First Sunday of Lent 2022

 

1^st Sunday of Lent (C)

(Deuteronomy 26:4-10; Romans 10:8-13; Luke 4:1-13)

 

 

Since the Lord Jesus came to lead us in the fight against sin and death, against the devil panoplied in power and pride, it was fitting that He allowed Himself to be tempted for our sake, so that His triumph over the devil might win for us grace to work -- with and in Him, by His Spirit -- for our own salvation and the glory of the one God and Father of all, Who originally created us and eternally loves us.

Now, if we look carefully at Our Blessed Lord’s temptations in the desert in today’s Gospel reading, we can recognize the broad outlines of temptation faced by humankind everywhere; for the devil tempts men, women, yes, and even children, first of all, through their earthly appetites, just as he tried to do with Jesus when he said:

            If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.

They are many who succumb to this first sort of temptation as they pander to their appetites for food, alcohol, sex, and pleasures and satisfactions of all sorts.

Nevertheless, there are others who will overcome, or at least resist for a time, this “common” sort of weakness, until the next big hurdle -- the pretensions of power and authority -- brings them crashing to the ground:

The devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.  And the devil said to Him: All this authority I will give You, and their glory, if You will worship before me.

Some very few, however, might not succumb to even such temptations, being neither overwhelmed by sensual pleasures, nor eager to exercise power or authority over others; indeed, not even seeking to be seen as most talented, acknowledged as most capable, admired as most popular.  And yet -- because all human beings are, in one way or another, sinful -- these remaining few will, ultimately, succumb to the last temptation experienced by Jesus in the desert:

(The devil) brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.”

There we have the temptation most closely corresponding with the devil’s own character: spiritual pride, that is, self-serving, self-proclaiming, egotism.

And so, we have these three: pleasure, in its myriad forms; and pride, both worldly and spiritual; those are the sins of humankind throughout their lives, before the shadow of death appears, threatening all with fear and foreboding.  That would, indeed, be the devil’s last temptation for Jesus Himself, a temptation which Jesus – as God-sent Saviour -- would conquer with love unheard of in mankind’s annals; till that moment, however, Jesus wills to help those who hear and will obey Him, live their earthly lives both profitably and joyfully as His true disciples, walking with Him along paths that lead to heavenly fulfilment.

But what about those who find their main pleasure in sheer idleness, despondency, and fear which inhibit so many by persuading them to hide themselves so that nothing can either be expected from them or asked of them?

In one sense this last failing is the worst of all.  For, what can be done with one who refuses to move?  Someone going in the wrong direction can be redirected; anyone who is faltering on the way can be encouraged and strengthened; and those who are seeking, but confess themselves to be puzzled and uncertain, can be enlightened; but what can be done for someone who has no desire to be, or to do, anything other than to remain undisturbed, to sit cosy, and hold tight?

The sins of pleasure are a perverted acknowledgement of the divine truth that creation is truly beautiful and we are not self-sufficient, for, without repeated injections of contrived and distorted pleasurable satisfactions, such sinners find themselves deeply unhappy and unfulfilled.  Likewise, the sins of pride are a testimony to our God-given human potential for advancement and improvement of all sorts: and indeed, at times, sinners of that sort show great human ingenuity and skill, expend enormous energy and endeavour, in order to satisfy that most foolish and insatiable of all passions: self-aggrandizement.   On the other hand, however, the idleness, despondency, and fear which can paralyse a human being and prevent him or her doing anything with their life, bears no witness -- either negative or positive -- to our human dignity or our divine calling; indeed, it tends to rob us of our authentic human character, since it is of the essence of human kind that, being made in the image and likeness of God, they are destined for fulfilment and called to seek and to find it eternally with Him.  And so, whilst the sins of pleasure staining our modern society are a clear sign that many are painfully aware of their own emptiness and need for fulfilment; and whilst the proud, likewise, give positive, albeit twisted and deeply vitiated, testimony to the calling and gifts with which mankind has been endowed; the inertia of the despondent and the fearful, on the other hand -- entertaining no hopes for fulfilment and  passively contenting themselves with the little they have – are witnesses to nothing other than the weak and the piteous state of our fallen nature.

Our readings today have shown us something of humanity’s sins and failings, and perhaps that has already helped to set us on the way to health by spurring us to hate our lustfulness and pride and to despise our despondency and fear.  Can they help us further in our needs?  Do they hold yet further guidance and grace for us?

Let us think back to our first reading and learning from it begin to appreciate and give expression to that most beautiful and praiseworthy virtue, gratitude, which springs up so naturally in the human heart, unless that heart has been rendered insensitive by the cares and concerns of deep-rooted selfishness. Gratitude is a beautiful virtue: its “innocence” gladdens both the recipient and the giver; for true gratitude is not, and cannot be, concocted; neither is it the virtue of one specially talented, for it wells up freely and spontaneously from the depths of our humanity.

The Lord brought us out of Egypt with strong hand and outstretched arm, with terrifying power, with signs and wonders; and bringing us into this country, He gave us this land flowing with milk and honey.  Therefore, I have now brought you the first-fruits of the land which You, Lord, have given me.

One of the surest ways to find joy in the Lord is to be grateful for all the blessings of life, be they big or small.  Above all, try to offer Holy Mass, and your communion with Jesus at Mass, with gratitude to God in your heart.

Next, we can learn from St. Paul’s teaching in the second reading, for so often people make relations with God difficult for themselves.  They imagine God is demanding this and that from them when really, He is not demanding anything but only seeking to lead them, gradually, from wherever they may find themselves, further along the way to the fullness of happiness and eternal life. 

Now, you have come here believing – mind and heart – in Jesus; hopefully you have learned to appreciate and give expression to your gratitude for the salvation He opens up before you; now, learn from St. Paul and begin to confess with your mouth:

For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved.

People of God, here is something you can and should begin to do here at Mass!  Don’t just stand or sit with your mouth closed and your heart dull.  If you do not confess God here you will never confess Him outside, before others who do not believe.  If you put your heart into the Creed, the hymns, the responses at Mass -- if you confess with your mouth in that way -- you will be gradually led to speak up when the Spirit in you deems it is necessary, before those who do not believe, or even mock.  Don’t imagine for yourself seemingly impossible acts of public witness; try to praise God wholeheartedly, here and now, and He will lead you, gradually, to confess with your mouth before others when the Spirit asks it of you.  He will never demand what you cannot give: He will, if you are willing, lead and encourage you first, and then, only ask you when you are able.  Indeed, you will probably not even be aware that you are being asked, it will seem so natural for you to respond to the Spirit’s call when you have become accustomed to confessing with your mouth here at Mass.

Finally, we should have boundless confidence in God.  St. Paul reminded us:

Scripture says, "No one who believes in Him will be put to shame."   

The Israelites, miserable and weak slaves though they were, were led out of Egypt, despite the power of Pharaoh’s army, because they trusted in the Lord.  They went through the waterless and stony desert, because they trusted in the Lord who had spoken to them through Moses.  Moses was a man who, though born a Hebrew, had been brought up as an Egyptian.  The Lord had called and inspired him to lead Israel into freedom; and, because Moses had been sent by God and knew the Egyptians, under his leadership the Hebrew slaves learned confidence to trust their God and face up to their oppressors. 

Now surely, we can trust Jesus!  He is, indeed, the Son of God and yet, He is also most truly one of us; that is why He is able to lead us all the way to heaven along ways that, in His company, are no longer impossible for us.  Jesus is leading us heavenward, and that is why He is always wanting and willing to lead us on and up to higher, greater things.  That is why the idleness that wants only to sit cosy and hold tight is so unacceptable to Him.   For, despite all our fears, despite our natural weakness, God did indeed make us for Himself and in Jesus He has overcome for us all the trials and temptations that can obstruct our way.  Take confidence, therefore, and trust in the Lord; begin to sing the everyday psalm of gratitude and thanksgiving in your life, and you will find it a song that soon develops into an antiphon of witness and praise, springing spontaneously to your lips as you find yourself being led along ways that delight and fulfil you beyond all your dreams.  Then you will indeed thank God for your Catholic Faith which has helped you to believe in Jesus, our Lord and Saviour; to trust in the Spirit, our Advocate and Comforter; and to look forward in hope to the eternal vision and presence of Him Who is both our God and our Father.

 

                                                

 

 

8th Sunday Year C 2022

 

 8^th. Sunday of Year (C)

(Sirach 27:4-7; 1^st. Corinthians 15:54-58; Luke 6:39-45)

=======================================================================================m

 

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, those words of Jesus are once again taken from His Sermon on the Plain as presented by St. Luke.  I would like to think that you will remember that last Sunday we considered an earlier section of the same Sermon on the Plain urging us to total commitment to the guidance of the Holy Spirit in our lives, to the extent that we cannot at any point say ‘Thus far and no further’.

 

Today’s section is, however, less directly spiritual; it begins with the words Jesus told them a parable, but it is not a parable such we normally hear from Jesus, for there is no story, and the adages it contains are more or less of traditional human wisdom:

 

Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit?

Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?

A good tree does not bear rotten fruit, nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit.

People do not pick figs from thornbushes, nor do they gather grapes from brambles.   

From the fulness of the heart the mouth speaks: a good person produces good, an evil person produces evil.

 

The general thrust of those adages is to provoke a right answer to the question ‘where is helpful guidance for right-living to be found?’    From someone who is blind?  From one whose sight is more impaired than your own?  From one whose way of life is the opposite of what you seek: fruit that is, from what is … to use the correct word … rotten?    Something admirable, desirable, from what is harmful and unproductive?

Where, indeed, can we find help to open up our heart and life to total love for and obedience to the Holy Spirit, to Whom, as we learned last week, no one can faithfully think of saying, ‘Thus far and no further!’

Mixed up among those adages in today’s Gospel reading are words which probably refer to Jesus Himself, words thus opening the way for Jesus’ very own wisdom and guidance:

 

No disciple is superior to the teacher; when fully trained, every disciple will

be like his teacher.

And that personal wisdom and teaching of Jesus does indeed follow on immediately after today’s Gospel reading (Luke 6:46–47):

 

Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ but not do what I command?  I will show you what someone is like who comes to Me, listens to My words, and acts on them;

 

And Jesus then goes on to tell them a real parable about the wise man who built on rock and the foolish man who built on sand.

And so, dear People of God, this is our situation today: we had, last Sunday, Our Lord’s personal teaching taken from St. Luke’s Sermon on the Plain immediately before today’s Gospel; and immediately after today’s reading, there is more of Jesus’ own personal guidance from that same Sermon on the Plain; but what we have for our Gospel reading today is just those adages.

However, remember those very adages are mentioned by Jesus Himself and are now contained in holy Scripture, and thereby they are sanctified over and above their own native, human, worth.  Let us examine that fact somewhat.

Last Sunday Jesus urged us to open ourselves up to the Holy Spirit’s guidance in our lives.  How?   For ordinary people, such as that crowd of Israelites and Palestinians who had walked many, many, miles to hear Jesus-- or quite possibly just to see one so famous as He was -- Jesus begins by calling to their minds the wisdom that was already available to them: traditional wise sayings, from locally recognized and admired, revered, personalities; or from passing Scribes, or even from well-known rabbis. 

Transferring things to our days, dear People of God, Jesus seems to be suggesting that whoever is – like that crowd of Israelites and Palestinians in our Gospel -- seeking soul-satisfying help, help offering their personal awareness a deeper sense of understanding and peace of soul; all those who have some understanding and sympathy with these words of the famous philosopher Bertrand Russell found after his death on his desk:

The centre of me is always and eternally a terrible pain – a curious wild pain – a searching for something transfigured and infinite;

for all people wanting to salve an indefinable need and vague longing, and who are not yet directly in Jesus’ orbit, so to speak, there is indeed something readily available to you, some salutary help that can sustain you for the moment, and prepare you to finally be able to recognize, appreciate, and embrace the saving, the life-giving, words of Jesus Himself.

For Jesus once said:

                         

Whoever chooses to do His (God the Father’s) will, shall know whether My teaching is from God or whether I speak on My own; (John 7:17)

 

and I am saying today, that those words of Jesus can be well understood as truly meaningful for all who are painfully aware of the emptiness and frailty or their own life and life-style, of the evil seeping and soaking everywhere in the society and world around them; for all who are seeking and grasping for what is truly good, for the betterment of the lives they are wanting to live to the full; and for their own greater awareness of, and response to, whatever is beautiful and true; those words of Jesus are essential and most meaningful:

 

Whoever chooses to do His (God the Father’s) will, shall know whether My teaching is from God or whether I speak on My own;   

To all who are thus wanting to turn from lies to truth, from what merely appears and pretends to be, and turning to whatever is real, sincere, and available to them from human sources (exemplified by the adages cited by Jesus);  to all those able to learn from the glory of God touchable in the beauties of earth about them and shining in the splendours of the heavens above them; to all those, help will be given from God to sift what is profitable for them from all the human treasures of great literature, transcendent music, inspiring art, and whatever results from and truly expresses the wonderful potency and glorious responsibility of native humanity still remaining in our world today. 

That help will be given them, I say, in order to enable them to progress further to Jesus Himself Whose life, love, and legacy, alone are salvific, life-giving, and purifying from all sin; the transcendent fulfilment of whatever is salutary for men and women of good will in our world today.  Transcendent indeed, because Jesus is the very Son of God; yet our fulfilment too, because He is sublimely Perfect in His humanity:

                CHRIST the KING, PERFECT GOD and PERFECT MAN,

sent by Him Who is the one, true, God; Father and lover of all that he has made; the God of fleeting creation and eternal salvation. 

                            

 

 

  e then gpes pn

 

7th Sunday Year C 2022

 

 7^th. Sunday of Year (C)

(1Samuel 26:2, 7-9, 12-13, 22-23; 1 Corinthians 15:45-49; Luke 6:27-38)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 My dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, when we seek to understand our Blessed Lord, we must always bear in mind that His thoughts are not our thoughts and His ways are not our ways.  Consequently, we should beware lest we foist our own attitudes and ideas onto Him; and, if we should ever think it necessary to understand His words in any way other than that of their clear and obvious meaning, then we must always have a reverential fear lest we betray His holy wisdom, by indulging our own partiality.

That said, it is a fact that Jesus, at times, did speak in such a way as to shock His hearers into thinking about, not just hearing, what He was saying.  Sometimes He seems to have deemed it necessary to provoke, or even offend, His listeners in order to make them seriously think about His teaching, rather than just passively listen to His words.

The Gospel reading we have just heard may have induced such passivity in some who might, perhaps, be inclined say that today’s reading was very nice.  Indeed, it was ‘nice’ as regards expressing some beautiful aspirations or thoughts, but did it not also contain words that might seem to be as equally disturbing if not as provocative, as His words at His home-town synagogue, or the ’woes’ in last Sunday’s gospel?   For example, what is one to think about the words:

Give to everyone who asks of you, and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back?

In order to understand Jesus aright we must turn to Mother Church, our guide and support along the Way, and she sets before us today in the first reading King David as an admirable example of what loving our enemy means.

For all that David reverenced Saul as the Lord’s anointed King, he in no way trusted him, and had no intention of falling into the hands of such a person, which is why he took great care to put a considerable distance between the King and himself before revealing his presence:

(he) stood on the top of a hill afar off, a great distance being between them.

Only at such a distance did David think it safe to make Saul aware of what had, and what had not, just happened.  Notice too that although David reverenced Saul as God’s anointed, nevertheless he roundly accused him of his personal, evil, actions:

Why does my lord thus pursue his servant? For what have I done, or what evil is in my hand?  Now therefore, please, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant: If the LORD has stirred you up against me, let Him accept an offering. But if it is the children of men, may they be cursed before the LORD.

David showed truly Christian love in his dealings with Saul, but in no way was he willing to put himself at the mercy of Saul; and Mother Church’s choice for our second reading today is of great help here, for St. Paul tells us:

The first man, Adam, became a living being; the last Adam (Christ) a life-giving spirit.  The first man was from the earth, earthly; the second man, from heaven.  Just as we have borne the image of the earthly one, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly One.

David showed a ‘life-giving’, truly Christian love, charity, for Saul when he spared him; but he did not ‘love’ him in the commonly-used sense of that much-abused word today because he did not, and could not, trust the man.

Now today, of the many who refuse to accept the guidance of Mother Church, some turn to the Scriptures as the only source of teaching for Christians, and will accept only the obvious and literal meaning of the words they read there, because any other understanding must, necessarily, come from some other -- and to their mind, invalid or inadequate -- source.  Therefore, to remain faithful to such a Bible-only approach to Christian faith and practice they would understand Jesus’ words:

            To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also

quite literally; and so, they might well think that, ideally, David in our first reading should not have been fleeing from Saul, but should rather -- trusting in God -- have allowed Saul to apprehend him!    Such Christians are spiritual people indeed, but somewhat light-headed.

Quite the opposite are the great majority in our modern society, who are, at the very best, leaden-footed spiritually; they acknowledge the authority neither of Mother Church nor of her Scriptures, and to their minds Jesus’ teaching in today’s Gospel passage is sheer madness:

Give to everyone who asks of you, and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back. 

For, how can such words be relevant to, or applicable in, modern society, where there are so many liars and con-merchants, so many drug addicts and drunkards, so many care-free vagrants who have no scruples whatsoever.  How can a father, working hard to support his family, give to everyone who asks?   And again, from a social point of view, if people just allowed themselves to be mugged in the streets without trying to keep what was being stolen from them, where would our society be?  Thieves and blackguards, young thugs and budding bullies, would feel free to get their money from anyone they might choose to pick on in the street, with the result that there would no longer be any human society, just a modern jungle with might considered to be right, cunning supplanting consideration, and instinctive lies being easier than truth and its attendant difficulties.

I just want to recall for you now, how Judas Iscariot, pretending to be a most perceptive disciple, tried to turn Jesus’ teaching against Himself:

Then Judas the Iscariot, one of His disciples, and the one who would betray Him, said, “Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days’ wages and given to the poor?”  He said this not because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief and held the money bag and used to steal the contributions.  Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Let her keep this for the day of My burial.  You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me.”  (John 12:4–8)

I would suggest, dear People of God, that in our Gospel reading today, Jesus -- far from preaching madness, and far from being provocative in order to bring about change -- is trying to guide us, lead us, into thinking through His words to His teaching, that we might perhaps, in that way, come to realize and appreciate a most important spiritual truth. 

Why does He choose to speak in that way?  Because: we cannot have God given us on a platter, we have to want communion with God; that is, we needs-must want to understand, want to love, and to live for, Him supremely; and such blessings are only bestowed on those who desire them most sincerely and are willing to strive wholeheartedly for such communion.

Jesus is, therefore, speaking today to those who desire to know and love Him more; not to provoke, as at Nazareth, but in such a way as to urge them to strive, search, and pray, for ever greater understanding when things seem obscure or even dark, for ever greater faith and trust when that darkness brings along with it an unwonted coldness that would threaten the warm spark of love in their own heart.

What then is He wanting us, today, to fathom out for ourselves when, moved, puzzled perhaps, by His words, we are, nevertheless, thus urged on by His Spirit within us?

Jesus, I suggest, is trying to make us realize that His Holy Spirit must be able lead us anywhere; and therefore, that there should be no set limits in our loving and obedient response to Him whereby we might cry out ‘Thus far and no further’.   Moreover, Jesus wants to help us appreciate that our relationship with Him, by the Spirit, is to be a relationship that is not only ecclesial, but also and always personal, and indeed, sometimes, possibly unique. That is, He does not always and necessarily ask of us the same as He seeks from others in the Church.   In the most important and essential issues, the Spirit moves the Church as the one Body of Christ; at other times however, He may will – for His own specific purposes – to move, use, an individual as a distinct member of that one Body, as He has done with His saints over the ages, for example our own, modern, St. Therese of Lisieux, unique and distinct most certainly, yet loved and admired by all.

As we have borne the image of the earthly man, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man,  St. Paul told us.

That is, we have to -- it is our heavenly calling to – become more and more like Jesus.  Now, that is not to be done by following pat formulae or human imaginations; only the Spirit of Jesus can form us, individually and personally, into an authentic and distinct likeness of Jesus.  Consequently, we have to learn to recognize and respond to the Holy Spirit, given us by Jesus in Mother Church, when He tries to move us, as individual disciples of Jesus.  Moreover, though individually distinct, all of us are also living members of the One Body of Christ, and it is essential for the integrity of the whole Body that the Holy Spirit be able, by His divine wisdom and grace, to move us – both as one and individually -- in such a way as to harmoniously continue and further the work of salvation inaugurated by Jesus.

Tragically, there are many in Mother Church today who are afraid to follow the Guiding Spirit of Jesus in their lives: they prefer to do what is popular, to seek what promises to be successful, to profess what is politically correct.  In such cases, however, they should remember that Jesus, too, at times found it necessary to ponder, pray, and struggle even to the sweating of blood, to understand and embrace His Father’s will:

Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will. (Mark 14:36)

Jesus learned from events to recognize both His Father’s working in others, and His Father’s will for Himself.  For example, when Peter, without hesitation, and in the name of all the Twelve, said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God” Jesus recognized that His Father had chosen Peter and that He wanted Jesus to do the same, for which reason, Jesus answered Peter saying (Matthew 16:17-18):

Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father Who is in heaven.   I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.   

We, likewise, have to follow Jesus and try to recognize, understand, and obey God’s Spirit at work in us, seeking to form us personally in Jesus for the Father and for the Church.  And we must also recognize that He, the Spirit, may choose to lead us, as individuals, just as Jesus taught Peter (John 21:20-22):

Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, "Lord, who is the one who betrays You?"  Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, "Lord, what about this man?"  Jesus said to him, "If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me."

So, in our Gospel reading today, Jesus is not saying directly and with full intent that here are some things you must do, literally and no matter what; rather is He trying to lead us into a right attitude in our relationship with and response to His most Holy Spirit, working always in Mother Church and in each of us as much as we will allow Him: an attitude of unconditional and loving surrender to His guidance.

It is not permissible for us to set limits that would say ‘thus far and no further’ to the Spirit’s authority and inspiration; for He invites each and every one of us -- as a child of God -- to follow His guidance, obey His will, and in that way allow ourselves to be formed in the likeness of Jesus for the Father, and also to be used by the Spirit for the good of the Church.  If therefore, the Spirit does ask of you, personally, in any particular situation:

To do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you; to him who strikes you on the one cheek, to offer the other also; and from him who takes away your cloak, not (to) withhold your tunic either; (to) give to everyone who asks of you, and from him who takes away your goods not (to) ask them back;

then, indeed recognize that He is wanting that of you at that point in time, in that particular situation, for the good of the Church and for your personal formation as a disciple of Jesus; but it is not, necessarily, what He is wanting from others; and it may not, indeed, be His permanent purpose for you.

That we learn to have a permanent attitude of listening for, and humbly responding to, the call of the Spirit in our life is immeasurably more important than any individual, passing, actions on our part – however meritorious they may be.  As human beings, and as disciples of Jesus and children of Mother Church, it is not of the greatest importance that we always get things right, that we never leave ourselves open to the  criticism or blame of men; far, far more important is it that we learn to listen ever better for the Spirit speaking within us; that we become more able to hear Him clearly when He does so speak, and become ever more prepared to unhesitatingly respond by following His lead along ways that give glory to God, help our neighbour, and exalt Mother Church.  Those ways are the only ways that truly lead to heaven because they are chosen for us by the Spirit of Jesus, for the purpose of forming each of us in the likeness of the ‘heavenly man’, and Mother Church herself as the perfect Bride of Christ, offering and commending His salvation to the whole of mankind.