13. The Paschal Mystery

13. THE PASCHAL MYSTERY In the liturgy of Holy Week, we commemorate Christ's Passion , Death, and Resurrection. Compendium 112-116 John 13:1 These events are inseparable and stand at the center of our faith. The Hebrew word "paschal" means both "the passing over" and "passage". In the Exodus the homes of the Israelites, marked by the blood of the sacrificial lamb, were "passed over" by the Angel of Death thereby sparing them so they could make the passage from slavery to freedom. "Passover" is not just an historical celebration but a living memorial. This first Passover anticipates Christ's shedding his blood for us as the sacrificial lamb to free all from the slavery of sin. With Baptism in Christ we pass over from sin to a new and eternal life with Christ. Christ is the new Moses who definitively interprets the Law and the Prophets. We cannot impute guilt for the death of Jesus on those who historically participated in bringing it about. Christ died for all our sins and as Christians we bear a greater responsibility for sin. But God sent his Son in expiation for our sins. Jesus assumed our humanity in order that it would become the very means of our redemption. The entire life of Christ was a free offering to the Father to carry out his plan of salvation. He announced the Kingdom, confirmed it with miracles, took our sins upon himself, cancelled death and showed us the path to everlasting life. "Do this in memory of me" Jesus not only commands the Apostles to recall but also reenact the very same mystery of love. "As often as you eat this bread and drink this blood you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes."1 "Obedient unto death" Jesus' agony unmasks the enormity of our sins. Obedience is the key to our reconciliation with God and with those we have harmed. Jesus invites us to take up our daily cross and walk with him. We await with Mary as the sadness of death gives way to the joy of the resurrection.