The Catechetical Review - Communicating Christ for a New Evangelization

The Paschal Mystery

Authored by Fr. Richard Conrad in Issue #29.2 of The Sower
Fr. Richard Conrad gives us key points for our catechesis on the paschal mystery. When catechising, it is good to approach the mystery of our redemption from the perspective of the glorious destiny to which we are called. This enables us to see the big picture. The New Testament promises that we shall know God as He is, we shall ‘see’ God (John 17:3; I John 3:2). St. Thomas Aquinas claims that, apart from the visions of Moses and St. Paul, and apart from the special case of Christ, we cannot know What God is while we are still in this life. For now we know things through concepts, which are drawn from sense experience, and we employ them with the help of the imagina­tion. While all things reflect God's good­ness and beauty in their own ways, none match up to it; so although re­flection on the world can show that God exists, it cannot tell us What God is. At death, the soul leaves this earthly way of knowing behind, and God can reveal Himself to her through a higher way of knowing. A truly supernatural way of knowing is required if any creature is to know What God is. As St. Thomas understands it, this way of knowing involves God Himself being present to the mind in an unmediated way. God is the Truth itself, and is infinitely knowable. The problem is that He is too knowable, rather as the Sun is more visible than a candle – which is why we cannot look at it. Rather as a stronger eye might look at the Sun, so the creature's mind must be strengthened if it is to know God. Angels, and the souls of the Blessed, are en­dow­ed with a ‘light of glory’ which ‘enlarges’ them so that they can receive, not a more powerful concept, but God Himself. We can put this simply by saying that in Heaven God gives Himself to the soul, at the same time streng­thening her to receive so great a Gift. Only this possession of God can bring fulfil­ment, beatitude – that is why it is called ‘the Beatific Vision’. Our goal, then, is that God the Father, and His Son and Their Spirit, should give Themselves to us to be known and loved, possessed and enjoyed!

The rest of this online article is available for current subscribers.

Start your subscription today!


This article is from The Sower and may be copied for catechetical purposes only. It may not be reprinted in another published work without the permission of Maryvale Institute. Contact [email protected]

Articles from the Most Recent Issue

Editor’s Reflections: Eucharistic Communion and Seeing Those in Need
By Dr. James Pauley
Free The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that receiving the Eucharist “commits us to the poor” (1397). Why is this so? Receiving the Eucharist means that we enter into union with the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. And being in Holy Communion with Jesus himself means something profound. Let’s consider one facet of this great mystery.... Read more
The Anawim and the Kerygma
By Colin and Aimee MacIver
Sarah: aged and barren. Joseph: rejected, betrayed, and enslaved. Moses: desperately cast afloat in a basket. Daniel: sent to death by lions. Mary: unknown, unmarried, unbelieved. Salvation history is the story of the poor ones, the bowed down, the lowly—the anawim , as they are named in Hebrew. In both the Old Testament and the New, God tends to... Read more
The Spiritual Life: Poverty, Purity of Heart, & Eucharistic Living
By Sr. Alicia Torres, FE
Free This article is part of a 3-year series dedicated to promoting the efforts of the National Eucharistic Revival in the United States. “The Body of Christ.” “Amen.” Each time we participate in Mass, we have the opportunity to encounter the Lord Jesus in the most intimate way through the reception of Holy Communion. This moment is the most practical... Read more

Pages

Watch Tutorial Videos

We've put together several quick and easy tutorial videos to show you how to use this website.

Watch Now