The Letter of St. Paul to the Hebrews Chapter 8 of 13 (To update)

The Letter of St. Paul 

to the 

Hebrews 

Chapter

8

¹ Now the main point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, ²a minister in the sanctuary and the true tent that the Lord, and not any mortal, has set up.

(The Letter of St. Paul to the Hebrews Chapter 8 verse 1 to 2)

Oh God my Father there is none like You even though, we have many 'Tents' or Churches none can be compared to the one big tent that is Your Sacred Body, the Holy Catholic Church of which I am proud to be a member Amen. 

³ For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; hence it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer.

(The Letter of St. Paul to the Hebrews Chapter 8 verse  3)

Oh God my Father the priest offers the living sacrifice of the Eucharist in order to atone for his own sins and those of the community of sinners, therefore like other sinners he also has his share of sins to offer Amen for we are all human and subject to sin.

⁴ Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law.

(The Letter of St. Paul to the Hebrews Chapter 8 verse  4)

Oh God my Father when You became human for our redemption You did not come as a priest but as the incarnate Son of God and God Himself. You did not need to offer sacrifices for the redemption of sin, however, You still obeyed the rules of the times since You were a child. You always respected the law, however out of that same love and respect You highlighted those areas that needed to be upgraded or changed completely by means of the message of the Good News Amen.

The Letter of St. Paul to the Hebrews Chapter 7 of 13

The Letter of St. Paul 

to the 

Hebrews 

Chapter

7

¹ This "King Melchizedek of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham as he was returning from defeating the kings and blessed him"; ² and to him, Abraham apportioned "one-tenth of everything."His name, in the first place, means "king of righteousness"; next he ⁴is also king of Salem, that is, "king of peace."



(The Letter of St. Paul to the Hebrews Chapter 7 verses 1 to 2)


Oh God my Father, I thank You for intervening both in our moments of success and even for supporting us during our moments of distress Amen. You are indeed my King one of peace, justice love and mercy Amen.


³Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling Son of God, he remains a priest forever.


(The Letter of St. Paul to the Hebrews Chapter 7 verses 1 to 3)


Oh God my beloved Father this is a perfect description of You, for You are the creator and not the created. You have no genealogy, for in You is the beginning if our existence Amen.


⁴ See how great he is! Even Abraham the patriarch gave him a tenth of the spoils.


(The Letter of St. Paul to the Hebrews Chapter 7 verse 4)


It is true oh God my Father that You are the great I am and we are to adore You and proclaim Your name as in the following song credited to us by Aaron Pippin

⁵ And those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to collect tithes from the people, that is from their kindred, though these also are descended from Abraham.


(The Letter of St. Paul to the Hebrews Chapter 7 verse 5)


Oh God, my beloved Father, I thank You for this new perception. I had been under the impression that when collecting money from the people during mass was a worldly and material practice, however now I realize that You wanted it to be this way since the beginning. Thank You, Jesus.


⁶But this man who does not belong to their ancestry. collected tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had received the promises.


(The Letter of St. Paul to the Hebrews Chapter 7 verse 6)


Oh God, my Father even though I am not a direct descendant of Abraham You have accepted me a sinner as being one of Your Sons. Thank You for doing so Amen.


⁷ It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior.


(The Letter of St. Paul to the Hebrews Chapter 7 verse 7)


Oh God, my Father I accept my human condition that of an inferior so that I am open to receive all Your blessings and even chidings and corrections Amen.

⁸ In the one case, tithes are received by those who are mortal; in the other, by one of whom, it is testified that he lives.

(The Letter of St. Paul to the Hebrews Chapter 7 verse 8)

Oh God my Father as mortals we give tithes to the immortal as represented by the Church from whom we receive an abundance of graces from the Holy Spirit of God Amen.


⁹ One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, ¹⁰ for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.


(The Letter of St. Paul to the Hebrews Chapter 7 verses 9 to 10)


Oh God my Father as members of the new people following You of the Old Testament we are also due to offer You tithes maybe not of the same kind as in these times but of prayer and acts of charity towards others Amen.


¹¹ Now if perfection had been attainable through the levitical priesthood-for the people received the law under this priesthood-what further need would there have been to speak of another priest arising according to the order of Melchizedek, rather than one according to the order of Aaron?.


(The Letter of St. Paul to the Hebrews Chapter 7 verse 11)


Oh God my Father by means of Your passion You fulfilled all the sacrifices offered during the time of Aaron the priest. You are the Priest of priests for Your sacrifice was complete Amen.


¹² For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well.


(The Letter of St. Paul to the Hebrews Chapter 7 verse 12)


Oh God my Father by means of Your coming into the world You fulfilled what was lacking in the old testament. You are the new High Priest of both the old and New Testament Amen.


¹³ Now the one of whom these things are spoken belonged to another tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar.


(The Letter of St. Paul to the Hebrews Chapter 7 verse 13)



Oh God, my Father, we are the people of the New Testament. We do not remember our ancestors and they do not know us. However nonetheless we believe in one God, You my God and Father Amen.


¹⁴ For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests. 


(The Letter of St. Paul to the Hebrews Chapter 7 verse 14)


Oh God, my Father, there are many things in Christianity that have been added by the Roman Catholic Church which are not all mentioned in the Bible however through faith we have come to accept them as being true and valid Amen.



¹⁵ It is even more obvious when another priest arises, resembling Melchizedek, ¹⁶ one who has become a priest, not through a legal requirement concerning physical descent, but through the power of an indestructible life.


(The Letter of St. Paul to the Hebrews Chapter 7 verse 15 to 16)


Oh God, my Father You are the only true priest. Unlike others, You laid Yourself down on the altar of the cross to be offered as a sacrifice of the atonement of our sins Amen.


¹⁷ For it is attested of him, "You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek."


(The Letter of St. Paul to the Hebrews Chapter 7 verse 17)


Oh God, my Father, even though I am not a priest I would like to be a member of brotherhood or community that believes and worships You Amen.


¹⁸ There is on the one hand, the abrogation of an earlier commandment because it was weak and ineffectual ¹⁹ (for the law made nothing perfect) there is, on the other hand, the introduction of a better hope, through which we approach God.


(The Letter of St. Paul to the Hebrews Chapter 7 verses 18 to 19)


Oh God, my Father, without You there is no hope or consolation. Life is one big joke disaster or disappointment, however, for those who have there trust in You there is hope and consolation Amen.


²⁰ This was confirmed with an oath; for others who became priests took their office without an oath, ²¹ but this one became a priest with an oath, because of the one who said to him, "The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, You are a priest forever' ²² accordingly Jesus has also become the guarantee of a better covenant.



(The Letter of St. Paul to the Hebrews Chapter 7 verses 20 to 22)


Oh God, my Father, I am not a cleric or a priest, however, I voluntarily submit my life of prayer to You and that I will keep on sharing online as long as You allow me to do so Amen.


²³ Furthermore, the former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office; ²⁴ but he holds his priesthood permanently because he continues forever.



(The Letter of St. Paul to the Hebrews Chapter 7 verses 23 to 24)


Oh God, my Father You are the priest of all priests, the one and only sinless and pure who offered the one and only sacrifice for our redemption. I pray that You call more priests, for many of our priests are becoming old and in time will leave this world. Amen.


²⁵ Consequently he is able for all time to save those who approach God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.


(The Letter of St. Paul to the Hebrews Chapter 7 verse 25)


Oh Jesus Son of God my Father, I pray that You intercede for me before Your Father and my God and Father, for today I have sinned. I feel remorse for my sins and am praying for the right time and situation in order to say sorry to the person whom I sinned against Amen.



²⁶ For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, blameless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.



(The Letter of St. Paul to the Hebrews Chapter 7 verse 26)


Oh God, I am proud to proclaim that You are my God and Father above all material and spiritual, loving and compassionate and one who accepts me as I am and who has paid for my redemption Amen.


²⁷ Unlike the other high priest, he has no need to offer sacrifice day after day, first for his own sins, and then for those of the people; this he did once for all when he offered himself.




(The Letter of St. Paul to the Hebrews Chapter 7 verse 27)


Oh God, my Father You are the priest of priests, popes of popes. You have redeemed us from our sins, You are the kings of kings Amen.



²⁸ For the law appoints as high priests those who are subject to weakness, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.


(The Letter of St. Paul to the Hebrews Chapter 7 verse 28)



Oh God, my Father, the world appoints leaders according to human appeal, You, on the other hand, appoint people such as priests, nuns popes to a higher level of order, one that You Yourself made holy by becoming the high priest of Priests Yourself Amen.



Oh God, my Father, I would like to end this seventh chapter of St. Paul's letter to the Hebrews with the following prayer;-


Oh God, my Father I thank You for this vocation that You have given me. I thank You for allowing me to share these meditations with all who are ready and willing to listen or and read Your Good News and apply its message of Salvation in our daily lives. I thank You as one of Your students because each time we join in prayer is like a student who is receiving a lesson from his or her teacher. I thank You oh Jesus for such precious moments Amen.