Christ our Contemporary

1 MARCH 2012. Form a message sent by the Holy Father today:

We cannot entrust our lives to an indefinite superior body or to a cosmic force, but to God Whose face as Father has been made familiar by the Son, 'full of grace and truth'. Jesus is the key that opens the door of wisdom and love to us, that dispels our loneliness and keeps hope alive in the face of the mystery of evil and death. The life of Jesus of Nazareth, in Whose name many believers in various countries of the world today still face suffering and persecution, cannot therefore be confined to a distant past but is crucial to our faith today.

 Christ. The same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. The image of His holy face, humbled to accept abuse, rebuke, and the thorns of His crown for our sins - for my sin. This image is the same for all of us: everywhere and for all times. For Christ did not come at a  point in history, leaving us to await His return, while longing for Him in His absence. No. Christ is here today in the Eucharist. He gives us Himself each day afresh. He provides for you and I now, today, here. Christ is our contemporary. We know Him and He knows us in His Church, in the sacrifice of his Holy Eucharist, in our coming to Him each day.