We hear in this evening’s Gospel of the piercing of Christ’s heart. This heart should be very dear to us. This heart is a human heart that burns with divine love for each and every one of us. And from the Gospels we learn that Jesus Christ, is the Son of God who became man for us and who lived a life of perfect love. Because of the love that burned within that Sacred Heart, Christ’s earthly life was a life of perpetual worship, a life of transparent love for God the Father and for all mankind. His heart was moved by compassion by the suffering of those around him. His heart knew moments of rejoicing and sorrow. But above all, His heart loved.
May we never forget that the Sacred Heart is the heart of the Son of God who became man for our salvation. And how was that salvation accomplished? The Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, became a helpless child, grew up, lived a fully and perfectly human life and finally, offered himself as a sacrifice for our sins on the Cross. The whole life of Jesus Christ was one of sacrifice and obedience to God the Father. His whole life was lived for the reconciliation of God and man. As perfect God and perfect man, and He was the only One who could offer a life of perfect sacrifice to God the Father for our sake. With his death on the Cross this life of self-emptying reached its consummation and fulfilment. The sacrifice of Christ on the Cross is the completion of the only perfect act of human worship, and is the greatest revelation of God’s love for us.
And so we read in the Gospel according to St John that having completed His sacrifice, and giving up His spirit, the side of Christ is pierced and out flowed blood and water. It is as if this heart of Christ, having spent itself totally in compassion for sinful man, has one last treasure to give in death. This is the final act, the completion of Christ’s total gift to us and to the Father.
The Fathers of the Church saw a great mystical significance in this. They saw that just as Eve came forth from the side of Adam, so the Church was born out of the side of Christ on the Cross. But what does this mean? They saw the Blood and Water as symbolising the Sacraments – Eucharist and Baptism in particular. By Baptism we become part of the One Body of Christ, and in the Eucharist, we are joined to Christ Himself and his great sacrificial priestly action. Because of the Cross and because of the Sacraments, we are granted salvation, made into God’s own chosen people and allowed to share in Christ’s divine life.
The Letter to the Hebrews teaches us that Christ is the One Eternal High Priest, who has offered this saving sacrifice for us, and who continues to plead for us at the right hand of the Father. And from all of this – His Incarnation, His sacrifice and His Eternal life with the Father – we have the great mystery of Christ’s priesthood. This priesthood is something that Christ alone accomplished. Only he could and did offer the reconciling sacrifice that enables man to overcome his sins and live in harmony with God.
And, not only does He win our salvation, but He also shows us God’s love. His love for us is God’s love for us and by his example we are shown how to respond to this love. What is more, by the grace he continues to grant, we have the strength to follow this example. He offers each and every Christian a share in His Priesthood.
His saving sacrifice is more than just a dead example for us. It is not something trapped in the past or between the pages of a book. The Lord of History does not allow the distance in time and space to cut us off from his redeeming work. His great priesthood does not leave us untouched. As St Augustine teaches, the God who made us without our help does not save us without our cooperation. Christ offers us a share in his saving priesthood. He is our example of humble obedience. He is our assurance of God’s love. And He is the way in which we can find the strength to follow the example of His loving heart. He offers us the chance to be transformed, if we are willing to welcome his sacrifice and his example into our lives. This is especially true when we consider the Eucharist.
The night before he died, Christ instituted the Eucharist. This is my body given up for you, this is my blood poured out for you he told his disciples, reassuring him that what would happen on Good Friday was not some brutal accident of history, but was the Lord of Heaven freely giving His life for His brothers and sisters. Do this as a memorial of me he told them. In the celebration of the Eucharist, His example and His strength, His very presence would be present to the Church until the end of time. By learning from the Eucharist and receiving Christ’s Body and Blood, we are transformed. God himself teaches us how to love as He does, and how to make all the joys and sorrows a form of worship.
Remember! The whole life of Christ was a priestly offering – and that life had moments of joy, sorrow, laughter, tears, frustration, success, and disappointment. And so, everything that happens in our life can be offered to the Father. Our joys, our sorrows, our laughter, our tears, our successes and our disappointments – they can all be offered to the Father in union with Christ. The One High Priest shares his priesthood with the whole Church and gives each and every one of us the possibility of living our ordinary lives in the extraordinary way of Christian love and sacrifice.
This was made very clear to me just 5 weeks ago. On Trinity Sunday, Fr Ragheed Ganni was celebrating evening Mass for his parishioners in the Church of the Holy Spirit in Mosul. Extremists has already bombed his Church and injured his sister. He had been threatened by sectarian terrorists, narrowly escaped kidnapping and had seen his church attacked on several occasions. As he left the Church, he and his subdeacons were stopped by Muslim extremists. Separating them from a number of women who were travelling with them, these men killed Fr Ganni and Companions out of hatred for the Christian faith.
Fr Ganni was studying in the Irish College when I started there in 2001. In 2003, he returned to Iraq despite the dangers. How was such a decision possible? He continued to minister to his people despite receiving several threats. Where could he find the strength to do that? He knew his life was in danger, but he continued to do his duty despite his fears. How can this be explained? He answered this question himself in 2005:
“There are days when I feel frail and full of fear. But when, holding the Eucharist, I say ‘Behold the Lamb of God Behold, who takes away the sin of the world’, I feel His strength in me. When I hold the Host in my hands, it is really He who is holding me and all of us, challenging the terrorists and keeping us united in His boundless love.”
This is the power of the priesthood of Christ – something we all share in by our baptism, and which is renewed in us each time we participate in the Eucharist.
And so we give thanks for the priesthood of Christ. In offering Himself to the Father he offers Himself to us. He invites us to join in His offering of love and gives us the strength to follow Him. He shows us God’s love by His priesthood and asks us to unite our sacrifices, and all we have to Him.
May Jesus Christ the Eternal High Priest be praised, now and forever.
2 comments:
B., sorry that I couldn't be there, but thanks for posting this. Please keep it updated with your other sermons.
Your fans demand it! ;)
Wish we could've been there, too. Is there a video of the ordination?
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