Easter

 

The Paschal Mystery

The Christian Faith is centered entirely on the Paschal Mystery.

So If someone were to ask you what the Paschal Mystery was,

Could you explain it?

The Greek word Paschal, refers to the Hebrew Passover,

Which refers to the time,

When the Passover Lamb was sacrificed,

And the Blood of the Passover Lamb,

Was put on the door posts of each house

Of the Israelites in Egypt, so that the Angel of Death,

Would PASSOVER their house and spare them.

Thus the word “Passover”

And then the Passover Lamb,

Was eaten to give the Jews strength and nourishment

On their journey to the Promised Land.

Christ is the New Passover or Paschal Lamb,

Who was sacrificed on the cross,

And Whose Blood was poured out,

Not on door posts,

But on our souls,

So that we might not die forever,

But rise to everlasting Life.

And we eat the Flesh of Christ, the Paschal Lamb,

To strengthen us on our journey to the Kingdom of Heaven.

While other Christian denominations remember

what Jesus said and did in their services,

At every Mass we not only Remember

We become part of the Paschal Mystery.

In a mysterious way we are made actually present in the Upper Room

And we are seated around Jesus,

As He gives us His Body and Blood.

In a mysterious way we are actually present at Calvary

Where Jesus sacrificed Himself on the cross.

This is why we call it,

“The Sacrifice of the Mass.”

And lastly, in a mysterious way,

We are at the Tomb, with Mary Magdalene,

Where Christ is Risen.

This is the Paschal Mystery.

Where we Passover from Death to Eternal Life,

And in a mysterious way,

We too are made present at the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus.

And this all takes place at Mass.

This is why Padre Pio said,

“It would be easier for the world to exist without the sun,

Than it would without the Mass.”

I lived in Jerusalem for one year.

And almost everyday I would go and sit at Calvary and pray.

And six times I had Mass in the Empty Tomb,

Where Jesus was laid and rose from the dead.

And there were times when I would pray to go back there again,

Until one day at Mass,

Jesus reminded me that at EVERY Mass,

I truly am with Him at Calvary,

And at the Tomb where He rose from the dead.

And ever since then,

My need to return to Jerusalem has subsided.

Because I am at Calvary and the Tomb,

Every time I go to Mass.