Living the Pascal Mystery of Christ

Lord Jesus, banish me and replace me by yourself … may your life be my life … your agony be my agony, your death my death, your resurrection my resurrection, your ascension my ascension, all that is yours, mine. (OOCC, X, pp. 488 - 489; STA, 573)

The Pascal Mystery of Christ in a general sense, means the totality of the self-surrendering life of Jesus which makes him shed his greatness as God and become a human being. But in a narrow sense, it refers to the Pascal event of Jesus’ agony, death and resurrection. Every Christian is called to live the Pascal Mystery of Jesus in these twofold senses. First, like Jesus, a Christian is expected to live a life of self-surrender every moment of the time God has allotted for him. Second, he is expected live the Pascal event of the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus on a daily basis in every situation he faces in his life. St. Vincent was very conscious of this duty as a Christian and wanted to live it very radically. He did not want to live his life anymore. Instead, he wanted to live the very life of Jesus. He often prayed asking God to banish his life and replace his life with the life of Jesus. He wished that the life of Jesus, his agony, his death, his resurrection, his ascension and all that Jesus had be transformed into himself, so that he might cease to exist and only Christ would live in and through him. As a result, he would be able to live the Pascal Mystery of Jesus in its totality in the same manner in which Jesus had lived.

Do I accept my duty as a Christian to live the Pascal Mystery of Jesus in my daily life? Do I live the Pascal Mystery in a radical manner? Do I allow Christ to live in me and work through me? Do I take the trouble to remove from me everything which does not make me Christ-like?

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. (Is. 53:7)