“Christus factus est pro nobis oboediens usque ad mortem, mortem autem crucis”
“For Us Christ Made Himself Obedient Up to Death, and Death on a Cross”
On the 2,000th anniversary of the birth of the Apostle Paul, let us listen to his burning words on the mystery of Christ’s death, which we are celebrating. No one can help us understand its significance and importance like he can.
His words to the Corinthians are a sort of manifest: “While the Jews demand miracles and the Greeks look for wisdom, we are preaching a crucified Christ: to the Jews an obstacle they cannot get over, to the gentiles foolishness, but to those who have been called, whether they are Jews or Greeks, a Christ who is both the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:22-24). Christ’s death bears universal importance. “One man died for all, then all have died” (2 Corinthians 5:14). His death has given new meaning to the death of every man and every woman.
In Paul’s eyes the cross assumes a cosmic significance. Christ has torn down the wall of separation with it, he has reconciled men with God and with each other, destroying hatred (cf. Ephesians 2:14-16). Based on this, primitive tradition developed the theme of the cross as a cosmic tree that joins heaven and earth with the vertical branch and unites the different peoples of the world with the horizontal branch. It is both a cosmic and a very personal event at the same time….
Read it all.
Father Cantalamessa's Sermon on Good Friday 2009
“Christus factus est pro nobis oboediens usque ad mortem, mortem autem crucis”
“For Us Christ Made Himself Obedient Up to Death, and Death on a Cross”
On the 2,000th anniversary of the birth of the Apostle Paul, let us listen to his burning words on the mystery of Christ’s death, which we are celebrating. No one can help us understand its significance and importance like he can.
His words to the Corinthians are a sort of manifest: “While the Jews demand miracles and the Greeks look for wisdom, we are preaching a crucified Christ: to the Jews an obstacle they cannot get over, to the gentiles foolishness, but to those who have been called, whether they are Jews or Greeks, a Christ who is both the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:22-24). Christ’s death bears universal importance. “One man died for all, then all have died” (2 Corinthians 5:14). His death has given new meaning to the death of every man and every woman.
In Paul’s eyes the cross assumes a cosmic significance. Christ has torn down the wall of separation with it, he has reconciled men with God and with each other, destroying hatred (cf. Ephesians 2:14-16). Based on this, primitive tradition developed the theme of the cross as a cosmic tree that joins heaven and earth with the vertical branch and unites the different peoples of the world with the horizontal branch. It is both a cosmic and a very personal event at the same time….
Read it all.