ST MELCHIZEDEK, KING OF SALEM - 26 AUGUST

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN AUGUST

Saints celebrated on the 26th of August

Prayer to the Angels and the Saints

Heavenly Father, in praising Your Angels and Saints we praise Your glory, for by honouring them we honour You, their Creator. Their splendour shows us Your greatness, which infinitely surpasses that of all creation.

In Your loving providence, You saw fit to send Your Angels to watch over us. Grant that we may always be under their protection and one day enjoy their company in heaven.

Heavenly Father, You are glorified in Your Saints, for their glory is the crowning of Your gifts. You provide an example for us by their lives on earth, You give us their friendship by our communion with them, You grant us strength and protection through their prayer for the Church, and You spur us on to victory over evil and the prize of eternal glory by this great company of witnesses.

Grant that we who aspire to take part in their joy may be filled with the Spirit that blessed their lives, so that, after sharing their faith on earth, we may also experience their peace in heaven. Amen.

ST MELCHIZEDEK, KING OF SALEM

Saint Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine. He was a priest of God Most High. He blessed Abram with these words:

Blessed be Abram by God Most High, the creator of heaven and earth... Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything. (Genesis 14:18-19, 20) 

St Melchizedek briefly appears in the Old Testament as a priest-king who brought gifts and a blessing to Abram (later called Abraham). He was the king of "Salem," a town which many generations later became Jerusalem. The origin of the order of Melchizedek’s priesthood is not specified. The writer of Psalm 110  asserts that Melchizedek is a priest forever. 

THE EXTRAORDINARY PRIESTHOOD OF MELCHIZEDEK

The biblical Book of Hebrews makes the connection between Melchizedek and Jesus. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (1544) explains that the extraordinary priesthood of Melchizedek is traditionally believed to have foreshadowed the priesthood of Christ.

Melchizedek’s gifts to Abram of bread and wine seem to herald the elements used by Jesus during the Last Supper. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (1333) considers these gifts to have been a presentiment of the offerings of the Church. 

EUCHARISTIC PRAYER I

"Be pleased to look upon these offerings with a serene and kindly countenance, and to accept them, as once you were pleased to accept the gifts of your servant Abel the just, the sacrifice of Abraham, our father in faith, and the offering of your high priest Melchizedek, a holy sacrifice, a spotless victim." 

(📷 A tapestry depicting Melchizedek and Abram)