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Kayla
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| Joined: | Mon Jul 30th, 2007 |
| Location: | Emmitsburg, Maryland USA |
| Posts: | 369 |
| First Name: | Kayla | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | Atheist, kind-of Mormon, Catholic |
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Posted: Thu Mar 27th, 2008 03:43 am |
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Okay... this is something I've been really thinking about a lot lately. Actually, it came up a few months ago and then resurfaced here with this wonderful Easter season. For some reason, I'm obsessed with the relationship between the Resurrection of Christ and consequently all that we refer to as 'The Body of Christ'. As I was reflecting, here is something I came up with. I don't know how 'theologically correct' it is, as I'm dabbling into a mystery that I have little to no meditation in. So, if anyone has the time to read it (it's not very long) and correct me theologically if need be/ and/or comment, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks!
What I find very interesting to think about is the nature of the resurrected Body of Christ. As we know from the Gospels, Christ was able to mask His true appearance as He did with Mary at the tomb and with "the two" from today's Gospel. Christ was able to pass through doors and walls, He was able to disappear and appear at will.
Some might argue that He was not bodily Resurrected, as the Jehovah Witnesses do, because of these abilities. That is not what we believe as Catholics. We believe in a bodily Resurrected Jesus Christ. So rather, they [the abilities or the "agility" of the resurrected body, as St. Thomas Aquinas puts it) are simply attributes of Christ's Resurrected Body, a body that shall never taste death. Peter Kreeft goes into a very interesting discussion on this very subject where he says that, unlike the present, our resurrected bodies will be subjected to our souls. That's for another day and another reflection, though.
Also consider, then, two "other things" we consider the Body of Christ: the Holy Eucharist and all of the baptized. Do we mean to say that either of these are merely analogous in being to the Body of Christ, our Risen Lord? I should think not.
Very clearly we believe the Holy Eucharist, the consecrated bread and wine, to be the very Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ. Once again I should like to connect this great mystery to the Resurrection of Christ. If Jesus, resurrected, can pass through solid spaces and mask His identity in merit of His Resurrected Body-- why can He not also have His Body and Blood be present in bread and wine? Gives today's Gospel reading a deeper meaning, doesn't it? Especially when it is said that "He revealed Himself in the breaking of bread".
Similarly, we, the baptized body of believers, are truly part of the Mystical Body of Christ. Once again; how can this be so? In our baptism we are made children of God and the life of Christ is infused into us! Ever hear that in baptism we die with Christ and rise with Him? This is what that is referring to. We die to ourselves and we are made alive again with life of Christ. Christ living within us! Which makes us, therefore, part of His body. In a very real way. Not analagous in any sense. This, also, I think, is closely related with the nature of Christ's Resurrected body.
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I believe, Lord, help my unbelief.
Jesus, I trust in You!
There's not a lot of job security for us after death. I suppose that's one advantage of being a philosopher. - Peter Kreeft
http://kayla23mount.blogspot.com/
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CajunRick
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Posted: Thu Mar 27th, 2008 04:07 am |
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Kayla, I'm not exactly a theologian (as I've proven here innumerable times) but it certainly sounds good to me!
I heard someone describe the Incarnation once as God pouring Godself into human form. During the life of Jesus, that glorious miracle was made evident only once, and that was at the miracle of the Transfiguration. For the rest of Jesus' human life, he was fully human, and God subsisted within the confines of that fragile human form. (Of course, God, being omnipresent was not limited to the confines of the human form.)
God subsisted in Jesus in the same way that Christ subsists in the Church, or Christ subsists in the Eucharist. After the Resurrection, it was the glorified, Transfigured Christ who appeared to the women at the tomb, and to the disciples on the road to Emmaus, and to the apostles in the upper room. This glorified, Transfigured Christ was no longer bound by the human form, but was released.
In the same way, our death releases us from our human form. We will not be glorified and Transfigured until the end of time, when we will subsist body and blood and soul in the Divinity that is God.
I think the operative question is, "You mean God can manifest himself in human form, but can't manifest himself as bread and wine? Jesus said 'This is my body.' Are you saying God can't do that? Jesus said 'This is my blood.' Are you saying God can't do that?"
Anyone who says yes is denying the divinity of God and/or Christ.
Meanwhile, I'll meet you at the Throne!! 
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setapart
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| Joined: | Sat Jan 13th, 2007 |
| Location: | Austin, Texas USA |
| Posts: | 266 |
| First Name: | Bill | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Born Catholic, Non-Denominational Charismatic, Catholic |
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Posted: Thu Mar 27th, 2008 04:19 am |
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Kayla,
I enjoyed your reflection. As I read it, I tried to picture your heart being drawn toward the Lord as you wrote those words. It was nice of you to share it with us. This is exactly what the Lord would want us to do - reflect on the wonders of His majesty.
Col 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
Thank you for doing so.
God Bless,
Bill
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But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture. Mal 4:2
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David W. Emery
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| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Brownsville, Texas USA |
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| First Name: | David | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Catholic |
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Posted: Thu Mar 27th, 2008 04:52 am |
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Hi Kayla. Your meditation is similar to my own thinking on the subject, so you have an appreciative reader already.
We believe in a bodily Resurrected Jesus Christ. So rather, they (the abilities or the "agility" of the resurrected body, as St. Thomas Aquinas puts it) are simply attributes of Christ's Resurrected Body, a body that shall never taste death.
This is a more important truth than it seems at first glance. Not everyone understands that the body is the only part of man that can be resurrected. The soul is immortal; it cannot die, so it cannot be brought back to life. (Yes, this is contrary to what the Jehovah’s Witnesses, Seventh Day Adventists and a few other groups say.) And in Christ, his divinity is not resurrected, for it too is immortal. So it’s just the material part of man, the body, that is raised from the dead on the last day.
This brings to mind something that has been mentioned recently in another thread: that the whole material universe is redeemed and divinized through God the Son’s incarnation, of which his death, resurrection and ascension are the culminating acts. As reported by North Star in this thread, “In the Orthodox understanding, it is the entire Incarnation (as St. Athanasius wrote) that saves us, not just the cross as in some western churches. It is the whole life, death and Resurrection that saves, because our human nature was united to the Divine nature in the person of Jesus Christ. And… because the Logos was never separated from the Trinity, it is a union [? un-] like any other. Not just human nature, but material nature is united to Divinity. St. Maximus wrote that not just humanity is saved, but the entire Cosmos through the Incarnation of Jesus Christ.” Catholics are not going to disagree; compare Romans 8:18–23.
Also consider, then, two "other things" we consider the Body of Christ: the Holy Eucharist and all of the baptized. Do we mean to say that either of these are merely analogous in being to the Body of Christ, our Risen Lord? I should think not.
The Fathers of the Church are pretty specific about this: it is much more than an analogy; it is a spiritual reality. St. Irenaeus (2nd century) in particular has several passages in his monumental work, Against Heresies, where he speaks of the Eucharist as the literal body of Christ which, through our assimilation of it, brings about our own divinization (theosis) and turns the community of believers into the mystical body of Christ. He specifically mentions that it is through the Eucharist, a food both material and spiritual, that the human body receives the resurrection to the life of grace and of glory. I think you bring out the same connection when you speak of our being “made alive again with life of Christ. Christ living within us! Which makes us, therefore, part of His body.”
The only criticism I might have is with your wording where you say, “If Jesus, resurrected, can pass through solid spaces and mask His identity in merit of His Resurrected Body-- why can He not also have His Body and Blood be present in bread and wine?”
First, “solid spaces” is an oxymoron; you probably meant something like “solid objects.” Second, Christ’s body and blood are not exactly “present in bread and wine,” but the bread and wine actually become the body and blood of Christ through a change of substance. In both cases, it’s probably just a slip of the pen (or keyboard); I’m sure your intent is sounder than your hurried notes.
David
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Dave Armstrong
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| Joined: | Fri Nov 2nd, 2007 |
| Location: | Melvindale, Michigan USA |
| Posts: | 2169 |
| First Name: | Dave | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Evangelical (1977): Diverse Protestant Influences / Catholic in 1990 |
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Posted: Thu Mar 27th, 2008 11:21 pm |
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Hi Kayla,
That was a wonderful meditation. Thanks.
This motif is also repeated in passages that identify Jesus' suffering with ours, and involve us in the very redemption, in a specific sense. I wrote in my book, A Biblical Defense of Catholicism (pp. 160-161):
In some mysterious, glorious way God chooses to involve us in the very Redemption (always in a secondary and derivative sense, but actual nonetheless), just as he voluntarily involves us in his Providence by means of prayer and evangelism, and in his Creation by our procreation and childbirth. Our sufferings become identified with those of Christ. (Instances of the stigmata, whereby saintly persons - such as St. Francis of Assisi - actually receive the wounds of Christ in their bodies, are an extremely graphic image of this scriptural teaching.)
Since we are the Body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:27; Eph. 1:22-23, 5:30; Col. 1:24 below), such a "radical" convergence is not to be unexpected. For instance, when St. Paul was converted to Christ, Jesus said to him, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting (Acts 9:5). This couldn't literally refer to Jesus the Divine Person since he had already ascended to heaven (Acts 1:9-11). Rather, Jesus meant that Christ's Church really was his Body, whom Paul (Saul) was persecuting (Acts 8:1,3; 9:1-2). Jesus also identifies the Church with himself in Matthew 25:34-45 (25:40 - "brethren"; cf. Matt. 12:50, 28:10; John 20:17). Thus, Jesus' sufferings are ours, and ours are his in a very real sense, as St. Paul unmistakably teaches, particularly and most strikingly in Colossians 1:24 . . .
Some further passages along these lines:
Philippians 3:10 . . . that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death. (cf. Rom 6:3-8; 8:17-18)
Colossians 1:24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church.
2 Corinthians 4:10 Always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.
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I'm happy to offer whatever theological & personal assistance I can. My blog, Biblical Evidence for Catholicism, contains 2000+ papers & web pages (absolutely free) & 16 apologetic books (for sale):
http://www.biblicalcatholic.com/
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Pani Rose
Member
| Joined: | Fri Oct 5th, 2007 |
| Location: | Irondale, Alabama USA |
| Posts: | 674 |
| First Name: | Rose | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | Ruthenian Byzantine in a Melkite Greek Catholic Parish, raised ... |
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Posted: Fri Mar 28th, 2008 06:34 pm |
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There is an excellent book called which is out of print, one can find it for sale on the internet, an awesome book and farely easy to read.
INVADED BY GOD, Mysticism and the Indwelling Trinity by George A. Maloney, S.J. -
Published about 1979 by Dimension Books, Denville NJ - Table of Contents: -
* Call to Mysticism -
* The Mystery of the Trinity -
* The Godhead and the Father -
* The Son and the Holy Spirit -
* Invaded by God -
* Christ Dwells in You -
* The Indwelling Holy Spirit -
* Communion with the Holy Spirit -
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