November 28, 2010 – Catechism 612-617

Christ death as a sacrifice is something that we can understand partially in thinking about things we may give up in our lives or sacrifices we may make for others.  But we cannot clearly understand it without looking back at the Jewish tradition of sacrifice that was initiated by God dating back to Cain and Able.  They idea of sacrificing something in order to show commitment or to seal a covenant was in the very fabric of Jewish life. 

Every sacrifice made before Christ was an imperfect one that left something to be desired.  Christ was a perfect sacrifice, once and for all, for the sins of the world.  It was meant to unite us with God, to bridge the gap caused by man’s fall.  But we were given Christ by God to become the sacrifice.  God, as with all sacrifices, gives us what we offer up.  When we give up something for whatever reason or offer it up to God, we are offering God what He gave us to offer.  It seems illogical that we should receive something in order to give it up, but that is the Mystery of God and what we are called to.  God did not send Christ to the human race to stay with us forever and continue to heal and teach us, but in order to sacrifice Him to God as the perfect sacrifice in order to bridge that gap.  When we are asked to give something up, let us think about who we received it from and who we are giving it up for.  God may put things in our life for the sole purpose of sacrificing them.  We should not resist that call.