust (Ex 27:1-8), the bronze pool (Ex 30:18-21), and the tabernacle proper.
Just inside the actual Tabernacle was the second court. It was called “the
Holy Place” and it contained the altar of incense, the golden Tree of Life
menorah, and the table for the Bread of Presence. Beyond the curtain interwoven
with cherubim was “the Holy of Holies.” It contained only the Ark of the
Covenant with the statues of two gold cherubim on either side “to guard” the
Ark of the Covenant.
The Tabernacle was thirty cubits long, ten cubits wide, and ten cubits high
(30 x 10 x 10). The Holy of Holies occupied one third of the Tabernacle and
measured ten cubits long, ten cubits wide, and ten cubits high (10 x 10 x 10).
The Holy of Holies was a perfect cube. Incidentally, this is why the Book of
Revelation represents the New Jerusalem as being a perfect cube (Rev 21:16).
 The Tabernacle Becomes the Temple
King David conquered Jerusalem in approximately 1004 B.C. and established it
as the capital city of his kingdom. With great pomp, David transported the
portable fabric Tabernacle into the city of Jerusalem. King David then received a
vision from God telling him to design a permanent Temple for the Ark of the
Covenant in Jerusalem. It would be his son Solomon, not David, who would
complete this task.
The Temple was built on a much larger scale than the Tabernacle of
Moses. It was twice the size. It was sixty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and
thirty cubits high (60 x 20 x 30). The floor was elevated inside by ten (10) cubits
and once again, the Holy of Holies was a perfect cube: twenty cubits in length,
breadth, and height (20 x 20 x 20).
The Holy of Holies was floored and paneled with the cedar wood of
Lebanon (1 Kings 6:16-30), and its walls and floor were overlaid with gold. It
contained two wooden statues of the guardian cherubim, each ten cubits high.
The wings of each angel spread out ten cubits each from tip to tip, so that the
wings touched the wall on either side and met in the center of the room. A blue,
purple, and red veil separated the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place (2 Chr
3:14). The room contained no light (1 Kings 8:12).
The walls of the Holy Place just outside the Holy of Holies were also
paneled with cedar, and carved with figures of cherubim, palm trees, and open
flowers, all of which were overlaid with gold. Golden chains further marked it
off from the Holy of Holies. The floor of the Temple was paneled with fir wood
overlaid with gold. The door was carved from olivewood. Golden depictions of
cherubim, palm trees, and flowers were also carved into the doors (1 Kings 6:15-
18). The outer courtyard around the Temple contained the altar of holocaust and
the bronze pool. To all of this, chambers were also added for storage purposes.
The Babylonians destroyed this original Temple in 586 B.C. The returning
Jews under the direction of Ezra and Nehemiah rebuilt a second Temple, which
never contained the lost Ark of the Covenant. Centuries later, Herod the Great
further amplified the architectural glory of the Temple during the time of Christ.
This Second Temple was destroyed in A.D. 70 in fulfillment of the prophecy of
Christ (Mt 24:2, 34).
 The New Covenant and the End of the Temple
The Temple was the only place of sacrifice in the Old Covenant. Burnt offerings
were made only at the Temple and the three great religious feasts (Passover,
Pentecost, and Tabernacles) were celebrated chiefly in Jerusalem. Not every
Israelite could travel to the Temple so they built synagogues that functioned as
meeting places for prayer. These buildings were not temples in the proper sense.
When Christ died, “the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to
bottom” (Mk 15:38). This miracle signaled that humanity would no longer be
exiled from God’s presence. After all, the veil guarding the presence of God in
the Holy of Holies had symbolized that Adam and all his descendants were
locked out from God’s presence. Christ reunited God and mankind through His
propitiatory death on the cross—and the veil fell away.
After the death and resurrection of Christ, there was no longer any need for
the Old Covenant Temple. Christ announced once and for all: “It is finished” (Jn
19:30). The Temple has been replaced with the Body of Christ. Jesus answered
them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (Jn 2:19). First,
there was the Temple of Solomon. Second, there was the Temple that was
beatified by Herod the Great. Finally, there is the Third Temple—the temple of
Christ’s Body. The incarnation of Christ is the ultimate sign of God’s presence
in creation. When John 1:14 says, “The Word was made flesh and dwelled
among us,” the Greek actually suggests that the Word “pitched his tent among
us.” When Christ assumed human nature in the womb of the Blessed Virgin, He
established a new and lasting tabernacle in our midst. Catholic churches are not
tabernacles or temples in the strict sense. They are only referred to as tabernacles
or temples because they contain the true Temple—the Blessed Sacrament of
Christ’s body.
 Birth of the Catholic Cathedral
For the first three hundred years of Christianity, the Church continued to
celebrate the Sacrifice of Christ on her altars in the liturgy of the Holy Eucharist.
These Christians were being persecuted and did not typically construct temples
or religious buildings for public worship. It was not until the era of Constantine
that Christians began to build structures dedicated for the sole purpose of
liturgical worship.
When the Catholic Church began to build church buildings, particularly
cathedrals, they typically oriented them to face toward the east. This is the
opposite direction of the orientation of the Old Covenant temple. The Old
Covenant had the Ark of the Covenant situated to the west and the door to the
east. The typical Cathedral has its altar to the east and its door to the west. Why
did the Church flip the architectural orientation?
The reason is that Christians no longer felt that they lived in exile from
God’s presence. In other words, the Catholic Church redefined for us what it
means to be cosmically well-positioned—it means that we would be truly
“oriented” to God, from the Latin word oriens, meaning “east.” We no longer
live outside the Temple to the “east of Eden.” Christians worship in God’s
presence and so we face Him as we face the sun rising in the east. Christ
explains that He shall come again from the east: “For as lightning cometh out of
the east and appeareth even into the west: so shall also the coming of the Son of
Man be” (Mt 24:27). Hence, the early Christians prayed facing toward the east
and also received baptism while facing to the east.
There are a few other important connections between the Temple and the
Cathedral. The Temple had a Holy Place that took up the front two-thirds of the
structure and a Holy of Holies that took up the back third of the Temple. The
Cathedral and most churches consist of a “nave” that typically takes up the back
two-thirds of the building and the “sanctuary” that takes up the front third of the
building.
The Cathedral is also the mother church of the diocese because it is the
official church of the bishop. The word cathedral refers to the cathedra—a
Greek word for “chair” as in the bishop’s chair. The Old Covenant Temple was a
kind of mother “church” for all the synagogues. Just as Mary is to other
Christian mothers, so also the cathedral is the mother of all local churches in a
given geographic location.
 However, there is one major difference between the Temple and Catholic
cathedrals with which I would like to end. In the New Testament, the term
“temple” refers not to a building but to the people of God. The Holy Spirit
indwells every Christian (1 Cor 6:19) and the Church is built up into a “spiritual
temple” (Eph 2:20-22). Since we are the Body of Christ, we are also the Temple
of God’s presence in the world.


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JEWISH SYNAGOGUE - CATHOLIC PARISH
 8. JEWISH SYNAGOGUE, CATHOLIC PARISH

I can accept only that Church which was preached to all creatures by my own
forefathers, the Twelve Apostles, who, like me, issued from the Synagogue.
- Rabbi Israel Eugenio Zolli


MARY AND JOSEPH DUTIFULLY brought Jesus to the synagogue where He learned
the Scriptures, prayed, and conversed with experts in the law. The synagogue
was the context in which Jesus became known as a rabbi. A synagogue is simply
a house of assembly or worship. The word synagogue derives from a Greek
word meaning “a coming together.” In Hebrew the synagogue building is
referred to as beit knesset meaning “house of assembly” or as a beit tefila
meaning “house of prayer.”
The idea of the synagogue does not belong to the earliest years of Israel’s
history. It is likely that neither Moses nor David had ever heard of a formal
building dedicated to Jewish worship other than that of the tabernacle or temple.
During the time of Moses, worship centered around the sacrificial work of the
priests at the tabernacle and later at the Temple in Jerusalem. However, there is
some evidence that the early Hebrews met together in assemblies that were
distinct from the centralized worship at the Temple. Jewish tradition finds the
origin of the synagogue tradition in the advice Moses received from his father-
in-law (cf. Ex 28:14-27). Here we read that the people should be divided and
governed by local experts of the Law. Judaism sees in this passage the creation
of specific assemblies (synagogues) governed by scholars of the Law (rabbis).
As described above, the Babylonians destroyed Solomon‘s Temple in 586
B.C., and the Jews were dispersed during what has been called the Babylonian
Captivity. With the Temple destroyed and the Jews trapped in exile, the local
synagogue took on an unprecedented importance. It was during this time that
Jews began to dedicate special houses of worship where they could pray, sing,
and study the Sacred Scriptures. These meeting places became the ancient
forerunners of what we now know as synagogues.
Even after the Temple was rebuilt, the tradition of synagogues remained
wherever Jews lived. The synagogue allowed Jews to have a place of prayer
anywhere they lived. The Temple in Jerusalem was of course the divinely
instituted place of sacrifice and could not be rebuilt elsewhere. For this reason,
Jews do not practice animal sacrifice at the synagogue.
The synagogue does not require the presence of a Levitical priest. Instead
of priests, rabbis hold the place of honor as scholars of the law. A rabbi is simply
a “master” of the Jewish tradition. They are not priests and do not correspond to
the office instituted for the priestly descendents of Aaron. They are simply
scholars who also absorb the pastoral work of a local community. Jesus Himself
was not an Aaronite priest but was recognized as a rabbi by His followers and
even by his enemies. It seems that Jesus never held a rabbinical position at a
synagogue though He did frequent the synagogue and was often asked to give
the homily (Luke 7:5).
Jews are expected to gather at the synagogue on the Sabbath and on holy
days. Orthodox synagogues maintain a daily schedule of prayers. The synagogue
also functions as the site for officiating the bar mitzvah and Hebrew school.
 Structure of the Synagogue
Modern day synagogues tend to be built on a plan resembling the special
features of the Temple in the following ways: Orientation: Synagogues usually
face Jerusalem so that those assembled have their faces positioned toward the
geographic site of where the Temple once stood.

Decoration: Orthodox synagogues are decorated with beautiful artwork,

but three-dimensional sculptures are not allowed for fear of idolatry.
Traditional synagogue windows are square at the bottom and round at the
top to symbolize the shape of the Tables of the Law – the Ten
Commandments that Moses received from God. Some synagogues feature
twelve symbolic windows that stand for the twelve tribes of Israel.

Aron Ha-Kodesh: The holy ark that houses the Sacred Scriptures. It
hearkens back to the Ark of the Covenant, which contained the stone
version of the Ten Commandments. The holy ark is reckoned as the holiest
place in a synagogue. The holy ark is typically veiled with an ornate
curtain called the parokhet (what Catholics might call a ‘tabernacle veil’).

Ner Tamid: The eternal lamp that burns before the holy ark. It signified the
large menorah that stood in the Holy Place of the Temple outside the Holy
of Holies.

Bimah: The platform where the Scriptures are read publicly.

Amud: The pulpit used by the rabbi and cantor for prayers and chanting.
 Structure of the Catholic Parish
The Catholic Church sprouted from the Jewish synagogue. The Book of Acts
chronicles the manner by which the Apostle Paul evangelized the world. First, he
went to the synagogue and preached the Gospel. His initial converts were
usually Jews who then formed the nucleus of the local Christian community. The
New Testament Epistle of James matter-of-factly refers to the early Christian
meeting-place as a synagogue: For if a man with gold rings and in fine clothing
comes into your synagogue, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in
and you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “Have a
seat here, please,” while you say to the poor man, “Stand there,” or, “Sit at my
feet,” have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges
with evil thoughts? (James 2:2-4).
The Christian bishops who succeeded the Apostles at the beginning of the
second century explain that the early Christians only celebrated the Eucharist in
communion with their bishop. Early bishops such as Saint Ignatius of Antioch (†
A.D. 108) and Saint Polycarp of Smyrna († A.D. 155) indicate that the bishop
was the primary celebrant of the Holy Eucharist.
As the early Church grew, it was no longer possible for every Christian to
join the bishop for worship. There arose small, local assemblies of worshippers
that remained in union with the bishop. The Church recognized the place where
the bishop presided and the other satellite locations where his presbyters or
priests would celebrate the Holy Eucharist. This gave rise to the distinction
between the cathedral church of the bishop and the parish churches of his
priests. The primary difference between the parish and the synagogue is that the
Catholic parish maintained priests and sacrificial worship, whereas Jewish
synagogues did not continue a rite that corresponded to the priestly sacrifices at
the Temple. Jewish synagogues celebrate only the liturgy of the word.
In spite of this critical difference in practice between synagogues and
parishes, the two retain a number of important connections. For instance, the
architectural features of a synagogue reveal the connection that it shares with the
Catholic parish. Every Catholic parish has a holy ark that we call the tabernacle.
The tabernacle houses not simply the Word of God, but the Word made flesh—
the very Body of Christ. The tabernacle is also the holiest place in a church, not
because it tells us about God (as in the Torah), but because it contains God
Himself. It is worth noting that Jews would not think of situating the holy ark
anywhere but at the center of the synagogue—something that modern Catholic
architects would do well to observe. In the synagogue, the holy ark receives the
most prominent architectural position.
Like Jewish synagogues, Catholic churches also have a Ner Tamid or
eternal lamp that burns before the tabernacle to announce to the world that Christ
is present among us. The Jewish bimah and amud correspond to our lectern or
ambo where the Scriptures are read and where the priest proclaims the good
news of Christ’s eternal redemption.
Catholics also believe that their churches should be decorated with images.
Since we believe that God became a three-dimensional human being, we believe
that He and all the saints may be depicted in three-dimensional statues. As Saint
John Damascene († A.D. 749) once explained, Christ’s incarnation issued in a
new economy of images for the New Covenant. Each Catholic parish pays
tribute to this mystery with artwork proclaiming that God is truly among us.
Artwork also symbolizes that “we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses”
(Heb 12:1) when we come together around the Holy Eucharist. Whenever we
gather for the Holy Eucharist, we come together with all the saints and with all
the choirs of angels in Heaven. The Catholic parish is truly then a synagogue or
“coming together” not only of the local assembly, but also with the entire
assembly of Heaven.


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JEWISH NAZIRITES - CATHOLIC MONASTICS
 9. JEWISH NAZIRITES, CATHOLIC MONASTICS

This is the law for the Nazirite who takes a vow. His offering to the LORD shall
be according to his vow as a Nazirite, apart from what else he can afford. In
accordance with the vow that he takes, so shall he do according to the law for
his separation as a Nazirite.
- Numbers 6:21

THE BIBLE’S MOST FAMOUS Nazirite is Samson. We’re all familiar with the story.
So long as Samson’s hair remained long, he was strong. When his hair was cut
short through the trickery of Delilah, he lost his strength. The Philistines poked
out his eyes and imprisoned him. Yet, in the darkness of his dungeon, Samson’s
hair began to grow—as did his supernatural strength. Finally, he used that
strength to pull down the temple of Dagon and along with it, kill three thousand
Philistines, “so the dead whom he slew at his death were more than those whom
he had slain during his life” (Judg 16:30).
How is it that strength comes from hair? The story of Samson is not just a
myth about the handsome locks of an ancient Israelite. To read the story in that
way misses the point entirely. Rather, it is a story about the importance of the
“Nazirite vow” which was symbolized by uncut hair. Ancient readers would
have seen how God’s power flowed through Samson to the extent that he
conformed to the vows of a Nazirite. No hair, no power.

The Nazirite Vow

The Hebrew word for Nazirite means “consecrated” or “set apart.” It refers to
any man or woman Israelite who submitted to certain regulations of piety (Num
6:1-21). The Nazirite vow could be made for a temporary amount of time, or it
could be made for life. In the cases of Samson and John the Baptist, the Bible
records that they were dedicated as Nazirites from their mothers’ wombs.
Samson’s mother did not consume grapes or wine during her pregnancy in order
to offer him to God as a Nazirite (Judg 13:7). Nazirites abstained from all
alcohol and avoided all food products derived from grapes (including juice,
wine, and raisins). They could not shave, nor could they cut the hair on their
heads. Lastly, the Nazirite could not approach a corpse. If a Nazirite did
approach a dead body, he was required to shave “the head of his consecration”
and enter into an eight-day ritual of penance. On the eighth day he would offer
two turtle doves or pigeons at the Temple—one as burnt offering, the other for
sin. He also offered a young lamb. If the vow were a temporary one, the Nazirite
would shave his head at the end of the stipulated period. This sacred hair would
be burned as an offering.
The prophet and priest Samuel was also a perpetual Nazirite. His mother
vowed: “I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall
come upon his head” (1 Sam 1:11). Samuel’s status as a prophet is likely related
to this childhood consecration. The prophet Amos confirms that Nazirites
received prophetic powers (Amos 2:11-12).
In the New Testament, we see that John the Baptist is a Nazirite. We also
learn that Saint Paul and other early Christians underwent the Nazirite
consecration (Acts 18:18; 21:23-26):

We have four men who are under a vow. Take these men and purify
yourself along with them and pay their expenses, so that they may shave
their heads. Thus, all will know that there is nothing in what they have
been told about you but that you yourself live in observance of the law.

Then Paul took the men, and the next day he purified himself with them
and went into the temple, to give notice when the days of purification
would be fulfilled and the offering presented for every one of them (Acts
21:23-26).
As stated in a previous chapter, tradition also identifies Saint James of Jerusalem
as a perpetual Nazirite.[50] Here we observe that the first generation of
Christians had already adopted the Nazirite form of consecration. This practice
of “consecrated life” eventually grew into the full-blown monastic tradition of
the Catholic Church.
 Christian Monasticism
The Hebrew idea that one might enter into an outward state of piety that was
distinct from the hierarchical priesthood carried over into Christianity quite
easily.

The state of life, which is constituted by the profession of the evangelical

counsels, while not entering into the hierarchical structure of the Church,
belongs undeniably to her life and holiness (Catechism of the Catholic
Church, no. 914).
The early Christian hermits seeking a more rigorous life of prayer and fasting
followed the Nazirite’s example of a “consecrated life”—especially as their
monastic ideal centered on the example of John the Baptist, who prepared the
way of the Lord in the wilderness. The Baptist was indeed a Nazirite, but his
way of life also included austerities that were not essential to the Nazirite life.
For example, he was celibate. He was voluntarily poor. He wore distinctive
clothing. He drank no alcohol and fasted. He stood out as a sign of contradiction
and as a witness to God’s holiness.
The fathers of the early monastic movement also looked to Saint Paul as
one of the original Christians monastics. After Paul received his vision on the
road to Damascus, he spent three years in the deserts of Arabia (Gal 1:17-18).
Paul also consecrated himself as a Nazirite at least twice (Acts 18:18; 21:23-26).
The Christian monks took the consecrated life of a Nazirite to a higher
level of commitment. The role of wine in the Eucharist made it impossible to
perpetually avoid the fruit of the vine (though the Catholic could rightly argue
that what is received in the chalice is no longer wine but the true substance of
Christ’s precious blood). Instead, personal consecration was associated with a
life of penance and celibacy. Both John the Baptist and Paul were celibate and
both wandered the countryside in poverty. Following John and Paul, Christian
monks and nuns began to forsake the good estate of marriage for the sake of the
Kingdom of Heaven. They found their inspiration for a life of celibacy and
poverty in the words of Christ from Matthew’s Gospel:
For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs
who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have
made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is
 able to receive this, let him receive it (Mt 19:12).

If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and
you will have treasure in heaven. And come, follow me (Mt 19:21).

The monastic traditions of Saint Benedict, Saint Basil, Saint Francis, and Saint
Dominic strive to follow these difficult exhortations of Jesus Christ our Lord.
The Carmelite order also looks back to the Old Testament figure of Elijah who
lived a solitary life on Mount Carmel in the Holy Land. His life of penance and
prophetic ministry inspired the Catholic monks who gathered on Mount Carmel
in the late twelfth century.
 Liturgy of the Hours and Jewish Prayer
The early Christian monks and nuns based their daily cycle of prayer on a Jewish
custom that they found in the Hebrew Scriptures: Daniel got down upon his
knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God (Dan 6:10).

Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, and he
will hear my voice (Ps 55:17).
Seven times a day I praise thee for thy righteous ordinances (Ps 119:164).

The first two passages above describe a three-fold pattern of daily prayer. The
third passage indicates a sevenfold cycle of daily prayer. The custom of
punctuating the day with prayer likely derived from the Jewish awareness that
the priests in Jerusalem offered a morning and an evening sacrifice. Pious Jews
would join their prayers to these two daily offerings, whether or not they were
present in Jerusalem (1 Chr 16:40, 2 Chr 2:4). Since the early Church was
mostly Jewish, it also embraced this pattern of daily prayer. It seems that
dedicated Jews followed the most rigorous pattern of prayer—the sevenfold
round of daily prayer described in Psalm 119:163: “Seven times a day I praise
thee.” This sevenfold pattern was built on three-hour intervals:
1. first hour (6:00 am)
2. third hour (9:00 am—linked to the morning sacrifice in Jerusalem)
3. sixth hour (12:00 pm)
4. ninth hour (3:00 pm)
5. twelfth hour (6:00 pm or sunset—linked to the evening sacrifice in
Jerusalem)
6. fifteenth hour (9:00 pm)
7. midnight (12:00 am)

We learn from the New Testament that the twelve Apostles also observed this
sevenfold Jewish pattern of prayer: Now Peter and John were going up to the
temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour (Acts 3:1).
Peter went up on the housetop to pray, about the sixth hour (Acts 10:9).

And Cornelius said, “Four days ago, about this hour, I was keeping the
ninth hour of prayer in my house (Acts 10:30).
This meticulous pattern of prayer was not always kept by the lay faithful of the
Church, but it was kept alive within monastic communities. Saint Benedict, the
father of Western monasticism, cited the Old Covenant model of sevenfold
prayer as the basis for the liturgical life of his monks: “Seven times in the day,”
says the Prophet, “I have rendered praise to thee” (Ps. 119:164). Now that sacred
number of seven will be fulfilled by us if we perform the Offices of our service
at the time of the Matins, of Prime, of Terce, of Sext, of None, of Vespers and of
Compline, since it was of these day Hours that he said, “Seven times in the day I
have rendered praise to thee.”[51]
The Benedictine model endorsed the Jewish tradition of prayer and set the
pattern for the Divine Office or Liturgy of the Hours that every Catholic priest
and monastic recites daily. Saint Benedict retained the Jewish intervals of
prayer, but the times of prayer received Latin names corresponding to the
pertinent hour of the day with an eighth time of prayer added in the early
morning:
1. Lauds & Prime – sunrise (6:00 am)
2. Terce – third hour (9:00 am)
3. Sext – sixth hour (12:00 pm)
4. None – ninth hour (3:00 pm)
5. Vespers – twelfth hour (6:00 pm)
6. Compline – fifteenth hour (9:00 pm)
7. Matins – midnight (12:00 am)[52]

Since the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, many lay Catholics have
begun to observe the ancient Jewish custom of daily prayer, if not seven times a
day, at least a few times a day by reciting the prayers arranged on the sevenfold
pattern in the Liturgy of the Hours. These Catholics have the Jewish tradition to
thank for our rich cycle of daily prayer.
 Was Jesus a Nazirite?
We might expect to learn that Jesus was a Nazirite. He may have been a
temporary Nazirite. The Nazirite vow ended with a tevilah washing. Perhaps
Christ’s baptism by His Nazirite cousin John the Baptist was the completion of a
Nazirite vow—Jesus says that the washing was necessary “to fulfill all
righteousness” (Mt 3:15). However, we know from the Gospels that Jesus did
not live as a Nazirite during his public ministry. We recall how Jesus not only
drank wine (Mt 11:19), but also how He even turned water into wine (Jn 2:1-10).
Jesus also touched the dead numerous times, only to bring them back to life.
Nevertheless, it seems that Jesus did in fact take on the identity of a
Nazirite at the Last Supper when he said: “I shall not drink again of this fruit of
the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”
(Mt 26:29). In a Jewish context, a vow against drinking “the fruit of the vine”
would invoke the concept of a Nazirite—one consecrated to God. The suffering
of Christ and His ascetic resolve to offer Himself as the Lamb of God that takes
away the sins of the world demonstrates that He is the ultimate “consecrated”
Israelite—the definitive Nazirite.
If the Nazirite vow signified one thing, it demonstrated that death must be
avoided because it is unclean. In light of this, Christ is the perfect Nazirite
because “death could not hold Him” (Acts 2:24). Jesus is the only human whom
death could not pollute. As Saint Paul wrote about Jesus’ resurrection: “Death is
swallowed up in victory” (1 Cor 15:54). All those who seek to conform their
lives to Christ, especially monastics who seek to follow the evangelical counsels
of poverty, chastity, and obedience, fulfill the spirit of the Jewish Nazirites who
also sought to consecrate themselves to God.


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JEWISH MARRIAGE - CATHOLIC MARRIAGE
 10. JEWISH MARRIAGE, CATHOLIC MARRIAGE

My soul takes pleasure in three things, and they are beautiful in the sight of the
Lord and of men:
agreement between brothers,

friendship between neighbors,

and a wife and a husband who live in harmony.

- Joshua Ben Sirach
Ecclesiasticus 25:1


ONE OF MY FAVORITE scenes in the Fiddler on the Roof is the festive depiction of
the marriage between Motel and his bride Tzeitel. The bride and groom are
dressed to the nines and surrounded by the entire community. They stand before
the rabbi, recite their vows under the canopy and finally the groom smashes a
glass under his foot to the cheers of “Mazal Tov!” Music and dancing follow
with men whirling about with wine bottles on their heads. Unfortunately, their
laughing turns to tears as the Russian Gentiles literally destroy their festival of
joy.
The scene reflects the Jewish conviction that marriage is the ideal state of
human life. Matrimony is the basic unit of communal life and the context
through which God creates new men and women. “So God created man in his
own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created
them” (Gen 1:27). There are very few examples of Old Covenant figures that
remained celibate, because childrearing is the means by which God promised to
bring about redemption in the Old Testament. God established His covenant with
Abraham and revealed that it would be fulfilled through the multiplication of his
descendents:
 I will indeed bless you, and I will multiply your descendants as the stars of
heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore (Gen 22:17).

For a Hebrew not to marry and have children was, in a sense, a violation of the
covenant. The covenantal sign that God gave to Abraham, that of circumcision,
was placed upon the male member of human generation. The Old Covenant
perceived procreation as the means of blessing. However, this need to breed led
to certain abuses. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had multiple wives and concubines.
In Jacob’s case, this model allowed him to have twelve sons—the sons whose
families would eventually become the twelve tribes of Israel. Contemporary
Judaism maintains institutional monogamy and Jewish tradition has always held
that monogamy was the original intention of God for mankind.
Polygamy is not the only Old Testament aberration from God’s intended
plan for marriage. Moses allowed the Israelites to divorce. A certificate of
divorce was issued to the wife and both spouses were free to remarry. This
practice was a concession to human sin and the lack of grace available through
the Law of Moses. As Christ taught: “For your hardness of heart Moses allowed
you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so” (Mt 19:8).
 First Step: Betrothal
Traditional Jewish marriage occurs in two stages: betrothal and the marriage
ceremony. Today, these two steps are combined in a single marriage ceremony.
However, in centuries past, the betrothal was an independent rite by which a
groom contracted a marriage with his bride. Catholic Christians might recall how
Joseph was “betrothed” to the Blessed Virgin Mary (Mt 1:18, Lk 1:27). Jewish
betrothal required a formal divorce in order to dissolve the union. Joseph
considered this course of action before he received revelation that Mary’s child
was of the Holy Spirit (Mt 1:19-20).
Jewish oral tradition describes three ways of contracting betrothal.

1. By a gift. A man presents a valuable gift to a woman (e.g. gold ring,
sum of money). If the woman accepts the gift in the presence of two
witness, the man and woman are betrothed.

2. By a legal written contract.

3. By sexual intercourse. This form of betrothal was strongly

discouraged by the rabbis and was intended only for levirate marriages
(that is, those sexual unions stipulated by Moses obliging a brother to
marry the childless widow of his deceased brother (Deut 25:5-10; Mt
22:24). This union is known as a yibbum, and it can be dissolved by a
provision known as chalitza.[53]

Contemporary Jews contract betrothal with a ring—an engagement ring to be

exact. In times past, marriages were arranged through a shadchan
(“matchmaker”) who received a brokerage fee for her efforts either from one or
both of the families involved in the match.
 Second Step: The Marriage Proper
Today, the betrothal ceremony is included within the marriage ceremony. As the
groom gives the ring to his bride, he recites the following:

You are consecrated to me, through this ring, according to the religion of
Moses and Israel.
By accepting the ring on her finger and closing her hand, she silently signifies
her acceptance of the proposal. Next, the rabbi reads aloud the marriage
covenant known as the ketuba that delineates the groom’s obligations to his
bride. The rabbi then pronounces seven marriage blessings that formalize the
union.
The actual marriage ceremony of nissuin occurs under the familiar canopy
called a chuppah. This canopy symbolizes that the man and woman are
establishing a house. This “house” is not an edifice, but their union of persons
and the children that shall be born to them. The house represents their future
family. The canopy is sometimes an outstretched prayer shawl. Orthodox
Judaism stipulates that the open sky should be above the canopy without
obstruction. In fact, synagogues sometimes have openings in the ceiling in order
to meet this requirement. The canopy (chuppah) also symbolizes the presence of
God over the marriage, just as the yarmulke (kippah) on the head of a Jewish
male is a sign of respect for God’s presence.
Finally, the bride and groom drink wine from a glass. The groom then
steps on the glass and breaks it (usually after it has been wrapped in a napkin). A
folk tradition states that the number of broken pieces foretell the number of years
the marriage will last. According to one Jewish tradition, the custom began at the
wedding of Rav Ashi’s son.[54] The wedding reception got out of hand and so
Rav Ashi broke a crystal glass. The Talmud explains that this gesture signified
that weddings should be celebrated with decorum. Others say that the broken
glass represents the Jewish community’s sorrow over the destruction of the
Temple. The implication is that no celebration is complete without the Temple.
Some say that the broken glass symbolizes that marriage vows are an irrevocable
act. Still others say that the broken glass reminds us of the frailty of a marriage.
[55] Perhaps, the sign includes all these meanings.
After the glass is broken, everyone shouts: “Mazal Tov!” literally meaning
“Good Luck!” or “Congratulations.” The bride and groom are then taken to a
private chamber and locked alone for a brief period. This may hearken back to a
custom in antiquity where the union was immediately consummated. Today this
time is not used to consummate the marriage, but it does symbolize that God has
consecrated the man and woman as husband and wife. According to Jewish
custom, an unmarried man and an unmarried woman are not allowed to be alone
together in an inaccessible room. This time of togetherness and isolation
symbolizes to the community that the man and woman are truly married.
It is worth noting that the customs of the ring, canopy, and outdoor
wedding are not laid out in Sacred Scripture. They are based on Jewish tradition.
The veiling of the bride does however seem to derive from the passage of
Scripture where Rebecca veils herself before being married to Isaac (Genesis
24:65).
The Catholic Church believes that Christ the Lord raised marriage between the
baptized to the dignity of a sacrament.

Sacred Scripture begins with the creation of man and woman in the image
and likeness of God and concludes with a vision of “the wedding-feast of
the Lamb.” Scripture speaks throughout of marriage and its “mystery,” its
institution and the meaning God has given it, its origin and its end, its
various realizations throughout the history of salvation, the difficulties
arising from sin and its renewal “in the Lord” in the New Covenant of
Christ and the Church (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1602).

The Church also teaches that marriage “is to be numbered among the sacraments
of the new law.”[56] As in the Jewish understanding, marriage is a covenant. A
covenant is not a legal contract but an exchange of persons. As a sacrament, it is
therefore indissoluble. “What God has joined together let no man put asunder”
(Mk 10:9). A covenant establishes a family relationship that mirrors the eternal
life of the Holy Trinity.
The clearest difference between marriage in the Old Testament and
marriage in the New Covenant is the strict prohibition against divorce and
polygamy:
Moral conscience concerning the unity and indissolubility of marriage
developed under the pedagogy of the old law. In the Old Testament, the
polygamy of patriarchs and kings is not yet explicitly rejected.
Nevertheless, the law given to Moses aims at protecting the wife from
arbitrary domination by the husband, even though according to the Lord’s
 words it still carries traces of man’s “hardness of heart” which was the
reason Moses permitted men to divorce their wives (Catechism of the
Catholic Church, no. 1610).

The Catholic Church teaches what Jewish tradition has constantly affirmed:
divorce and polygamy are aberrations from God’s original plan for men and
women. The difference is that the Catholic Church has established the original
and ideal plan for marriage as an absolute and unalterable state.
 Sacramental Marriages
According to the Catholic Church, a sacramental marriage must meet the
following conditions:
1. Both the man and the woman must be baptized.

2. Both the man and woman must have intent to marry according to the norms
of the Church.
3. Marriage vows must be freely and validly exchanged.

4. The canonical form of marriage must be followed.[57]

A Catholic bishop can dispense with the canonical form of marriage. Moreover,
lack of canonical form is not considered an impediment for baptized Protestant
Christians who lack access to the proper canonical form of Catholic marriage. In
other words, Protestants can and do have valid sacramental marriages where the
other conditions are fully met.
 A Brief Word on Annulments
The Catholic Church teaches that a man and woman are not married by a priest
or by the Church but directly by God Himself. Valid Christian marriages receive
divine ratification. There is, therefore, no room for divorce in a Catholic
marriage. Yet, most people wrongly assume that an annulment is the Catholic
version of divorce.
An annulment is a declaration that a valid sacramental union between two
people never actually occurred. For example, if one party was compelled to
marry or was simply too young to give an informed consent, he or she did not
enter into a sacramental marriage. The tribunal of a bishop can study a marriage
and rule on whether the marriage union was sacramental or not. If not, then the
two parties are free to marry.
The Catholic Church is concerned with whether the marriage covenant on
the day of its celebration was a valid or invalid act. If it was not a valid act, then
the marriage is declared null and void. Neither party was ever married “in God’s
sight,” and so each is free to marry again according to the valid form. There is
much confusion on this topic. The bottom line is this: Catholic marriage is
indissoluble and annulments are not “Catholic divorces,” but declarations that a
sacramental marriage never actually existed.
As we have seen, the allowance for divorce by Moses was provisional as
Jesus explained:

He said to them, “For your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce
your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you:
whoever divorces his wife, except for porneia, and marries another,
commits adultery” (Mt 19:8-9).

Moses’ commandment that a bill of divorce be given to the woman assumes the
legitimacy of divorce during the Old Testament. Jesus revokes this arrangement
because the New Covenant provides the grace for indissoluble marriages. In
most New Testament passages, divorce is absolutely prohibited (Mk 10:11-12;
Lk 16:18; Rom 7:2-3; 1 Cor 7:10-11). The crux of Jesus’ teaching on divorce in
Matthew’s Gospel depends on His exception for porneia.
The Greek word porneia is sometimes translated as “unchastity” or
“adultery.” This is not quite correct since the Greek language has words for each
of these sins. Porneia refers to an unlawful sexual relationship. In a Jewish
context, this would refer to incest—a violation of the law prohibiting marriage
between relatives (cf. Lev 18:6-18). In lieu of this, we witness Saint Paul
condemning incestuous relations in the strongest terms (1 Cor 5:1).
Some Jewish rabbis allowed Gentile converts to Judaism to remain in
incestuous marriages. However, the Apostles at the Council of Jerusalem (A.D.
49) specifically condemned porneia in their deliberations and decrees (Acts
15:20, 29). The Jewish context of this apostolic prohibition of porneia reveals
that Jesus is not allowing divorce for a single case. Rather, Jesus is stating that
incestuous “marriages” should be dissolved since they are already unlawful on
account of porneia. In such case, the two parties must separate, a practice
confirmed by Saint Paul (1 Cor 5:1).
Those who are civilly divorced have two options. First, they may honestly
inquire into whether their previous marriages qualify as sacramental Catholic
marriages. If a previous marriage is in fact invalid, then the person may seek a
decree of annulment from the Church. Second, if the previous marriage was a
sacramental Catholic marriage, then the parties must refrain from the
sacraments, separate from their new reputed spouse, or “live as brother and
sister” since the current union is not a valid marriage (Catechism of the Catholic
Church, no. 1650). For those in this painful and difficult situation, the Church
offers the following words of comfort:

Toward Christians who live in this situation, and who often keep the faith
and desire to bring up their children in a Christian manner, priests and the
whole community must manifest an attentive solicitude, so that they do not
consider themselves separated from the Church, in whose life they can and
must participate as baptized persons.

They should be encouraged to listen to the Word of God, to attend the
Sacrifice of the Mass, to persevere in prayer, to contribute to works of
charity and to community efforts for justice, to bring up their children in
the Christian faith, to cultivate the spirit and practice of penance and thus
implore, day by day, God’s grace (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no.
1651).

Although these situations are difficult, the Catholic Church seeks to uphold the
original plan of God for mankind with the Jewish belief that matrimony is God’s
gift to humanity—it is the divinely appointed means for new human life. In fact,
God’s first commandment to Adam and Eve regarded the importance of
matrimony: “Be fruitful and multiply” (Gen 1: 28). The rabbis often interpreted
the marriage of Adam and Eve as having taken place on the seventh day of
creation—the sacred Sabbath day. The sanctity of special days and their
relationship to divine covenants is important for Jewish religion and it is a belief
shared with Catholic Christianity. This brings us to our next topic: holy days.


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JEWISH HOLY DAYS - CATHOLIC HOLY DAYS
 11. JEWISH HOLY DAYS, CATHOLIC HOLY DAYS

May it be Your will, LORD our God and God of our ancestors, that you renew
for us a good and sweet year.
- Prayer for the Eve of Rosh ha-Shanah THE BIBLE BEGINS WITH the creation of a
cosmic calendar. The creation account of Genesis establishes the cycle of the
Jewish calendar. The universe is ordered on a seven-day schedule, climaxing in
the seventh and last day. This day is the Shabbat or Sabbath day of rest. The
week therefore is the primary unit of measuring Jewish time. As mentioned in
the previous chapter, the Sabbath is like God’s wedding gift to Adam and Eve.
In addition to the weekly schedule, God commanded the Israelites to
observe sacred feasts that were calculated not by observing the orbit of the sun,
but by observing the pattern of the moon. In other words, the Israelites employed
a lunar calendar, lasting 354 days. This lunar calendar follows a nineteen-year
cycle so that seven years out of the nineteen, an extra thirteenth month is added
to ensure that months and holy days land in their appropriate seasons. If this
adjustment were not made, then Passover would move forward eleven days
every year.
Israel had two calendar cycles: a religious cycle and a civil cycle. The
religious calendar began with the month of Nisan, because God delivered Israel
from Egypt in the month of Nisan: “This month shall be to you the beginning of
months” (EX 12:2). However, the official Jewish New Year corresponded to the
first day of Tishri, the seventh month, because it was believed that God created
the universe on the first day of the month of Tishri.

Modern Hebrew Holy
Months Months Days
March-
Nisan 14th - Passover
April
April-May Iyar
May-June Sivan 6th - Pentecost
 June-July Tammuz
July-Aug Av
Aug-Sept Elul
1st - Rosh ha-
Shanah 10th - Yom
Sept-Oct Tishri
Kippur 15-22nd -
Tabernacles
Oct-Nov Kheshvan[58]
Nov-Dec Kislev 25th - Hanukkah
Dec-Jan Tevet
Jan-Feb Sevat
Feb-March Adar 14th - Purim
Leap Year
Second Adar
Month

Five of the seven Jewish feasts listed above find their origin in Moses (Lev 23).
Hanukkah and Purim were not instituted by Moses and came centuries later.
According to the Law of Moses, the spring had two feasts and the fall had three
feasts. Some Christians see the spring feasts as signifying the first coming of
Christ and the fall feasts as symbolizing the second coming of Christ. Jesus
fulfilled the Passover through His death and resurrection, and He fulfilled
Pentecost by sending the Holy Spirit. Christ’s second coming would then
correspond to the Jewish holy days of the fall season. The blasting of the final
trump recalls the trumpet blasts of Rosh ha-Shanah, the theme of Judgment
recalls Yom Kippur, and the final establishment of God’s presence with us
recalls the Feast of Tabernacles. Keeping this in mind, let us first examine the
spring festivals and then move to the fall festivals.
 Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread
Passover is the most well known feast of the Israelites. It occurs on the
fourteenth day of the month of Nisan, and it commemorates the evening on
which the angel of death killed the firstborn sons of Egypt, a miracle that
convinced the Pharaoh to release the Israelites from slavery. We examined the
details of the Passover and how they relate to the death of Christ and the Holy
Eucharist.
The date for the feast of Passover is noteworthy because the Catholic
Church’s calculation for the date of Easter derives from the Jewish calculation
for Passover. The formula for calculating the date of Easter is called the
computus. According to the Roman computus, Easter is the first Sunday, after
the fourteenth day of the lunar cycle beginning on or after March 21.
Got it? Don’t worry if the computus gives you a headache. One of the
earliest heresies began with a group of early Christians who argued, “If the
fourteenth day of the Jewish month of Nisan were good enough for Jesus, then
it’s good enough for us.” These Christians celebrated Easter on the fourteenth
day of the Jewish month of Nisan regardless of whether it fell on a Sunday.
These Christians were called the Quartodecimans (“the Fourteeners”). Moreover,
the Quartodecimans claimed that they learned their practice from the Apostle
John.
The Christians in Rome and Egypt objected to this practice and believed
that Easter should be celebrated only on a Sunday since Christ rose on a Sunday.
Hence, they celebrated Easter on the Sunday after the fourteenth of Nisan. This
all came to a head when Pope Victor I (ca. 189-199) excommunicated all the
Quartodecimans at the end of the second century. Saintly bishops and martyrs of
the Quartodeciman party who died before the excommunication were still
considered saints, but from that point onward, Quartodecimans were branded as
heretics—a peculiar heresy in the history of Christianity. The current computus
was standardized at the first ecumenical Council of Nicea in A.D. 325. The
Eastern Orthodox Church sometimes celebrates Easter on a different Sunday
because they insist on calculating the date using the old Julian Calendar and not
the current Gregorian Calendar used by the rest of the world.
The seven days after the Passover were the Festival of the Unleavened
Bread. The Israelites did not consume any leavened bread during this time to
remind them of their swift departure out of the bondage of Egypt. It was
believed that the Israelites fled Egypt so hastily that they did not have time to
allow their bread to rise. The leaven or yeast used to make bread rise became
associated with sin, so that Saint Paul would later say, “For Christ, our paschal
lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us, therefore, celebrate the festival, not with the
old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of
sincerity and truth” (1 Cor 5:7-8). For this reason, the Roman Catholic Church
uses only unleavened bread in the Holy Eucharist. This flat bread recalls the
Feast of the Unleavened Bread.
 Feast of Pentecost
The feast of Shavuot (“Weeks”) occurred forty-nine days (seven weeks) after the
Feast of Passover. Since it was the fiftieth day after Passover, it acquired the
Greek name of Pentecost, meaning “fiftieth.” Pentecost marked the end of the
grain harvest and designated a time of prosperity and joy. Moses stipulated that
an offering of two loaves of bread be offered to God on this day as a sign of
gratitude (Lev 23:15-21).
Just as Passover symbolized the liberty of the Israelites from Egyptian
bondage, the Feast of Pentecost symbolized the presentation of the Law to Israel
through the prophet Moses. This is paralleled in the Catholic Church by the
Christian feast of Pentecost, which is exactly fifty days after Easter. This holy
day recalls how Christ poured out the Holy Spirit on the Apostles and the
Church (Acts 2). Just as the Law was given to Israel on the feast of Pentecost, so
the Spirit was given to the Church on the feast of Pentecost. For Catholics, the
Jewish harvest theme is an allegory of the harvest of souls gathered in by the
twelve Apostles of Christ.
 New Year’s Day
The phrase Rosh ha-Shanah literally means “head of the year” (Ezek 40:1). It
occurs in the autumn as a harvest festival—typically around October. Moses
refers to the day as Yom Terua (“The Day of the Blowing”), a reference to the
ceremonial blowing of the shofar (“ram’s horn”) for the thirty days preceding
the feast. The sound of the horn is supposed to rouse the soul out of its slumber
of sin. On the day of Rosh ha-Shanah, faithful Jews pray near running water as a
symbol of spiritual cleansing. To this is added the practice of tashlikh—a
ceremony of casting stones or bread into the water as a symbol of casting off sin.
It was derived from the scriptural words, “And God shall throw their sins into
the depths of the sea” (Mic 7:19).
Rosh ha-Shanah is the first of the Yamim Noraim (“Days of Awe”) that
conclude with the feast of Yom Kippur (“Day of Atonement”). The entire month
of Elul preceding Rosh ha-Shanah is a time of spiritual preparation and
repentance. These thirty days give way to the ten “Days of Awe” and culminate
in the “Day of Atonement.” Hence, the Jewish people experience forty days of
spiritual repentance before in the Day of the Atonement.
These forty days are a clear analogue to the Catholic practice of Lent—a
forty-day preparation for the “Day of Atonement” of Good Friday and the joy of
Easter Sunday. The rabbis believed that God judges the souls of men on Rosh
ha-Shanah. In mind of this, Rosh ha-Shanah is sometimes called the “Day of
Judgment.”
 Day of Atonement
Regarding the Day of Atonement, Moses commanded: “You shall afflict
yourselves” (Lev 23:27). Orthodox Jews obey this injunction by keeping a
twenty-five hour fast from all food, drink, and sexual relations. This is the only
fast day mandated by the Law of Moses. It begins one hour before sundown and
extends to sundown the following day. You might also see contemporary Jews
wearing canvas tennis shoes on this day since it seems presumptuous to ask God
for mercy when standing in the shoes made from a slaughtered animal.
The rabbis taught that the forty days of penance leading up to Yom Kippur
(“Day of Atonement”) corresponded to the forty days Moses lived on Mount
Sinai before descending with the replacement set of the Ten Commandants. The
original tablets of the Ten Commandment were broken when Moses descended
the mountain and saw the Israelites engaged in idolatry. The fact that God gave
Moses another copy of the tablets after forty days was a sign that Moses had
atoned for their sins.
Liturgically speaking, the Day of Atonement was the most solemn day of
the year. By the end of the day, the High Priest would have changed his
vestments five different times, immersed his body in the mikvah five times, and
washed his hands and feet ten times! He would have sacrificed seven
animals[59] and made three offerings of incense. He also entered the Holy of
Holies three times and pronounced the sacred covenantal name of God.
The author of the book of Hebrews explains that feast of Yom Kippur was
symbolic of Christ’s work of redemption as High Priest on the cross:
But into the second [i.e. Holy of Holies] only the high priest goes, and he
but once a year, and not without taking blood which he offers for himself
and for the errors of the people.
But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have
come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with
hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the Holy
Place, taking not the blood of goats and calves but his own blood, thus
securing an eternal redemption (Heb 9:7, 11-12).

When Christ died, the veil of the Temple covering the Holy of Holies was torn in
half. This signified that Christ had entered the heavenly Holy of Holies through
His sacrifice on the cross and had made atonement for all mankind.
Consequently, Good Friday was the definitive “day of atonement.”
 Feast of Tabernacles
The third feast of autumn was Sukkot (“Tabernacles”). The Hebrew word sukkot
is usually translated as “tabernacles” or “booths,” and refers to the small huts
that the Israelites lived in for the eight days of the festival. However, the Hebrew
word sukkah literally means “covering.” Sukkah can refer to a physical shelter
from the elements such as foliage, or a man-made hut (Gen 33:7; 1 Kings 20:12;
16; Job 27:18; Jon 4:5). However, the Hebrew word can also refer to exalted
coverings: the clouds in the sky, or even the shekinah glory cloud of God’s
presence over the Temple (2 Sam 22:12; Job 36:29; Ps 18:11; Is 4:5-6).
The tabernacles recalled Israel’s forty years of wandering in the deserts of
Sinai. The feast of Tabernacles was also one of the three pilgrim festivals that
obligated all adult males to journey to Jerusalem. The festival climaxed in an
eighth day of rest, feasting, and solemn assembly.
It is worth noting that the Hebrew Scriptures never describe the Israelites
as living in huts made of foliage while in the wilderness. Rather they lived in
tents. The feast of Tabernacles likely commemorates the inauguration of God’s
presence with the people of Israel after the Exodus. After they passed through
the Red Sea, the Israelites dwelled “in Sukkot” (Ex 12:37-13:20). When they left
Sukkot, the glory cloud of God’s presence went before them.

And they moved on from Succoth, and encamped at Etham, on the edge of
the wilderness. And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of
cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give
them light, that they might travel by day and by night; the pillar of cloud
by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people
(Ex 13:20-22).
Perhaps the people dwelled in foliage huts at Sukkot, but the most important
event that occurred at the physical location of Sukkot or Succoth was that God
took up his dwelling in a sukkah of cloud. Jews responded to the enduring
presence of God in their midst by making “coverings” in which they could dwell
for eight days.
The feast of Tabernacles is also believed to be the festival of the Gentiles.
According to the prophet Zechariah, the Messiah would transform the holy day
of Tabernacles into a universal festival for all the nations of the earth.
 Then every one that survives of all the nations that have come against
Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of
hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. And if any of the families of the
earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts,
there will be no rain upon them (Zech 14:16-17).

King Solomon chose the festival of Tabernacles as the occasion for the
dedication of the completed Temple. Liturgically, it was associated with the
Temple, light, rain, and living waters, because it recalled the presence of God in
the glory cloud.

And there shall be continuous day, as the LORD knows it. There shall not
be day and night, for at evening time there shall be light. Living waters
shall flow out of Jerusalem on that day (Zech 14:7-8).

The glory cloud rested over the Tabernacle (the place of God’s presence) and, its
identification as a cloud associates it with rain. Not incidentally, then, Christ
chose the Feast of Tabernacles to deliver his famous “living waters” sermon:

Now the Jewish feast of Tabernacles was at hand. Jesus stood up in the
middle of the feast and went up into the Temple and taught. On the last
day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and proclaimed:

“If any one thirst, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as
the scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.”

Now this he said about the Spirit, which those who believed in him were to
receive. Now the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus was not yet
glorified (Jn 7:2, 4, 37-39).
Thus, Christ deepened the meaning of the feast of Tabernacles. The true Temple
or Tabernacle is not the stone shrine standing in Jerusalem but His own body.
The living waters actually referred to the coming of the Holy Spirit—the living
water that would flow from Christ and be applied through the Christian
sacrament of Baptism.
Christ also seems to have mapped the symbolism of Tabernacles over the
last week of His passion. Moses commands that on the feast of Tabernacles,
“you shall take for yourself on the first day the fruit of goodly trees, branches of
palm trees, and boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook” (Lev 23:40).
The events of Palm Sunday and the account of Christ cursing the fig tree for its
inability to bear fruit seem to point to the ceremonies involving fruit and palms
on the feast of Tabernacles. The eight days of Holy Week ended with the
resurrection of Christ’s body—a kind of dedication of the true Temple. “Jesus
answered them, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’ But he
spoke of the temple of his body” (Jn 2:19, 21).
Palm Sunday is also related to the feast of Tabernacles in that the feast of
Tabernacles was associated with the words of Psalm 118:25-26:

Save us, we beseech thee, O LORD!

O LORD, we beseech thee, give us success!

Blessed be he who comes in the name of the LORD!

You may remember that Christ came into Jerusalem with shouts of Hosanna
meaning “Save us” and “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord” (Jn
12:13). The eight days from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday intentionally mirror
the eight-day festival of Tabernacles.
 Two Additional Holy Days – Purim and Hanukkah
Purim (Hebrew for “Lots”) is a festival kept by Jews, but one not instituted by
Moses. It is observed on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar. In leap years,
Purim is celebrated in the second Adar. It commemorates the deliverance of the
Jews through the intervention of a Jewish princess named Esther, as recounted in
the biblical book by the same name. On this day, Orthodox Jews attend
synagogue where the book of Esther is read. They send food gifts to friends, give
alms to the poor, and celebrate with a festive meal. Jewish children often dress
up in costumes that resemble the characters from the story of Esther. There is no
Catholic equivalent of the Feast of Purim. The closest approximation would be
the feasts of the Blessed Virgin Mary, where a woman is recognized for her
great role in the salvation of mankind.
Christians are familiar with the eight-day festival of Hanukkah because of
its proximity to Christmas. It is commemorated on the twenty-fifth day of Kislev,
and falls sometime in late November or December. Hanukkah, like the feast of
Purim, was instituted after Moses’ time. It is the most recent festival, dating to
the second century before Christ. The story of the first Hanukkah is quite
interesting.
In 167 B.C., the Syro-Greek king Antiochus IV Epiphanes began to
persecute the Jewish people. Antiochus IV forbade circumcision, burned Jewish
Scriptures, forced Jews to eat unclean swine’s flesh, and desecrated the Temple
in Jerusalem by commanding an un-kosher sacrifice of swine on the Temple’s
altar.
Horrified by the sacrilege of Antiochus IV, an elderly priest Mattathias and
his son Judah Maccabaeus (“the Hammer”) formed a militia and waged a war of
guerilla tactics against the occupying Greek forces: “Every man who has zeal for
the Law and maintains the Covenant, let him follow me!” (1 Macc 2:27). The
revolution succeeded and the Temple was rededicated in 164 B.C. on the twenty-
fifth day of Kislev. The festival commemorating the event is called Hanukkah,
meaning “Dedication.”
The feast of Hanukkah lasts eight days because Judas Maccabaeus wanted
to imitate King Solomon. After all, Solomon had dedicated the original temple
during the eight-day feast of Tabernacles. However, the feast of Tabernacles
falls in the month of Tishri, not Kislev. Instead of waiting another ten months,
Judas Maccabaeus decreed that a new eight-day festival be created in imitation
of the festival of Tabernacles, beginning on the twenty-fifth day of the Jewish
month of Kislev. The book of 2 Maccabees records that Judas Maccabaeus
instituted the eight-day festival because, “Solomon also kept the eight days,”
when the original Temple was dedicated (2 Macc 2:12).
The Jewish Talmud offers another tradition to explain the eight days of
Hanukkah. When the Jews recaptured Jerusalem from the tyrannous Greeks, the
Jewish priests did not have enough oil to keep the Temple’s menorah lit. There
was only enough sacred oil to burn for one day and it would take at least a week
to mix a fresh supply of holy oil. Yet, the one-day supply of holy oil lasted for
eight days by a divine miracle. For this reason, faithful Jews light the menorah
during the eight days of the festival.
Many Christians are unaware of these connections. As a result, they miss
the important “Hanukkah message” of Christ in John’s Gospel. The presence of
Christ at the Temple during Hanukkah is important because Hanukkah recalled
how the Maccabees dedicated the Temple after the Greeks had defiled it.
However, the presence of God’s glory did not manifest itself at that time and fill
the Temple as it did in the days of King Solomon. Since the time of the
Maccabees, God had not inhabited the Temple as He had before the Jews’
Babylonian exile. The presence of Christ in the Temple at Hanukkah shows that
God’s presence had once again entered to the Temple.

It was the feast of the Dedication [i.e. Hanukkah] at Jerusalem. It was

winter and Jesus was walking in the Temple, in the portico of Solomon. So
the Jews gathered round him and said to him, “How long will you keep us
in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us openly” (Jn 10:22-24).
It was during Hanukkah that Christ answered them by boldly proclaiming: “I and
the Father are one” (Jn 10: 30). Christ entered into the Temple on the feast of
Hanukkah and presented himself as the God of Israel. His enemies immediately
understood His claim in light of Hanukkah’s significance. We know this because
they took up stones to stone him and said “we stone you for blasphemy, because
you, being a man, make yourself to be God” (Jn 10:31-33). Hence, the festival of
Hanukkah serves as a sign of Christ’s fulfillment of the Temple and the entire
Old Covenant. Jesus was not only a gifted rabbi from Nazareth—He is the God
of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. As it turns out, Jesus’ relationship with Abraham,
Isaac, Jacob, and all the righteous of the Old Testament sheds light on why
Catholic Christians honor and revere the saints.


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JEWISH TZADDIKIM - CATHOLIC SAINTS
 12. JEWISH TZADDIKIM, CATHOLIC SAINTS

I know, I know. We are Your chosen people. But, once in a while, can’t You
choose someone else?
- Joseph Stein‘s Fiddler on the Roof ACCORDING TO AN ANCIENT Jewish tradition,
the universe is sustained by the presence of at least thirty-six tzaddikim or
“righteous ones” in every generation.[60] However, no one knows the identity of
these tzaddikim. They are humble souls who quietly pray and perform good
deeds for the benefit of the world. It is believed that God does not judge the
world on account of these saintly souls. For this reason, you may hear a Jewish
person compliment someone else by saying, “You’re such a tzaddik.” This
corresponds to the Catholic phrase, “Oh, he’s a real saint.”
The idea that God preserves a society on the account of the righteous ones
present within it finds its origin in the Hebrew Scriptures. We read about how
Abraham bartered with God over the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah not wanting
God to destroy the cities because of the righteous inhabitants who might live
there.

Then Abraham said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again
but this once. Suppose ten are found there.” God answered, “For the sake
of ten I will not destroy it” (Gen 18:32-33).

The Catholic Church also teaches that there have been exceptionally holy souls
in every age who have prayed and suffered for the wellbeing of the world. They
may have been public figures or hidden servants, but the Church holds them up
as examples for the faithful to imitate. These are the “canonized” saints of the
Catholic Church. The Greek word canon means “measuring rod.” These
exemplar Christians have been measured and found exceptional, because their
cooperation with grace brings glory to God and fulfills the petition of the Our
Father—hallowed be thy name.
The practice of hallowing or sanctifying the name of God is called in
Hebrew: kiddush ha-Shem or “sanctifying the Name.” Jews and Catholics are
united in their belief that actions speak louder than words. “Little children, let us
not love in word or speech but in deed and in truth” (1 Jn 3:18). We are not holy
because of our words but because of the lives we live. Similarly, Jews and
Christians believe that the ultimate act of fidelity is the act of martyrdom—
facing death for the love of God.
 The Maccabean Martyrs
The seventh chapter of the Second Book of Maccabees (a book belonging to the
Catholic Bible, but not among the Hebrew collection of Scriptures) tells the
story of seven faithful Jewish brothers who maintained their fidelity to the Law
of God in the face of persecution during the tyranny of Antiochus IV in the
second century B.C. The New Testament book of Hebrews commends these
martyrs as exemplars of living faith (Heb 11:35). The horrific murder of these
Maccabean martyrs was so terrible and gruesome that we derived an English
word from it—macabre.[61]
These seven Jewish brothers and their mother were arrested and ordered to
eat the un-kosher flesh of a pig. One of the brothers spoke up and bravely
pronounced, “What do you intend to ask and learn from us? For we are ready to
die rather than transgress the laws of our fathers.”
The king became frenzied with rage against the man on account of his
defiant words. So the king ordered that large iron pans and caldrons be
heated to red-hot temperatures. The king then ordered that the man’s
tongue be cut out, his scalp removed, and his hands and feet be amputated
in the presence of his six brothers and mother. The body parts were then
fried in the oversized pan. Next, the king had the brother cast into the pan.
As the Jewish brother burned, the mother and brothers encouraged one
another by saying, “The Lord God is watching over us and in truth has
compassion on us, as Moses declared in his song which bore witness
against the people to their faces, when he said, ‘And he will have
compassion on his servants.’”

After the first brother had died in this way, they brought forward the
second for their sport. They tore off the skin of his head with the hair, and
asked him, “Will you eat rather than have your body punished limb by
limb?”
He replied in the Hebrew language, “No.” Therefore he in turn underwent
tortures as the first brother had done. And when he was at his last breath,
he said, “You accursed wretch, you dismiss us from this present life, but
the King of the universe will raise us up to an everlasting renewal of life,
because we have died for his laws.”
The Greeks continued to slaughter the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth brothers of
this Jewish family in a most disgraceful way. Next, the Scriptural account turns
its attention to their valiant mother who stood by watching.

The mother was especially admirable and worthy of honorable memory.

Though she watched seven of her sons perish within a single day, she bore
it with good courage because of her hope in the Lord. She encouraged each
of them in the Hebrew language of their fathers. Filled with a noble spirit,
she fired her woman’s reasoning with a man’s courage, and called out to
them:

“I do not know how you came into being in my womb. It was not I who
gave you life and breath, nor I who set in order the elements within each of
you. Therefore the Creator of the world, who shaped the beginning of man
and devised the origin of all things, will in His mercy give life and breath
back to you again, since you now forget yourselves for the sake of His
laws.”

Antiochus IV felt that he was being treated with contempt, and he was
suspicious of her reproachful tone. The youngest brother being still alive,
Antiochus not only appealed to him in words, but also promised with oaths
that he would make him rich and enviable if he would turn from the ways
of his fathers, and that he would take him for his friend and entrust him
with public affairs.

Since the young man would not listen to him at all, the king called the
mother to him and urged her to advise the youth to save himself. After
much urging on his part, she undertook to persuade her son. But, leaning
close to him, she spoke in their native tongue as follows, deriding the cruel
tyrant:
“My son, have pity on me. I carried you nine months in my womb, and
nursed you for three years, and have reared you and brought you up to this
point in your life, and have taken care of you. I beg you, my child, to look
at the heaven and the earth and see everything that is in them, and
recognize that God did not make them out of things that existed. Thus, also
mankind comes into being. Do not fear this butcher, but prove worthy of
your brothers. Accept death, so that in God’s mercy I may get you back
again with your brothers.”
 While she was still speaking, the young man said, “What are you waiting
for? I will not obey the king’s command, but I obey the command of the
law that was given to our fathers through Moses. But you, who have
contrived all sorts of evil against the Hebrews, will certainly not escape the
hands of God. For we are suffering because of our own sins. And if our
living Lord is angry for a little while, to rebuke and discipline us, he will
again be reconciled with his own servants. But you, unholy wretch, you
most defiled of all men, do not be elated in vain and puffed up by
uncertain hopes, when you raise your hand against the children of heaven.
You have not yet escaped the judgment of the almighty, all-seeing God.
For our brothers after enduring a brief suffering have drunk of ever
flowing life under God’s covenant; but you, by the judgment of God, will
receive just punishment for your arrogance. I, like my brothers, give up
body and life for the laws of our fathers, appealing to God to show mercy
soon to our nation and by afflictions and plagues to make you confess that
He alone is God, and through me and my brothers to bring to an end the
wrath of the Almighty which has justly fallen on our whole nation.”

The king fell into a rage, and handled him worse than the others, being
exasperated at his scorn. Last of all, the mother died, after her sons (2 Mac
7:1-41).

A Catholic Church in Rome was once dedicated to these holy Jewish martyrs. It
is known today as San Pietro in Vincoli or “Saint Peter in Chains” because it
houses the chains used by the pagan Roman authorities to arrest Saint Peter.
However, in 1876 an archeologist found beneath the church what were once
believed to be the tombs of the seven martyred brothers of the Maccabean story.
This is providential since this Roman church is now known throughout the world
for its famous statue of Michelangelo’s Moses as the great giver of the Law. In
this Catholic church, one can see the connection between the Law of Moses and
those martyrs who died on account of that sacred Law. Even more, their memory
is joined with the imprisonment and eventual martyrdom of the Church’s first
Pope—Saint Peter.
 Heavenly Intercession of the Saints
The Catholic Church teaches that saints and martyrs are able to intercede for
those still on earth. Catholics often ask the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Apostles,
the Martyrs, and all the saints to intercede with Christ for our benefit. Most
Jews, on the other hand, do not directly invoke departed souls because Judaism
does not have a universal belief about the afterlife. However, Jews do believe
that angels and departed tzaddikim (righteous ones) do in fact intercede for the
faithful on earth.
Jews believe that the Archangel Michael protects and prays for the people
of Israel (Dan 10:21, 12:1). Jewish literature also depicts angels as carrying
Jewish prayers to God (Tob 12:15) and the New Testament confirms this
intercessory role of angels (Rev 8:2). In the second century before Christ, the
deceased High Priest Onias was seen praying for “the whole body of the Jews
with outstretched hands” (2 Mac 12:15). The deceased prophet Jeremiah also
prayed for Jerusalem and strengthened Judas Maccabaeus for battle (2 Mac
15:14-16).
Jews also believe that the matriarch Rachel (the wife of Jacob/Israel) is a
vigilant mother who protects and prays for the children of Israel: “Rachel is
weeping for her children. She refuses to be comforted for her children, because
they are no more” (Jer 31:15). For centuries, Jews have made pilgrimages to the
Tomb of Rachel, considered the third holiest shrine of Judaism. Faithful Jews
have come from all over the world, praying for everything from world peace to a
suitable spouse. Barren women in particular come to this shrine to pray, knowing
that God will answer prayers through the intercession of Mother Rachel, who
herself had been barren for many years. In this way, Mother Rachel’s role is
similar to that of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Catholicism.
 A Hero of the Holocaust—Saint Maximilian Kolbe
Speaking of love for the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Maximilian Kolbe was a
saint who was fully devoted to Jesus and Mary. While imprisoned in the Nazi
concentration camp of Auschwitz, Father Kolbe volunteered to die in solidarity
with those who suffered, both Jews and Gentiles. For Christians and Jews, he is
a hero who brought light to the dark days of the holocaust.
Maximilian was a Polish Franciscan priest ordained on April 28th 1918.
The following day he celebrated his first Mass in Rome in the Basilica of St
Andrea delle Fratte at the “Altar of the Miracle.” This location for his first Mass
was providential since the Blessed Virgin Mary had appeared in this chapel to
the Jewish atheist Alphonse Ratisbonne on January 20th 1842. Ratisbonne
immediately became a believer, received baptism, and was subsequently
ordained as a Catholic priest.[62] Thus, Saint Maximilian’s martyrdom at
Auschwitz fittingly corresponded to his first Mass at the “Altar of the Miracle.”
As a knight of the Immaculate Mary, he was mystically related to the Jewish
people.
In 1919, he returned to the newly independent Poland, where he founded
the monastery of Niepokalanów near Warsaw, a seminary, and a radio station.
Between 1930 and 1936, he went on an evangelistic mission to Japan, where he
founded another monastery, another seminary, and a newspaper.
World War II was already underway when Father Kolbe returned to
Poland. At this time, Kolbe sheltered two thousand Jews in his monastery. He
also denounced the Nazi party through radio broadcasts. This led to his
imprisonment on February 17th 1941. Three months later, Kolbe was transferred
to Auschwitz as prisoner #16670.
While at Auschwitz, a man from Kolbe‘s cell disappeared. In response to
what appeared to be a successful escape, Nazi commander Karl Fritzsch chose
ten men from the same bunker to suffer death by dehydration and starvation in
order to deter further escape attempts. Incidentally, the alleged escapee was later
found drowned in the camp latrine.
Of the ten men chosen to starve to death was one Franciszek Gajowniczek,
who cried out: “My wife! My children! I will never see them again!” Deeply
moved by the man’s lament, Father Kolbe stepped forward and asked Fritzsch if
he might take the place of the despairing father.
Surprised, the Nazi commander asked, “What does this Polish pig want?”
 Father Kolbe pointed to the father and explained: “I am a Catholic priest. I
would like to take his place, because he has a wife and children.”
Father Kolbe‘s request was granted. After a lengthy period of dehydration
and starvation, only Kolbe and three other men remained alive. Kolbe acted as a
prison chaplain, leading these men in prayer and hymns. At last, Father Kolbe
and these three men died on August 14th 1941 when the Nazis injected them
with carbolic acid.
Saint Maximilian Kolbe is one of ten twentieth-century martyrs depicted
over the Great West Door of Westminster Abbey, London. Pope John Paul II
canonized Maximilian Kolbe on October 10th 1982 and called him a “martyr of
charity,” because he lived the Catholic Faith with sacrificial love for his
neighbor: Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his
friends (Jn 15:13).
 The Nun of Auschwitz—Saint Teresa Benedicta
Edith Stein was born on October 12th 1891 to an Orthodox Jewish family living
in Germany’s Prussian Province of Silesia. In 1916, she earned her doctorate of
philosophy for the dissertation she wrote under the famous phenomenological
philosopher Edmund Husserl, On The Problem of Empathy. Afterward, Edith
joined the philosophical faculty in Freiburg.
During the summer of 1921, at the age of twenty-nine, Edith noticed a
friend’s copy of the spiritual autobiography of Saint Teresa of Avila, a mystic of
the Carmelite Order. Edith was so enthralled that she read the book in one
sitting. The next morning she purchased a Roman Missal and a Catholic
catechism and set her philosophical mind to understanding the Catholic Faith.
Edith felt that God had called her to embrace Jesus as the Messiah. She received
the sacrament of baptism on January 1, 1922—appropriately enough on the Feast
of the Circumcision of Christ. Twelve years later in 1934 she entered the
Carmelite convent in Cologne, taking the religious name Teresa Benedicta of the
Cross.
While she lived in the convent in Cologne, Teresa Benedicta returned to
her academic studies. At this time, she composed a work about her own family
entitled The Life of a Jewish Family. “I simply want to report what I experienced
as part of Jewish humanity,” she wrote. “We who grew up in Judaism have a
duty to bear witness to the young generation who are brought up in racial hatred
from early childhood.”
As the Nazis gained power, Sister Teresa Benedicta’s religious superiors
feared that she might be in danger as an ethnic Jew. They promptly transferred
her to another Carmelite convent in the Netherlands. In 1942, the Nazis declared
that all ethnic Jews, even converts to Christianity, would be deported to
concentration camps. The Nazis arrested Edith Stein and her sister Rosa (also a
convert to Catholicism) while they were at prayer in the Carmelite chapel. From
this incident, we have Edith’s last recorded words: “Come, we are going for our
people.”
A cattle train carried Edith and her sister to the concentration camp of
Auschwitz. The conditions in the boxcars were so inhumane that many died or
went insane on the four-day journey. After arriving at Auschwitz, Edith died in
the gas chambers on August 9, 1942—almost one year after the death of
Maximilian Kolbe.
 Before Edith Stein was captured, she made the following comment about
the Nazi atrocities being inflicted against her Jewish brothers and sisters.

“I never knew that people could be like this, neither did I know that my
brothers and sisters would have to suffer like this. I pray for them every
hour. Will God hear my prayers? He will certainly hear them in their
distress.”

Father Jan Nota, a friend of Edith Stein, wrote: “She is a witness to God’s
presence in a world where God is absent.”
Pope John Paul II declared Edith Stein, or more properly Sister Teresa
Benedicta of the Cross, a Catholic saint in 1998. This action proved
controversial since the Pope also declared her a martyr of the Catholic Church.
After all, said some, a Catholic martyr is one who dies for the Catholic faith,
whereas Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross died for her Jewish ethnicity.
However, Teresa Benedicta of the Cross would not have made that distinction.
She believed that her identity with the Jewish victims of the holocaust was not in
opposition to her Catholic faith, but rooted in the shared heritage of the children
of Abraham. In the face of Nazi persecution, we might imagine the brave words
of the Maccabean martyrs in the mouth of Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross:

I, like my brothers, give up body and life for the laws of our fathers,
appealing to God to show mercy soon to our nation and by afflictions and
plagues to make you confess that He alone is God (2 Maccabees 7:37).


201
JEWISH AFTERLIFE - CATHOLIC AFTERLIFE
 13. JEWISH AFTERLIFE, CATHOLIC AFTERLIFE

All things are mortal but the Jew. All other forces pass, but he remains. What is
the secret of his immortality?
- Mark Twain


TRADITIONAL JUDAISM DOES NOT believe that death is the end of human existence.
Orthodox Jews continue to pray for the deceased, a sign that there is some sort of
life after death. An Orthodox Jew is free to believe that the souls of the righteous
dead go to a place similar to what Christians believe to be heaven, or that they
simply “sleep” until the coming of the Messiah, when they will be resurrected.
Some Orthodox Jews believe that the wicked are tormented and others believe
that they simply cease to exist. Judaism does not have a Pope or a recognized
body of rabbis so it is difficult to pin down the “official” beliefs of Judaism with
regard to the afterlife.
The Old Testament indicates in several places that the righteous will be
reunited with their loved ones after death, while the wicked will be excluded
from this reunion. The Torah, for instance, speaks of the people’s being
“gathered to their fathers.” The Bible speaks this way about the death of
Abraham (Gen 25:8), Ishmael (Gen 25:17), Isaac (Gen 35:29), Jacob (Gen
49:33), and Moses (Deut 32:50). Certain sins were punished by the sinner’s
being “cut off from his people” (Gen 17:14; Ex 31:14). This punishment is
called kareit (“cutting off”), and some rabbis have interpreted it to mean that the
soul loses its portion in the olam ha-ba (“world to come”).
 The Resurrection of the Body
Judaism is one of the few world religions to affirm that the created, physical
universe is good. Most of the eastern religions believe that creation is somehow
evil or illusionary and follow the Platonic image that the physical body is a
“prison for the soul.” These philosophies and religions attempt to solve the
problem of evil by saying that physical things are evil and that spiritual things
are good.
Judaism rejects this understanding of the universe. Instead, Judaism recalls
the opening lines of Genesis where God pronounced that creation was “good”
and that the creation of physical human beings was “very good.” God did not
give Adam an evil body so that he could spend the rest of his life trying to
escape it. Rather, God gave Adam a body because it was “good.” For this reason,
the Old Testament does not present an afterlife without also including the human
body. This is why Judaism developed a robust doctrine of the bodily
resurrection. Their thinking goes like this: “If God said that creation and our
bodies are good, then eternal life must somehow include these good elements.”
For this reason, the Messianic world-to-come (olam ha-ba) is understood
as a time of physical resurrection. The goal of salvation is not merely the soul’s
repose in heaven. Rather the goal of human salvation is the reintegration of the
human person in the image of God. This reintegration of the human person
includes the body and the soul and thus entails the resurrection of both the body
and the soul. Orthodox Jews acknowledge this truth when they recite the
traditional Shemoneh Esrei (“Eighteen Blessings”) prayer three times every day.
This prayer contains numerous references to the Tehiyyat ha-Metim
(“resurrection of the dead”).[63] Moreover, the famous medieval rabbi
Maimonides, in his commentary on the Mishnah, lists the Shloshah-Asar Ikkarim
or “Thirteen Articles of Faith.” The last three of these thirteen articles define the
traditional Jewish belief in the resurrection of the body and the afterlife:
11. The belief in divine reward and retribution.

12. The belief in the arrival of the Messiah and the messianic era.
13. The belief in the resurrection of the dead.

The Church received these doctrines from its Jewish heritage. Catholics
affirm these three doctrines about the afterlife every time they recite the
Apostles’ or Nicene Creed. “I believe in the resurrection of the body.” The
ultimate goal of the Catholic Christian is not simply to “die and go to heaven,”
but to be resurrected as Christ was resurrected in glory. “God raised the Lord
and will also raise us up by His power” (1 Cor 6:14). Catholic Christians
certainly do want to die and go to heaven, but that isn’t the end of the story. Our
final hope is the resurrection of the body at the end of time.
Contemporary Jews are often puzzled by the Christian claim that Jesus of
Nazareth was the Messiah. “How could he be the Messiah, if he did not
inaugurate the world to come and the resurrection of the dead?” This confusion
stems from the Christian doctrine that the Messiah should have two advents: the
First Coming and the Second Coming. Jesus as the Messiah died and rose again
at his First Coming to confirm that he would once again return at the Second
Coming for the general resurrection of all. Saint Paul explains the relationship
between the resurrection of Christ and the final resurrection at the end of time:
But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who
have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the
resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be
made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming
those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom
to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power (1
Cor 15:20-24).
Post-Pentecostal Jews reject Jesus as the Messiah because he did not inaugurate
the world to come. Christians, on the other hand, believe that Jesus did indeed
inaugurate the world to come by His own resurrection. The fullness of the world
to come has been delayed (if we can speak this way) so that the Gentiles of the
world might be saved. Saint Paul explains: “I want you to understand this
mystery, brethren: a hardening has come upon part of Israel, until the full
number of the Gentiles come in” (Rom 11:25). As discussed above, Saint
Thomas Aquinas, commenting on this verse in Romans, explains “that after the
fullness of the nations have entered, ‘all Israel will be saved’, not individually as
at present, but universally.”[64]
 Religion of Now or Later?
Some scholars of Judaism claim that belief in the afterlife is not an integral
teaching of historic Judaism. Indeed, this claim has become popular wherever
secular interpretations of Judaism have held sway. Yet, this secular version of
Judaism conforms neither to the Hebrew Scriptures nor the rabbinical tradition.
One early rabbi shortly after the time of Jesus taught: “This world is like a lobby
before the olam ha-ba. Prepare yourself in the lobby so that you may enter the
banquet hall.”[65] Clearly then, there is a life after this one. We’re merely
waiting in the lobby.
It is true that Judaism is not particularly a religion concerned with “how to
get to heaven.” Judaism is primarily concerned with living in the here and now.
Orthodox Jews obey the Law because it is their sacred vocation and privilege to
be chosen by God. That being said, Orthodox Jews do believe that there are
gradations of honor in the olam ha-ba. They also believe in praying for the dead.
While Orthodox Jews do not hold a formal doctrine of purgatory, they do believe
that they have a duty to pray for departed souls as they prepare to enter into the
world to come.
Judaism has various traditions as to whether the Gentiles will participate in
the olam ha-ba. However, it is generally recognized that non-Jews can
participate in the eternal blessings of God, so long as they were not cruel
idolaters here below. Talmudic statements that seem to condemn all Gentiles
universally are understandable, given that Gentiles have consistently persecuted
Jews. Nevertheless, by the time of Rabbi Maimonides (d. A.D. 1204), Judaism
recognized that the righteous members of any nation might also share in the
olam ha-ba.
 Heaven and Hell, Eden and Gehenna
Orthodox Jews sometimes speak of the Gan Eden (“Garden of Eden”) as the
place of spiritual reward. It seems that Gan Eden is not the historical location
described in the Bible. The term is used to evoke the beauty and peace that
mankind experienced before sin. The rabbis describe Eden with the most
beautiful imagery. The peace that one feels in Eden is sixty times deeper than the
peace one feels on the Sabbath. It is more pleasurable than sexual intercourse
and more pleasant than the warmth of the sun. A mortal man cannot begin to
understand the glories of Eden. It is like trying to explain the concept of color to
a blind man. Saint Paul uses similar language concerning the Christian
understanding of Heaven: “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of
man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Cor 2:9).
Only the truly righteous go straight to Gan Eden. All others go to the place
of spiritual torment called Gehinnom or Gehenna. This is a place of punishment,
but also a place of purification. It is sometimes called Sheol, meaning “the
grave” or “the pit.”
The word Gehinnom is the name of a geographic location, the Ge Hinnom
(“Valley of Hinnom”) located on the southern border of ancient Jerusalem. The
valley stretches eastward from Mount Zion to the Kidron Valley. The Bible first
mentions the location as a deep, narrow ravine at the foot of Jerusalem where
refuse was burned (Josh 15:8). Gehinnom was also where unburied bodies were
dumped. It was a cursed and unclean place. It is associated with hell because the
pagan Canaanites once practiced child sacrifice at this location. The prophet
Jeremiah refers to the location as the “Valley of Slaughter” (Jer 19:2-6).
Like Gan Eden, the cursed Gehinnom is not identical with its historical
geographical location. Gehinnom is a spiritual state. Some believe Gehinnom is a
place of eternal punishment, similar to the Christian hell of fire and brimstone.
Others see it as a place of purification, like the Catholic doctrine of purgatory. A
common view is that this “purgatorial” version of Gehinnom lasts no longer than
twelve months. After this one-year probationary period, the person ascends to
his proper place in olam ha-ba. The twelve-month purification derives from
rabbinical tradition and the liturgical prayers for the dead as found in the
Kaddish and the El male rachamim.
Jesus of Nazareth taught that Gehinnom was not a temporary place, but an
eternal state: And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out; it is better for you to
enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into
Gehenna, where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched (Mk 9:47-
48).
Gehenna is also found in the epistle of James, where he teaches that Gehenna
ignites the tongue with hurtful words (Jam 3:6).
Most Christians understand Gehenna (i.e. Hell) to be a place of eternal
punishment. On the other hand, annihilationists, such as Jehovah’s Witnesses,
understand Gehenna to be a place where sinners are destroyed (like garbage in a
burning dump), not tormented forever. The New Testament also refers to Hades
as a destination of the dead (Mt 11:23). However, Hades is portrayed differently
than Gehenna.
 The Harrowing of Hell and the Hope of Heaven
The Catholic Church has a very precise understanding of the afterlife as it relates
to the Old Testament patriarchs and the afterlife in the New Testament. The Old
Testaments believers like Abraham, Moses, Ruth, David, and Esther remained in
hell until the Messiah died on the cross and freed them from their sins.

By the expression ‘He descended into hell’, the Apostles’ Creed confesses
that Jesus did really die and through his death for us conquered death and
the devil ‘who has the power of death’ (Heb 2:14). In his human soul
united to his divine person, the dead Christ went down to the realm of the
dead. He opened heaven’s gates for the just who had gone before him
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, nos. 636-637).

The Latin word inferum corresponds to the Greek word hades and the Hebrew
word sheol. Each term indicates the grave or the place of the dead. The abode of
the dead is the “hell” into which Christ descended.

It is precisely these holy souls who awaited their Savior in Abraham‘s

bosom whom Christ the Lord delivered when he descended into hell
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 633).

Traditional Catholic teaching holds that Christ descended to “Abraham‘s

bosom” or the Limbus Patrum—the pleasant abode of the netherworld where the
Old Testament faithful waited for the coming of the Messiah. They could not yet
ascend to the heavens, because Christ had not yet died on the cross. Instead, the
Old Testament saints waited for the time of their release. Latin speaking
theologians referred to this “nice part of hell” as limbus or “limbo.” The Latin
word limbus means “border” or “edge.” Limbus or limbo was the “border of
hell,” and it was not a place of fiery torment. Christ also taught a distinction
between a nice part of hell and a bad part of hell in the Gospel of Luke: The poor
man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham‘s bosom. The rich man also
died and was buried; and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes, and
saw Abraham far off and Lazarus in his bosom.

And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy upon me, and send
Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue—for I am
in anguish in this flame.’
 But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that you in your lifetime received your
good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things, but now he is
comforted here, and you are in anguish’ (Lk 16:22-25).

Here Abraham‘s bosom and the fires of hell are close enough for Abraham and
Lazarus to communicate with the rich man in torment. It is a place of comfort
and cool water. Prior to the death of Christ, the righteous of the Old Testament
joined Abraham here to await their future redemption when they might see God
face to face.
The doctrine of the “Harrowing of Hell“ holds that Christ descended to
this place and preached the Gospel to those waiting redemption. “For this reason,
the gospel was preached even to the dead” (1 Pet 4:6). Christ freed the Old
Testament faithful and “he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men” (Eph
4:8) when He brought the Old Testament saints to heaven.
Saint Thomas Aquinas taught that Christ did not descend into the “hell of
the lost” and experience the punishment of damnation. According to Saint
Thomas Aquinas, Christ descended into hell only by the effect of his death,
through which “he put them to shame for their unbelief and wickedness.
However, to them who were detained in purgatory he gave the hope of attaining
to glory. While upon the holy fathers (e.g. Abraham and Moses) detained in hell
solely on account of original sin, he shed the light of glory everlasting.”[66]
 Catholic Heaven
This light that Aquinas wrote about, the light of glory everlasting, is a glimpse of
what defines the reality of heaven. After all, the Catholic Church understands
heaven primarily in terms of the beatific vision—the vision of God’s infinite
essence in the light of His glory. The human soul finds its fulfillment in God.
Moreover, at the Last Judgment of Christ, the holy soul will be mystically
reunited with its resurrected and glorious body. The human body is thus
conformed to the resurrected body of Christ—perfect, glorious, incorruptible,
and no longer subject to death, pain, or sin.
The Catholic Church teaches that each soul passes through an initial
judgment after physical death. Here the person is judged as to his eternal state.
Popular legend places Saint Peter at the “pearly gates” to greet the new arrivals.
This is not a dogmatic teaching but a quaint and pious tradition. At death, God
judges whether the soul shall enter straight into heaven, go to heaven after
purification in purgatory, or straight to hell. Once in heaven, the soul enjoys the
beatific vision of God, prays for those still on earth, and awaits the
consummation of Christ’s kingdom at the Second Coming.
Without holiness, no man shall see God (Heb 12:14). It is therefore
necessary that the redeemed be “saved through fire” (1 Cor 3:15) so that their
sinful attachments might be purged away before they enter the presence of God.
The Church calls this state of purification “Purgatory,“ and it is for this reason
that Catholics, like Jews, pray to God on behalf of those enduring this process of
spiritual cleansing. This practice derives from the Old Testament account about
Judas Maccabaeus: For if he had not hoped that they that were slain should rise
again, it would have seemed superfluous and vain to pray for the dead. And
because he considered that they who had fallen asleep with godliness, had great
grace laid up for them. It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for
the dead, that they may be loosed from sins (2 Macc 12:44-46).

Praying for the dead presumes that souls do not pass immediately to heaven. It is
believed that the great majority of people who enter heaven first pass through
purgatory. This is not a frightful prospect, however. After all, we would certainly
bathe and brush our teeth before meeting the President of the United States or
the Queen of England. Should we then be surprised if we must also be purified
before meeting God Almighty? Saint Catherine of Genoa wrote that the pains of
purgatory are actually pleasurable because our state in purgatory is accompanied
by our certain hope that we shall soon see Christ face to face and be with Him
forever. The Church does teach that it is painful (just as the effects of sin are
painful), and so we pray for those who have gone before us. What could be more
natural than sharing our love for those who have died? Unlike non-Catholic
Christians, the Catholic Church finds continuity with our elder brethren the Jews
—we both pray for the dead.

EL MALE RACHAMIM Jewish Prayer for the Dead GOD FULL OF MERCY who dwells
on high, grant perfect rest on the wings of Your Divine Presence in the lofty
heights of the holy and pure who shine as the brightness of the heavens to the
soul of [insert name] who has gone to his eternal rest.

As, without making a formal vow, I pledge to give alms in memory of his soul.
His resting place shall be in the Garden of Eden.

Therefore, the Master of Mercy will care for him under the protection of His
wings for all time, and bind his soul in the bond of everlasting life.

God is his inheritance and he will rest in peace.

Let us say: Amen.


194
EPILOGUE
 EPILOGUE:
PRAY FOR THE PEACE OF JERUSALEM

TOGETHER WE HAVE DISCOVERED how Jesus of Nazareth fulfilled the Messianic

prophecies of the Hebrew Scriptures. Moreover, the concept of the Catholic
Church allowed us to understand how the Messianic Kingdom is both “already
and not yet.” The Kingdom of God is present through the Church as led by the
Royal Steward of the Messiah (the Pope), but the Kingdom is not yet fully “on
earth as it is in heaven.” We await the second coming of Jesus.
We also observed how the water rituals of the Old Testament found
fulfillment in the sacrament of baptism as an entryway into the Kingdom of God.
Jesus transformed the ancient Israelite Passover meal into the Messianic
thanksgiving sacrifice and gives His flesh as the Bread from Heaven. This
cosmic and universal aspect of the Messiah’s kingdom is signified through the
Catholic priesthood, as well as in the vestments, architecture, and holy days of
the Catholic tradition. We also celebrated the witness of the righteous believers
of the Hebrew Scriptures and the saints of the Church. Last of all, we examined
the differences and similarities between Jewish and Catholic notions of the
afterlife. In short, we traced the Jewish origins of Catholic Christianity.
With the Pope we continue to pray for our elder brethren—the kinfolk of
Jesus, Mary, Joseph, John the Baptist, Peter and the Apostles—that they may
find the same joy and consolation that we have in Jesus, their Messiah and ours.
He is the Savior of all mankind—first for the Jew and then for the Gentile.

AMEN

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211
APPENDIX: MESSIANIC PROPHECIES

 APPENDIX:
PROPHECIES FULFILLED BY JESUS CHRIST

The following is a list of over three hundred Messianic prophecies from the Old
Testament fulfilled by Jesus of Nazareth – the true Messiah and very Son of God.

Gen 3:15 - Protoevangelium.[67] Messiah will crush Satan’s head - Heb 2:14, Rom 16:20, 1 Jn 3:8
Gen 9:26-27 - The God of Shem will be the Son of Shem - Lk 3:36
Gen 12:3 - Abraham’s seed will bless all nations - Acts 3:25-26
Gen 12:7 - The promise made to Abraham’s Seed - Gal 3:16
Gen 14:18 - A priest according to order of Melchizedek - Heb 6:20
Gen 14:18 - As Melchizedek He offers bread & wine - Mt 26:26-29
Gen 17:19 - Messiah will be the Seed of Isaac - Rom 9:7
Gen 22:8 - The Lamb of God promised - Jn 1:29
Gen 22:2 - Moriah is Jerusalem, the place of Messiah’s sacrifice - 2 Chr 3:1, Rev 11:8
Gen 22:18 - He is Isaac’s seed, who will bless all nations - Gal 3:16
Gen 26:2-5 - Isaac’s Seed promised as the Redeemer - Heb.11:18
Gen 49:10 - The time of His coming - Lk 2:1-7, Gal 4:4
Gen 49:10 - The Seed of Judah - Lk 3:33
Gen 49:10 - He is called Shiloh or “He Who is Sent” - Jn 17:3
Gen 49:10 - Comes before Judah loses tribal identity - Jn 11:47-52
Gen 49:10 - To Him shall the obedience of the people be - Jn 10:16
Ex 3:13,14 - He is the Great “I Am” - Jn 4:26
Ex 12:5 - A Lamb without blemish - 1 Pet 1:19
Ex 12:13 - The blood of the Lamb saves from wrath - Rom 5:8
Ex 12:21-27 - Christ is our Passover whom we eat - 1 Cor 5-7
Ex 12:46 - Not a bone of the Lamb to be broken - Jn 19:31-36
Ex 15:2 - His is Yeshua or (“the Lord saves”) - Acts 7:55-56
Ex 17:6 - The Spiritual Rock of Israel providing drink - 1 Cor 10:4
Ex 33:19 - His Character—Merciful - Lk 1:72
Lev 14:11 - A priest who cleanses lepers – Lk 5:12-14, Acts 6:7
Lev 16:15-17 - Prefigures Christ’s once-for-all death - Heb 9:7-14
Lev 16:27 - Suffering outside the camp - Heb 13:11, 12
Lev 17:11 - Blood is the life of the flesh - Mt 26:28, Mk 10:45
Lev 17:11 - It is the blood that makes atonement - 1 Jn 3:14-18
Lev 23:36-37 - drink offering “If any man thirst” - Jn 7:2,4,37-39
Num 9:12 - Not a bone of Him broken - John 19:31-36
Num 21:9 - The serpent on a pole is Christ lifted up - Jn 3:14-18
Num 24:17 - “I shall see him, but not now” - Gal 4:4
Deut 18:15 - He is a great prophet like Moses - Jn 6:14
Deut 18:15-16 - “If you believed Moses, you would believe me” - Jn 5:45-47
Deut 18:18 - Sent by the Father to speak His word - Jn 8:28, 29
Deut 18:19 - Whoever will not hear must bear his sin - Jn 12:15
Deut 21:23 - Cursed is he that hangs on a tree - Gal 3:10-13
Ruth 4:4-9 - Christ, our kinsman, has redeemed us - Eph 1:3-7
1 Sam 2:10 - Shall be an anointed King to the Lord - Jn 12:15
2 Sam 7:12 - Messiah is the Seed of David - Mt 1:1
2 Sam 7:14a - The Son of God - Lk 1:32
2 Sam 7:16 - David’s house established forever - Lk 3:31, Rev 22:16
1 Kings 2:19 - He enthrones His mother as Queen - Rev 12:1-3
2 Kings 2:11 - Example of bodily ascension to heaven - Lk 24:51
1 Chr 17:12-13 - To reign on David’s throne forever - Lk 1:32, 33
1 Chr 17:13a - “I will be His Father, He will be my Son” - Heb 1:5
Job 19:23-27 - Resurrection predicted - Jn 5:24-29
Ps 2:1-3 - The enmity of kings foreordained - Acts 4:25-28
Ps 2:2 - Bears the title Anointed/Messiah/Christ - Acts 2:36
Ps 2:6 - His Character-Holiness - Jn 8:46, Rev 3:7
Ps 2:6 - To own the title King - Mt 2:2
Ps 2:7 - Declared the Beloved Son - Mt 3:17
Ps 2:12 - Life comes through faith in Him - Jn 20:31
Ps 8:2 - The mouths of babes perfect His praise - Mt 21:16
Ps 8:5-6 - His humiliation and exaltation - Lk 24:50-53, 1 Cor 15:27
Ps 16:10 - His body would not corrupt - Acts 2:31
Ps 16:9-11 - Was to rise from the dead - Jn 20:9
Ps 17:15 - The resurrection predicted - Lk 24:6
Ps 22:1 - Forsaken because of sins of others - 2 Cor 5:21
Ps 22:1 - “My God…forsaken me.” Mk 15:34
Ps 22:2 - Darkness at His death - Mt 27:45
Ps 22:7 - They shoot out the lip and shake the head - Mt 27:39
Ps 22:8 - “He trusted in God, let Him deliver Him” - Mt 27:43
Ps 22:9 - Born the Savior - Lk 2:7
Ps 22:14 - Water flows from Him in death - Jn 19:34
Ps 22:14-15 - Suffered agony in death - Mk 15:34-37
Ps 22:15 - He thirsted - Jn 19:28
Ps 22:16 - His hands and His feet pierced - Jn 19:34-37, Jn 20:27
Ps 22:17-18 - Stripped Him before men - Lk 23:34-35
Ps 22:18 - They parted His garments - Jn 19:23-24
Ps 22:20-21 - He commended His death to God - Lk 23:46
Ps 22:22 - His Resurrection declared - Jn 20:17
Ps 22:27 - He shall be the governor of the nations - Col 1:16
Ps 22:31 - “It is finished” - Jn 19:30
Ps 23:1 - “I am the Good Shepherd” - Jn 10:11
Ps 24:3 - His ascension predicted - Acts 1:11, Phil 2:9
Ps 30:3 - His resurrection predicted - Acts 2:32
Ps 31:5 - “Into thy hands I commend my spirit” - Lk 23:46
Ps 31:11 - His acquaintances fled from Him - Mk 14:50
Ps 31:13 - They conspired to put Him to death - Jn 11:53
Ps 31:14-15 - “He trusted in God, let Him deliver him” - Mt 27:43
Ps 34:20 - Not a bone of Him broken - Jn 19:31-36
Ps 35:11 - False witnesses rose up against Him - Mt 26:59
Ps 35:19 - He was hated without a cause - Jn 15:25
Ps 38:11 - His friends stood afar off - Lk 23:49
Ps 40:2-5 - The joy of His resurrection predicted - Jn 20:20
Ps 40:6-8 - His delight—the will of the Father - Jn 4:34
Ps 40:9 - He was to preach the righteousness in Israel - Mt 4:17
Ps 40:14 - Confronted by enemies in the garden - Jn 18:4-6
Ps 41:9 - Betrayed by a close friend - Jn 13:18
Ps 45:2 - Words of Grace come from His lips - Lk 4:22
Ps 45:6 - He will be called God or Elohim - Heb 1:8
Ps 45:7 - A special anointing by the Holy Spirit - Mt 3:16, Heb.1:9
Ps 45:7-8 - Called the Christ (Messiah or Anointed) - Lk 2:11
Ps 55:12-14 - Betrayed by a friend, not an enemy - Jn 13:18
Ps 55:15 - Indecent death of His betrayer - Mt 27:3-5, Acts 1:16-19
Ps 68:18 - Will give spiritual gifts to men - Eph 4:7-16
Ps 68:18 - Will ascend into Heaven - Lk 24:51
Ps 69:4 - Hated without cause - Jn 15:25
Ps 69:8 - A stranger to own brethren - Lk 8:20-21
Ps 69:9 - Zealous for the Lord’s House - Jn 2:17
Ps 69:14-20 - Messiah’s anguish of soul in death - Mt 26:36-45
Ps 69:20 - “My soul is exceeding sorrowful” - Mt 26:38
Ps 69:21 - Received vinegar for drink - Mt 27:34
Ps 69:26 - The Messiah given and smitten by God - Jn 17:4, 18:11
Ps 72:10-11 - Great persons were to visit Him - Mt 2:1-11
Ps 72:16 - The grain of wheat to fall into the ground - Jn 12:24
Ps 72:17 - As Yinon, he will produce offspring - Jn 1:12,13
Ps 72:17 - All nations shall be blessed by Him - Acts 2:11,12,41
Ps 78:1-2 - He would teach in parables - Mt 13:34-35
Ps 78:2b - To speak the wisdom of God with authority - Mt 7:29
Ps 88:8 - They stood afar off and watched - Lk 23:49
Ps 89:27 - Emmanuel to be higher than earthly kings - Lk 1:32,33
Ps 89:35-37 - David’s Seed and kingdom last for ever - Lk 1:32-33
Ps 89:36-37 - He is Faithful - Rev 1:5
Ps 90:2 - He is from everlasting - Jn 1:1
Ps 97:9 - His exaltation predicted - Acts 1:11, Eph 1:20
Ps 102:1-11 - The suffering and reproach of his death - Jn 21:16-30
Ps 102:25-27 - Messiah is the eternal Son of God - Heb 1:10-12
Ps 109:25 - Ridiculed buy his own people - Mt 27:39
Ps 110:1 - Son of David - Mt 22:43
Ps 110:1 - To ascend to the right hand of the Father - Mk 16:19
Ps 110:1 - David’s son called Lord - Mt 22:44,45
Ps 110:4 - A priest after Melchizedek’s order - Heb 6:20
Ps 118:17-18 - Messiah’s resurrection - Lk 24:5-7, 1 Cor 15:20
Ps 118:22-23 - Rejected Messiah is chief cornerstone - Mt 21:42-43
Ps 118:26a - The Blessed One presented to Israel - Mt 21:9
Ps 118:26b - Messiah shall come while Temple standing (before A.D. 70) - Mt 21:12-15
Ps 132:11 - The Seed of David - Lk 1:32
Ps 138:1-6 - David’s Seed will astonish kings - Mt 2:2-6
Ps 147:3-6 - The earthly ministry of Christ described - Lk 4:18
Ps 1:23 - He will send the Spirit of God - Jn 16:7
Prov 8:22-23 - He would be from everlasting - Jn 17:5
Prov 9:1 - His kingdom with 7 sacraments - Mt 28:19[68]
Prov 30:4 - He would ascend and descend from Heaven - Jn 3:13
Song 5:16 - The altogether lovely One - Jn 1:17
Wis 2:16 - He is killed for calling God His Father - Jn 8:54
Isa 6:1 - Isaiah foresaw His glory - Jn 12:40-41
Isa 6:9-10 - Parables fall on deaf ears of Israel - Mt 13:13-15
Isa 6:9-12 - Blinded to Christ and deaf to His words - Acts 28:23-29
Isa 7:14 - Born of the Virgin Mary - Lk 1:35
Isa 7:14 - To be Emmanuel, “God with us” - Mt 1:18-23
Isa 8:8 - Called Emmanuel - Mt 28:20
Isa 8:14 - A stone of stumbling, a rock of offense - 1 Pet 2:8
Isa 9:1-2 - His ministry to begin in Galilee - Mt 4:12-17
Isa 9:6 - A human child - Lk 1:31
Isa 9:6 - The Divine Son of God - Lk 1:32, Jn 1:14, 1 Tim 3:16
Isa 9:6 - He is the Son of God with power - Rom 1:3-4
Isa 9:6 - The Wonderful One, Peleh - Lk 4:22
Isa 9:6 - The Counselor, Yaatz - Mt 13:54
Isa 9:6 - The Mighty God, El Gibor - Mt 11:20
Isa 9:6 - The Everlasting Father, Abi Adth - Jn 8:58
Isa 9:6 - The Prince of Peace, Sar Shalom - Jn 16:33
Isa 9:7 - To establish an everlasting kingdom - Lk 1:32-33
Isa 9:7 - He is righteous - Jn 5:30
Isa 9:7 - No end to his government, throne, and peace - Lk 1:32-33
Isa 11:1 - He shall be a Nazarene - Mt 2:23
Isa 11:1 - A rod out of Jesse, i.e. Son of Jesse - Lk 3:23,32
Isa 11:2 - Anointed by the Spirit - Mt 3:16-17
Isa 11:10 - The Gentiles shall seek Him - Jn 12:18-21
Isa 12:2 - Called Yeshua or Jesus (“Lord is salvation”) - Mt 1:21
Isa 25:8 - Resurrection predicted - 1 Cor 15:54
Isa 26:19 - The power of Resurrection predicted - Jn 11:43,44
Isa 28:16 - The Messiah is the precious corner stone - Acts 4:11,12
Isa 29:13 - He indicated hypocritical obedience to Law - Mt 15:7-9
Isa 29:14 - The wise are confounded by His words - 1 Cor 1:18-31
Isa 32:2 - He shall be a hiding place - Mt 23:37
Isa 35:4 - He will come and save - Mt 1:21
Isa 35:5 - To have a ministry of miracles - Mt 11:4-6
Isa 40:3-4 - Preceded by forerunner John the Baptist - Jn 1:23
Isa 40:9 - “Behold your God” - Jn 1:36, 19:14
Isa 40:11 - A shepherd - Jn 10:10-18
Isa 42:1-4 - Suffering servant is a faithful redeemer - Mt 12:18-21
Isa 42:2 - Humble and lowly - Mt 11:28-30
Isa 42:3 - He brings hope for the hopeless - Jn 4
Isa 42:4 - The Gentiles shall receive His teachings - Jn 12:20-26
Isa 42:6 - He is the Light of the Gentiles - Lk 2:32
Isa 42:1-6 - His universal compassion - Mt 28:19-20
Isa 42:7 - Blind eyes opened - Jn 9:25-38
Isa 43:11 - He is the only Savior - Acts 4:12
Isa 44:3 - He will send the Spirit of God - Jn 16:7,13
Isa 45:23 - He will be the Judge - Jn 5:22, Rom 14:11
Isa 48:12 - The First and the Last - Jn 1:30, Rev 1:8,17
Isa 48:17 - He came as a Teacher - Jn 3:2
Isa 49:1 - Called from the womb - Mt 1:18
Isa 49:5 - A Servant from the womb - Lk 1:31, Phil 2:7
Isa 49:6 - He is Salvation for Israel - Lk 2:29-32
Isa 49:6 - He is the Light of the Gentiles - Acts 13:47
Isa 49:6 - He is Salvation unto the ends of the earth - Acts 15:7-18
Isa 49:7 - He is despised by the Israel - Jn 8:48-49
Isa 50:3 - The sky turns black at His humiliation - Lk 23:44-45
Isa 50:4 - He is a counselor for the weary - Mt 11:28,29
Isa 50:5 - Suffering servant bound willingly to obedience - Mt 26:39
Isa 50:6a - “I gave my back to the smiters” - Mt 27:26
Isa 50:6b - He was struck on the cheeks - Mt 26:67
Isa 50:6c - He was spat upon - Mt 27:30
Isa 52:7 - He preached good news of peace - Lk 4:14,15
Isa 52:13 - The servant exalted - Acts 1:8-11, Eph 1:19-22
Isa 52:13 - Behold, My Servant - Mt 17:5, Phil 2:5-8
Isa 52:14 - Messiah scornfully abused - Lk 18:31-34, Mt 26:67-68
Isa 52:15 - Gentile nations respond to Servant - Rom 15:18-21
Isa 52:15 - His blood shed to make atonement for all - Rev 1:5
Isa 53:1 - His people would not believe Him - Jn 12:37-38
Isa 53:2a - He would grow up in a poor family - Lk 2:7
Isa 53:2b - Appeared as an ordinary man - Phil 2:7-8
Isa 53:3a - Despised - Lk 4:28-29
Isa 53:3b - Rejected by His people - Mt 27:21-23
Isa 53:3c - Great sorrow and grief - Lk 19:41-42
Isa 53:3d - Men deny association with Him - Mk 14:50-52
Isa 53:4a - He would have a healing ministry - Lk 6:17-19
Isa 53:4b - He would bear the sins of the world - 1 Pet 2:24
Isa 53:4c - Thought to be cursed by God - Mt 27:41-43
Isa 53:5a - Bears penalty for mankind’s transgressions - Lk 23:33
Isa 53:5b - His sacrifice reconciles man to God - Col 1:20
Isa 53:5c - His back would be whipped - Mt 27:26
Isa 53:6a - He would be the sin-bearer for all mankind - Gal 1:4
Isa 53:6b - God’s will that He bear sin for all mankind - 1 Jn 4:10
Isa 53:7a - Oppressed and afflicted - Mt 27:27-31
Isa 53:7b - Silent before his accusers - Mt 27:12-14
Isa 53:7c - Sacrificial lamb - Jn 1:29
Isa 53:8a - Confined and persecuted - Mt 26:47-27:31
Isa 53:8b - He would be judged - Jn 18:13-22
Isa 53:8c - Messiah would be murdered - Mt 27:35
Isa 53:8d - Dies for the sins of the world - 1 Jn 2:2
Isa 53:9a - Buried in a rich man’s grave - Mt 27:57
Isa 53:9b - Innocent and had done no violence - Mk 15:3
Isa 53:9c - No deceit in His mouth - Jn 18:38
Isa 53:10a - God’s will that He die for mankind - Jn 18:11
Isa 53:10b - An offering for sin - Mt 20:28
Isa 53:10c - Resurrected and live forever - Mk 16:16
Isa 53:10d - He would prosper - Jn 17:1-5
Isa 53:11a - God fully satisfied with His suffering - Jn 12:27
Isa 53:11b - God’s servant - Rom 5:18-19
Isa 53:11c - He would justify man before God - Rom 5:8-9
Isa 53:11d - The sin-bearer for all mankind - Heb 9:28
Isa 53:12a - Exalted by God because of his sacrifice - Mt 28:18
Isa 53:12b - He would give up his life to save mankind - Lk 23:46
Isa 53:12c - Grouped with criminals - Lk 23:32
Isa 53:12d - Sin-bearer for all mankind - 2 Cor 5:21
Isa 53:12e - Intercede to God in behalf of mankind - Lk 23:34
Isa 55:3 - Resurrected by God - Acts 13:34
Isa 55:4 - A witness of God - Jn 18:37
Isa 59:15-16a - He would come to provide salvation - Jn 6:40
Isa 59:15-16b - Intercessor between man and God - Mt 10:32
Isa 59:20 - He would come to Zion as their Redeemer - Lk 2:38
Isa 61:1-2a - The Spirit of God upon him - Mt 3:16-17
Isa 61:1-2b - The Messiah will preach the good news - Lk 4:17-21
Isa 61:1-2c - He frees men from sin and death - Jn 8:31-32
Isa 61:1-2 - Proclaim a period of grace - Jn 5:24
Jer 23:5-6a - Descendant of David - Lk 3:23-31
Jer 23:5-6b - The Messiah would be God - Jn 13:13
Jer 23:5-6c - The Messiah will be both God and man - 1 Tim 3:16
Jer 31:22 - Born of a virgin - Mt 1:18-20
Jer 31:31 - The Messiah would be the new covenant - Mt 26:28
Jer 33:14-15 - Descendant of David - Lk 3:23-31
Ezek 17:22-24 - Descendant of David - Lk 3:23-31
Ezek 34:23-24 - Descendant of David - Mt 1:1
Dan 7:13-14a - He would ascend into heaven - Acts 1:9-11
Dan 7:13-14b - Highly exalted - Eph 1:20-22
Dan 7:13-14c - His dominion would be everlasting - Lk 1:31-33
Dan 7:23 - Messiah born during rule of 4th Gentile kingdom (i.e. during Roman rule) - Lk 2:1
Dan 9:24a - He makes an end to sins - Gal 1:3-5
Dan 9:24b - He would be holy - Lk 1:35
Dan 9:25 - Announced to his people 483 years, to the exact day, after the decree to rebuild Jerusalem - Jn
12:12-13
Dan 9:26a - Messiah murdered - Mt 27:35
Dan 9:26b - Died for the sins of the world - Heb 2:9
Dan 9:26c - Killed before destruction of the Temple - Mt 27:50-51
Dan 10:5-6 - Messiah in a glorified state - Rev 1:13-16
Hos 13:14 - He would defeat death - 1 Cor 15:55-57
Joel 2:32 - Offer salvation to all mankind - Rom 10:12-13
Mic 5:2a - Born in Bethlehem - Mt 2:1-2
Mic 5:2b - God’s servant - Jn 15:10
Mic 5:2c - He is eternally preexistent - Jn 8:58
Hag 2:6-9 - He would visit the second Temple - Lk 2:27-32
Hag 2:23 - Descendant of Zerubbabel - Lk 3:23-27
Zech 3:8 - God’s servant - Jn 17:4
Zech 6:12-13 - Messiah is both Priest and King - Heb 8:1
Zech 9:9a - Greeted with rejoicing in Jerusalem - Mt 21:8-10
Zech 9:9b - Beheld as King - Jn 12:12-13
Zech 9:9c - The Messiah would be just - Jn 5:30
Zech 9:9d - The Messiah would bring salvation - Luke 19:10
Zech 9:9e - The Messiah would be humble - Mt 11:29
Zech 9:9f - Enters Jerusalem riding on a donkey - Mt 21:6-9
Zech 10:4 - The cornerstone - Eph 2:20
Zech 11:4-6a - Evil leaders in Israel when He comes - Mt 23:1-4
Zech 11:4-6c - Rejected in favor of another king - Jn 19:13-15
Zech 11:7 - Ministry to “poor” - Mt 9:35-36
Zech 11:8a - Unbelief forces Messiah to reject them - Mt 23:33
Zech 11:8b - Despised by the people - Mt 27:20
Zech 11:9 - Rejects those who rejected Him - Mt 13:10-11
Zech 11:10-11a - Rejection revokes protection - Lk 19:41-44
Zech 11:10-11b - The Messiah would be God - Jn 14:7
Zech 11:12-13a - Betrayed for thirty pieces of silver - Mt 26:14-15
Zech 11:12-13b - Rejected by His people - Mt 26:14-15, 2 Tim 2:12
Zech 11:12-13c - 30 pieces of silver cast into Temple - Mt 27:3-5
Zech 11:12-13d - The Messiah would be God - Jn 12:45
Zech 12:10a - The Messiah’s body would be pierced - Jn 19:34-37
Zech 12:10b - Messiah both divine and human - Jn 10:30
Zech 12:10c - The Messiah would be rejected - Jn 1:11
Zech 13:7a - He died for humanity in obedience - Jn 18:11
Zech 13:7b - A violent death - Mt 27:35
Zech 13:7c - Both God and man - Jn 14:9
Zech 13:7d - Israel scattered after rejecting Him - Mt 26:31-56
Mal 3:1a - Messenger to prepare the way for Messiah - Mt 11:10
Mal 3:1b - Sudden appearance at the Temple - Mk 11:15-16
Mal 3:1c - Messenger of the New Covenant - Lk 4:43
Mal 4:5 - Forerunner will have ministry of Elijah - Mt 3:1-2
Mal 4:6 - Forerunner to turn many to righteousness - Lk 1:16-17
2 Mac 2:5-8 - Mary’s pregnancy fulfills the lost ark prophecy - Rev 11:19-12:1


217
BIBLIOGRAPHY

 BIBLIOGRAPHY

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from the same author…

The Catholic Perspective on Paul Origins of Catholicism, Vol, II

• How did Paul’s background as a Jewish rabbi inform his message?

• Did Paul believe that the Church was one, holy, catholic, and apostolic?
• Did Paul hold that we are justified by faith alone?
• Did Paul teach baptismal regeneration?
• Did Paul hold that one might “fall from grace”?
• Did Paul consider himself to be a “priest”?

Discover a theologian who is sacramental, a churchman who is hierarchical, a
mystic who is orthodox—a Paul who is Catholic.

Please visit online at: www.PaulisCatholic.com
 ABOUT TAYLOR MARSHALL, PH.D.

Dr. Taylor Marshall was an Episcopal priest in Fort Worth, Texas before being
received with his family into the Catholic Church by Bishop Kevin Vann of Fort
Worth in 2006. He subsequently served as the Assistant Director of the Catholic
Information Center in Washington, D.C., located three blocks north of the White
House, where he lectured regularly. He is presently the Chancellor of the
College at the College of Saints John Fisher & Thomas More where he is also
Professor of Philosophy.
Dr. Marshall holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Dallas,
where he defended his dissertation on Saint Thomas Aquinas on the natural law
and the twofold end of humanity. He is a graduate of Texas A&M University
(BA, Philosophy) Westminster Theological Seminary (MAR, Systematic
Theology), Nashotah Theological House (Certificate in Anglican Studies), and
the University of Dallas (MA, Philosophy).
Taylor and his wife Joy live in Dallas, Texas with their seven children. He
can be contacted at: [email protected]

Please visit online at: www.TaylorMarshall.com

[1] Babylonian Talmud, Kiddushin 31a.

[2] Catholic bishops and priests [“priest” is an Anglicized version of the Greek
presbyteros] wear liturgical “headgear” as an eschatological sign. The liturgy
depicted in the Book of Revelation describes twenty-four presbyters/elders
wearing liturgical robes, standing around the altar of the Lamb, and wearing
crowns (Rev 5:6 ff). In the Eucharistic liturgy, the priests represent this celestial
and eschatological reality. They are dressed accordingly. This depiction in
Revelation of “presbyters” is a New Testament account and so the earthly
presbyters follow suit (quite literally).
The exception, as stated above, is that clergy do not wear anything on their
heads when uttering the words of consecration because they minister and speak
in persona Christi or “in the person of Christ.” It would be inappropriate for a
layman to wear a hat at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, in accordance with
Paul’s prohibition against laymen having “covered heads” (cf. 1 Cor 11).
[3] See for example John 7:1, “the Jews sought to kill Him.” Clearly, “Jews” in
general were not hateful and inimical since Christ, His mother, the Twelve
Apostles, the women who followed Him, and the authors of the New Testament
were Jews (except for Luke).
[4] John Cornwell’s polemical Hitler’s Pope (1999) was recently answered by
Rabbi David G. Dalin’s book The Myth of Hitler’s Pope: How Pope Pius XII
Rescued Jews from the Nazis (2005). Rabbi Dalin presents archival evidence
demonstrating that Pope Pius XII rescued thousands of Jews during World War
II. Rabbi Dalin even suggests that Pius XII be canonized by Yad Vashem
(Holocaust Martyrs and Heroes Remembrance Authority) as a “Righteous
Gentile” for his heroic work on behalf of the Jewish people. Rabbi Dalin also
notes that the primary polemicists against Pius XII are either ex-seminarians
(Gary Wills and John Cornwell) or ex-priests (James Carroll). The rabbi
expresses his frustration toward these lapsed Catholics who have manipulated
the tragedy of the holocaust to grind an axe with the papacy and the Catholic
Church.
[5] Fourth Lateran Council, Canon 68. “We decree that such Jews and
Saracens of both sexes in every Christian province and at all times shall be
marked off in the eyes of the public from other peoples through the character of
their dress. Particularly, since it may be read in the writings of Moses that this
very law has been enjoined upon them” (Num 15:37-41).
[6] Catechism of the Council of Trent, The Creed, Article 4.
[7] Pope Pius XI’s public address in the Vatican to Belgian pilgrims in 1938.
[8] His Holiness Pope Pius XI, Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart.
Indulgenced July 16, 1926; Feb 15, 1927.
[9] See Saint Thomas Aquinas, Summa theologiae III, q. 66 a. 2. “But the
obligation of receiving this sacrament was proclaimed to mankind after the
Passion and Resurrection. First, because Christ’s Passion put an end to the
figurative sacraments, which were supplanted by Baptism and the other
sacraments of the New Law. Secondly, because by Baptism man is “made
conformable” to Christ’s Passion and Resurrection, in so far as he dies to sin and
begins to live anew unto righteousness.”
[10] I must credit Albert Doskey for suggesting the terms Pre-Pentecostal
Judaism and Post-Pentecostal Judaism. However, he prefers the term Ante-
Pentecostal rather than Pre-Pentecostal. I employ Pre-Pentecostal since it is
simpler for the reader to discern.
[11] Cornelius a Lapide adds that even in his day there were two Hebrew
codices in the Vatican library that read “she” (Kennicott numbers 227 and 239),
and another in the Bernard de Rossi library. Also in the same library was an
Onkelosi Codex (translating from the Hebrew into Aramaic) which read “she.”
[12] Josephus, Antiquities, Book 1, Chap. 1.
[13] Moses Maimonides writes, which is indeed amazing, ‘But what must be
admired most of all, is that the serpent is joined with Eve, that is, its seed with
her seed, its head with her heel; that she (Eve) should conquer it (the serpent) in
the head, and that it should conquer her in the heel (More Nebochim, Part II,
chap. 30).
[14] Dei Verbum §3, Vatican Council II: The Basic Sixteen Documents, Austen
Flannery, ed. (Northport, New York: Costello Publishing Company, 1996), 98.
[15] Pope John Paul II expands the importance of the protoevangelium in his
Redemptoris Mater by associating the title “woman” found in Gen 3:15 with
Christ’s use of the word “woman” at the Wedding at Cana and at the foot of the
Cross, as well as in John’s vision of “the woman” in Revelation Chapter Twelve.
[16] Pesikta Rabbati 152b. Pesikta Rabbati is a collection of medieval Jewish
sermons dating to about A.D. 850. The Jewish belief that the Messiah “existed in
God’s thought even before the world was created” corresponds nicely to the
words of Saint John: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God” (Jn 1:1-2).
[17] Mark Drogin, Cofounder of the Catholic apostolate Remnant of Israel
with Fr. Arthur Klyber, C.Ss.R., has noted how all four Gospels explicitly
identify John the Baptist with Isa 40:3. He believes that this is an essential
feature of the earliest apostolic message because it formally associates the life of
Jesus with the Suffering Servant prophecies of Isaiah. John the Baptist literally
and explicitly points to the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53.
 [18] For an excellent treatment of the Davidic covenant, see Scott W. Hahn’s
work Kinship by Covenant (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009).
[19] Regarding the Gebirah, see Niels-Erik Andreasen’s “The Role of the
Queen Mother in Israelite Society,” Catholic Biblical Quarterly 45 (1983): 179–
194; and Zafrira Ben-Barak’s “The Status and Right of the Gebirah,” Journal of
Biblical Literature 110 (1991): 23–34.
[20] The tradition of the Messiah ben Joseph derives from Rabbi Dosa
(Babylonian Talmud, Sukkah 52a). For an interesting discussion about this
earliest Jewish reference to the Messiah ben Joseph and later rabbinical tradition,
see David C. Mitchell’s “Rabbi Dosa and the Rabbis Differ: Messiah ben Joseph
in the Babylonian Talmud,” Review of Rabbinic Judaism 8 (2005): 77-90.
[21] Babylonian Talmud, Sukkah 52a.
[22] The Sanhedrin was established in Num 11:16 where God commanded
Moses: “Assemble for me seventy men of the elders of Israel.” Jesus established
a new Sanhedrin of seventy elders in Lk 10:1-17.
[23] This prophecy was also fulfilled historically when the Temple was rebuilt
after the time of Ezekiel—the same Temple that Jesus visited as the Messiah.
[24] “Yeshua is the Messiah,” Time Magazine, July 4, 1977.
[25] Saint John Chrysostom, Homilies on Galatians, 6:16.
[26] Saint Thomas Aquinas, Summa theologiae II-II, q. 110, a. 3, ad 3.
[27] Perhaps one of the best treatments of Saint Paul’s phrase “all Israel” in
Romans 9-11 is Michael Barber’s Epilogue to his book Singing in the Reign:
The Psalms and the Liturgy of God’s Kingdom. Steubenville, Ohio: Emmaus
Road Publishing, 2001.

[28] Babylonian Talmud, Bava Kamma 82a. The Bava Kamma is part of the
Jewish Mishnah, a compilation of oral tradition and opinion compiled around
A.D. 200. Statements in the Mishnah are brief and record the legal rulings of
rabbis and anonymous precedents. The rabbis featured in the Mishnah are called
Tannaim.
[29] Saint Ignatius of Antioch, Epistle to the Ephesians, 18.
[30] Saint Augustine, Homilies on John, Tract 5. For a thorough explanation of
this issue, see also Thomas Aquinas‘ Summa theologiae III, q. 38, a. 6.
[31] According to Saint Augustine (Append. Serm. 185) and Saint Thomas
Aquinas (STh III, q. 66, a. 2), Christ instituted the sacrament of baptism when
He was baptized in the Jordan River. According to Aquinas, Christ instituted
sacramental baptism at the Jordan, but only made baptism obligatory after He
died and rose again (STh III, q. 66, a. 2, ad. 2).
[32] Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon (A.D. 451).
[33] Saint Thomas Aquinas, Summa theologiae II-II, q. 87, a. 1, ad 3.
[34] The New Testament usage derives from the Greek terminology found in
the Greek translation of the Old Testament (the Septuagint): archiereus, hiereus
ho protos, and hiereus ho megas (Lev 4:3).
[35] Josephus, Antiquities 3, 8.
[36] In the time of Eli, however, the high priesthood passed to the collateral
family branch of Ithamar (1 Sam 2:23). Nevertheless, King Solomon deposed
Abiathar and appointed Zadok, a descendant of Eleazar, in his stead (1 Kings
2:35; 1 Chr 24:2-3).
[37] The mysterious priest named Melchizedek (“King of Righteousness”) is
acknowledged by many Church Fathers and Jewish Rabbis to be none other than
Shem, the firstborn son of Noah who received the sacred blessing of his father
after the flood (Gen 9:26). Saint Jerome, Questiones 14, 18; Saint Ephraim the
Syrian I, 61 E and 79D; Epiphanius, Panarion 55, 6. See also M. D. Johnson’s
The Purpose of Biblical Genealogies (New York: Cambridge, 1969), 270-271
for a discussion on the Jewish tradition of Shem as Melchizedek.
[38] The rabbis based this theory on the blessing Shem received from Noah
(Gen 9:26), and on the fact that the biblical genealogies present Shem and
Abraham as contemporaries. In fact, the numbers suggest that Shem outlived
Abraham by thirty-five years! (Gen 25:7) [39] Saint Thomas Aquinas,
Commentary on Hebrews 8:4.
[40] The first recorded use of the term Vicarius Christi or “Vicar of Christ” as
a title for the Pope goes back to Pope Gelasius I (A.D. 492-496).
[41] Philo, Life of Moses 2, 117.
[42] Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 3, 184.
[43] Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 3, 185.
[44] Philo, Life of Moses 2, 133.
[45] For detailed information concerning the priestly vestments see Josephus
Antiquities 3, 7.
[46] Saint Jerome, “Epistle to Abundius, Bishop of Como.”
[47] The maniple was suppressed as a liturgical vestment, though this is
sometimes contested.
[48] Fulton J. Sheen, A Priest is Not His Own (San Francisco: Ignatius Press,
2004), 43-44.
[49] Josephus, Antiquities 3, 145.
[50] Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 2, 23.
[51] Saint Benedict Lex 41.
[52] The breviary underwent certain changes after the Second Vatican Council.
Most notably, the Office of Readings corresponding to the traditional hour of
Matins can now be recited at any convenient time during the day.
[53] Babylonian Talmud, Kiddushin 1.
[54] Babylonian Talmud, Berakhot 31a.
[55] Joseph Telushkin. Jewish Literacy (New York: William Morrow, 2002),
677.
[56] Council of Trent, Session 24.
[57] Codex Iuris Canonici, Cann. 1055-1062, 1095-1107. Libreria Editrice
Vaticana, 1983.
[58] This month is also called Bul (1 Kings 6:38).
[59] Two lambs, one bull, two goats, and two rams.
[60] Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 97b, Sukkah 45b.
[61] From the Old French danse Macabré or so-called “dance of death” first
attested to in 1376 from the Medieval Latin Chorea Machabæorum meaning
“dance of the Maccabees.”
[62] Alphonse Ratisbonne’s exact account: “I looked over towards this chapel
whence so much light shone, and above the altar was a living figure, tall,
majestic, beautiful and full of mercy. It was the most holy Virgin Mary,
resembling her figure on the Miraculous Medal. At this sight, I fell on my knees
right where I stood. Unable to look up because of the blinding light, I fixed my
glance on her hands, and in them I could read the expression of mercy and
pardon. In the presence of the Most Blessed Virgin, even though she did not
speak a word to me, I understood the frightful situation I was in, my sins and the
beauty of the Catholic Faith. I began to shout: ‘I have seen her! When can I
receive baptism?’” Ratisbonne was subsequently ordained a Catholic priest in
1847.
[63] Reform Judaism (a modern liberal expression of Judaism) tends to reject
this belief and has rewritten the second blessing to minimize the doctrine of the
resurrection.
[64] Saint Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Romans, 11.
[65] Babylonian Talmud, Pirkei Avot 4:21-22.
[66] Saint Thomas Aquinas, Summa theologiae III, q. 52, a. 2.
[67] For the full significance of the protoevangelium (“first gospel”) in
Catholic theology, please see CHAPTER ONE.
[68] The Seven Sacraments: Baptism – Mt 28:19; Confirmation – Acts 8:14-
17; Heb 6:2; Eucharist – Mt 26:26-29; Penance – John 20:21-23; Anointing of
Sick – Mk 6:13; Holy Orders - Acts 6:3-6; Matrimony – Mt 19:10-11; Jn 2.