Entering into the Humanity of Jesus

"THEREFORE, MY FRIENDS, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh), and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching. But we are not among those who shrink back and so are lost, but among those who have faith and so are saved" (Heb 10: 19-25, 39).

This text from Hebrews can serve as an introduction to some reflections that will help us in our prayer today. The passage tells us about confidence, the true heart, the assurance of faith, the confession of hope, the motive of mutual love. We are told that our confidence should be founded on the flesh and the blood of Jesus. This week, when we are celebrating the Lord's Passover, is an ideal setting for contemplating the mysteries of his passion and resurrection, that is, the mysteries of his flesh at once despoiled and glorified. By meeting together as family and celebrating the Passover, we defend ourselves from the chaos of sin and the frenzied splintering of our sinful conscience-such was the custom of the nomadic tribes of Israel's ancestors. The Passover rescues us from the chaos outside. In our midst, we have the flesh of the Lamb, who was slaughtered (Apoc 5: 8-9), who nourishes us (cf. John 6: 35), who assures us of courage and constancy, and who defends us from the cowardice that is the fruit of the chaos of sin.