What does Jesus Christ do in the Eucharist?
It is God who, as our Savior, offers
himself each day for us to his Father’s justice. If you are in difficulties and sorrows, he
will comfort and relieve you. If you are
sick, he will either cure you or give you strength to suffer so as to merit
Heaven. If the devil, the world, and the
flesh are making war upon you, he will give you the weapons with which to
fight, to resist, and to win victory. If
you are poor, he will enrich you will all sorts of riches for time and
eternity. Let us open the door of his
sacred and adorable Heart, and be wrapped about for an instant by the flames of
his love, and we shall see what a God who loves us can do. O my God, who shall be able to comprehend?
--St. John Vianney,
Curé d’Ars
Image source: Simone di Filippo detto dei Crocefissi, Crocifissione di Cristo (ca. 1370), photo courtesy of Fr. Pat, https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=958933644288830&set=pcb.958935187622009&type=3&theater
The Pelican piercing her breast so that her young can feed is a frequent image in Crucifixion paintings of the Middle Ages. It was to point out the divine nature of self-sacrifice, just as Jesus offers his life for the life of all. Note also in this example the next of acanthus leaves, which is often a reference to the "Tree of Life" (see the 12th century mosaic in S. Clemente in Roma)...it is a plant that completely dies in the winter, but comes back in the spring. which points to death and resurrection.
ReplyDelete