The second reading at Mass a few weeks ago struck me. In the first few lines, St. Paul writes:
Brothers and sisters: The love of Christ impels us,once we have come to the conviction that one died for all;therefore, all have died.
When I heard this read aloud at Mass, my brow furrowed. Ah, yes, I thought. There's that Christian joy we desire. We have all died. However, we know as Christians that Christ has conquered death. Why, then, is it necessary for us to die as well?
You see, we do not die in addition to Christ, but alongside Him, united in His sufferings so that we may be raised from the dead as He was. This is directly related to our participation in the Eucharist.
