1. Paschal Mystery The heart of the sacraments
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Paschal Mystery
The heart of the sacraments
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2. Preface of Easter I For he is the true Lamb
It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation,
at all times to acclaim you, O Lord,
but (on this night / on this day / in this time) above all
to laud you yet more gloriously,
when Christ our Passover has been sacrificed.
For he is the true Lamb
who has taken away the sins of the world;
by dying he has destroyed our death,
and by rising, restored our life.
Therefore, overcome with paschal joy,
every land, every people exults in your praise
and even the heavenly Powers, with the angelic hosts,
sing together the unending hymn of your glory,
as they acclaim:

3. Paschal Pasch Anamnesis Jewish anamnesis Jewish derivation
Annual remembering of the Passover
Anamnesis
A recalling to mind – past into present
Jewish anamnesis
Primarily of exodus
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4. Exodus Saving event Birth Passing from slavery into freedom
Passing from a state of not being to a state of being
Became a people (cf 1 Peter 2: 9/10)
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5. Jewish Passover meal 14th of the first month
Lamb offered as sacrifice in the temple
Also later in a sacrificial meal in the home
Paschal Lamb is a type of Christ
For he is the true Lamb who has taken away the sins of the world; by dying he has destroyed our death, and by rising, restored our life. (Preface Easter 1)
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6. Paschal Mystery Term repeated over and over in Vat II documents
The Easter mystery
Incarnation, life, passion, death, resurrection and Ascension of Christ in glory.
SC5 typifies this
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7. Mystery OED – Theology of mystery deeper
something hidden or inexplicable – something treated as an impressive secret
Theology of mystery deeper
Not simply a mysterious truth beyond our reason
Doctrinal mystery, related to the nature of God
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8. God communicates
Does God simply communicate through doctrinal statements? NO
God gives of God’s very self
God enters history
God is with us today.
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9. Mystery of Christ
Christ is the expression of the hidden character of God
God’s eternal love
Incarnation is the expression of God’s love
Jesus is the sign of God’s abiding presence among us
Mysteries of Christ’s life (the rosary)
Not many mysteries but one - a unity
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10. Transitus A way of expressing this unity
Passing from one state to another
Exodus
People passed from a state of not being to a state of being
Christ
Passes from the divine state to the human state and returns to the one he calls Father. Death and resurrection is the centre
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11. Transitus for us Christ’s transitus needs to happen in us.
We pass from sin and death to life
Not alone
We achieve what has been achieved by Christ – we share in his death, resurrection and glorification
We share in the Paschal mystery
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12. Then and Now The events of Christ’s life happened in history
What happens to us happens now
“The mystery (of Christian Worship) is a sacred ritual action in which a saving deed is made present through the rite; the congregation by performing the rite take part in the saving act, and thereby win salvation” (The Mystery of Christian Worship, 54 – Odo Casel).
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13. God in infinity
no time
33AD BC
0AD
2016
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14. Lex orandi, Lex credendi
The law of praise
The law of belief
Praise = What we believe
From the liturgy
“ To prepare ourselves to celebrate these sacred mysteries......”
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15. Lex orandi, Lex credendi
Wed of Holy Week: …..as we celebrate this mystery of the suffering and death of your Son, may we share in the eternal life he won for us.
Good Friday: ……..Almighty and eternal God, you have restored us to life by the triumphant death and resurrection of Christ. Continue this healing work within us. May we who participate in this mystery never cease to praise you.
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16. Summary We live between the 1st and 2nd coming of Christ
The eternal enters time in Jesus – what Jesus does in time are the actions of the eternal God
What Jesus did in history was once and for all – unrepeatable, irreversible.
Pope Leo the Great
“What was invisible in the Lord has passed over to the mysteries”
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