How does Christ's sacrific show His love for us?

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Hi,

I was reading an answer by Fr. Vincent Serpa to a question on why God giving His own life up in a bloody sacrifice is necessary for the salvation of souls. The link is here: catholic.com/quickquestions/if-god-is-perfect-and-needs-nothing-from-us-then-why-would-he-demand-a-human-sacrific

How does this act of going through a brutal torturous murder show God’s love for us? I know that it does somehow. I get glimpses in my mind of how this is the most perfect means of showing us God’s love, but it always seems to drift from my mind soon. I can’t seem to hold onto the understanding I have of this mystery for too long. It’s so simple when I understand it in those moments, but it is like staring into the brightness of the Sun, in that I cannot look for more than an infinitesmal moment. I wish to gaze into this mystery of God’s supreme eternal act of love on the Cross forever, and I cannot seem to fix my gaze on Him for even two microinfinitesmal moments without extreme difficulty.

Sometimes when I pray, meditating upon these mysteries, I almost experience a physical discomfort in my body. But I can’t stop praying when I am in this situation. The only way to get rid of the physical discomfort is to keep praying, keep talking to God, keep asking Him to show me what He means by all these things He has chosen to do for all salvation, and why He chose this way rather than some other. I should probably go now. I prayed over someone for the first time today. I just felt I had to do that, and I asked him if I could. My friend was born with cerebral palsy, and has been in a wheelchair for most of his life. He wants to pursue a vocation for the priesthood, and he is certainly spiritually qualified for the vocation. I want a miracle healing for him, so that he can walk, but I don’t know how to ask God for one, or even if I should. Please pray that God the Holy Spirit enlightens me in what I should ask him for in prayer, and how I should ask Him.

God bless you always and forever!
Joshua
 
I think of it as by sinning, we offend God, because He is Perfection. Since He is all-just, then, an atonement must be made for our offenses. The only way this could be done for all humanity throughout time is by God Himself taking on our flesh and offering Himself as a sacrifice for us. God is Justice, so I don’t think He can go against His very nature by shrugging our sins off.
 
John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish , but have everlasting life.

God loves us all :D.

God is willing to have Himself killed for you and me. That is so much Love for all of us. May God bless. So much Glory upon God. Thank you so! much God.

Caedmons Call: Before There Was Time
 
As I reflect on the crucifixion and the sufferings and death of Jesus. The Second Person of The Blessed Trinity becomes fully human (while still Truly God). The events of his life as a fully human person and at a certain point in our human history lead to his arrest and crucifixion and He does not shun this quite human course of events. He loves us so much, He fully embraced His Humanity in every single way, including the unfolding of events (cause and effect) and circumstances in His Life, and died for love of us. The Second Person of The Blessed Trinity becomes fully human in every way that we are - and right to the end including a cruel and quite horrific death. Jesus in His Human Life would have been familiar with Roman crucifixion and the absolute horror of it and this potentially was possibly largely due to His sweating drops of blood in the Garden of Gethsamane. Science now tells us that under extreme stress and trauma it is possible for the human person to sweat blood - and even if science had not confirmed it, it is a Gospel fact and we would believe it anyway. The horror of Jesus at His likely coming fate echoes in the words “Father, if it be possible let this cup pass from Me, but not My Will but Thine be done”.
I tend to think too that in the Spirit of Jesus, the weight of absoltuely all the sinfulness of the world from the beginning of time to its end was weighing down upon him spiritually, which meant that His Sufferings went even far far beyond the physical and emotional trauma of the Roman act of crucifying Him, which was a terrible agony and death. He had already been scourged (and Roman scourging was shocking) and a crown of thorns forced onto His Head. He then had to carry His Cross to Calvary - and we know that He Suffered so much, He fell under the weight of it and needed the help of Simon of Cyrene to make it to the place of crucifixion.

As the sin of Adam passed down to all of us as original sin, without exception. So the merits of the Second Adam, in Jesus, pass down to us all without exception in the spiritual realm for all who accept Him. As the sin of Adam was one of disobedience in the physical order and we all inherit the consequences as original sin, so the Glory of Jesus, The Second Adam, was His Complete Obedience to The Father in the spiritual order and The Father did not exempt Jesus from a terrible death. We all inherit salvation through Jesus in the spiritual order. Why Jesus had to die the death He did is a mystery, while it does reveal just how much He loves every single last one of us without exception. He died for all mankind. His terrible sufferings and agony also demonstrate, to my mind, something of the horror of sin. This is what sin did to the Body of Jesus along with a terrible agony of mind, heart, emotions and soul. “My God, My God, Why have you abandoned Me?” This is a line from a psalm that is a psalm of love and praising of God. biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+22&version=NIV

St Paul tells us that a man might die for a friend or a good person - but Jesus died for us while we were all still sinners. He died for the sinful and sinners and we all find a pew in that somewhere.

This is a medical account of the crucifixion of Jesus from The Journal of the American Medical Assocation. It is very graphic with drawings and shocking to read beggining with the arrest through to the Death of Jesus. Be warned it is terrible to read.
It has been paraphrased on Catholic Culture:

godfactor.com/jesus/PDFs/physical_death_of_jesus_christ.pdf
My friend was born with cerebral palsy, and has been in a wheelchair for most of his life. He wants to pursue a vocation for the priesthood, and he is certainly spiritually qualified for the vocation. I want a miracle healing for him, so that he can walk, but I don’t know how to ask God for one, or even if I should. Please pray that God the Holy Spirit enlightens me in what I should ask him for in prayer, and how I should ask Him.
Click to expand...
You can ask for a miracle for sure, but the best of prayers always ends “But not my will, but Thine be done.”
I will keep your intention in daily prayer and may The Holy Spirit enlighten you in every way.

TS
 
God the Father witnessed a fallen world, He became man and redeemed man, and by example showed you how to live, what you were living in, and answered all the questions you did not. nor could not know. The who am I, where am I going, and whys.

Remember evil wouldn’t accept humanity, satan wouldn’t worship a man. God the Father through the Holy Spirit then becomes man through woman, both Divine and very Human in Jesus, He shows the path, and shows the true value of the flesh on the Cross and at the same time redeems man. So he died for Your Soul. And without a doubt it shows His compassion and love for you. Not only does He die for you, he intentionally chose the Cross. Through His life you should see your own, its a mirror and reminder.

Peace
 
joshrp said:
Hi,

Edit
How does this act of going through a brutal torturous murder show God’s love for us? I know that it does somehow. I get glimpses in my mind of how this is the most perfect means of showing us God’s love, but it always seems to drift from my mind soon. I can’t seem to hold onto the understanding I have of this mystery for too long. It’s so simple when I understand it in those moments, but it is like staring into the brightness of the Sun, in that I cannot look for more than an infinitesmal moment. I wish to gaze into this mystery of God’s supreme eternal act of love on the Cross forever, and I cannot seem to fix my gaze on Him for even two microinfinitesmal moments without extreme difficulty.

Edit

Joshua
Click to expand...
Those “glimpses” in your mind of the Sufferings of Jesus as the most perfect means of showing us God’s Love are a great gift, Joshua. Value them and be thankful for them. That you wish to gaze into “this mystery of God’s supreme eternal act of love on the cross forever” but are unable to do so is something that YOU desire. Ask God for this gift “but not my will but Thine be done” - i.e ask with great humility. The gift that God has given you in your “glimpses” is a great gift indeed already. If God desires to give you more and to fulfill what YOU desire, then well and good and a great gift indeed again it will be. But to Love the Will of God for you above all things, even your own most admirable desires, is the greatest of gifts of The Holy Spirit to you.

God bless - Tigger
 
No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. (John 15:13)
 
joshrp said:
Hi,

I was reading an answer by Fr. Vincent Serpa to a question on why God giving His own life up in a bloody sacrifice is necessary for the salvation of souls. The link is here: catholic.com/quickquestions/if-god-is-perfect-and-needs-nothing-from-us-then-why-would-he-demand-a-human-sacrific

How does this act of going through a brutal torturous murder show God’s love for us? I know that it does somehow. I get glimpses in my mind of how this is the most perfect means of showing us God’s love, but it always seems to drift from my mind soon. I can’t seem to hold onto the understanding I have of this mystery for too long. It’s so simple when I understand it in those moments, but it is like staring into the brightness of the Sun, in that I cannot look for more than an infinitesmal moment. I wish to gaze into this mystery of God’s supreme eternal act of love on the Cross forever, and I cannot seem to fix my gaze on Him for even two microinfinitesmal moments without extreme difficulty.

Sometimes when I pray, meditating upon these mysteries, I almost experience a physical discomfort in my body. But I can’t stop praying when I am in this situation. The only way to get rid of the physical discomfort is to keep praying, keep talking to God, keep asking Him to show me what He means by all these things He has chosen to do for all salvation, and why He chose this way rather than some other. I should probably go now. I prayed over someone for the first time today. I just felt I had to do that, and I asked him if I could. My friend was born with cerebral palsy, and has been in a wheelchair for most of his life. He wants to pursue a vocation for the priesthood, and he is certainly spiritually qualified for the vocation. I want a miracle healing for him, so that he can walk, but I don’t know how to ask God for one, or even if I should. Please pray that God the Holy Spirit enlightens me in what I should ask him for in prayer, and how I should ask Him.

God bless you always and forever!
Joshua
Click to expand...
The Father love us when He sacrificed by sending His son Jesus into this sinful world.

Jesus in turn loves us when He sacrifice all His privilege as God when He accepted to be a lowly human being so He can lay His life for us so we can be with Him and the Father.

Imagine God sacrificing Himself and denying His statute as the Ruler of the universe so we may be with Him throughout eternity is priceless. That is God’s love.

This beautiful song base from John 15:13 is a good refelction of how great that love of God is: No Greater Love
 
trdchubi said:
The Father love us when He sacrificed by sending His son Jesus into this sinful world.

Jesus in turn loves us when He sacrifice all His privilege as God when He accepted to be a lowly human being so He can lay His life for us so we can be with Him and the Father.

Imagine God sacrificing Himself and denying His statute as the Ruler of the universe so we may be with Him throughout eternity is priceless. That is God’s love.

This beautiful song base from John 15:13 is a good refelction of how great that love of God is: No Greater Love
Click to expand...
Good comments
 
joshrp said:
Hi,
How does this act of going through a brutal torturous murder show God’s love for us?
Click to expand...
The same way that a mother sacrificing herself to save her child shows the love of the mother for her child.

Christ was a ransom for us. This makes it possible that we can be forgiven of our sins. We were condemned by sin under the law. We deserved the curse of the law. For whoever breaks the law brings upon himself the curse of the law. Christ died in our place, taking the curse of the law on himself. It is through Christ’s death and resurrection that we are no longer condemned by the law, having died with him in baptism (Jn 6:4) we are dead to the law. And, in his Resurrection we attain newness of life. In Christ we are no longer under law but under grace. His sacrifice atones for our sins.

“He is expiation for our sins, and not for our sins only but for those of the whole world.”
  • 1 Jn 2:2
"Hence, now there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. "
  • Rom 8:1
“Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person, though perhaps for a good person one might even find courage to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.”
  • Rom 5:7-8
 
We sinned against God and in some way justice needed to be satisfied. The cross shows us a number of things.

Summary of the St. Thomas’ Summa on the 5 reasons the cross was chosen by God

The Cross shows us that:
  1. God loves us.
    Rom 5:8 - we look at the cross and we see how intensely God loves us. We don’t have to earn God’s approval or love. We just need to turn to him. He won’t force us to love him. God loves us so deeply he sent his Son…
  2. Gives us an example
    To give us an example of obedience, humility, and the other virtues.
    1 Pt 2:21- Christ suffered as an example… Christ is sinless and he also displays all of the virtues. We are called to be like Christ, perfectly obedient to his plan.
  3. Gives us justifying grace and makes us a part of the family of God sharing in the divine life and is not just a forgiveness or pardon.
    Christ by his passion not only delivers man from sin but merits justifying grace for him and the glory of bliss. Salvation is more than God forgiving us our sins. It is God inviting us to the intimacy of his inner life. It is more than just fire insurance. Not only are you free from your sin or your condemnation, God is calling us to adopt us, to make us part of his family, to help us share in his divine life. - partakers in the divine nature.
  4. We are more bound or more likely to refrain from sin.
    Because of the cross we see how horrendous sin is. 1 Cor 6:20 - you are bought with a great price. glorify God in your body. We see the great price that was paid for our salvation and inspires us to love God even more.
  5. Because it redounded man’s dignity.
    Because God knows that human dignity was damaged by the fall. The devil was able to use a human being to bring sin into the world. So God wants to raise up human nature. So God comes as a man to save us from sin. 1 Cor 15 - thanks be to God who has given us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. It was accordingly more fitting that we should be delivered by Christ’s passion then simply by God’s good will.
“There was no other more suitable way then healing our misery then by the passion of Christ”
  • St. Augustine
 
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