Something New

Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator

I don't think I will ever forget a particular shopping trip that I took with my mother when I was about nine or ten years old. Of course, the years may have fogged my memory a bit, but I remember it as being the first time that I got "new" clothes. My mother was the youngest of the children in her family. Her sister had three boys just as she did. All three of them were older than me, and I was the eldest. So I remember lots of "hand-me-downs." I am sure that some of my clothes were new, but I remember most those that we inherited from our cousins. However, on this particular shopping trip, I remember getting new clothes.

St. Paul speaks of Christ making something new through the blood of the cross. We might confuse this with the idea of new clothes or a new car; however, St. Paul is speaking of something "totally" new, something never seen before. By shedding his blood, Jesus has created the possibility of Jew and Gentile living as one body. Through baptism, we are all made members of the Body of Christ.

Modern science is constantly introducing "new" things into our daily lives. However, only God has ever created something entirely new. That creative act came about through the suffering of Jesus on the cross. It never ceases to amaze me how that single act has changed the world and our lives forever. What wondrous love is this?