| Monday, March 11, 2013 Lenten Weekday |
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"Your son will live"
“To this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living” (Rm 14,9). But “God is not God of the dead, but of the living” (Lk 20,38). Consequently, the dead over whom he who lives has power are no longer dead but alive. Life has power over them so that they may live without any further fear of death just as “Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again” (Rm 6,9). Raised up and freed from corruption they shall see death no more. They will share in the resurrection of Christ just as he shared in their death. For no other reason did he descend to earth, whose bars are barriers to eternity, except to “shatter the doors of bronze, and cut in two the bars of iron” (Ps 107[106],16). He came to lead our lives away from corruption to himself and gave us freedom in place of slavery.
If the work of this arrangement of providence does not seem to be finished yet, for men still die and their bodies rot in the grave, this should in no way undermine our faith. In advance of all the good things already mentioned we have even now received a pledge through Christ our firstfruits. Through him we attain the highest heaven and take our places with him who carried us up to the heights with himself. That is what Saint Paul says somewhere: “he raised us up with him, and made us sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Eph 2,6).