Sirach 45:20. "He added glory to Aaron and gave him a heritage; he allotted to him the first of the first fruits, he prepared bread of first fruits in abundance". Sirach is extolling the blessings of the priesthood in this chapter. He points out that God chose Aaron to be His priest from among all men; He dressed him in splendid garments, and gave him the beautiful symbols of authority; He anointed him and his descendants with holy oil; He gave him authority in statutes and judgments; He chose him to offer sacrifice to the Lord and make atonement for the people; He gave him the first fruits of the sacrifice; and He protected him when others rose against him. (Sirach 45:6-20).

What a special relationship God has with his priests! And how blessed we are to have them! Without them, we could not offer proper worship; we could not be brought back into communion with the Lord. They are vitally essential to God's plan of salvation, and He bestows His blessings on them abundantly. Yet, they are only human; they have temptations and struggles just like the rest of us. In fact, knowing how essential they are to our salvation, the devil goes after them hard - he gets a huge return on his investment when he corrupts a priest!

Sirach goes on to point out that "in the land of the people [the priest] has no inheritance, and he has no portion among the people; for the Lord himself is his portion and inheritance." (Sirach 45:22) This is a trade-off that is more than worth it, but there is no denying that the pull of this world is strong and it must be tiring, to say the least, resisting it constantly, especially when the devil is throwing all his firepower your way!

So let's pray especially hard for our priests as they navigate these turbulent times and guide us into communion with our Father. And let's let them know how much we appreciate all they do, and all they have sacrificed, for us.