Paschal mystery

GodRelations with:The Paschal mystery is one of the central concepts of Catholic faith relating to the history of salvation. Its main subject is the passion, death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ – the work God the Father sent His Son to accomplish on earth. According to the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 'The Paschal Mystery accomplished once for all by the redemptive death of His Son Jesus Christ.' The Catechism states that in the liturgy of the Church which revolves around the seven sacraments, 'it is principally his own Paschal mystery that Christ signifies and makes present.' Understand, therefore, beloved,The wonderful works of God among the people of the Old Testament were but a prelude to the work of Christ the Lord in redeeming mankind and giving perfect glory to God. He achieved His task principally by the paschal mystery of His blessed passion, resurrection from the dead, and the glorious ascension, whereby 'dying, he destroyed our death and, rising, he restored our life'. For it was from the side of Christ as He slept the sleep of death upon the cross that there came forth 'the wondrous sacrament of the whole Church'The Paschal Mystery of Christ is the full revelation of the mystery of the world's origin, the climax of the history of salvation and the anticipation of the eschatological fulfilment of the world. What God accomplished in Creation and wrought for his People in the Exodus has found its fullest expression in Christ's Death and Resurrection, though its definitive fulfilment will not come until the Parousia, when Christ returns in glory. In him, the 'spiritual' meaning of the Sabbath is fully realized, as Saint Gregory the Great declares: 'For us, the true Sabbath is the person of our Redeemer, our Lord Jesus Christ.'Each Christian community is called to be a place where people can be taught about the mysteries celebrated in faith. In this regard, the Synod Fathers called for greater involvement by communities of consecrated life, movements and groups which, by their specific charisms, can give new impetus to Christian formation. In our time, too, the Holy Spirit freely bestows his gifts to sustain the apostolic mission of the Church, which is charged with spreading the faith and bringing it to maturity. The Paschal mystery is one of the central concepts of Catholic faith relating to the history of salvation. Its main subject is the passion, death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ – the work God the Father sent His Son to accomplish on earth. According to the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 'The Paschal Mystery accomplished once for all by the redemptive death of His Son Jesus Christ.' The Catechism states that in the liturgy of the Church which revolves around the seven sacraments, 'it is principally his own Paschal mystery that Christ signifies and makes present.' Catholic, Anglican and Orthodox Christian churches celebrate this mystery on Easter. It is recalled and celebrated also during every Eucharist, and especially on a Sunday, which is the Pascha of the week. The word 'paschal' is the equivalent of Greek 'pascha' and is derived from Aramaic 'pasḥā' and Hebrew 'pesaḥ', meaning 'the passing over' (cf. Ex 12:13.23.27; cf. Is 31,5). The origin is not known. Some scholars refer to Assyrian 'pasah' – appease or Egyptian 'pa-sh' – remembrance or 'pē-sah' – the blow. The Bible links 'pesaḥ' with 'pāsaḥ' – two literal meanings are: to limp and to perform a ritual dance around a sacrifice (1 K 18:21.26). Figuratively it may be understood, 'to jump', 'to pass', 'to spare'. It refers to the passage of God on the Passover night, when the Israelites left Egypt. God struck the houses of Egyptians and left the Israelites untouched, i.e. passed over. The second word, 'mystery', is regarded in Christian 20th-century theology as one of the most important key-words of Christianity and its theology. It opposes the ideas of Gnosticism, Rationalism and Semi-Rationalism, pointing out that there are Divine mysteries (properly called) which cannot be grasped by mere human reasoning and can only be revealed by God through grace. In this meaning mystery describes not an idea that must be unlocked or solved like a novel, but the Divine truth and life, to which God through the Church, sacraments, word of God and faith, initiates the dedicatees. (cf. Eph 1,17ff) The very first known use of the term Paschal mystery (literally Mystery of the Pascha) was found in the homily of Melito of Sardis On the Pascha written between A.D. 160 and 170: According to Raniero Cantalamessa OFMCap, patristic interpretation of the paschal mystery in its major facets and constituent dimensions may be summarised in four points: To underscore the importance of the Paschal mystery, the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, states that 'The Paschal Mystery of Jesus, which comprises his passion, death, resurrection, and glorification, stands at the center of the Christian faith because God's saving plan was accomplished once for all by the redemptive death of his Son Jesus Christ.' According to Pope Benedict XVI, the most important and essential message of the council is 'the Paschal Mystery as the center of what it is to be Christian and therefore of the Christian life, the Christian year, the Christian seasons'. The term Mysterium paschale was used repeatedly during Second Vatican Council (1963–65) as a meaningful designation of the Christian redemption proclaimed and now accomplished in the liturgy. Council Fathers endorsed the fruit of the work of scholars of the Liturgical Movement, specifically Dom Odo Casel and the whole Maria Laach Abbey. The term mystery of salvation made its way to the Council documents not without some opposition or misunderstanding. Some fathers expressed doubts saying that it was a vague and chimeric idea, its orthodoxy was dubious, and that it was ignored by sound theology. Eventually the Council decided to confirm the importance of the term. It is reflected especially in the Constitution on the liturgy Sacrosanctum Concilium. In the very beginning of 1st chapter, where the Council document speaks about restoration and promotion of the liturgy, paschal mystery is shown as the way Christ has redeemed mankind: After Second Vatican Council the term Paschal mystery has been used by Catholic Church Magisterium as one of basic concepts of Christian faith and life.