Leviticus 1

Leviticus 1:1

Richard Challoner: This Book is called LEVITICUS, because it treats of the Offices, Ministries, Rites and Ceremonies of the Priests and Levites. The Hebrews call it VAICRA, from the word with which it begins.

Leviticus 1:3

Richard Challoner: A holocaust: That is, a whole burnt offering (olokauston), so called, because the whole victim was consumed with fire; and given in such manner to God as wholly to evaporate, as it were, for his honour and glory; without having any part of it reserved for the use of man. The other sacrifices in the Old Testament were either offerings for sin, or peace offerings: and these latter again were either offered in thanksgiving for blessings received; or by way of prayer for new favours or graces. So that sacrifices were then offered to God for four different ends or intentions, answerable to the different obligations which man has to God: 1. By way of adoration, homage, praise, and glory due to his divine majesty. 2. By way of thanksgiving for all benefits received from him. 3. By way of confessing and craving pardon for sins. 4. By way of prayer and petition for grace and relief in all necessities. In the New Law we have but one sacrifice, viz., that of the body and blood of Christ: but this one sacrifice of the New Testament perfectly answers all these four ends; and both priest and people, as often as it is celebrated, ought to join in offering it up for these four ends.

Richard Challoner: A holocaust: That is, a whole burnt offering (olokauston), so called, because the whole victim was consumed with fire; and given in such manner to God as wholly to evaporate, as it were, for his honour and glory; without having any part of it reserved for the use of man. The other sacrifices in the Old Testament were either offerings for sin, or peace offerings: and these latter again were either offered in thanksgiving for blessings received; or by way of prayer for new favours or graces. So that sacrifices were then offered to God for four different ends or intentions, answerable to the different obligations which man has to God:

1. By way of adoration, homage, praise, and glory due to his divine majesty.
2. By way of thanksgiving for all benefits received from him.
3. By way of confessing and craving pardon for sins.
4. By way of prayer and petition for grace and relief in all necessities. In the New Law we have but one sacrifice, viz., that of the body and blood of Christ: but this one sacrifice of the New Testament perfectly answers all these four ends; and both priest and people, as often as it is celebrated, ought to join in offering it up for these four ends.

Leviticus 1:6

Pacian of Barcelona: We strip off the skin of a victim when we remove the illusion of virtue from the eyes of our mind. We cut its limbs into pieces when we carefully distinguish the content of a virtue and ponder it step by step. We should take care, so that when we conquer evil we do not replace it with frivolous goods. Otherwise those goods might produce inconstancy; they might lay hold of frivolity; they might wander off on the path of error; they might be broken by laziness and lose the value of work already done. In all things the mind should look around carefully and persevere in its provident concern. We should also note that we are sometimes afflicted by an impulse to illicit thoughts, because we are engaged in some earthly business, even if it is legitimate. When an earthly act is tinged with desire, even in a small way, the power of the ancient enemy grows against us and our minds are corrupted by no small oppression of temptation. Hence the priest of the law is bidden to burn in fire part of the victim that has been cut into pieces, namely, the head and the parts around the liver; but the feet and the intestines of the victim he must first wash in water. We burn the head and what is near the liver when, in the senses that rule the whole body and in our hidden desires, we burn with the flame of divine love. And the priest is commanded to wash the victim’s feet and intestines. Feet touch the earth, and intestines carry excrement. We are often set on fire with longing for eternity and in our sense of devotion long for our mortification. But since we still do something earthly because of our weakness, we tolerate in our hearts some illicit thoughts that we have suppressed. And when unclean temptation fouls our thoughts, what do they contain except excrement from the victim’s intestines? To burn them, they should be washed, for it is necessary that weeping in fear should wash away unclean thoughts. The heavenly fire can burn them in an acceptable sacrifice. Whatever the mind suffers in unfamiliar struggle or in the memory of its first conversion is to be washed, so that it can burn more sweetly in the sight of the one who beholds it. Exposition of the Old and New Testament, Leviticus

Paterius: We strip off the skin of a victim when we remove the illusion of virtue from the eyes of our mind. We cut its limbs into pieces when we carefully distinguish the content of a virtue and ponder it step by step. We should take care, so that when we conquer evil we do not replace it with frivolous goods. Otherwise those goods might produce inconstancy; they might lay hold of frivolity; they might wander off on the path of error; they might be broken by laziness and lose the value of work already done. In all things the mind should look around carefully and persevere in its provident concern. We should also note that we are sometimes afflicted by an impulse to illicit thoughts, because we are engaged in some earthly business, even if it is legitimate. When an earthly act is tinged with desire, even in a small way, the power of the ancient enemy grows against us and our minds are corrupted by no small oppression of temptation. Hence the priest of the law is bidden to burn in fire part of the victim that has been cut into pieces, namely, the head and the parts around the liver; but the feet and the intestines of the victim he must first wash in water. We burn the head and what is near the liver when, in the senses that rule the whole body and in our hidden desires, we burn with the flame of divine love. And the priest is commanded to wash the victim’s feet and intestines. Feet touch the earth, and intestines carry excrement. We are often set on fire with longing for eternity and in our sense of devotion long for our mortification. But since we still do something earthly because of our weakness, we tolerate in our hearts some illicit thoughts that we have suppressed. And when unclean temptation fouls our thoughts, what do they contain except excrement from the victim’s intestines? To burn them, they should be washed, for it is necessary that weeping in fear should wash away unclean thoughts. The heavenly fire can burn them in an acceptable sacrifice. Whatever the mind suffers in unfamiliar struggle or in the memory of its first conversion is to be washed, so that it can burn more sweetly in the sight of the one who beholds it. — EXPOSITION OF THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT, Leviticus 1

Leviticus 1:14

Bede: In very many ceremonies of the law one who needed to be cleansed was ordered to be cleansed by [offering] these [birds]. A pigeon indicates simplicity and a turtledove indicates chastity, for a pigeon is a lover of simplicity and a turtledove is a lover of chastity—so that if by chance one loses its mate it will not subsequently seek another. — Homilies on the Gospels 1.18