Finally, the Easter Triduum!

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

THIS is the highest point, the climax, of the redemptive work of Christ. With the Easter Triduum which starts in the evening of Holy Thursday with the celebration of the Mass of the Last Supper, we are made to understand that Christ, whose idea of human redemption is not only for us to be rid of sins but rather to be one with him, makes himself and his redemptive work present all throughout time. He makes himself fully available to us.

This is the truth of our faith that we should train ourselves to be ever aware of and to act according to it. We have to develop the desire, matching it with the appropriate efforts, to hunger for Christ, to make him present in our lives. In fact, he should be incarnated in us because that is what we are meant to be—another Christ (alter Christus), if not, Christ himself (ipse Christus), as one saint put it.

This may look like an incredible and impossible prospect. And, indeed, it is. But if we would just activate our faith, that impossibility can become possible. We are meant to go as far as we can, but it will only be Christ himself who will complete and perfect everything for us and with us. (cfr. Phil 1,6)

Yes, we can make Christ alive in us. And this is no gratuitous, baseless pursuit. We are not indulging in some fantasy when we exert the effort to make Christ alive in us. In the first place, because Christ himself is alive. He continues to be with us and is, in fact, actively intervening in our lives. We are not in some make-believe world.

It’s us who have the problem since we tend to ignore him. It’s the same problem once articulated by St. Augustine: “You were with me, but I was not with you.” And even the things around all point to us about Christ’s constant interventions in our lives. Still, we fail to be aware of him.

Christ, of course, died, but then he rose again, never to die again. And even if he rose again, he after so many days ascended into heaven. He should not be around anymore. But, no, he continues to be here, this time in the Holy Spirit, in the Church, in the sacraments, etc.

Let’s remember that before he went up to heaven, he promised the coming of the Holy Spirit who would bring to us everything that Christ did and said. More than that, the Holy Spirit brings Christ alive in us.

This is how God works. The entire trinity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit is involved in this continuing divine effort to bring us back to where we came from—that is, from God himself in whose image and likeness we have been created. And God in his work cannot be frustrated despite the mess we make.

We just have to exercise our faith to the hilt. With it we enter into a reality that goes beyond what we simply can see and touch and understand. With it we can feel at home even with mysteries which, by the way, abound in our life since we are not confined only to the sensible and material realities. Our world includes the spiritual and the supernatural.

If we correspond actively to what Christ has done for us, we in the Holy Spirit can truly manage to make Christ alive in us. It is really just a matter of being consistent with our faith that brings with it the other virtues of hope and charity. In that way, we would be dealing with the Holy Spirit who will bring Christ to us alive.

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com