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It is DAY 73!!
WOW!!
Yesterday we concluded the section on Mary
Her virginity
She is the MOTHER OF GOD
She is a PERPETUAL VIRGIN
And also MARY’S VIRGINAL MOTHERHOOD IN GOD’S PLAN
Now we are taking the next step
THE MYSTERIES OF CHRIST’S LIFE
The first thing that the Church highlights is that CHRIST’S WHOLE LIFE IS MYSTERY
Tomorrow we will go through Jesus’ infancy and His life in Nazareth with Mary and Joseph
Then we will go through the mystery of His public life and Passion
So today we talk about CHRIST’S WHOLE LIFE IS MYSTERY
MYSTERY is not a Sherlock Holmes thing
It’s something to DIVE INTO AND EXPLORE
NOT GET LOST IN!!
But to realize that THERE IS ALWAYS MORE THAN WE CAN EVER SAY ABOUT THIS MYSTERY
Like the MYSTERY OF THE TRINITY
We can understand and grasp the mystery of the Trinity to some degree
BUT…
Here is the INFINITE GOD
We can grasp the Incarnation in some way
BUT…
Here is this INCREDIBLE MYSTERY
Now here is Jesus’ whole life as MYSTERY
Paragraph 512 says, “Concerning Christ’s life the Creed speaks only about the mysteries of the Incarnation (conception and birth) and Paschal mystery (passion, crucifixion, death, burial, descent into hell, resurrection, and ascension). It says nothing explicitly about the mysteries of Jesus' hidden or public life.”
AND YET…
Paragraph 512 continues, “...but the articles of faith concerning his Incarnation and Passover do shed light on the whole of his earthly life.”
What does it shed light on?
Paragraph 515 says, “His humanity appeared as ‘sacrament,’ that is, the sign and instrument, of his divinity and of the salvation he brings: what was visible in his earthly life leads to the invisible mystery of his divine sonship and redemptive mission.”
You might be familiar with the term SACRAMENT
There are some useful definitions of SACRAMENT
One is “a sacred sign that causes what it signifies”
His HUMANITY is a SACRAMENT
His HUMANITY is a SIGN OF HIS DIVINITY
THAT IS A MOUTHFUL!!
BUT…
What are some characteristics common to Jesus’ mysteries?
First is REVELATION
Paragraph 516 says, “Christ’s whole earthly life-his words and deeds, his silences and sufferings, indeed his manner of being and speaking-is Revelation of the Father. Jesus can say: ‘Whoever has seen me has seen the Father…’”
Paragraph 517 says, “Christ’s whole life is a mystery of redemption. Redemption comes to us above all through the blood of his cross, but this mystery is at work throughout Christ’s entire life.”
So first we have MYSTERY OF REVELATION
Second we have MYSTERY OF REDEMPTION
Paragraph 518 says, “Christ’s whole life is a mystery of recapitulation.”
We kind of understand the first two
What does recapitulation mean???
One of the ways that we can understand this is that here is Jesus…
(SQUIRREL!! 😉)
The People of Israel are the FIRST BORN OF THE LORD GOD
They have fallen into DISOBEDIENCE
They are led INTO THE WILDERNESS
They TURN on the Lord
Here is Jesus who is the ETERNAL ONLY BEGOTTEN SON OF THE FATHER
He is LED INTO THE WILDERNESS
HE DOES NOT TURN ON THE LORD!!
HE TRUSTS IN THE LORD!!
Those 40 DAYS is a RECAPITULATION of the 40 YEARS of the People of Israel in the desert!! 🤯🤯🤯
So His whole life is a MYSTERY OF RECAPITULATION
So far we have…
REVELATION
REDEMPTION
RECAPITULATION
Paragraphs 519-521 talk about OUR COMMUNION IN THE MYSTERIES OF JESUS
Paragraph 519 says, “All Christ’s riches ‘are for every individual and are everybody’s property.’ Christ did not live his life for himself but for us.”
Paragraph 520 says, “In all of his life Jesus presents himself as our model.”
Paragraph 521 says, “Christ enables us to live in him all that he himself lived, and he lives it in us.”
THIS SENSE OF PARTICIPATION!!
OUR COMMUNION IN THE MYSTERIES OF JESUS
He did this FOR US
He is our MODEL
BUT THEN…
By His GRACE He enables us to LIVE IN HIM and HE LIVES IT IN US
THIS WHOLE MYSTERY!!
Hopefully it makes sense the more we read the actual text
Listen for those key words
CHRIST’S WHOLE LIFE IS MYSTERY
So what are some characteristics common to Jesus’ mysteries?
REVELATION OF THE FATHER
MYSTERY OF REDEMPTION
MYSTERY OF RECAPITULATION
How do we participate in this?
Jesus has done all of this FOR US
Jesus is our MODEL
Jesus enables us to LIVE IN HIM
Jesus lives ALL OF THIS in us
IT IS A LOT!!
Let’s say a prayer as we begin this new section in The Catechism, the MYSTERIES OF CHRIST’S LIFE
Prayer by Fr. Mike: “Father in Heaven, we praise you, Father. First of all, let our praise go up before you. Let our thanksgiving go up before you, Father. Please, in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, receive our thanks. Receive our praise. You are the Eternal God. You are the Eternal Father who sent the Eternal Son into this world. His whole life is a revelation of you, of your heart, of your will, of who you are, the depths of your identity. His whole life is a work of redemption, redeeming every single aspect of our lives. And his whole life is a recapitulation, where he shows us how we can live in obedience, how we can live trusting, how we can live in love. Lord God, help us to participate in this. Help us to receive that Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit sent from you into our hearts so that we can live the mystery of Jesus Christ every day and every moment of our lives. In His name we pray. Amen”
THIS IS INCREDIBLE!!
Paragraph 512 says, “Concerning Christ’s life the Creed speaks only about the mysteries of the Incarnation (conception and birth) and the Paschal mystery (passion, crucifixion, death, burial, descent into hell, resurrection, and ascension). It says nothing explicitly about the mysteries of Jesus’ hidden or public life…”
Paragraph 514 says, “Many things about Jesus of interest to human curiosity do not figure in the Gospels. Almost nothing is said about his hidden life at Nazareth, and even a great part of his public life is not recounted. What is written in the Gospels was set down there ‘so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”
What was Jesus like as a baby?
What was Jesus like as a young man?
What was Jesus like as a child?
What was life like in Nazareth?
What were Jesus’ friends’ names?
What was that life like before Jesus gathered His Apostles and disciples around Him?
What did Jesus look like? (Was Jesus a Star Wars fan or a Star Trek fan?? 🤔🤔 These are MY notes so clearly Jesus was a STAR WARS FAN!!! How else would you explain The Force and awesome Lightsabers and Yoda??? 😉)
THIS IS REMARKABLE!!
THIS IS SO SO CRITICAL!!
Paragraph 515 says, “Having known in faith who Jesus is, they could see and make others see the traces of his mystery in all his earthly life. From the swaddling clothes of his birth to the vinegar of his Passion and the shroud of his Resurrection, everything in Jesus’ life was a sign of his mystery.”
Even the fact that Luke mentions swaddling clothes and laying Him in a manger TELLS US SOMETHING
IT REVEALS SOMETHING!!
The vinegar of His Passion
That spoiled wine that He drinks on the end of a sprig of hyssop
THAT REVEALS SOMETHING!!
The Shroud of His Resurrection
These pieces point to the mystery of Jesus and REVEAL something about Him in mystery
IT IS JUST REMARKABLE!!
Paragraph 515 continues, “His deeds, miracles, and words all revealed that ‘in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.’”
IT IS JUST REMARKABLE!!
Now onto CHARACTERISTICS COMMON TO JESUS’ MYSTERIES
We mentioned REVELATION
We mentioned REDEMPTION
We mentioned RECAPITULATION
REVELATION: “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.”
Jesus is the REVELATION OF THE FATHER
The FULLNESS of revelation
Once the Word of God, Jesus Christ, is spoken there is NO OTHER WORD
There is NO MORE FULL REVELATION of WHO the Father is
The Father says, “This is my beloved Son, my Chosen, in whom I am well pleased; listen to Him!”
THAT IS VERY VERY CLEAR!!
Paragraph 516 continues, “Because our Lord became man in order to do his Father’s will, even the least characteristics of his mysteries manifest ‘God’s love…among us.’”
SO IMPORTANT!!
The next part is HIS REDEMPTION
Paragraph 517 says, “Redemption comes to us above all through the blood of his cross.”
Jesus DYING FOR US is how He purchases Salvation for us
BUT…
Paragraph 517 continues, “...but this mystery is at work throughout Christ’s entire life.”
This MYSTERY OF REDEMPTION is NOT JUST ON THE CROSS
BUT…
IT IS AT WORK IN EVERY ASPECT OF JESUS’ LIFE!!
Paragraph 517 continues, “...already in his Incarnation through which by becoming poor he enriches us with his poverty...”
This ACT OF REDEMPTION has already begun in His embracing of SUFFERING AND POVERTY
Paragraph 517 continues, “...in his hidden life which by his submission atones for our disobedience…”
He returned to Nazareth with Joseph and Mary and was OBEDIENT to them
So His HIDDEN LIFE is redeeming and atoning for OUR DISOBEDIENCE
Paragraph 517 continues, “...in his word which purifies its hearers…”
When he PREACHES AND TEACHES there is a POWER in His words
IN FACT…
There is UNIQUE AUTHORITY that Jesus has
It doesn’t rely upon OTHER TEACHERS like the other scribes and other rabbis did
Paragraph 517 continues, “...in his healings and exorcisms by which ‘he took our infirmities and bore our diseases’...”
The FULLNESS of redemption and salvation comes to us NOT SIMPLY with Jesus’ preaching
NOT SIMPLY with Jesus’ miracles
ABOVE ALL BY HIS SUFFERING AND HIS PASSION, DEATH, AND RESURRECTION
All along the way, Jesus is redeeming EVERY ASPECT OF HUMAN LIFE 🤯🤯🤯
IN POVERTY…
IN OBEDIENCE…
IN SPEECH…
IN HEALING…
IN SUFFERING…
IN SICKNESS…
IN EXORCISMS…
Paragraph 517 continues, “...and in his Resurrection by which he justifies us…”
Jesus ENTERS INTO THE DEPTH of what we experience as human beings
Jesus REDEEMS IT
And then Jesus BY HIS RESURRECTION BY WHICH HE JUSTIFIES US brings it back to life
THIS IS REMARKABLE!!
WE NEED TO REFLECT ON THIS!!
THAT IS WHAT MYSTERIES ARE FOR!!
MYSTERIES ARE NOT PROBLEMS TO BE SOLVED!!
MYSTERIES ARE THIS REALITY TO BE ENTERED INTO!!
Jesus entered into EVERY ASPECT OF OUR HUMAN EXPERIENCE FROM BIRTH TO DEATH
PAST DEATH TO RESURRECTION!!
In doing that, Jesus REDEEMS ALL OF IT
Paragraph 517 says, “Christ’s whole life is a mystery of redemption…”
Paragraph 518 says, “Christ’s whole life is a mystery of recapitulation.”
The long history of mankind that has said NO to God AGAIN AND AGAIN
The 40 YEARS in the desert by the People of Israel are REDEEMED AND RECAPITULATED by Jesus’ 40 DAYS in the desert
Think about ALL of humanity’s REBELLION against God is RECAPITULATED in Jesus’ OBEDIENCE TO THE FATHER
All of our DISTRUST OF GOD is RECAPITULATED AND RENEWED in Jesus’ TRUST OF THE FATHER
WHICH IS REMARKABLE!!
Because of that, we get to PARTICIPATE IN THESE MYSTERIES
Paragraph 520 says, “In all of his life Jesus presents himself as our model.”
Paragraph 521 says, “Christ enables us to live in him all that he himself lived, and he lives it in us.”
Gaudium et Spes says in Paragraph 521, “‘By his Incarnation, he, the Son of God, has in a certain way united himself with each man.’ We are called only to become one with him, for he enables us as the members of his Body to share in what he lived for us in his flesh as our model…This is his plan for fulfilling his mysteries in us.”
THIS IS SO SO INCREDIBLE!!
We can partake in ALL OF THIS
We get to participate IN ALL OF THIS
IN FACT…
We will talk about SALVATION as we go forwards
There is a quote by Dr. Michael Barber, “Sometimes we think that salvation is being saved from Hell. Salvation is being SAVED FROM BEING UN-CHRISTLIKE.”
Here we have these broken hearts and broken lives and we live in this broken way
We live UN-CHRISTLIKE
Salvation is God not just REDEEMING US and RECONCILING US to Himself
BUT ALSO…
Making us capable of LIVING AS CHRIST
To participate in the mysteries that Jesus won for us
WHICH IS INCREDIBLE!!
Tomorrow we will talk about THE MYSTERIES OF JESUS’ INFANCY AND HIDDEN LIFE
THE PREPARATIONS
St John the Baptist
THE CHRISTMAS MYSTERY
THE MYSTERIES OF JESUS’ INFANCY
THE MYSTERIES OF JESUS’ HIDDEN LIFE
Fr. Mike is praying FOR YOU!!
Please pray for Fr. Mike and for each other!!
I cannot WAIT to see you tomorrow!!
Bobby's Notes coming soon...
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