The Greatest Sacrifice
And when he had left, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.’
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The glory of Christ has arrived, and that glory is the cross.
As Judas left the Upper Room, Jesus knew exactly how the events of that night would unfold. The Cross was awaiting the Savior.
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In this life, if we look at history – we will see that glory always comes with sacrifice. In war, the glory is not so much to those who come home from war, rather, the glory is really given to those who laid down their lives, with the greatest courage.
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In daily life, if you wish to find someone who is sincere, who is wise, who is able to appreciate your struggle – you need to speak to someone who has suffered in life, who has been through a lot. Sacrifice leads to greatness.
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But embracing suffering, making sacrifices – this is not an end in itself. There is something supernatural, some type of power in sacrifice, that we know at some deep level. It is because sacrifices made willingly – well, these are, in a mysterious way, united to the Eternal Sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross, and somehow deep down, we know that doing something very difficult, because it is ‘the right thing to do’ – we know at some level that it will be rewarded, it will be to our glory.
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This week it becomes clear, that what we sense to be true, really is true. Our Lord will make the supreme act of sacrifice, greater than any that has ever been made – an explosion in history. Not because he suffered more than anyone physically, but because upon himself he literally took all the guilt of every person. His interior suffering is incomprehensible.
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Yet we see that this great act will be rewarded. Christ will be raised up and he will conquer death and sin and the devil, for all of us. This power comes from this infinite sacrifice.
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All of our own sacrifices and noble actions are united to that of Christ, in particular at Holy Mass. And this is why Jesus says to us, through the priest: ‘Pray that my Sacrifice and yours, will be acceptable to God, the Almighty Father.’
And it is why we reply to Jesus: ‘May the Lord accept this Sacrifice at your hands, for the praise and glory of his name, for our good, and the good of all his holy Church.’
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Everything we have that is good is offered with Christ, for God’s glory.
