A Penitent Blogger
A life that is "saved'' in order to save
4. "'Hoc est enim corpus meum quod pro vobis tradetur.'
"The body and the blood of Christ are given for the salvation of man, of the whole man and of all men. This salvation is integral and at the same time universal, because no one, unless he freely chooses, is excluded from the saving power of Christ's blood: "qui pro vobis et pro multis effundetur".
"It is a sacrifice offered for 'many'', as the Biblical text says (Mk 14:24; Mt 26:28; cf. Is 53:11-12); this typical Semitic expression refers to the multitude who are saved by Christ, the one Redeemer, yet at the same time it implies the totality of human beings to whom salvation is offered: the Lord's blood is 'shed for you and for all,' as some translations legitimately make explicit. Christ's flesh is truly given 'for the life of the world' (Jn 6:51; cf. 1 Jn 2:2).
"Repeating Christ's venerable words in the recollected silence of the liturgical assembly, we priests become privileged heralds of this mystery of salvation.
"Yet unless we sense that we ourselves are saved, how can we be convincing heralds?
"We are the first to be touched inwardly by the grace which raises us from our frailty and makes us cry 'Abba, Father' with the confidence of God's children (cf. Gal 4:6; Rom 8:15). This in turn commits us to advance along the path of perfection.
"Holiness, in fact, is the full expression of salvation. Only if our lives manifest the fact that we are saved do we become credible heralds of salvation.
"Moreover, a constant awareness of Christ's will to offer salvation to all cannot fail to inspire us with fresh missionary fervour, spurring each of us on to become 'all things to all men, in order to save at least some of them' (1 Cor 9:22)."
John Paul II
Holy Thursday Letter to Priests 2005 (excerpt)
"The body and the blood of Christ are given for the salvation of man, of the whole man and of all men. This salvation is integral and at the same time universal, because no one, unless he freely chooses, is excluded from the saving power of Christ's blood: "qui pro vobis et pro multis effundetur".
"It is a sacrifice offered for 'many'', as the Biblical text says (Mk 14:24; Mt 26:28; cf. Is 53:11-12); this typical Semitic expression refers to the multitude who are saved by Christ, the one Redeemer, yet at the same time it implies the totality of human beings to whom salvation is offered: the Lord's blood is 'shed for you and for all,' as some translations legitimately make explicit. Christ's flesh is truly given 'for the life of the world' (Jn 6:51; cf. 1 Jn 2:2).
"Repeating Christ's venerable words in the recollected silence of the liturgical assembly, we priests become privileged heralds of this mystery of salvation.
"Yet unless we sense that we ourselves are saved, how can we be convincing heralds?
"We are the first to be touched inwardly by the grace which raises us from our frailty and makes us cry 'Abba, Father' with the confidence of God's children (cf. Gal 4:6; Rom 8:15). This in turn commits us to advance along the path of perfection.
"Holiness, in fact, is the full expression of salvation. Only if our lives manifest the fact that we are saved do we become credible heralds of salvation.
"Moreover, a constant awareness of Christ's will to offer salvation to all cannot fail to inspire us with fresh missionary fervour, spurring each of us on to become 'all things to all men, in order to save at least some of them' (1 Cor 9:22)."
John Paul II
Holy Thursday Letter to Priests 2005 (excerpt)
posted by Penitens | 8:40 AM
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