The Paschal Mystery

by Father Charles M. Mangan

    The term ‘Paschal Mystery’ is used often by the Church, especially in her Sacred Liturgy and in official magisterial explanations of Jesus Christ’s salvific mission. Just what precisely is the Paschal Mystery?

    The Catechism of the Catholic Church clearly asserts: “The Paschal mystery of Christ’s cross and Resurrection stands at the center of the Good News that the apostles, and the Church following them, are to proclaim to the world. God’s saving plan was accomplished ‘once for all’ by the redemptive death of His Son Jesus Christ” (#571).

    Therefore, the Paschal Mystery is the “redemptive death” and glorious Resurrection of the Messiah. This author will limit himself to only a few comments regarding the first aspect of the Paschal Mystery, namely, Our Blessed Lord’s selfless death on Calvary (which, naturally, implies His agonizing Passion leading up to His crucifixion).

    The Second Person of the Most Blessed Trinity became man in order to save us from sin. Having lost our friendship with the Almighty due to the sin of our first parents, we were in desperate need of a Savior. The God-Man—one Divine Person with two natures, Divine and human—set about the essential task of reconciling His creatures with their Creator.

    Undoubtedly, the eternal Father could have chosen any means by which to “right the wrong” of Original Sin. What He did decide was that His Beloved Son would suffer at the hands of sinful men and be mercilessly raised up on the gibbet of a coarse Cross. The painful Passion and Death of Christ would not, however, be a mere feat of human endurance. Rather, the loving and free surrender of the Son to the Father would signal a new era for all children of God: the imitation of Christ. The Anointed One joyfully laid down His sinless life at the behest of His compassionate Father. We, too, in following Jesus, would now carry any burden which God required, realizing that in this sacrifice, the Lord would be praised, we would proceed further along to Paradise—that endless condition which signifies perfect conformity to Christ—and we would give good example to our brothers and sisters in their selfsame struggle to be faithful to God.

    There are, of course, any number of poignant reflections on the Passion and Death of Jesus offered by dozens of saints in the annals of the Church. Saint Leo the Great (d. 461), Pope and Doctor, in one of his sermons (15) dedicated to the Passion of the Lord (De Passione Domini), captured the attitude which each disciple of the Master should have towards Christ tormented and crucified. “True reverence for the Lord’s passion means fixing the eyes of our heart on Jesus crucified and recognizing in Him our own humanity.”

    The redemptive suffering of Mary’s Son has long lasting ramifications for the People of God. Saint Leo continued. “No one, however weak, is denied a share in the victory of the cross. No one is beyond the help of the prayer of Christ. His prayer brought benefit to the multitude that raged against Him. How much more does it bring to those who turn to Him in repentance.”

    Far from being solely an historical event, the Passion and Death of Jesus resounds two millennia later. Those who delight in the name “Christian” look to Our Lord’s heroic suffering for solace and inspiration. As He has endured, so we must endure whatever is asked of us by our beneficent Father. And, it is the express wish of the Lord that we wholeheartedly follow Christ’s lead. Again, Saint Leo the Great: “The business of this life should not preoccupy us with its anxiety and pride, so that we no longer strive with all the love of our heart to be like our Redeemer, and to follow His example. Everything that He did or suffered was for our salvation: He wanted His body to share the goodness of its Head.”

    We share in the Paschal Mystery whenever we participate in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and whenever we sincerely offer our sufferings—large and small—to God, acknowledging that only He can use those by uniting them to the redemptive suffering of Jesus. How Christ wants us to have our sufferings! He has already shown us the path which leads us to Calvary and the empty tomb.

    The Passion and Death of Jesus infallibly results in His Resurrection. In his Letter to the Romans (6:4), Saint Paul wrote: “Through baptism into His death we were buried with Him, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live a new life.” Our present suffering and eventual death—if obediently surrendered to Christ—will give way to our future resurrection. Jesus has given us the example. Now, it is our sacred duty to lovingly follow Him to bloodstained Calvary, assured that we will also rise with Him, glorious and immortal.