Christ: The Eternal Passover

It is Easter time. This past week was Holy Week. Not incidental is the occurrence of the Jewish holiday of Passover in this very same Holy Week. I am blessed to have been raised in that tradition, for it has given me a deeper faith in Christ. I believe that in seeing the prefigurement of Christ in the Passover story is an excellent way to enliven our understanding.

The Passover Seder itself is a todah, which means sacrifice. The Passover meal is a meal of sacrificial nature. It is not just a remembrance of the events, but rather it is an actual reliving of the events. There is a joy in the freedom celebrated in the passover, but a consciousness and seriousness regarding the suffering the Jews went through before gaining that freedom and also recognition that there was a high price to obtain it. Even though the Egyptians were not believers in God, they are still God's children and thus Jews cannot and should not take pleasure in their suffering (and neither can anyone who believes in God).

In a very real way this is our approach to Mass and should be. In the same way, we rejoice in the freedom Christ bought for us by his death and we rejoice at his resurrection which makes it possible for us to have new life. Yet at the same time we are aware of the high price at which our freedom from sin is bought. After all, Mass brings us to Cavalry and the Cross. This is something we must approach with seriousness and soberness.

Returning to Passover, the Lord commanded the Jews to slaughter an unspotted lamb. The lamb would be a one year-old male. Now with the exception of age, this lamb is a clear prefigurement of Christ, but I will discuss that more in the latter part of this post. It is with this lamb's blood that the Jews painted the lintel of their doorposts so that the angel of death would pass over the homes of the Jews. The Jews were also instructed to partake in the Lamb.

So in returning to the importance to us as Christians. Jesus Christ lived a sinless life, thus unspotted. He is called the Lamb of God. On the cross, He offered Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of all men. It is with his blood that we are redeemed. Thus the doorpost is the doorpost of our souls. Mass is in itself the Passover Seder. We are first nourished by the word of God that tells the story of Christ's mission and teaching. Then in the Liturgy of the Eucharist, we relive Christ's sacrifice and thus the story of how our freedom from the death of sin was bought. In receiving communion, we partake in the Lamb. We must remember that Christ's sacrifice is continual. He offers himself to the Father every day on the alters of Churches all over the world. Thus we can say Jesus Christ's sacrifice is eternal. Thus the Passover which Christians celebrate is eternal. Christ has made Himself the eternal Passover. By the grace of the Holy Spirit, He made bread and wine into His body, blood, soul, and divinity at the Last Supper. He commanded the Apostles to continue this. Thus we are commanded to receive the Eucharist, which by the power of the Holy Spirit is Christ's real presence.

Christ has by this sacrifice given us freedom. A freedom that must not be taken lightly. We must seek constant renewal in the Sacrament of Penance, in which Christ gives us new life and as often as possible, partake in our eternal Passover which guards our hearts and minds, and frees us from the bondage of sin.

Christ the eternal Passover, have mercy on us. Happy Easter all! May God bless you! Christ is risen, Alleluia!

The True Meaning of St.. Patricks Day

Today is March 17, which means it is St. Patrick's Day. As we know this has often been seen as day of excessive drinking and irresponsible behavior. Like many other days of significance, it has become overly commercialized. In this way we have often forgotten the meaning.

So what is St. Patrick's Day really all about? Actually the better question is who is it about? The answer is one of the greatest saints. Saint Patrick was a bishop in Ireland. He was sent to Ireland in order to minister primarily to non-christians (although he ministered to the small number of christians as well). In order to spread the gospel message and bring people to the faith, he used the rituals already in place and incorparated. For instance he used fire to celebrate Easter, because that is what the Irish did to worship their gods. In fact this tradition can still be seen at the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday. Of course the even greater result of his work was the conversion of many to Christianity.

So let us now pause and reflect on the true meaning of this wonderful feast day. It is to honor a man who by God's grace brought Christianity to non-Christians. He lived for the gospel message and due to his merits the grace of God, he is recognized as a saint. May we take this day to pay homage and respect our Lord who gave us Saint Patrick as an example.

Saint Patrick, pray for us.