Nov 29 Fri
Why the Cross?
The sacrifice that Jesus offered on the cross accomplished three things:
• It atoned for the sin of the human race.
• It healed the breach between men and God.
• It opened heaven to man.
Is there still anything left to be done? Yes, but what remains is not an addition to what was done on Calvary, but the application to each man of the merits of Christ.
Every human being was redeemed on the Cross by Christ (objective Redemption); it is up to each to freely apply to himself this Redemption and cooperate with grace (subjective Redemption).
The passion and death of Christ, the unique sacrifice that took away our sins, is indeed a life-giving remedy. But it can be compared to a medicine, which, thoroughly effective in itself, benefits only those who apply it.
The New Covenant is not unilateral. God, who procured the means of salvation for one and all, requires our cooperation. Each of us should receive for himself what our Lord won —through his cross— for mankind. We cooperate by receiving the sacraments, especially the Holy Eucharist, by prayer, penance, and by leading a Christian life, by corresponding to the graces God sends us.
Since the Mass is the same sacrifice as that of Calvary with all its strength and sanctifying power, the Church considers it the center of her life and the life of each child of hers who struggles, with the help of God’s grace. “The Eucharistic sacrifice is the ‘source and summit of all Christian life.’ It is a single sacrifice that embraces everything. It is the greatest treasure of the Church. It is her life.”
St Augustine tells us a similar idea: “He who wants to live can find here a place to live in and the means to live on. Let him approach; let him be incorporated so that he may receive life. Let him not shy away from union with the members, let him not be a rotten member that deserves to be cut away, nor a distorted member to be ashamed of: let him be beautiful, let him be fitting, let him be healthy, so that he may afterward reign in heaven.”
“Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body.’
I have often helped you consider this marvelous reaction of human love: two people who love one another, when they have to part, exchange some photographs with a dedication so full of affection, so aflame, that it is almost a wonder that the words don't burn the paper. It's the same with Jesus, who loves us to the end: he has to go and, at the same time, he wants to stay. But what we cannot do, God can do: He goes and He stays. He institutes the Holy Eucharist so that we may eat him so that we will be strengthened so that we will be faithful and come to perfect union with him ..."
The Church strongly recommends all the faithful to participate often in the Mass. “The more perfect form of participation in the Mass whereby the faithful, after the priest’s Communion, receive the Lord’s body from the same sacrifice is warmly recommended to those who are duly prepared and in the state of grace.”
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