sacrificial or superficial?
"Through Him let us continually offer God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of lips which acknowledge His name." —Hebrews 13:15
Jesus sacrificed His life once and for all on Calvary to atone for our sins (Heb 10:10). He calls us to participate in His sacrifice by offering our own little sacrifices. He calls us to:
- offer our bodies as a living sacrifice (Rm 12:1),
- evangelize and offer the newly committed Christians "as a pleasing sacrifice, consecrated by the Holy Spirit" (Rm 15:16),
- offer a continual sacrifice of praise (Heb 13:15; Ps 50:23),
- sacrifice our time, food, possessions, and money for God's kingdom (see Mk 6:31), and
- offer the sacrifice of the Mass, bringing together all the other sacrifices and applying Jesus' sacrifice on the cross to our lives.
The Christian life is sacrificial rather than self-seeking and pleasure-seeking. We are centered on the sacrifice of the Mass and thereby taken up into the infinite saving power of Jesus' sacrificial death. The cross casts its shadow over all space and time. We realize that Jesus' sacrifice on Calvary is not just a past event but the reality overshadowing all human existence.
Prayer: "May the God of peace...furnish you with all that is good, that you may do His will. Through Jesus Christ may He carry out in you all that is pleasing to Him. To Christ be glory forever! Amen" (Heb 13:20-21).
Promise: "He pitied them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them at great length." —Mk 6:34
Praise: Zeal to evangelize led St. Ansgar to Scandinavia to spread the gospel.
Rescript: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, August 3, 2006 & September 18, 2006
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