SEPTEMBER 2020
“ . . . The mystery of death and life forms the central belief in Christianity. We call it the paschal mystery: “paschal” pertaining to the passion, death and resurrection of Christ; “mystery” pertaining to the wonder we experience before those events, revealed by God, incomprehensible to us humans . . .”
the disciples there, “Peace be with you.” Tey were startled and terrified, not at all peaceful, and, as if they were ancestors of Ebenezer Scrooge, they thought they were seeing a ghost. But Jesus was no Marley. He said, “Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.” As he said this, he showed them his hands and his feet (Luke 24:36-40). To prove his resurrection he showed the disciples scars.
In the Acts of the Apostles on the day of Pentecost, Peter proclaimed this blend of death and resurrection also in Jerusalem. He said, David died and was buried; they could all visit his tomb. Jesus died and was buried, but God raised him, the one whom they had crucified (2:29-36) . . .
Dying and rising is our bread and butter. Parish ministry continually deals with loss and redemption, complaints and compliments, angry former members and happy new members, unemployment and acceptance, expulsion and welcome, and, literally, death and new life. We Christians live the paschal mystery every day . . . Each day of our lives we experience dying and rising. We sacrifice for those we love. We give our possessions to charities. We volunteer the use of the gifts we have received. Even when our motives are altruistic, they make us feel good because they reconnect us with what is most fundamentally human— love: dying to ourselves for the sake of others.
Trough all of this we prepare for the end of our own lives. We meditate on the death and rising of Christ. We witness the dying and rising of new Christians. We follow Christ through the unending battle against sin
so that we may share his glory. Death may come when we do not expect it, but in all these mini-mysteries, we prepare for our death, in hopes that God, who raised up Christ, will raise us up from death to new life.
Fr. Paul Turner is pastor of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Kansas City, Missouri and director of the Office of Divine Worship for the diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph.
He is a prolific author and presenter, particularly on the liturgy and sacramental celebrations.
Excerpted from
Anointed by the Spirit: Priest, Prophet, and King
By Mary Birmingham
Tough often consumed by a feeling of powerlessness, we are people of faith.
As Christians we stand on the belief that there is no evil, no disease, no horror greater than the power of the risen Christ. He did not promise to take all those things away from us—but he did promise to be with us in them. I could not have survived the crosses of my life over a lifetime had it not been for the cross and his Paschal Mystery. “I praise you Lord, and I bless you, because by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the world. You have redeemed me.” Tere is power in the cross of Christ.
. . . We stand on the threshold of a turning point in human history—we are being given a chance to reinvent ourselves. We now face a common, universal enemy not defined by race, religion, political party or geography. Te virus cares little about who its target is—it cares not whether it is Chinese, American, Muslim, Christian, Democrat, Republican, Independent, rich or poor . . . COVID-19 will change us as a species. Te world must respond together—a species fighting for survival. Of course, the virus will not kill all of us. But it is causing excruciating pain and loss, turning our daily lives into a surreal existence never before thought possible. Our vulnerability is on open display.
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