Today is the Feast of the Most Holy
Redeemer: the official title of the Order and the Congregation.
Being a visual person, I immediately
got sidetracked by the various depictions of the Holy Redeemer. In the pre-Vatican days, the sisters wore
hand-painted disks which were tucked into a frame sewn over the heart of their
habit as a reminder that she was to wear, as it were, all the divine virtues of
the Lord Jesus Christ engraved on her heart as a seal as “a visible witness and
‘living memory’ of the Paschal Mystery of redemption in today’s world.” Const.
1
Everyday, we Redemptoristines continue
this practice when we put on a pin or necklace with the portrait of the
Redeemer.
In
her autobiography, Ven. M. Celeste tells us she was about five years old when
Jesus first spoke to her heart. Years
later, when she was in the Novitiate, Celeste received a vision of Jesus who
made her understand that a new
Institute should be founded in the world by means of her, and that all the
rules and laws which should be observed in it would be an imitation of Him. Two days later she had another vision of
Jesus dressed in the colors of what was to be the habit of the new
institute: a joyful dark red tunic that would remind the world of
God’s
deep and infinite love for all humankind and a sky blue mantle to remind us our
goal: heaven. Jesus spoke to Celeste
with these words, “I call you, dear soul, because I want you to be clothed with
all the things that make Me beautiful, thus you will be the image of Me and I
shall live a life of love in the world by dwelling in your heart.” Autobiography
What makes Jesus beautiful? Looking at the traditional painting of the
Holy Redeemer we see a blond, blue-eyed Jesus.
Perhaps to a dark-haired and eyed Neapolitan like Celeste, this
appearance of Jesus was ethereal. The
contemporary depiction of the Holy Redeemer, to me, looks like Pierce Bronson. Mighty
attractive. But...
But what makes a person
beautiful? It is their inner
qualities. Jesus told Celeste he was
‘Pure Love.’ That is who we are called
to follow, Pure Love.
How can we do this? Your Constitution 5 states: “The more we
strive to live the love of Christ, the more the thoughts and feelings of Christ
will fill our spirit and our heart, the more we will become His faithful images
and the more also will we be able to be true witnesses of the love of Him who
is our beginning and our End, our Way and our Life, our Shepherd and our
Master.”
“Our
response is to follow the path of the Redeemer. Our ideal is to make His
purity, His simplicity, His obedience to the will of His Father, all His
attitudes and all His choices truly our own.
The more we progress in this transformation of ourselves in Him, the
more we will be able to be a living witness of His charity. It is through the revelation of this charity
that our brothers and sisters will discover in Jesus Christ the one Truth and
the one Hope.” Const. 14
We
are to be a living image of Christ’s redemptive presence in this world. Our
whole life is to be that of Christ’s so with St. Paul we can say, “Life for me
is Christ.” Phil. 1:21
How do we achieve this? To follow the Redeemer is not easy. We are called to share in the Paschal Mystery. “Love of the cross is essentially love and
imitation of Jesus Christ.” Const.
29
But,
“We learn from Him the true way of humility and self-denial.” Const. 27 By taking time to “contemplate Him
who is Pure Love itself, all our being becomes transparent in the light of
Christ who is our all.” see
Const. 16 “We find light and strength in the Word of
God, and in the Eucharist so that we can, following the example of Christ, make
of our whole life a sacrifice of praise to the glory of the Father.” see Const. 21
Today’s Gospel for Holy Redeemer
Sunday comes from John and ends with, “Those who do what is true come to the
light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.” Jn 3:21
Our deeds are to be done in God. That is our call to transformation into the
Redeemer, “We strive to become a clear and radiant witness of God’s mysterious and utterly gratuitous love
for us.
Const. 1 It is through Christ in fact, that we have
known and received this love which is directed towards all but in a very special
way towards the poorest in order that our brothers and sisters may be fully
aware of the love by which they are eternally loved by Him.” Const. 4
QUESTIONS
FOR REFLECTION:
What makes Jesus, the Redeemer,
beautiful to me?
Celeste
says Jesus is like a Crystal I the Sun with facets reflecting the innumerable
qualities of God Unconditional Love, Mercy, Prince of
Peace, Counsel, Lord of the Harvest, Son of Justice, Savior…
How do I witness to God’s love for
me?
When I share
my story of God’s love and miracles in my life
Reaching out to others
Reaching out to others
How do I image Christ’s redemptive
presence in the world?
What Would
Jesus Do?
There is nothing created that has not been redeemed. Gorge Colon, CSsR
The Biblical definition of redeemed is when the closest relative gets back what was lost. Jesus became our closest relative when he became man.
There is nothing created that has not been redeemed. Gorge Colon, CSsR
The Biblical definition of redeemed is when the closest relative gets back what was lost. Jesus became our closest relative when he became man.
Are ‘my deeds’ done in God?
Do
I do things for God or to be noticed?
Recommended
book:
The Naked Now by Richard Rohr
The Naked Now by Richard Rohr
