Father Augustine Mang - May 3

St. Philip Catholic Church: week we celebrated the Good Shepherd Sunday where Jesus said, I'm the Good Shepherd. I laid down my life for my sheep. And we pray for the ⁓ to the priesthood and religious life, which is for ministerial priesthood ordination where a man is being called up from the faithful for the people of God for this ordination. to the sacramental and through holy ordinations, holy orders, a priest acts in the person of Jesus Christ. And we give thanks to God for that, that God chose from among his people to be, to act in the person of Christ so that we may receive all the things that God wants us to give in the sacrament. I think today also we also must give thanks to God not only for that today we also call another priesthood. which is the common priesthood that we all participate through our baptism, offering one life's in prayer and witness to God. That's why we say in our second reading for us, a personal of Peter, he said, you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people. This line echoes back to their book of Exodus, 1906, where Israel is called the kingdom of priests. Now, Peter is saying, this Old Testament identity to the whole Christian community. There is something that we share, one of us here, those who are baptized, we share in that priesthood of Jesus Christ in a common way through our baptism. My priesthood is added up to that common priesthood. That ordained priesthood serves actually the common priesthood, but it doesn't replace it. So we all, you all are called to be to the priesthood of Jesus Christ in a unique way of course. So remember that you are a priestly vocation to your baptism. Do not ever forget that. Sometimes we live as if that we don't have that or we don't remember it or we live as if we don't have it. Today the gospel and our reading, Peter is saying You are chosen race, a royal priesthood. That royal priesthood means that your life is meant to reveal God to others and to proclaim God. How do we live that priesthood then? Is it just proclaiming God? No, there are other ways. Jesus said in the gospel that you will do, if you believe in me, you will do the works that I do. So doing his works living our priesthood that we receive at our baptism. From now on then, it's very crucial that your priesthood that you receive at your baptism ⁓ It's not a passive. It is an active participation in Christ's mission. Now you have to start forgiving like Jesus. Do you find difficult to forgive other people? Learn from Jesus how to forgive. We must forgive like Jesus. we serve your family, other people, ⁓ people, every time when you do service, you must serve like Jesus. When you love someone, you must love sacrificially Jesus. When you witness, must witness. Who you witness? You must witness Jesus Christ and participate in Christ's mission to proclaim the Kingdom of God. Therefore, Peter is saying ⁓ the is now a new people of God. The Christians share in the priestly identity of Jesus Christ ⁓ and baptism that in this priesthood is about ⁓ offering spiritual sacrifices in proclaiming God. At the same time, Peter is not abolishing the ministerial priesthood that Jesus instituted, but rather how it works together. Therefore, as priests who are called for ministerial priesthood, they offer in the person of Jesus Christ, offering to the Father. You also offer things in your life. Whenever you pray, you're offering your prayer to the Father. Whenever you are difficult in challenges, living it through, then carrying out your cross and following Jesus, you're offering. There are many things that you can offer in your life. Therefore, brothers and sisters, us live the priesthood, that common priesthood that we receive in our baptism authentically. Let us remember that we are a royal priesthood, a chosen race and a holy people. Then let us proclaim God because have encountered the resurrected Lord.