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Chapter 8 — "The Saving Death and Resurrection of Christ"
OPENING PRAYER
The Resurrection Prayer
O Risen Lord,
the Way, the Truth, and the Life,
Make us faithful followers of the spirit of Your Resurrection.
Grant that we may be inwardly renewed,
dying to ourselves in order that You may live in us.
May our lives serve as signs of the transforming power of Your love.
Use us as Your instruments for the renewal of society,
bringing Your life and love to all,
and leading them to Your Church.
This we ask of You, Lord Jesus,
living and reigning with the Father,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God forever.
Amen.
Source: Resurrection Catholic Church (accessed June 6, 2022)
"THE SAVING DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF CHRIST"
—CCC, Nos. 571–664
Where or when do you experience God’s saving grace in your life?
The Son of God, incarnated in the person of Jesus, came to give us abundant life (Jn 10:10). Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, then you will also know my Father” (Jn 14:6-7a). Jesus is the human face of our loving and merciful God, and the divine face of humans. He is the image—the icon—of God for us. He stands knocking at the door of our heart, waiting for us to allow him to enter (Rv 3:20) We only need to open that door and invite him in. If we do, we can experience the reign of God’s love, joy, peace, justice, freedom, healing, mercy, forgiveness, and salvation.
Jesus’ teachings and actions challenged those who chose the way of power, possessions, and prestige and so, some of them brutally beat and crucified Jesus; he suffered and died. We only need to look at the last century with its wars, killings, tortures, hunger, poverty, discrimination, and exploitation to see that some things have not changed.
Yet, Jesus’ death at human hands was not the last word. Jesus’ act of unconditional love in freely submitting himself to such suffering and death was the instrument in God’s plan of salvation to save us from sin and its damaging effects. Jesus—the Son of God—restored the harmony between God and ourselves that had been disrupted by sin. He taught us how to love and to live abundantly in truth and goodness.
Jesus Christ is Risen! As a result, we can now die to sin and its domination in our lives. We can experience divine life here on earth and more completely in heaven. Not only do our souls survive physical death, but we have the hope that our bodies will rise again at the end of time at the Last Judgment and resurrection of the dead.
We are called to “die” to those thoughts, habits, actions, and ways that keep us from fully loving our God and our neighbor as God loves us. We are called to “rise” to new life in Christ. In our next session, we learn from where and how we receive the power to do this.
Please read this week USCCA,Chapter 8, "The Saving Death and Resurrection of Christ," (pages 89–100), the CCC, Nos. 571–664 (pages 146–173), and the Compendium, Nos. 112–132
REFLECT ON YOUR EXPERIENCE
What thoughts, habits, actions, or ways do you have that keep you from fully loving God and your neighbor as God loves you?
What do you believe you can do now to begin to let them “die” and to “rise” to new life in Christ?
We encourage and invite you to spend time to reflect, pray, and write in your journal about what you have read, seen, heard, or experienced this week. You can find some questions you may wish to consider here.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, in now, and ever shall be.
Amen.