St. Pascal Baylon Catholic Church

Last Sunday our Palm Sunday reading from the Gospel of Matthew states:

“And behold, the veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom.”

Every time I hear about the veil being torn in two I think back many years to when we were watching one of many movies about the life of Jesus. This particular movie had a closeup shot of the veil being torn in two after the death of Jesus. Right then our oldest son said something very profound for his age “The veil being torn in two is the most important thing to understanding the Gospel”. Why has this struck for so many years as being so profound?

The veil being torn in two is a reminder that the presence of God is not to be only found in a temple, church building, or any certain faith tradition. Jesus is beyond any boundaries and we see him, the incarnation of God, walking the countryside going into villages and people’s homes. A lot of the Gospel revelation happens outside of the temple in Jerusalem. As Catholics we consider all of God’s creation to reveal the presence of God, Jesus, to us. For me, the concept that best explains and encapsulates this is that of the “Cosmic Christ”.

Cosmic Christ finds it’s basis the beginning of the Gospel of John (my favorite Christmas Gospel reading):

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be.”

Simply put, Jesus was one in being with God when the universe was created and was part of that creative energy. Our teaching of the Triune God would encompass this concept. If Jesus was a working component of the creation of our universe the incarnation of God is encapsulated in every particle of the universe. I will not go any deeper into this concept but will direct you to Richard Rohr’s series of reflections on the Cosmic Christ.

https://cac.org/the-blueprint-2016-10-24/

This Holy Week and Easter as we find ourselves unable to attend Mass and receive Jesus in the Eucharist we are challenged to find Jesus the Cosmic Christ. To develop a keener ability to find the presence of Jesus in everything in our daily lives. We can spend more time in prayer and reading scriptures to develop a deeper personal relationship with Jesus. The people in our lives can reveal to us the multifaceted presence of God incarnated. During this springtime, we can experience more fully an appreciation for Jesus present to us in the created world around us. Our hunger for Jesus in the Mass and Eucharist can allow our other spiritual senses to be developed and matured. 

May the Cosmic Christ be revealed to you this Easter and allow your faith and relationship with God through Jesus to grow and multiply even in this time of hardship.

Peace, blessings, and prayers

Deacon Richard