The Cross and the Resurrection

The Cross and the Resurrection form the heart of the Christian faith. By his death on the Cross, Christ redeems the sin of the world; by his Resurrection, he triumphs over death. These two inseparable moments are called the paschal mystery, and it is there that our salvation is accomplished.

An Infinite Offense

Sin had separated man from God, and this rupture surpassed any human reparation. The gravity of an offense is measured by the dignity of the one it strikes: a lack of regard toward an equal weighs less than the same affront offered to a sovereign. Now sin strikes God himself, infinitely great. It therefore carries a gravity beyond measure: an infinite offense.

To repair such an offense required a satisfaction of equal value, therefore infinite. The word satisfaction here means the reparation offered to God for sin, the gift that answers the offense. Yet no man could offer it: a finite creature, already indebted to God for all that he is, man had nothing to give that was not already owed. His debt surpassed him infinitely.

Justice nonetheless willed that it be man who repairs, since it was man who had sinned. There had to be a redeemer at once truly man, to offer in the name of all, and truly God, so that his offering might have the infinite value the fault demanded. This redeemer is Christ, true God and true man. In him alone could humanity at last render to God a reparation equal to the offense.

The Sacrifice of the Cross

On the Cross, Christ takes upon himself the sin of the world. John the Baptist had pointed to him: “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” John 1:29 Innocent, he bears the punishment of the guilty: “He was pierced for our sins; by his wounds we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5 His blood poured out is the total gift of himself to the Father, offered in love as reparation for all. There, the sacrifice foreshadowed by all the altars of Israel finds its fulfillment.

Justice and Mercy

The Cross reveals together the justice and the mercy of God. His justice, for sin is there fully repaired, by an offering equal to the offense.

His mercy still more. To save man was pure gratuity: he had lost himself by his own fault, and nothing obliged God to raise him up. Mercy begins in this love offered to one who had not deserved it: “God shows his love for us: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 It goes further still. Justice willed that the guilty one pay; the guilty one could not. So it is the offended one who pays for the offender: God, entitled to demand reparation, makes himself the one who repairs and takes upon himself the debt he could have claimed. For this he gives what is most dear to him, his own Son. The gift matches the measure of the offense: infinite as it is.

God remained free, however. By his omnipotence, he could have remitted sin by a simple pardon. If he chose this way, it is because it was the most worthy of him, the one where his justice is honored, his mercy made manifest, and man associated with his own redemption. Thus is fulfilled the word of the psalm: “Love and faithfulness meet together; justice and peace embrace.” Psalm 85:11 On the Cross, God forgives without lowering anything of his holiness.

The Victory of the Resurrection

On the third day, Christ rose, alive forever, victor over sin and death. His Resurrection seals the value of his sacrifice: “He was handed over for our trespasses and raised for our justification.” Romans 4:25 And he is the first of a multitude: “Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have died.” 1 Corinthians 15:20 In him, death ceases to be an end.

A Single Paschal Mystery

The Cross and the Resurrection make but one act of salvation, which the Church calls the paschal mystery. Death there redeems, the Resurrection there gives life; one calls for the other, and Christ passes from one to the other to draw us with him. It is this mystery that every Mass celebrates and that every Easter renews.

Justification

What Christ merited on the Cross, he applies to each one through justification. To justify is to make just: God blots out sin and infuses into the heart sanctifying grace, truly transforming the sinner into an adopted son. “Justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” Romans 3:24 This grace reaches us through the sacraments: baptism plunges us into the death and Resurrection of Christ, “so that, as Christ was raised from the dead, we too might walk in newness of life,” Romans 6:4 and the Eucharist feeds us with his sacrifice. United to him, justified by his blood, we await rising as he did, on the last day.