Chapter 2 concludes with a closer look at Jesus and the Paschal Mystery. It is indeed a graced economy in which the Lord provides for us:
5. Indeed Christ “committed no sin,” “suffered for us,”(Cf. 1 Peter 2:22 and 21) was wounded for our iniquities, bruised for our sins…by his bruises we are healed.”(Cf. Isaiah 53:4-6 with 1 Peter 2:21-25; also cf. John 1:29; Romans 4:25 and 5:9 and ff.; 1 Corinthians 153; 11 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 1:4; Ephesians 1:7 and ff.; Hebrews 1:3 etc.; 1 John 3:5)
Can we perceive indulgences as an imitation of Christ, that we pray to help others in their pilgrim journey? Perhaps the bad reputation is the perception that it seems Catholics are getting something rather cheaply, without actually being punished. This would not be the Church’s
Following in the footsteps of Christ,(Cf. 1 Peter 2:21) the Christian faithful have always endeavored to help one another on the path leading to the heavenly Father through prayer, the exchange of spiritual goods and penitential expiation. The more they have been immersed in the fervor of charity, the more they have imitated Christ in his sufferings, carrying their crosses in expiation for their own sins and those of others, certain that they could help their brothers to obtain salvation from God the Father of mercies.
Here is the footnote from the patristic era and beyond:
(Cf. Colossians 1:24. Cf. Clement of Alexandria, Lib. “Quis dives salvetur” 42: “S. Joannes … vicariam dabo” (GCS Clement 3, p. 190; PG 9, 650). Cf. Cyprian, De Lapsis 17, 36: “Credimus quidem…fecerint sacerdotes” (CSEL 3 1, p. 249-250 and 263; PL 4:495 and 508). Cf. Jerome, “Contra Vigilantium” 6: “Dicis in libello…et triumphos?” (PL 23, 359). Cf. Basil the Great, “Homily in martyrem Julittam” 9: “Oportet igitur…dignum est” (PG 31, 258-259). Cf. John Chrysostom, “In epist. ad Philipp.” 1, hom. 3, 3: “Igitur non…mortui fuerint” (PG 62, 203). Cf. Thomas, Summa Theol. 1-2, q. 87, a. 8: “Si loquamur…ab homine.”)
When Christians profess the Communion of Saints, do they realize it is not just an earthly thing, or a disjointed grouping as Christian divisions on Earth make it seem?
This is the very ancient dogma of the Communion of the Saints,(Cf. Leo XIII, Encyclical Mirae Caritatis: “Nihil est…forma caritas” (Acts of Leo XIII 22, 1902, p. 129; DS 3363)) whereby the life of each individual son (and daughter) of God in Christ and through Christ is joined by a wonderful link to the life of all … other Christian brothers (and sisters) in the supernatural unity of the Mystical Body of Christ till, as it were, a single mystical person is formed.(Cf. 1 Corinthians 12:12-13. Cf. Pius XII, Encyclical Mystici Corporis: “Ita (Christus) in Ecclesia…praedicat Christum” (A.A.S. 35, 1943, p. 218). Cf. Thomas, Summa Theol. 3, q. 48, a. 2 ad I and q. 49, a. 1)
On one plane of existence, if we are one body, then that natural link of bodily parts and charisms indeed makes us connected. Why not, on that spiritual plane, can we not stand up for others when they are weak and in need?
We are discouraged from thinking of grace and sin as a zero-sum game. Jesus totally disrupts the scales, and his thumb on the dish is always rendered to our benefit.
Thus is explained the “treasury of the Church”(Cf. Clement VI, jubilee bull Unigenitus Dei Filius: “Unigenitus Dei…praestare nosc*ntur…” (DS 1025, 1026, 1027). Cf. Sixtus IV, encyclical “Romani Pontificis”: “…Nos, quibus…afferre cupientes…” (DS 1406). Cf. Leo X, Decree “Cum postquam” to papal legate Cajetan de Vio: “…thesaurum meritorum Jesu Christi et Sanctorum dispensare…(DS 1448; cf. DS 1467 and 2641)) which should certainly not be imagined as the sum total of material goods accumulated in the course of the centuries, but the infinite and inexhaustible value the expiation and the merits of Christ Our Lord have before God, offered as they were so that all of mankind could be set free from sin and attain communion with the Father. It is Christ the Redeemer himself in whom the satisfactions and merits of his redemption exist and find their force.(Cf. Hebrews 7:23-25; 9:11-28)
And of course, others intercede for us, which is a very fortunate friendship indeed.
This treasury also includes the truly immense, unfathomable and ever pristine value before God of the prayers and good works of the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the saints, who following in the footsteps of Christ the Lord and by his grace have sanctified their lives and fulfilled the mission entrusted to them by the Father. Thus while attaining their own salvation, they have also cooperated in the salvation of their (sisters and) brothers in the unity of the Mystical Body.
More next time.
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About catholicsensibility
Todd lives in Minnesota, serving a Catholic parish as a lay minister.
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