Jesus: the pascal mystery

Origin

The Paschal Mystery refers to God’s love and salvation revealed to people through the life, passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The sacraments are really a celebration of the Paschal Mystery.

The term “paschal” is derived from the word “Pasch”, which refers to the feast of Passover - and not simply because the events from the Last Supper through the crucifixion and resurrection happen to coincide with Passover. The event celebrated by Passover - the deliverance of Israel from enslavement in Egypt - has been viewed by Christians as the anticipation of the full deliverance that comes with Jesus Christ.

Ongoing participation

This understanding of the paschal mystery provides a connection between belief, life and worship. The Christian community gathers weekly to participate sacramentally in the mystery of faith, the Mass. Week by week, believers learn to contemplate the presence of the mystery of Christ’s dying and rising in the great and small events of ordinary life and in the natural rhythm of things. From a paschal perspective, illness, poverty, social disorder, exploitation, environment degradation and other forms of diminishment as well as efforts toward reconciliation, fidelity, forgiveness and human courage in the face of adversity, not only invite, but require of the Christian some suitable response in the Spirit of Jesus.