The New Saint Joseph Baltimore
Lesson 8
The Redemption
Jesus Gave his Life for His Sheep
“I believe…in Jesus Christ, His only Son, Our Lord; Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit born of the Virgin Mary…”
We read in the Holy Bible
John Chapter 10
I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me,
just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep.
This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again.
No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again. This command I have received from my Father."
Explanation
Jesus came to show us how to love
Jesus knew His Father had sent Him to earth to lead His sheep to heaven. He had to lead His sheep to heaven. He had to show them how to walk in His footsteps of love. He had to show them how much He loved His Father so that they would love His Father that way, too.
He wanted to give His life for us
His Father had asked Him to die on a cross for our sins. Jesus was willing to do this freely. No one could force Him since His divine power could easily overcome the strength of all the men in the world. But Jesus loved us so much that He was willing to let bad men put Him to death.
Jesus went to Jerusalem
When the time had come for His Passion and Death, He went up to Jerusalem
We read in the Holy Bible
32
They were on the way, going up to Jerusalem
"Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem
who will mock him, spit upon him, scourge him, and put him to death, but after three days he will rise."
Explanation
Jesus died for our sins
That is exactly what happened. On that first Good Friday Jesus died for us. He took all the sins of the world on Himself and died that they might be destroyed.
The sins of the world had offended God very deeply. To make up for sin it was necessary to give God something that pleased Him more than sin displeased Him. Jesus our Good Shepherd did this for us by giving His Father the love of His Sacred Heart. When Our Lord died on the Cross the love in His heart pleased His Father more than all the sins of the world displeased Him.
Jesus rose that we might rise
To show He was pleased, the Father raised the body of His Son from the dead and took Him to heaven with Himself. There Jesus prepares a place for His sheep who will follow Him by the power of His Precious Blood. We can now have our sins washed off so that we will be able to enter our home in heaven.
The vision of St. John
God gave St. John
We read in the Holy Bible
Revelation Chapter 7
14
I said to him, "My lord, you are the one who knows." He said to me, "These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress; 8 they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
15
"For this reason they stand before God's throne and worship him day and night in his temple. The one who sits on the throne will shelter them.
They will not hunger or thirst anymore, nor will the sun or any heat strike them.
17
For the Lamb who is in the center of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to springs of life-giving water, 9 and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."
The Blood of Jesus cleanses and strengthens His sheep to follow Him to heaven.
Happiness forever
The waters of God’s love in heaven will make us so happy that we could never again be unhappy. Our hearts will be filled with the joy of God’s love, and all our desires of love will be satisfied.
The Cross is our Tree of Life
Jesus has made the Cross a new Tree of Life so that we can get back again the life of grace that Adam and Eve lost for us by refusing the First Tree of Life. If we follow Christ, eating of the Tree of Life by our love for Him and by being willing to carry our daily cross after Him, then we, too, will die with Him and rise with Him.
Practice
Bear your small crosses with love, offering them up to God the Father as Christ offered Himself.
CATECHISM
46. What is meant by the Redemption?
By the Redemption is meant that Jesus Christ offered His sufferings and death to God in satisfaction for the sins of men.
The Redemption means Christ died for our sins and rose to make us holy.
Christ redeemed, or saved us, by His loving obedience to the Father. He did God’s will even to the point of dying on the Cross for us.
The sin of Adam and Eve and of all who lived after them had offended God the Father deeply. He loves us and is hurt when we fail to return love for love.
The sin of Adam and Eve and of all who lived after them had offended God the Father deeply. He loves us and is hurt when we fail to return love for love.
Christ’s great act of love pleased the Father more than sin displeased Him. He accepted the sacrifice of His Son. He took him to heaven as a sign that all who follow Christ and share in His sacrifice will also go to heaven.
Mary shared in the sacrifice of her Son. She suffered with Him at the foot of the Cross. Eve had refused God’s will. Mary accepted God’s will. She brought into the world the promised Redeemer Whose suffering and death won eternal life for us.
47. What do we learn from the sufferings and death of Christ?
From the sufferings and death of Christ we learn God’s love for man and the evil of sin.
The suffering and death of Christ show us how much God loves man. We read in the Bible: “In this we have come to know His love, that He laid down His life for us” (1 John 3, 16).
His sufferings and death also teach us what a great evil sin is. Looking at the crucifix will help us to realize what sin does to the soul of man. Sin put Christ on the Cross.
48. What do we mean when we say in the Apostle’s Creed that Christ descended into hell?
When we say that Christ descended into hell we mean that, after He died, the soul of Christ descended into a place or state of rest where the souls of the just were waiting for Him.
The word “hell” here does not mean the place where those souls go who have lost heaven forever. It means the place where the good souls were waiting until heaven was reopened by Christ. The souls of such good people as Abraham, Moses, and St. Joseph
49. When did Christ rise from the dead?
Christ rose from the dead, glorious and immortal, on Easter Sunday, the third day after His death.
50. When did Christ ascend into heaven?
Christ ascended, body and soul, into heaven on Ascension Day, forty days after His Resurrection.
51. What do we mean when we say that Christ sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty?
When we say that Christ sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty, we mean that Our Lord as God is equal to the Father, and that as man He has the highest place in heaven, next to God.
When we say that Christ “sits at the right hand of God” we do not mean that He is in heaven doing nothing. From heaven Christ rules over all men. He is our King. We celebrate the Feast of Christ the King on the last Sunday of October.
52. What do we mean when we say that Christ will come from thence to judge the living and the dead?
When we say that Christ will come from thence to judge the living and the dead, we mean that on the last day Our Lord will come to judge everyone who has ever lived in this world.
The Last Day is the day for which the Church is waiting and praying. It will be a glorious day for all who love Christ. Our Lord will destroy all the enemies of His sheep and lead His loved ones with Him to His Father in heaven.
Discussion Questions
1. Why did God send His Son to earth?
2. Was Our Lord forced to die for us?
3. Why did He do it?
4. Did He know ahead of time what men would do to Him? Explain.
5. What washes us from our sins?
Yes or No (Explain your answer.)
1. Does the Redemption mean that Christ died for our sins?
2. Did the soul of Christ go to heaven right away?
3. Will Christ come to earth again?
4. Did only the soul of Christ ascend into heaven?
5. Did Christ know ahead of time that He would die?
Fill in the Blanks
1. ..................... suffered with Jesus at the foot of the Cross.
2. Christ’s death and resurrection is called the …..………….
3. Christ rose from the dead on …………… …………….
4. He ascended into heaven ………….. days later.
5. Christ will come to ……............ the living and the dead.
Other Readings
The sufferings and death of Our Lord:
1. Matthew 26 and 27.
2. Mark 14 and 15.
3. Luke 22 and 23.
4. John 18 and 19.
Reading even one of these accounts of the Passion of Our Lord will give a greater understanding and appreciation of what He did for us.
Class Liturgical Action
Learn to say (or sing) together the Agnus Dei “Lamb of God” of the Mass.
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