Today we move into the time that is known as the Passiontide where we will journey even closer to Christ's crucifixion with each day that passes. This week Christ instructs us concerning what will await us after our death, next week we will have the account of our Lord's Passion proclaimed to us on Palm Sunday, and then we will arrive at Good Friday where our Lord gave His last breath upon the wood of the cross to bring about our salvation. As we journey through these upcoming days may we not take advantage of them as if they are without purpose. As a reminder to the importance of these days that lay ahead the preface for our Mass is to be taken from the one of the Holy Cross which places our attention upon our Lord's Passion and also we are instructed to cover any statues, images, and crosses to symbolize our true longing to come back into union with this beauty that has been shielded from our eyes. These next two weeks are therefore most important to our Christian faith because only through them can we truly arrive at Easter.
Our Epistle taken from Hebrews allows us to reflect upon the importance of this sacrifice that was offered by Christ upon the wood of the cross. As we know sacrifice after sacrifice would be offered inside of the temple to atone for humanity's sinfulness. Despite this offering of blood in atonement for our sins it would never make up the perfect sacrifice that would have to be offered by the Messiah. Therefore in Hebrews we hear: "how much more shall the Blood of Christ...cleanse our conscience from dead works, to serve the living God?" The Sanhedrin were able to understand that this man was human because they realized that He was born of Mary, had Joseph for a father, and came from a little town of Nazareth. What they missed was the fact that not only was Christ fully human, but He was also fully divine. Both of these realities make the sacrifice offered upon the cross most meaningful for each of us.
From the blood that was shed by Christ upon the cross we should be able to see seven very important effects that are realized within this world. Firstly, from this blood we have been cleansed from all of our defilement. Without the shedding of this blood we would be still guilty of the effects of original sin with no hope to be liberated. Secondly, the shedding of Christ's blood has won our redemption. If this blood was never shed we also would never be able to claim that we have been redeemed and thus have been made worthy of the Heavenly Kingdom. Thirdly, this outpouring of blood upon the cross is our making of peace with God and also all the angels. We can think how through the reality of sin that we have put ourselves at war against God and all of the angels, but by this shedding of blood these relationships have been healed. Next, the shedding of Christ's blood is a confirmation of the testament of the eternal inheritance for which we one day hope to enjoy within. As Christians we know that this world can often lead us down dead end paths which can ultimately lead us into despair, but thankfully we are a people of hope and therefore this shedding of blood gives us the hope necessary to encounter all despair that may befall us. Next, this shedding of blood is a drinking and inebriation to the consumer. Through this reality we should be most thankful for the Eucharist where Christ continues to allow us to commune with him. This Sacrament is not just bread and wine, but literally in the words of our Lord: "This is my Body" and "This is my Blood. Next, we can say that the shedding of this blood has led to the opening of the doors of Heaven. We know that these doors were closed through the fall, but thankfully due to the sacrifice that was offered upon the cross these doors have once again been opened to us. Finally, this shedding of blood has led to the deliverance of all the saints from Hell. In the fall Heaven's doors were closed, but thankfully Christ descended into Hell and thus lifted these holy souls to Heaven through His outpouring of blood.
The blood that flowed from the hands, feet, side, face, and body of our Blessed Lord has truly transformed our life and our world. These days that lay ahead for us are most important because in these days we will come to discover the cross and from the cross we will better be able to behold the glory that will come through the Resurrection. In these wounds and the blood that flowed out from them we have so many rewards to be thankful for. For this reason we should trust in hope with our Lord and truly see the great necessity to rip the presence of sin away from our life. We do this each and every time when we prevail ourself to the Sacrament of Confession and thus allow ourself to return to the great mercy of God. May this time of the Passiontide truly prepare our hearts and souls to behold Christ on Easter where we are given the hope that we can indeed overcome sin in our life, find comfort in the midst of sorrow, and come to realize the truth to the promise of everlasting life that was pointed towards in today's Gospel. May we not reject this gift, but instead come to accept it in its entirety by embracing the blood that was offered by Christ upon the wood of the cross.
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