Fragmenda

Scripture

Exodus 28–30

Exodus 28

The holy vestments for Aaron and his sons.

1 

Take unto thee also Aaron thy brother with his sons, from among the children of Israel, that they may minister to me in the priest’s office: Aaron, Nadab, and Abiu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

2 

And thou shalt make a holy vesture for Aaron, thy brother, for glory and for beauty.

3 

And thou shalt speak to all the wise of heart, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron’s vestments, in which he being consecrated, may minister to me.

4 

And these shall be the vestments that they shall make: A rational and an ephod, a tunic and a strait linen garment, a mitre and a girdle. They shall make the holy vestments for thy brother Aaron and his sons, that they may do the office of priesthood unto me.

5 

And they shall take gold, and violet, and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine linen.

6 

And they shall make the ephod of gold, and violet, and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine twisted linen, embroidered with divers colours.

7 

It shall have the two edges joined in the top on both sides, that they may be closed together.

8 

The very workmanship also, and all the variety of the work, shall be of gold, and violet, and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine twisted linen.

9 

And thou shalt take two onyx stones, and shalt grave on them the names of the children of Israel:

10 

Six names on one stone, and the other six on the other, according to the order of their birth.

11 

With the work of an engraver, and the graving of a jeweller, thou shalt engrave them with the names of the children of Israel, set in gold and compassed about:

12 

And thou shalt put them in both sides of the ephod, a memorial for the children of Israel. And Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord upon both shoulders, for a remembrance.

13 

Thou shalt make also hooks of gold.

14 

And two little chains of the purest gold, linked one to another, which thou shalt put into the hooks.

15 

And thou shalt make the rational of judgment with embroidered work of divers colours, according to the workmanship of the ephod, of gold, violet, and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine twisted linen.

16 

It shall be four square and doubled: it shall be the measure of a span both in length and in breadth.

17 

And thou shalt set in it four rows of stones . In the first row shall be a sardius stone, and a topaz, and an emerald:

18 

In the second a carbuncle, a sapphire, and a jasper:

19 

In the third a ligurius, an agate, and an amethyst:

20 

In the fourth a chrysolite, an onyx, and a beryl. They shall be set in gold by their rows.

21 

And they shall have the names of the children of Israel: with twelve names shall they be engraved, each stone with the name of one according to the twelve tribes.

22 

And thou shalt make on the rational chains, linked one to another, of the purest gold:

23 

And two rings of gold, which thou shalt put in the two ends at the top of the rational.

24 

And the golden chains thou shalt join to the rings, that are in the ends thereof.

25 

And the ends of the chains themselves, thou shalt join together with two hooks, on both sides of the ephod, which is towards the rational.

26 

Thou shalt make also two rings of gold, which thou shalt put in the top parts of the rational, in the borders that are over against the ephod, and look towards the back parts thereof.

27 

Moreover also other two rings of gold, which are to be set on each side of the ephod beneath, that looketh towards the nether joining, that the rational may be fitted with the ephod,

28 

And may be fastened by the rings thereof unto the rings of the ephod with a violet fillet, that the joining artificially wrought may continue, and the rational and the ephod may not be loosed one from the other.

29 

And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the rational of judgment upon his breast, when he shall enter into the sanctuary, a memorial before the Lord for ever.

30 

And thou shalt put in the rational of judgment doctrine and truth, which shall be on Aaron’s breast, when he shall go in before the Lord: and he shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel on his breast, in the sight of the Lord always.

31 

And thou shalt make the tunic of the ephod all of violet,

32 

In the midst whereof above shall be a hole for the head, and a border round about it woven, as is wont to be made in the outmost parts of garments, that it may not easily be broken.

33 

And beneath at the feet of the same tunic, round about, thou shalt make as it were pomegranates, of violet, and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, with little bells set between:

34 

So that there shall be a golden bell and a pomegranate, and again another golden bell and a pomegranate.

35 

And Aaron shall be vested with it in the office of his ministry, that the sound may be heard, when he goeth in and cometh out of the sanctuary, in the sight of the Lord, and that he may not die.

36 

Thou shalt make also a plate of the purest gold: wherein thou shalt grave with engraver’s work, Holy to the Lord.

37 

And thou shalt tie it with a violet fillet, and it shall be upon the mitre,

38 

Hanging over the forehead of the high priest. And Aaron shall bear the iniquities of those things, which the children of Israel have offered and sanctified, in all their gifts and offerings. And the plate shall be always on his forehead, that the Lord may be well pleased with them.

39 

And thou shalt gird the tunic with fine linen, and thou shalt make a fine linen mitre, and a girdle of embroidered work.

40 

Moreover, for the sons of Aaron thou shalt prepare linen tunics, and girdles and mitres for glory and beauty:

41 

And with all these things thou shalt vest Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him. And thou shalt consecrate the hands of them all, and shalt sanctify them, that they may do the office of priesthood unto me.

42 

Thou shalt make also linen breeches, to cover the flesh of their nakedness, from the reins to the thighs:

43 

And Aaron and his sons shall use them when they shall go into the tabernacle of the testimony, or when they approach to the altar to minister in the sanctuary, lest being guilty of iniquity they die. It shall be a law for ever to Aaron, and to his seed after him.


Exodus 29

The manner of consecrating Aaron and other priests; the institution of the daily sacrifice of two lambs, one in the morning, the other at evening.

1 

And thou shalt also do this, that they may be consecrated to me in priesthood. Take a calf from the herd, and two rams without blemish,

2 

And unleavened bread, and a cake without leaven, tempered with oil, wafers also unleavened, anointed with oil: thou shalt make them all of wheaten flour.

3 

And thou shalt put them in a basket, and offer them: and the calf and the two rams.

4 

And thou shalt bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the tabernacle of the testimony. And when thou hast washed the father and his sons with water,

5 

Thou shalt clothe Aaron with his vestments, that is, with the linen garment and the tunic, and the ephod and the rational, which thou shalt gird with the girdle.

6 

And thou shalt put the mitre upon his head, and the holy plate upon the mitre,

7 

And thou shalt pour the oil of unction upon his head: and by this rite shall he be consecrated.

8 

Thou shalt bring his sons also, and shalt put on them the linen tunics, and gird them with a girdle:

9 

To wit, Aaron and his children, and thou shalt put mitres upon them; and they shall be priests to me by a perpetual ordinance. After thou shalt have consecrated their hands,

10 

Thou shalt present also the calf before the tabernacle of the testimony. And Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands upon his head,

11 

And thou shalt kill him in the sight of the Lord, beside the door of the tabernacle of the testimony.

12 

And taking some of the blood of the calf, thou shalt put it upon the horns of the altar with thy finger, and the rest of the blood thou shalt pour at the bottom thereof.

13 

Thou shalt take also all the fat that covereth the entrails, and the caul of the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and shalt offer a burnt offering upon the altar:

14 

But the flesh of the calf, and the hide and the dung, thou shalt burn abroad, without the camp, because it is for sin.

15 

Thou shalt take also one ram, upon the head whereof Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands.

16 

And when thou hast killed him, thou shalt take of the blood thereof, and pour round about the altar.

17 

And thou shalt cut the ram in pieces, and having washed his entrails and feet, thou shalt put them upon the flesh that is cut in pieces, and upon his head.

18 

And thou shalt offer the whole ram for a burnt offering upon the altar: it is an oblation to the Lord, a most sweet savour of the victim of the Lord.

19 

Thou shalt take also the other ram, upon whose head Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands.

20 

And when thou hast sacrificed him, thou shalt take of his blood, and put upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron and of his sons, and upon the thumbs and great toes of their right hand and foot, and thou shalt pour the blood upon the altar round about.

21 

And when thou hast taken of the blood that is upon the altar, and of the oil of unction, thou shalt sprinkle Aaron and his vesture, his sons and their vestments. And after they and their vestments are consecrated,

22 

Thou shalt take the fat of the ram, and the rump, and the fat that covereth the lungs, and the caul of the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and the right shoulder, because it is the ram of consecration:

23 

And one roll of bread, a cake tempered with oil, a wafer out of the basket of unleavened bread, which is set in the sight of the Lord:

24 

And thou shalt put all upon the hands of Aaron and of his sons, and shalt sanctify them elevating before the Lord.

25 

And thou shalt take all from their hands; and shalt burn them upon the altar for a holocaust, a most sweet savour in the sight of the Lord, because it is his oblation.

26 

Thou shalt take also the breast of the ram, wherewith Aaron was consecrated, and elevating it thou shalt sanctify it before the Lord, and it shall fall to thy share.

27 

And thou shalt sanctify both the consecrated breast, and the shoulder that thou didst separate of the ram,

28 

Wherewith Aaron was consecrated and his sons, and they shall fall to Aaron’s share, and his sons’, by a perpetual right from the children of Israel: because they are the choicest and the beginnings of their peace victims which they offer to the Lord.

29 

And the holy vesture, which Aaron shall use, his sons shall have after him, that they may be anointed, and their hands consecrated in it.

30 

He of his sons that shall be appointed high priest in his stead, and that shall enter into the tabernacle of the testimony to minister in the sanctuary, shall wear it seven days.

31 

And thou shalt take the ram of the consecration, and shalt boil the flesh thereof in the holy place:

32 

And Aaron and his sons shall eat it. The loaves also, that are in the basket, they shall eat in the entry of the tabernacle of the testimony,

33 

That it may be an atoning sacrifice, and the hands of the offerers may be sanctified. A stranger shall not eat of them, because they are holy.

34 

And if there remain of the consecrated flesh, or of the bread, till the morning, thou shalt burn the remainder with fire: they shall not be eaten, because they are sanctified.

35 

All that I have commanded thee, thou shalt do unto Aaron and his sons. Seven days shalt thou consecrate their hands:

36 

And thou shalt offer a calf for sin every day for expiation. And thou shalt cleanse the altar when thou hast offered the victim of expiation, and shalt anoint it to sanctify it.

37 

Seven days shalt thou expiate the altar and sanctify it, and it shall be most holy. Every one, that shall touch it, shall be holy.

38 

This is what thou shalt sacrifice upon the altar: Two lambs of a year old every day continually,

39 

One lamb in the morning, and another in the evening.

40 

With one lamb a tenth part of flour tempered with beaten oil, of the fourth part of a hin, and wine for libation of the same measure.

41 

And the other lamb thou shalt offer in the evening, according to the rite of the morning oblation, and according to what we have said, for a savour of sweetness:

42 

It is a sacrifice to the Lord, by perpetual oblation unto your generations, at the door of the tabernacle of the testimony before the Lord, where I will appoint to speak unto thee.

43 

And there will I command the children of Israel, and the altar shall be sanctified by my glory.

44 

I will sanctify also the tabernacle of the testimony with the altar, and Aaron with his sons, to do the office of priesthood unto me.

45 

And I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel, and will be their God:

46 

And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who have brought them out of the land of Egypt, that I might abide among them, I the Lord their God.


Exodus 30

The altar of incense: money to be gathered for the use of the tabernacle: the brazen laver: the holy oil of unction, and the composition of the perfume.

1 

Thou shalt make also an altar to burn incense, of setim wood.

2 

It shall be a cubit in length, and another in breadth, that is, four square, and two in height. Horns shall go out of the same.

3 

And thou shalt overlay it with the purest gold, as well the grate thereof, as the walls round about, and the horns. And thou shalt make to it a crown of gold round about,

4 

And two golden rings under the crown on either side, that the bars may be put into them, and the altar be carried.

5 

And thou shalt make the bars also of setim wood, and shalt overlay them with gold.

6 

And thou shalt set the altar over against the veil, that hangeth before the ark of the testimony before the propitiatory wherewith the testimony is covered, where I will speak to thee.

7 

And Aaron shall burn sweet smelling incense upon it in the morning. When he shall dress the lamps, he shall burn it:

8 

And when he shall place them in the evening, he shall burn an everlasting incense before the Lord throughout your generations.

9 

You shall not offer upon it incense of another composition, nor oblation, and victim, neither shall you offer libations.

10 

And Aaron shall pray upon the horns thereof once a year, with the blood of that which was offered for sin; and shall make atonement upon it in your generations. It shall be most holy to the Lord.

11 

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

12 

When thou shalt take the sum of the children of Israel, according to their number, every one of them shall give a price for their souls to the Lord, and there shall be no scourge among them, when they shall be reckoned.

13 

And this shall every one give that passeth at the naming, half a sicle according to the standard of the temple. A sicle hath twenty obols. Half a sicle shall be offered to the Lord.

14 

He that is counted in the number from twenty years and upwards, shall give the price.

15 

The rich man shall not add to half a sicle, and the poor man shall diminish nothing.

16 

And the money received, which was contributed by the children of Israel, thou shalt deliver unto the uses of the tabernacle of the testimony, that it may be a memorial of them before the Lord, and he may be merciful to their souls.

17 

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

18 

Thou shalt make also a brazen laver with its foot to wash in: and thou shalt set it between the tabernacle of the testimony and the altar. And water being put into it:

19 

Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and feet in it:

20 

When they are going into the tabernacle of the testimony, and when they are to come to the altar, to offer on it incense to the Lord,

21 

Lest perhaps they die. It shall be an everlasting law to him, and to his seed by successions.

22 

And the Lord spoke to Moses,

23 

Saying: Take spices, of principal and chosen myrrh five hundred sicles, and of cinnamon half so much; that is, two hundred and fifty sicles, of calamus in like manner two hundred and fifty,

24 

And of cassia five hundred sicles by the weight of the sanctuary, of oil of olives the measure hin:

25 

And thou shalt make the holy oil of unction, an ointment compounded after the art of the perfumer,

26 

And therewith thou shalt anoint the tabernacle of the testimony, and the ark of the testament,

27 

And the table with the vessels thereof, the candlestick and furniture thereof, the altars of incense,

28 

And of holocaust, and all the furniture that belongeth to the service of them.

29 

And thou shalt sanctify all, and they shall be most holy: he that shall touch them shall be sanctified.

30 

Thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons, and shalt sanctify them, that they may do the office of priesthood unto me.

31 

And thou shalt say to the children of Israel: This oil of unction shall be holy unto me throughout your generations.

32 

The flesh of man shall not be anointed therewith, and you shall make none other of the same composition, because it is sanctified, and shall be holy unto you.

33 

What man soever shall compound such, and shall give thereof to a stranger, he shall be cut off from his people.

34 

And the Lord said to Moses: Take unto thee spices, stacte, and onycha, galbanum of sweet savour, and the clearest frankincense, all shall be of equal weight.

35 

And thou shalt make incense compounded by the work of the perfumer, well tempered together, and pure, and most worthy of sanctification.

36 

And when thou hast beaten all into very small powder, thou shalt set of it before the tabernacle of the testimony, in the place where I will appear to thee. Most holy shall this incense be unto you.

37 

You shall not make such a composition for your own uses, because it is holy to the Lord.

38 

What man soever shall make the like, to enjoy the smell thereof, he shall perish out of his people.

Catechism

Catechism of the Council of Trent, Part 1, Chapter 4, Sections 16-17

Reasons Why Christ Suffered

The reasons why the Saviour suffered are also to be explained, that thus the greatness and intensity of the divine love towards us may the more fully appear. Should anyone inquire why the Son of God underwent His most bitter Passion, he will find that besides the guilt inherited from our first parents the principal causes were the vice's and crimes which have been perpetrated from the beginning of the world to the present day and those which will be committed to the end of time. In His Passion and death the Son of God, our Saviour, intended to atone for and blot out the sins of all ages, to offer for them to his Father a full and abundant satisfaction.

Besides, to increase the dignity of this mystery, Christ not only suffered for sinners, but even for those who were the very authors and ministers of all the torments He endured. Of this the Apostle reminds us in these words addressed to the Hebrews: Think diligently upon him that endured such opposition from sinners against himself; that you be not wearied, fainting in your minds. 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.

Christ Was Delivered Over To Death By The Father And By Himself

But that Christ the Lord was also delivered over to death by the Father and by Himself, the Scriptures bear witness. For in Isaias (God the Father) says For the wickedness of my people have I struck him. And a little before the same Prophet filled with the Spirit of God, cried out, as he saw the Lord covered with stripes and wounds: All we like sheep have gone astray, every one hath turned aside into his own way: and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. But of the Son it is written: If he shall lay down his life for sin, he shall see a long­lived seed. This the Apostle expresses in language still stronger when, in order to show how confidently we, on our part, should trust in the boundless mercy and goodness of God, he says: He that spared not even his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how hath he not also, with him, given us all things? a