Encounter

September 3-4, 2016

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

“The Church is not an association that wishes to promote a certain cause.  It is not about a cause.  It is about the person of Jesus Christ.”  Pope Benedict XVI spoke these words on July 1, 2008 and in May of 2004 explained that "Many people perceive Christianity as something institutional -- rather than as an encounter with Christ -- which explains why they don't see it as a source of joy."  And so this weekend we continue to reflect on the person of Jesus Christ.

He was born like us in the same way we are – born of woman, and raised by Mary and Joseph in a home during a timeframe that has remained hidden from us.  This is because the primary purpose of Jesus’ life is the mystery of redemption wherein, following the Last Supper in which He left us the gift of His Body and Blood and the priesthood, He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried.  In doing so, Jesus fulfilled the Law as the Lawgiver and the Prophets, particularly through being Emmanuel (God with us), and the Suffering Servant (Isaiah’s prediction).  

In His death through crucifixion, He died for our sins and took upon Himself the weight of the world.  During His burial He descended into Hell and entered into the depths of death.  On the third day He rose and ascended from these depths.  Through these actions, He allowed those who had been deprived of the vision of God to see God (Old Testament figures) and to give us the hope of shared resurrection (New Testament and beyond).  Through these acts, the Paschal Mystery (passion, death, resurrection, ascension), Jesus shows forth the depths of the Father’s love for us, shows forth the depths of His mercy, and gives us the hope of resurrection.  Through these acts and Pentecost, He gives us the grace of salvation.  He also gives us hope because He literally shared in every aspect of our life – hunger, thirst, joy, sorrow, pain, comfort, prayer, partying (wedding at Cana style), mourning, tears, laughter, etc. – yet all of this without losing His divinity or stop being God.  This is why we can say that God truly understands us – not just as the One who created us but the One who loves us intimately enough to save us while we are still in sin, not waiting for us to be perfected, but bringing us to perfection and giving us the grace to do so. Thus, He gives Himself to us in His Body and Blood, the Eucharist.

Upon completion of this earthly mission, Jesus ascended to the Father to take His seat upon the throne, the throne that is the cross, to reign on high.  Finally, as He promised, He sent the Holy Spirit and told us that He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead.

Of course our understanding of who Jesus Christ is dependent on our understanding of God.  We can never fully understand God completely, but we can speak what He has revealed about Himself to us through Jesus Christ, the Son.  He is a God who is one God, three persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  This may seem elementary, basic catechesis, and it should be, but it is essential for understanding the Son.  The unbegotten Father begets the Son, who receives the love of the Father and returns that love in full to the Father.  This act of begetting and returning that love is the Holy Spirit, who is the breath of the Father and Son.  But that is enough for now, until next weekend take a moment and thank the Son for all that He has done for us.

Ut in omnibus glorificetur Deus – That in all things God may be glorified,

Fr. Isaac Haywiser, O.S.B.
Administrator