8. Paschal Mystery
mystery (Gk)musterion
(Gk)muein = to close the
eyes or the mouth
(Gk)myein = to initiate
(Gk)myesis = initiation
Editor's Notes
a short catechetical introduction
when we talk about lent, what are the first things that come into our mind? suffering, passion, death of Jesusfor many of us Filipinos, the centre of Lenten celebration is Good FridayAfter good Friday, people go home. It is as if good Friday has no connection with Easter Sunday apart from the miracle that Jesus rose on Easter Sunday.
I suggest we understand lent through the paschal mysterywe cannot separate lent from easter, lent is not just commemorating the suffering and death of Jesusin the first place why was it called Good—it cannot be good because of the gory scourging, falling, blood, cuicifixion of Jesus but because it is a triumph against evil, a seed for new lifelent should be seen in the context of participation in the whole journey/process of Jesus called paschal mystery, the paschal mystery is the central mystery of the church, the paschal mystery is the central mystery of our lives as Christians
paschal mystery as a passover
new focus of lent, preparation for baptismlent is a time and space for learning, training, improving, sharpening our values, attitudes, skills as a Christianlent is a time for rebuilding and strenghtening our Christian character
lent is more a test of character than external penitential activities
the term musterion was later applied by Greek Christians to describe the initiations of baptism and the Eucharist.
