Tuesday, April 11, 2006
 

"The Paschal Mystery"

By THE MOST REVEREND WILLIAM E. LORI, S.T.D., BISHOP OF BRIDGEPORT
Fairfield County Catholic, April 8, 2006

Prior to celebrating the Sacrament of Confirmation, I meet with the young people to be confirmed to ask them some questions about the faith. The reason for this question-and-answer period is to highlight the privileges and responsibilities of full membership in the Church which Confirmation brings about. It is a gift and privilege for us to know Jesus Christ and to share in His saving love for us. It is our responsibility to know and love our faith so well that we can bear witness to it. This includes our good example as followers of Christ as well as an ability and readiness to speak about the faith lovingly and persuasively, and even to defend the faith when it is attacked. For that we need to know the language of faith.

We need to speak about the faith with even more accuracy and passion than we speak about business, politics, sports, or the arts.

By now almost everyone knows the questions I will ask the Confirmation candidates as I travel from parish to parish. And that's fine. My point is not to ask trick questions but rather to challenge young people to better understand and articulate the faith. And it's wonderful to see progress.

Lately, for example, a lot of young people have been eager to tell me the meaning of words and phrases such as "epiclesis" (invoking the Holy Spirit over the bread and wine at Mass or in the Sacraments generally), "anamnesis" (the Church's living memory by which Jesus' death and resurrection is made present for us at Mass), and "transubstantiation" (the transformation of bread and wine into the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ.) And one more phrase has been popping up with increased frequency: "the Paschal Mystery" (Christ's redemptive work accomplished by His death and resurrection).

It should be obvious to all of us that these are not mere vocabulary words to be mastered by rote memory. Rather, they are words that describe the indescribable love of God the Father which Jesus Christ revealed by His death and resurrection, and communicated to us in the power of the Holy Spirit. Once we learn these words and phrases, we need to spend a lifetime of discipleship letting their meaning penetrate our minds and our hearts.

The Paschal Mystery is the sum and substance of what the Church preaches and celebrates all year long. But never is it more on display than during Holy Week and Easter. This is a God-given opportunity for you and me to discover afresh the depth of Jesus' love for us in Jesus' death and resurrection.

So please consider this column both a loving invitation and a persistent nudge to make use of the Sacrament of Penance prior to Easter and to participate in all the Holy Week Services in your parishes. Here's the run-down:

Palm Sunday: We re-live the triumphal entry of Jesus in Jerusalem, soon to be followed by His condemnation.

Chrism Mass: Priests of the Diocese gather with me in Saint Augustine Cathedral (Wednesday, April 12, 3 p.m.) to be renewed in our priestly service and to take part in the blessing of the holy oils used in the sacramental life of the Church. All are most welcome.

Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday: We are reminded of Jesus' example of love by His washing the feet of the disciples, and we witness the institution of the Eucharist and the Priesthood.

Good Friday: The Church's most solemn commemoration of the death of the Lord; we are united in contemplating the love with which He bore our sins and infirmities. o Holy Saturday: On this holiest of nights, we keep vigil awaiting with renewed hearts the Good News of the Resurrection and welcome new members into the communion of the Church.

Easter Sunday: With unrestrained joy, the Church celebrates the triumph of the Risen Lord over sin and death as the Paschal Alleluia rings out all over the world.

These great liturgical celebrations are rich and beautiful expressions of what the Lord did to save us. But they are much more than reminders of the Lord's love. The liturgies of Holy Week and, for that matter, every Mass, truly make present the Lord's Paschal Mystery for the sake of our salvation.

But how can we discern if our celebration of the Lord's death and resurrection is affecting our lives? How can we gauge whether our celebration of the Paschal Mystery is penetrating our hearts and making a difference in our lives?

I would suggest that we need to look for signs of the Resurrection in our own daily lives. Jesus died to reconcile us to the Father and to one another. Have we sought to share in His reconciling love through the Sacrament of Penance and by laying aside anger and ill-will and by working for the unity of the Church? By dying and rising, Jesus unleashed into the world "a love that is stronger than sin and more powerful than death." Have we allowed the grace of God to enable us to overcome sinful habits and to lead us to life of virtue? Dying Jesus destroyed our death; rising He restored our life. Have we responded to Jesus' invitation to be His co-workers in proclaiming and defending the dignity of human life and by serving in love those who are in need?

The Paschal Mystery reveals the Father's tender love for us. In the words of the Easter Vigil proclamation, "To ransom a slave, God gave away His Son."

Do we long to accept that gift week in and week out by faithfully participating in the Sunday Eucharist, or do we attend Sunday Mass only sporadically or half-heartedly? The Paschal Mystery is not just a concept. It is indeed the source of the new life we proclaim and live as followers of Christ and members God's Holy People, the Body of Christ.

Easter is upon us but it is never too late to open our hearts to Christ. If, in the power of the Holy Spirit, we welcome His love into our hearts, we will begin to see the evidence of the Resurrection in our daily lives.