Stories
are always more compelling at delivering a message than facts.
Christianity is not about mental information, about knowing the fact
of our salvation, but rather goes so much deeper. Every Sunday we
profess our faith in God – we declare the statements of our faith:
God Our Father and Creator, His Son Jesus Christ, The Holy Spirit,
the Church, etc. But that is never enough for us.
We
see today that the things that really compel us are the stories, the
drama of our salvation played out before us. Every year the Church
comes back to the mysteries we remember today, taking an extra five
or ten minutes to solemnly recall this great tragedy: Our Lord
suffered and died. That King who we proclaimed at the beginning of
Mass reigns not on an earthly throne but on a cross, and because He
has humbled Himself becoming obedient to death on a cross God raised
Him up and gave Him the name above every other name.
We
recall this story every year because it is also our story. In Peter
we see ourselves, denying Christ but repenting. In Christ's
suffering and death, we see the horror of sin, and we die to our own
sins. As Christ trusted in the Father's will, we try harder to
follow God's plan for our lives. Like the centurion soldier, we see
Christ's glory revealed mysteriously in His death, and we say with
him: truly this was the Son of God. The stories are what move us and
drive us to change, because we learn there that are lives aren't
isolated: they are part of something bigger.
And
the story of the Cross, our origin and our destiny, our guide and our
goal, is present to us every week. The drama of the Lord's Passion
is revealed mysteriously and sacramentally on this altar, where
Christ gives His body and blood for you to have life and have it to
the full. Come and drink from this life-giving font, embrace your
own part in the story of salvation, and and receive the promises of
our Loving God.
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