Day 88: Christ’s Definitive Sacrifice

The Catechism in a Year is brought to you by Ascension. In 365 days, we'll read through the Catechism of the Catholic Church, discovering our identity in God's family as we journey together toward our heavenly home. It is day 88. We're reading paragraphs 613 to 623. As always, I'm using the Ascension Edition of the Catech Church.

Catechism, which includes the foundations of faith approach, but you can follow along with any recent version of the catechism of the Catholic Church. You can also download your catechism in a year reading plan by visiting Ascension Press.com slash CIY and You can click follow or subscribe in your podcast app for daily updates.

In daily notifications, it is day eighty-eight today. You know, we've been talking about um huh what is it to to talk about the trial of Jesus, to talk about the death of Jesus. What is it to say that Jesus was crucified? How does that save us? Well, we've been talking about how his His yes to the Father has been remarkable. That is yes to the Father out of love for the Father, and also his yes to the Father out of love for us.

is remarkable. Remember, we talked about how Christ's whole life yesterday, Christ's whole life is an offering to the Father. And not only that, but also he gives us himself not only on the cross, he offers himself to the Father on the cross, but also he offers himself to us freely in the Eucharist. As is that ah, incredible participation. It's been said that

when you are at the altar, like when you're at the Mass, you're at the foot of the cross in Calvary. That that is, you're not only at the Last Supper, you're also at Golgotha, you're also at Calvary, which is just remarkable and a mystery. Today we're gonna talk about how Christ's death is the unique and definitive sacrifice. One of the things that

we remember and we recall, we that we understand is that Christ's death is is not an execution. I mean, yes, from the Romans' perspective, from maybe even people passing by, their perspective is that this is a merely an execution. Have you ever thought about that? Have you ever thought about to the casual observer of the crucifixion. They would have merely seen another Roman execution. But for us, we understand that Christ's death is not an execute merely an execution, it is a sacrifice.

that he is freely going to the cross. He is freely offering up himself because he in paragraph six step six thirteen it says. Christ's death is both the paschal sacrifice that accomplishes the definitive redemption of men. Remember he's the Lamb of God who takes who takes away the sins of the world.

and the sacrifice of the new covenant, which restores man to communion with God by reconciling him to God through the blood of the covenant, which is both of those pieces are just so powerful and credible. He's the sa Paschal sacrifice, which redeems human beings. and the sacrifice of the new covenant, which restores us to communion with God, which is remarkable. And and also, six fourteen,

The sacrifice of Christ is unique. It completes and surpasses all other sacrifices. Remember that when we read the Old Testament, there's all of those sacrifices. We talked about the tada offering, right? The thank offering. There's the sin offering. There's there's all these offerings. Christ's sacrifice. You know, it said that every priest stands at his his duty in the old covenant, right? And offers up sacrifices. But Jesus is the priest who is

who doesn't offer up a sacrifice outside of himself. He's a priest who is the sacrifice as well, which is just again incredible. Paragraph six fifteen goes on to note that Jesus substitutes his obedience for our disobedience, which is incredible Six sixteen, six seventeen.

Gee it's the love to the end. That Christ's sacrifice on the cross, it is love to the end that confers on Christ's sacrifice its value. As redemption and reparation, as atonement and satisfaction. Remember, we talked about this about this before, that yes, Christ endured an incredible agony, more agony than we could possibly imagine. It wasn't merely the pain, but That saved us. It was the love of the that bore the pain, right? It's the love that entered into the pain. It was the obedience

that is redemption and reparation. It is atonement and satisfaction. It is love to the end that confers on Christ's sacrifice its value. And we want to highlight that. And then lastly, it before our our in brief today is our participation in Christ's sacrifice. So this is this is yes about what Jesus himself did for us. You know, unmerited that he did, unwarranted on our part, but he did out of love for us, but then

We are called to participate in Christ's sacrifice. We are called in a way only known to God. the possibility of being made partners in the Paschal mystery, right? That we can actually participate. in the incredible sacrifice of Jesus on the cross to his father. And that's what our lives are meant to be, all right? Our lives are meant to be conformed to that yes.

of Jesus to his father. And so we're going to talk about that today. And then we have, you know, about five little bullets or in in brief nuggets at the end of today. So let's say a prayer as we as we kick off this day, day eighty-eight to Father in heaven. We praise you and we give you glory. We thank you so much for giving us your only son, whom you love, to be a sacrifice for sinners.

And we thank you, Jesus Christ. We thank you for your obedience to the Father. We thank you for not only being the model of what it is to trust in the Father, but also For being the priest, for being the sacrifice, for being the one who not only offered, but the one who was offered.

Help us to say yes as well. Help us to have the same obedience that you had, Jesus, to the Father. And Father, may everything that we do this day, whether it be full of joy or full of pain, whether it be uh full of love or full of grief, We ask that everything we go through today be offered to you, just like Jesus offered everything to you.

It is in his name that we pray. Amen. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, amen. As I said, it's day eighty eight, we're reading paragraphs six hundred thirteen to six twenty three. Christ's death is the unique and definitive sacrifice. Christ's death is both the paschal sacrifice that accomplishes the definitive redemption of men through the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.

and the sacrifice of the new covenant, which restores man to communion with God, by reconciling him to God through the blood of the covenant, which was poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. This sacrifice of Christ is unique. It completes and surpasses all other sacrifices. First, it is a gift from God the Father Himself.

For the Father handed his Son over to sinners in order to reconcile us with Himself. At the same time, it is the offering of the Son of God made man, who in freedom and love offered his life to his Father through the Holy Spirit in reparation for our disobedience. Jesus substitutes his obedience for our disobedience. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man's obedience many will be made righteous.

By his obedience unto death, Jesus accomplished the substitution of the suffering servant, who makes himself an offering for sin when he bore the sin of many, and who shall make many to be accounted righteous, for he shall bear their iniquities. Jesus atoned for our faults and made satisfaction for our sins to the Father. Jesus consummates his sacrifice on the cross. It is love to the end that confers on Christ's sacrifice its value as redemption and reparation, as atonement and satisfaction.

He knew and loved us all when he offered his life. As Saint Paul wrote to the Corinthians, Now the love of Christ controls us, because we are convinced that one has died for all, therefore all have died. No man, not even the holiest, was ever able to take on himself the sins of all men and offer himself as a sacrifice for all.

The existence in Christ of the divine person of the Son, who at once surpasses and embraces all human persons, and constitutes himself as the head of all mankind, makes possible his redemptive sacrifice for all. The Council of Trent emphasizes the unique character of Christ's sacrifice as the source of eternal salvation, and teaches that his most holy passion on the wood of the cross merited justification for us. And the Church venerates his cross as it sings Hail O Cross, our only hope.

Our participation in Christ's sacrifice is not The cross is the unique sacrifice of Christ, the one mediator between God and men. But because in his incarnate divine person he has in some way united himself to every man, the possibility of being made partners in a way known to God in the Paschal Mystery is offered to all men. He calls his disciples to take up their cross and follow him, for Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, so that we should follow in his steps.

In fact, Jesus desires to associate with his redeeming sacrifice those who are to be its first beneficiaries. This is achieved supremely in the case of his mother, who was associated more intimately than any other person in the mystery of his redemptive suffering. St. Rose of Lima noted, Apart from the cross, there is no other ladder by which we may get to heaven. In brief. Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures.

Our salvation flows from God's initiative of love for us, because He loved us and sent His Son to be the expiation for our sins. God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself. Jesus freely offered himself for our salvation beforehand, during the Last Supper, he both symbolized this offering and made it really present, saying, This is my body, which is given for you.

The redemption won by Christ consists in this, that he came to give his life as a ransom for many, that is, he loved his own to the end, so that they might be ransomed from the futile ways inherited from their fathers. By his loving obedience to the Father unto death, even death on a cross, Jesus fulfills the atoning mission of the suffering servant who will make many righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.

Okay, so there we are. Day eighty eight, paragraphs six thirteen to six twenty three. Um I think it is worth, it is completely worth highlighting the fact that we may not reflect on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ as often as we ought. I mean, yes, during Lent we typically will make the stations of the cross, you know, the way of the cross.

Sometimes, you know, during when we pray the sorrowful mysteries, of course we focus on on the agony of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane and his scourging and his crying with thorns, carrying of the cross and his crucifixion. But the reality, of course, is that the sacrifice of Christ is a daily part of our lives. A once for all, right? His he's he offered himself once for all. And at the same time, this once for all sacrifice is

is a part of our daily lives. I love this um paragraph six fourteen, where it notes this sacrifice of Christ, you know, which is the Paschal sacrifice and the sacrifice of the new covenant, this sacrifice of Christ is unique. It completes and surpasses all other sacrifices. We noted that at the beginning of this of this day, where we talked about the old covenant sacrifices that completes and surpasses all of them and highlights two things. First, it is a gift from the Father himself.

For the Father handed his Son over to sinners in order to reconcile us with Himself, so this remarkable reality that the sacrifice of Christ is a gift of God. From the Father who Which is... given to to us in a remarkable way. At the same time, the last sentence of paragraph 614 says, at the same time,

It is the offering of the Son of God made man, who in freedom and love offered his life to his Father through the Holy Spirit in reparation for our disobedience. So it's a gift from the Father and it's a gift for the Father, which is em amazing. In fact, that phrasing Oh man, I love this. Who in freedom and love offered his life to the f to his father through the Holy Spirit in reparation for our disobedience. You know that that's one of the ways we we describe the mass.

that the Mass is the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. offered to the Father in the power of the Holy Spirit. Every time you go to Mass, that is what is happening. That at the altar, it is the unbloody sacrifice of Christ. Right? In the Eucharist, we're gonna talk about this mystery when we get to that section, that second pillar. But at the Mass, it is the unbloody sacrifice of Jesus Christ. What is it? He is Jesus offering himself.

to the Father in the power of the Holy Spirit. And we get to participate in that, which is inc incredible. And that's why the the Mass accomplishes two ends every single time. Every single time we celebrate the Mass and participate in the Mass, it does two things. One, it gives glory to the Father. And secondly, it saves the world. I mean it's it it's it redeems the world. In fact, we even pray this at every mass.

You know, there's this moment where the priest says to the congregation, pray my brothers and sisters, that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God, the Almighty Father. And then the congregation responds, May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands. And here's this key. A for the praise and glory of his name, and B for our good and the good of all his holy church.

So we recognize that we offer the sacrifice, again, priest and people united with Jesus, the great high priest, offering up this sacrifice to the Father and the power of the Holy Spirit of the Holy Spirit, A, for the glory of the Father, and B for the good of the the whole church and or the essentially for the salvation of the entire world, which is remarkable, incredible. That's one of the ways that paragraph six eighteen, we participate in Christ's sacrifice. We're again six eighteen says

The cross is the unique sacrifice of Christ. He is the one mediator between God and man. That's a hundred percent. He's the only one who does this. As as earlier on we noted that no person, no matter how holy they were, could ever bear the sins of of everyone.

So Jesus is the one mediator. But because in his incarnate divine person, he has in some way united himself to every man. Think about those words. His incarnate divine person, right? So he is a divine person who's incarnated. So he has a human. He he he's embraced humanity, right? He's joined himself to humanity because of that. Because he's united himself to every man

the possibility of being made partners in a way known to God in the Paschal Mystery is offered to all men. That's from Gaudiet Spe Gaudimet spez in the Second Vatican Council, which is just remarkable. The possibility of being made partners in a way known to God in the Paschal Mystery is offered to all of us. To be able to participate in A, that sacrifice that gives glory to the Father, and B that sacrifice that redeems the world, you have a share in that. You get to participate in this as well.

No, the last thing I just want to emphasize and and point to is paragraph six sixteen, where we already noted this, but it's worth kind of ending on this today. It is love to the end that confers on Christ's sacrifice its value as redemption and reparation, as atonement and satisfaction. He knew and loved us all when he offered his life. Which is again remarkable. One of the things that we note and have to remember at all times is that God loves you. I mean, just truly.

Again, remember we've said this a thousand times. This is not about information transfer. This is about transformation. It's not just about data. This is about conversion. This is not just about I know a bunch of things about God, but I love him. And he loves you. So powerfully he knew and loved us all when he offered his life. And now, as Saint Paul says, the love of Christ controls us because we're convinced that one has died for all, therefore all have died.

The existence of Christ in the divine person of the Son, because he is God, that makes possible his redemptive sacrifice for all. Because he is God, he can offer himself. And because he's human, he's offering himself For us all.

Which is incredible. We get to get to share in this. And again, that's one of the reasons why, you know, the last couple of days talking about, you know, praying for those who don't know Jesus, don't know of his great love for them. Again, whether they're part of a religion or not part of a religion, whether they're raised in the church and walked away or Whatever happened, we want them all to know this because this is the good news.

That yes, we have this world that is beautiful but broken. We have this world that is good but fallen. And we are our own hearts, you your own heart and my own heart, beautiful but broken and good but fallen. And into this world, good but broken, beautiful but fallen. He's God's love.

Can you imagine walking through this world, walking through life, not knowing this? Not knowing that not only is there a God, and there is a God who is good, and there's a God who cares about you, who knows your name, and who loves you. But the God who offered Himself for you, the God who knew and loved us all when he offered his life. That is incredible news and we gives he gives us a share in his passion. So today.

I'm praying that um all of us will let this truth penetrate our hearts, that all of us will not only know about the fact that we have a share in his passion, but To embrace that. To embrace that sharing his passion for the salvation of the world and for the Father's glory. Let's pray for each other. I'm praying for you. Please pray for me. My name is Father Mike. Cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless.