How was the divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ sacrificed?

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When we pray the chaplet of Divine Mercy we pray:

‘Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity
of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement
for our sins and those of the whole world.’

I recall in some reading, perhaps the Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, or some other reading, that this phrase is in some old liturgy. Not exactly like that but, the idea offering the ‘divinity’ of Jesus is not unique nor new with the apparitions of Jesus to Saint Faustina.

If divinity cannot suffer, how can it be offered up as a sacrifice in atonement for our sins?

Thanks in advance for your response.
 
Couple of things. 1) not all sacrifice is suffering. You can offer God joys, sorrows, work, prayer, ect… 2) Jesus’ divinity was sacrificed along with His humanity on the cross. That prayer is like saying, “Hey God, remember the whole sacrifice of the cross thing? Please keep that in mind and save us!” The prayer unites us to the sacrifice that has already happened. We participate in Christ’s sacrifice.
 
Myst said:
Couple of things. 1) not all sacrifice is suffering. You can offer God joys, sorrows, work, prayer, ect… 2) Jesus’ divinity was sacrificed along with His humanity on the cross. That prayer is like saying, “Hey God, remember the whole sacrifice of the cross thing? Please keep that in mind and save us!” The prayer unites us to the sacrifice that has already happened. We participate in Christ’s sacrifice.
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You are right, sacrifice does not necessarily mean suffering. I actually offer my work to the Lord everyday. But, how was His divinity sacrificed?
 
From an Ancient Sermon for Holy Saturday:

Something strange is happening –there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. ***God has died in the flesh and hell trembles ***with fear. He has gone to search for our first parent, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, he has gone to free from sorrow the captives Adam and Eve, he who is both God and the son of Eve. The Lord approached them bearing the cross, the weapon that had won him the victory. At the sight of him Adam, the first man he had created, struck his breast in terror and cried out to everyone: “My Lord be with you all.” Christ answered him: “And with your spirit.” He took him by the hand and raised him up, saying: “Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.” I am your God, who for your sake have become your son.

Out of love for you and for your descendants I now by my own authority command all who are held in bondage to come forth, all who are in darkness to be enlightened, all who are sleeping to arise. I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be held a prisoner in hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead. Rise up, work of my hands, you who were created in my image. Rise, let us leave this place, for you are in me and I am in you; together we form only one person and we cannot be separated. For your sake I, your God, became your son; I, the Lord, took the form of a slave; I, whose home is above the heavens, descended to the earth and beneath the earth. For your sake, for the sake of man, I became like a man without help, free among the dead. For the sake of you, who left a garden, I was betrayed to the Jews in a garden, and I was crucified in a garden. See on my face the spittle I received in order to restore to you the life I once breathed into you. See there the marks of the blows I received in order to refashion your warped nature in my image. On my back see the marks of the scourging I endured to remove the burden of sin that weighs upon your back. See my hands, nailed firmly to a tree, for you who once wickedly stretched out your hand to a tree. I slept on the cross and a sword pierced my side for you who slept in paradise and brought forth Eve from your side.

My side has healed the pain in yours. My sleep will rouse you from your sleep in hell. The sword that pierced me has sheathed the sword that was turned against you. Rise, let us leave this place. The enemy led you out of the earthly paradise. I will not restore you to that paradise, but I will enthrone you in heaven. I forbade you the tree that was only a symbol of life, but see, I who am life itself am now one with you. I appointed cherubim to guard you as slaves are guarded, but now I make them worship you as God. The throne formed by cherubim awaits you, its bearers swift and eager. The bridal chamber is adorned, the banquet is ready, the eternal dwelling places are prepared, the treasure houses of all good things lie open. The kingdom of heaven has been prepared for you from all eternity

Peace
 
Abba said:
You are right, sacrifice does not necessarily mean suffering. I actually offer my work to the Lord everyday. But, how was His divinity sacrificed?
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Well HE Jesus could have used HIS omnipotence and trump the Jews, Romans and the whole human race right?
Instead HE chose to be killed, HE laid down HIS life and all HIS power down and offered the perfect sacrifice that could atone for the sins of the world.
Since HIS life had infinite value HE could pay the price for us all.
Hope this helps you.

…
 
Abba said:
When we pray the chaplet of Divine Mercy we pray:

‘Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity
of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement
for our sins and those of the whole world.’

I recall in some reading, perhaps the Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, or some other reading, that this phrase is in some old liturgy. Not exactly like that but, the idea offering the ‘divinity’ of Jesus is not unique nor new with the apparitions of Jesus to Saint Faustina.

If divinity cannot suffer, how can it be offered up as a sacrifice in atonement for our sins?

Thanks in advance for your response.
Click to expand...
The sacrifice is offered in the person of Christ. The person of Christ has both a human and divine nature.
 
hazcompat said:
From an Ancient Sermon for Holy Saturday:

Something strange is happening –there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. ***God has died in the flesh and hell trembles ***with fear. He has gone to search for our first parent, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, he has gone to free from sorrow the captives Adam and Eve, he who is both God and the son of Eve. The Lord approached them bearing the cross, the weapon that had won him the victory. At the sight of him Adam, the first man he had created, struck his breast in terror and cried out to everyone: “My Lord be with you all.” Christ answered him: “And with your spirit.” He took him by the hand and raised him up, saying: “Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.” I am your God, who for your sake have become your son.

Out of love for you and for your descendants I now by my own authority command all who are held in bondage to come forth, all who are in darkness to be enlightened, all who are sleeping to arise. I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be held a prisoner in hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead. Rise up, work of my hands, you who were created in my image. Rise, let us leave this place, for you are in me and I am in you; together we form only one person and we cannot be separated. For your sake I, your God, became your son; I, the Lord, took the form of a slave; I, whose home is above the heavens, descended to the earth and beneath the earth. For your sake, for the sake of man, I became like a man without help, free among the dead. For the sake of you, who left a garden, I was betrayed to the Jews in a garden, and I was crucified in a garden. See on my face the spittle I received in order to restore to you the life I once breathed into you. See there the marks of the blows I received in order to refashion your warped nature in my image. On my back see the marks of the scourging I endured to remove the burden of sin that weighs upon your back. See my hands, nailed firmly to a tree, for you who once wickedly stretched out your hand to a tree. I slept on the cross and a sword pierced my side for you who slept in paradise and brought forth Eve from your side.

My side has healed the pain in yours. My sleep will rouse you from your sleep in hell. The sword that pierced me has sheathed the sword that was turned against you. Rise, let us leave this place. The enemy led you out of the earthly paradise. I will not restore you to that paradise, but I will enthrone you in heaven. I forbade you the tree that was only a symbol of life, but see, I who am life itself am now one with you. I appointed cherubim to guard you as slaves are guarded, but now I make them worship you as God. The throne formed by cherubim awaits you, its bearers swift and eager. The bridal chamber is adorned, the banquet is ready, the eternal dwelling places are prepared, the treasure houses of all good things lie open. The kingdom of heaven has been prepared for you from all eternity

Peace
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Beautiful! 🙂 Thank you for sharing. Where did you dig that up from?
 
Vico said:
The sacrifice is offered in the person of Christ. The person of Christ has both a human and divine nature.
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Well, that’s the thing - it’s not the ‘person of Christ’, when we are offering the body, blood, soul and divinity. How can divinity be offered up? A priest once told me that when we start splitting Christ we are no longer speaking of Christ. I believe this applies here.

If we offer the person of Christ which would include His divinity, it may pass, but when we start splitting what is being offered and specifically state ‘divinity’ then it needs to be addressed.

Maybe I am being picky, maybe not.
 
JerryZ said:
Well HE Jesus could have used HIS omnipotence and trump the Jews, Romans and the whole human race right?
Instead HE chose to be killed, HE laid down HIS life and all HIS power down and offered the perfect sacrifice that could atone for the sins of the world.
Since HIS life had infinite value HE could pay the price for us all.
Hope this helps you.

…
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Well, but, God did not die nor the Word when Jesus died. Jesus body died as the the soul left the body, so in His human nature He died but His divinity did not die. If so, how did this happen?
 
Abba said:
Well, that’s the thing - it’s not the ‘person of Christ’, when we are offering the body, blood, soul and divinity. How can divinity be offered up? A priest once told me that when we start splitting Christ we are no longer speaking of Christ. I believe this applies here.

If we offer the person of Christ which would include His divinity, it may pass, but when we start splitting what is being offered and specifically state ‘divinity’ then it needs to be addressed.

Maybe I am being picky, maybe not.
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It’s not possible to “split” Christ in the Eucharist.
He is truly present “Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity”.
All together as one.

Christ is Himself the perfect sacrifice.
He certainly was offered up as the true Lamb of God, being truly human and divine. We recall this sacrifice when we pray this prayer.
 
pianistclare said:
It’s not possible to “split” Christ in the Eucharist.
He is truly present “Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity”.
All together as one.
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I am not saying otherwise.
pianistclare said:
Christ is Himself the perfect sacrifice.
He certainly was offered up as the true Lamb of God, being truly human and divine. We recall this sacrifice when we pray this prayer.
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I am not saying otherwise.
 
Now I understand that the Word incarnate made the sacrifice suffered in His human nature infinite by His divinity. But, I do not understand how divinity was sacrificed.

To say, His sacrifice was the fact that He held back from using His divine powers, is insufficient because God has been holding back and has been super patient with us from the Garden of Eden to the present.
 
It is somewhat of a mystery, but here is something to ponder from the Catholic Encyclopedia. newadvent.org/cathen/13309a.htm
A third problem of great importance concerns the nature of the actio sacrifica in the sacrifice of the Cross. Did the sacrificial act consist in the slaying of Christ on the Cross? This question must be answered with a decided negative; otherwise one would have to say that the function of high-priest at the sacrifice of the Cross was exercised, not by Christ, but by his torturers and their myrmidons, the Roman soldiers. In the Mosaic sacrifices also the essence of the sacrifice lay, not in the actual slaying of the victim, but in the letting, or rather in the sprinkling, of the blood. Consequently, the sacrifice of the Cross, at which Christ functions as sole priest, must likewise be referred to the free offering of His blood for us men, inasmuch as the Redeemer, while outwardly submitting to the forcible shedding of His blood by His executioners, simultaneously offered it to God in the spirit of sacrifice (cf. John 10:17 sq.; Hebrews 9:22; 1 Peter 1:2).
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As Philipians 2:8 states, “Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

I think there is a truth here that his divine obedience was also part of the sacrifice even though divinity itself cannot die.
 
Abba said:
Well, that’s the thing - it’s not the ‘person of Christ’, when we are offering the body, blood, soul and divinity. How can divinity be offered up? A priest once told me that when we start splitting Christ we are no longer speaking of Christ. I believe this applies here.

If we offer the person of Christ which would include His divinity, it may pass, but when we start splitting what is being offered and specifically state ‘divinity’ then it needs to be addressed.

Maybe I am being picky, maybe not.
Click to expand...
This question bothered me all weekend, so here I am taking another go at it.

God the Son is and always will be a divine person.
He took on a human nature (body+soul), but still remains a divine person even in the person of Christ.
All of Jesus’ human actions were done by that same divine person.
Sometimes he acted according to his human nature (crying, eating, etc). Sometimes he acted according to his divine nature (healing, forgiving sins, etc). But in either case it was the singular divine person that did those actions.
Therefor, a divine person offered himself as a living sacrifice to the Father which makes it a divine offering.
 
spiderweb said:
This question bothered me all weekend, so here I am taking another go at it.

God the Son is and always will be a divine person.
He took on a human nature (body+soul), but still remains a divine person even in the person of Christ.
All of Jesus’ human actions were done by that same divine person.
Sometimes he acted according to his human nature (crying, eating, etc). Sometimes he acted according to his divine nature (healing, forgiving sins, etc). But in either case it was the singular divine person that did those actions.
Therefor, a divine person offered himself as a living sacrifice to the Father which makes it a divine offering.
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In other words, humanity and divinity were not sacrificed, a divine person was sacrificed.

There is a flaw in the OP title in that Jesus’ natures cannot be separated from His personhood. Natures cannot be sacrificed.
 
davidv said:
In other words, humanity and divinity were not sacrificed, a divine person was sacrificed.

There is a flaw in the OP title in that Jesus’ natures cannot be separated from His personhood. Natures cannot be sacrificed.
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Truly, the Person of Christ sacrificed his human body.

Hewrews 10:10 By this “will,” we have been consecrated through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
 
We offer to the Father the BODY, BLOOD, SOUL and DIVINITY of Our Lord Jesus Christ in atonement for our sins.
 
Abba said:
When we pray the chaplet of Divine Mercy we pray:

‘Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity
of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement
for our sins and those of the whole world.’

I recall in some reading, perhaps the Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, or some other reading, that this phrase is in some old liturgy. Not exactly like that but, the idea offering the ‘divinity’ of Jesus is not unique nor new with the apparitions of Jesus to Saint Faustina.

If divinity cannot suffer, how can it be offered up as a sacrifice in atonement for our sins?

Thanks in advance for your response.
Click to expand...
It seems clear that the phrase, “body, blood, soul, and divinity” is the phrase used to define the essence of the Eucharist. That is Christ’s Eucharist.

The phrase could just as easily be, ‘Eternal Father, I offer to you the Eucharist of Your dearly beloved Son…’. The point is that what we are offering through this prayer is the Eucharist.

And, what is the Eucharist? It is the resurrected body of Christ. His body, blood, soul and divinity.

There is no Sacrifice apart from Christ’s Sacrifice. We are not Making a new sacrifice. It is Christ’s once and for all Sacrifice that we are pointing to in the prayer. That Sacrifice on the Cross that we see displayed on every crucifix. That paid a debt we could not pay.

When you think about it, we can not offer to God anything he hasn’t already given us. Especially, when it comes to the Eucharist. Yet, the Eucharist is something we can physically offer. Like when we do this at every Mass. This Sacrifice re-presented.

You couldn’t have Faustina’s prayer without the Mass. Because without the Mass you couldn’t have the Eucharist, and without that her prayer would make little sense.
 
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