In Psalm 40, the writer of the Epistle to the
Hebrews heard Christ’s prayer at his incarnation. Our author tells us, “When
Christ came into the world, he said, ‘Sacrifices and [sin] offerings you have
not desired, but a body you have prepared for me … I have come to do your will,
O God” (Heb.10:5-7; Ps.40:6-8). He then
explains the incredible benefit we derive
from Christ’s prayer and his doing of the Father’s will, “By this ‘will,’ we
have been consecrated through the offering of the Body of Jesus Christ once
for all” (Heb.10:10).
Consecrated
– made holy, set apart exclusively for the service of God. Our inspired author brings
up consecration within the larger discussion of how Christ’s sacrifice fulfilled
the sacrifices of the Old Covenant, under which both the priests (Ex.28:41;
Lev.3:30) and offerings (Ex.13:2; Deut.15:19) were consecrated. Thus Jesus,
both Priest and Offering of the New Covenant, is consecrated to the Father – as are we whom he unites to his offering!
On the night before he died, Jesus prayed, “[Father,] for their sake I
consecrate myself, that they also may be consecrated in truth,” - that they may be set apart in offering to
You, in me who is the truth
(Jn.17:19).
Unlike the sacrificial offerings under the Old
Covenant, however, you and I must cooperate with the Priest. St. Paul wrote of
this, “present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God,
which is your spiritual worship” (Rom.12:1). Even though we are in the world,
we are no longer of it – we have been consecrated, set apart and joined to
Christ’s self-immolation. “Bodies” for “spiritual worship” – it is no head
trip; it must be lived in the flesh and bone of our day-to-day lives. So what
steps can we take to become better at this?
Start each day with an Act of
Consecration.
Here is a short, but thorough, Act of Consecration
which the Apostleship of Prayer
has been recommending to its members since the nineteenth century. (Note the
affinity between the intentions ascribed to Jesus’ Heart here, and the
intentions for which he prayed at the Last Supper [Jn.17:6-21; Lk.22:31-32].)
O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer You my prayers, works,
joys, and sufferings of this day in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
throughout the world. I offer them for all the intentions of Your Sacred Heart:
the salvation of souls, reparation for sin, and the reunion of all
Christians. I offer them for the
intentions of our bishops and of all Apostles of Prayer, and in particular for
those recommended by our Holy Father this month.
By beginning our day with an intentional act of
consecration we ground ourselves and, whether or not we are cognizant of it in
the busiest moments of the day, all our actions are converted into prayer. We
join Christ’s sacrificial offering upon the Cross, “where prayer and the gift
of self are but one” (CCC 2605). Jesus’ offering was perpetual (daily) – from the first instant of the
Incarnation, throughout his days in Palestine, all the way to his Cross,
Resurrection, and return to the Father in the Ascension; and ours is meant to
be as well. Our sister, St. Therese of
Lisieux, even teaches us how to extend it into our sleep! “O my Beloved, I
desire at every beat of my heart to renew this Oblation an infinite number of
times.”
A daily act of consecration – yet another beautiful means
the Holy Spirit has given the Church for making concrete the Good News we read of
in Scripture.
_____________________
If you enjoyed this post, you may also like the soon-to-be-released Through, With, & In Him: The Prayer Life of Jesus and How to Make It Our Own from Angelico Press.
No comments:
Post a Comment