CHAPTER III.
THE THREE RELATIONS OF THE PRIESTHOOD.
A priest stands in three relations, of which each one binds him to interior spiritual perfection.
1. The first binds him to the great High Priest, of whose priesthood he is partaker. He is our fountain of sanctity; but He is also our law of obligation. To those who drew near to Him in the priesthood of the Old Law God said, Sancti estote, quia ego sanctus sum.[1] The uncreated sanctity of God demands sanctity in all who approach Him. At the burning bush in Horeb God commanded Moses to put off the shoes from his feet; for the ground he stood on was holy.[2] An unholy man, if he seeks the priesthood, is seeking eternal death; for "who can dwell with everlasting burnings?"[3] The holiness, the purity, the jealousy, the justice of God, are as the flames of a furnace, in which the pure are
