Christ GAVE THANKS for His ability to suffer. And I believe that I shall spend eternity contemplating such a gratitude as that…
I have recently finished reading a book called “The Mystical City of God”. This is a publication of the private revelations of the Blessed Virgin to a Medieval Spanish nun and Mystic, Blessed Mary of Agreda. While the Catholic Church has not ratified these revelations of this nun as certainly coming from the Blessed Virgin, it has not denied the possibility that they could have originated from that source, and therefore, that such revelations may be relied on privately by Catholics.
These revelations concerned many of the private moments of life experienced by the Holy Family in their lives together. And one of the revelations concerned the circumcision of Christ.
Though in modern times in the western world, it is relatively rare to circumcise male children unless there is an underlying medical reason to do so, circumcision for religious reasons continues to exist. In both Jewish and Islamic religious practice, male circumcision is an essential element in the practice of the faith by a male adherent to the faith.
In ancient times, such a ritual could be easily understood. The removal of the foreskin of a male child was a useful way to prevent infection in a world where there was no fresh running water. So, during Christ’s time – even if not to atone for sin – circumcision was practical.
But today I have been thinking about the practicalities for Christ. After all, He was a Jewish male and He abided by Jewish religious law. But the question in my mind is why? After all, He was in no need of purification (being God and therefore SINLESS) and He (who could cure any disease and even raise people from death) was in no hurry to avoid infection.
And the answer – at least in part – can be found in the revelations made to Blessed Mary of Agreda. For in those revelations, the nun was told that there were three reasons for the circumcision of Christ…
The first reason was that Christ – being sinless but having PERFECT humility – allowed Himself to be treated as a sinner… “…rather, He made Himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.” (Philippians 2:7). In this way – as with the presentation of Christ at the Temple, which we commemorate in the fourth joyful mystery of the Most Holy Rosary, Christ demonstrated such obedience to the Holy Will of God that I shudder to think of my own comparative disobedience. For Christ had no Original Sin and being sinless had no need to commend Himself to God, though we are told that “We are not trying to commend ourselves to You again, but are giving You an opportunity to take pride in us, so that You can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart.” (2 Corinthians 5:12).
The second reason – Blessed Mary of Agreda reveals – was that Christ wished to suffer the physical pains of circumcision as a Perfect Man. And in this way, He wished to foreshadow His final Passion and Sacrifice on the Cross, when His suffering would reach its pinnacle.
And the third and final reason for that circumcision of Christ is that He wished to GIVE THANKS to the Father for ALLOWING Him to take on Human Form that was capable of suffering and dying to atone for the sins of humanity and therefore save us.
And it is perhaps the third and final reason revealed to that nun all those centuries ago, that resonates most firmly in my mind today. You see, Christ GAVE THANKS for His ability to suffer. And I believe that I shall spend eternity contemplating such a gratitude as that…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.