REDEMPTION AND THE PASCHAL MYSTERY Chapter 4

INTRODUCTION P

WHAT EVENTS CONSTITUTE THE PASCHAL MYSTERY? 1. Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus. Passion? His suffering

WHAT DOES PASCHAL MEAN? "of or pertaining to Easter," from Old French paschal Latin paschalis, "Passover, Easter," Greek pascha "Passover," Aramaic pasha "pass over," Hebrew pesah, from pasah "he passed over." Pasche was an early Middle English term for "Easter". Must understand within the context of the 1 st Passover The Paschal lamb of the Israelites prefigures Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of all.

WHY DO WE CALL IT A MYSTERY? Realities that are beyond our ability to fully comprehend How God could die? How man could rise from the dead?

VOCABULARY- DEFINE, SECTION 1 OF NOTEBOOK. Culmination Providence Manifesting Lintel Prefigurement Atonement Intercede Bestows

ALL SOULS DAY PRAYER OF ST. GERTRUDE THE GREAT “Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, those in my home and within my family. Amen.”

THE BAPTISM OF JESUS John the Baptist: prepares the way for Jesus. The Kingdom of heaven(God) is at hand: God rules as King. JBap: portrayed like Elijah (2 Kgs. 1:8), leather belt, camels’ hair. Jews believed Elijah’s return would signal the coming of the Messiah. What does this reveal about Jesus’ identity? -He is the Messiah. Mt. 3: 1-17

THE BAPTISM BY JOHN IS FOR REPENTANCE. Repent- change of heart and conduct Calls the Pharisees to produce good fruit as a sign of their repentance. Symbolism of fruit- good deeds The good(wheat) will be separated from the bad(chaff).

THE BAPTISM OF JESUS “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”- for the forgiveness of sins, gift of the Spirit. “John tried to prevent him.” Why? -Jesus had no sins to repent. -Why was he baptized?

Partner work: Articulate 3 points about the meaning of Jesus’ baptism. (Textbook p )

WHAT JESUS’ BAPTISM MEANS? Acceptance of his mission Inauguration of his mission Identified himself with sinners Anticipates his death, baptism of his bloody death. At baptism, we die to the old life of sin, and rebirth/resurrect into a new life, equipped with his grace, free of OS. Manifestation of the Trinity

“AS WE ENTER HEAVEN WE WILL SEE THEM, SO MANY OF THEM COMING TOWARDS US AND THANKING US. WE WILL ASK, WHO THEY ARE, AND THEY WILL SAY A POOR SOUL YOU PRAYED FOR IN PURGATORY.” VENERABLE FULTON SHEEN

THE WEDDING AT CANA Read John 2

HOW DO WE UNDERSTAND THIS STORY? 2 appearances of Mary in John- at the wedding and at the cross Woman? Reminds us of Eve. The offspring of the woman will crush Satan (protoevangelium) “My hour has not come”? hour of his passion, death and resurrection Water became wine? Jesus shed water and blood on the cross. Finer wine, blood of Jesus

” “ Do whatever he tells you. Love always, Your Mother

“In what does your life consist except two things: (1) Active duties; and (2) passive circumstances. The first is under your control; do these in God’s name. The second is outside your control; these submit to in God’s name. Consider only the present; leave the past to God’s justice, the future to His Providence. Perfection of personality does not consist in knowing God’s plan, but in submitting to it as it reveals itself in the circumstances of life. There is really one shortcut to sanctity – the one Mary chose in the Visitation, the one Our Lord chose in Gethsemane – abandonment to the Divine Will.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (The Seven Words of Jesus and Mary)

“DON’T FINISH THE DAY AT WAR, UNDERSTAND?” -POPE FRANCIS, WEDNESDAY GENERAL AUDIENCE, NOV. 4, 2015

THE PASSION IN LUKE Chapter 22: Partner Talk 1.What is one aspect of this story that stood out to you? 2. What is one question you have about this story?

LUKE 23: PARTNER TALK What is one aspect of this story you like? What is one aspect of this story that bothers or disturbs you?

THE TRANSFIGURATION MT. 16:27- 28; 17:1-13 What elements of the Transfiguration reveal the divinity of Christ? -light made his face shine like the sun and his garments bright white -appearance of 2 OT figures: Moses and Elijah -voice of the Father -cloud, like on Mt. Sinai and in the desert

THE TRANSFIGURATION (CONT.) Christ’s divinity was veiled by his humanity throughout the hidden years and his public life. The Transfiguration gives the disciples confidence that will carry them through the passion and cross of Christ, to the hope of the resurrection. It is a foretaste of Christ’s future glory and their own.

THE LAST SUPPER- Washing of the Disciples feet- Jn. 13 “I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.” Jn 13:34-35

THE PASSION MARK 14-16:8

A. THE CONSPIRACY AGAINST JESUS 1. All devout Jews take a pilgrimage to Jerusalem on Passover a. recalls the liberation of the Jews from Egypt b. Combined with Unleavened Bread- Celebrated the new barley harvest 2. Chief priests and scribes seeking a way to arrest him by treachery, betrayal.

B. THE ANOINTING AT BETHANY 1. In the house of Simon the leper 2. The woman anoints Jesus, revealing his identity as the Messiah/Christ.

C. THE BETRAYAL BY JUDAS 1. All 4 gospels tell us Judas betrayed Jesus pieces of silver. a.This is the ransom $ to free a slave. b. Jesus bought our freedom by sacrificing his very own life. 3. Do you think Judas truly knew what he was doing? 4. What did he do after Jesus was arrested?

D. PREPARATIONS FOR THE PASSOVER 1. The Last Supper was a Passover meal. 2. Jesus is the Passover lamb sacrificed for our liberation.

E. THE BETRAYER 1. What is usually a sign of unity, eating together, here shows division. 2. All of this is part of the divine plan. 3. Ps. 41:10 “Even my trusted friend, who ate my bread, has raised his heel against me.”

F. THE LORD’S SUPPER 1. Jesus’ death on the cross is the sacrifice that sealed the NEW COVENANT God made with all people. 2. Institution of the Eucharist a. This is my body/blood…

G. PETER’S DENIAL FORETOLD 1. Mark emphasizes the total abandonment of Jesus. 2. Even Peter denies knowing Jesus. 3. This fits into the Messianic Secret- the disciples don’t understand until the cross.

H. THE AGONY IN THE GARDEN 1. Gethsemane- olive orchard, dark, little light from oil lamps. 2. “Troubled and distressed”- Mark stresses the human Jesus. 3. Fell to the ground and prayed—the perfect prayer, that God’s will be done times Jesus comes back to the disciples and finds them sleeping. How can they be sleeping at this time?

I. THE BETRAYAL AND ARREST OF JESUS 1. Needed someone to lead them to Jesus. 2. Irony of them carrying clubs and swords to arrest Jesus. 3. Kiss- the traditional sign of greeting between a disciple and his rabbi. 4. They all left him and fled- total abandonment.

WHO IS THE NAKED YOUNG MAN? “Only Mark records this incident of the unnamed young man. He may have been roused from sleep by the crowd and followed them with a linen cloth wrapped about him. The fact that he followed our Lord in these circumstances suggests that he was a disciple or, at least, sympathetic to Christ. It is unlikely that mere curiosity explains his actions. Many writers hold that this is a personal reminiscence of the author of the Gospel and identify the young man with Mark himself. The insertion of this personal anecdote… would be equivalent to the setting of Mark’s signature to the Gospel. The view is not certain, but it gives a reasonable explanation of an otherwise baffling narrative. It appears to be clear that we cannot identify the young man who figures in this incident with any of the Apostles—they had all fled.”

J. JESUS BEFORE THE SANHEDRIN 1. He is accused of a. attempting to destroy the Temple b. Blasphemy 2. Asks Jesus, Are you the Messiah, the son of the Blessed ONE? He says “I AM” What does this remind you of? 3. The high priest tears his garment- sign of mourning, offense, distress.

K. JESUS BEFORE PILATE 1. Asks him, Are you the king of the Jews? 2. The strategy is to connect him with a political-messianic movement. 3. This question has revolutionary overtones.

L. SENTENCE OF DEATH 1. Practice of amnesty- pardoning a criminal for his offense. 2. Jesus is scourged within inches of his death. 3. Then, sentenced to be crucified.

M. MOCKERY BY THE SOLDIERS 1. Like a king, Why KING? What about his teachings led them to think he was a king? a. purple- color of royalty b. crown of thorns c. Hail king of the Jews! d. Knelt before him in homage

N. THE WAY OF THE CROSS 1.Jesus needed help carrying the cross. 2. Forced Simon of Cyrene to help

O. THE CRUCIFIXION 1. Golgotha- place of the skull 2. Wine drugged with myrrh, either a pain killer or a bitter drink. 3. Then they crucified him….

P. THE DEATH OF JESUS 1.“Eloi, Eloi lema sabachthani?” My God, My God why have you forsaken me? 2.Is this a moment of doubt? 3.No, Jesus is praying Ps. 22

DEATH OF JESUS (CONT.) 1.Veil of the sanctuary splits in 2 2.This is the veil of the Holy of Holies. 3.The end of the old covenant and the beginning of the new covenant. 4.Centurion: Truly this was the Son of God.

Q. THE BURIAL OF JESUS 1. He is taken down before sun down (this begins the Jewish Sabbath).

R. THE RESURRECTION 1. 1 Corinthians 15:12-17, “…if Christ has not been raised, your faith is in vain…” 3. Because Jesus was raised from the dead by his Father, we know that he is who he said he was, the Son of God. 4. Without his victory over death, we would not have the Christian Church or the New Testament.

5. THE DISCIPLES “FAITH IN THE RESURRECTION WAS BORN, UNDER THE ACTION OF DIVINE GRACE, FROM THEIR DIRECT EXPERIENCE OF THE REALITY OF THE RISEN JESUS”, CCC, 644.

6. COMPARE AND CONTRAST THE RESURRECTION ACCOUNTS IN THE GOSPELS MARK 16:1-8 MATT. 28:1-20 LUKE 24:1-53 JOHN 20-21

7. THE DIFFERENCES ADD TO THE RICHNESS OF OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE RESURRECTION. DIVERSITY WEAVES A BEAUTIFUL TAPESTRY. ALL RECORD THE MOST IMPORTANT TRUTH- JESUS LIVES!

S. SIMILARITIES OF THE RESURRECTION 1. First day of the week/ Mt. and Mk. “Sabbath” 2. Women are the first to witness the empty tomb. 3. Stone had been rolled away 4. Informed by someone (an angel or 2, or a young man) that Jesus has been raised. 5. Mt, Mk, Lk- the angel tells the women to go and tell the disciples.

T. JESUS APPEARS AFTER HIS RESURRECTION. 1. Mary Magdalene tells the disciples she has seen the Risen Jesus. 2. They don’t believe her—until they see him for themselves. 3. They don’t recognize him. He appears in another form.

U. WHAT IS A RESURRECTED BODY LIKE? 1. They do not recognize him--looks different from the body placed in the tomb. 2. He appears in the locked upper room, w/o door being opened. 3. This was not a return to his former life, but a restoration to a higher life. 4. Yet, he is not a ghost. a. he eats b. they touch him

5. 1 CORINTHIANS 15: PAUL COMPARES THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE CRUCIFIED BODY OF JESUS AND THE RESURRECTED BODY TO A SEED THAT IS PLANTED.

V. THE MESSAGE FOR TODAY 1. The Resurrection can affect us today in the same way it did the disciples. 2. They changed their lives. 3. They became courageous witnesses- even dying for their faith! 4. They began to understand that Jesus was God sharing in our human nature, and that he was present with them always. 5. Life was no longer a reality that ended in death, but a reality that would continue throughout eternity.

W. THE ASCENSION 1.Lk 24:44-53, Acts 1:6-11, Mk 16: 19, 1 Tim 3:16, 1 Peter 3:22 2.Contradictions and differences are understandable given the fact that the writers were dealing with an event beyond human comprehension.

X. ALL ACCOUNTS TELLS US JESUS WENT UP TO THE FATHER. 1. Difficult to escape images of time and space in speaking/thinking/writing. 2. We inherited the notion that heaven is up from our Jewish ancestors.

Y. THE MAIN LESSON 1. Following his resurrection, Jesus passed totally into the presence of God, His Father. 2. When we speak of Jesus going to the Father we naturally think in terms of Jesus being removed from our earthly realm, being separated from us. 3. When we reflect on where God is (in light of Jesus’ message about His Father), we realize it is not right to think of God as “out there” somewhere. 4. The entire message of Jesus hinges on precisely the opposite- that the kingdom of God is among us, that God is right here on earth.

ASCENSION (CONT.) 5. If God is right here, and Jesus went to His Father, then Jesus is more truly present to us now, than he was when he physically, humanly lived on earth. 6. Now, free of the limitations of time and space that bind humans, Jesus can be totally with us. He in not tied down to one place and time. 7. He is free to be everywhere, with everyone, loving and caring, and calling us to the Father. 8. This is the Good News!!!