The Solemnity of the Most Holy Redeemer, the titular feast of the Congregation celebrated every third Sunday of July, brought together the Redemptorist community of Sant’Alfonso on Via Merulana at the Shrine of Our Lady of Perpetual Help for the celebration of the Eucharist at 11 a.m., presided over by Archbishop Alfonso Amarante, C.Ss.R., and concelebrated by Cardinal Joseph Tobin, C.Ss.R., and the confreres of the community.
In his homily, Archbishop Amarante invited all to reflect on the figure of Nicodemus, the Gospel character who encounters Jesus more than once, to illustrate the journey of faith. Nicodemus goes through three phases: the man curious yet still anchored to tradition and law; the man who finds the courage to defend Christ in the Sanhedrin; and finally, the man who performs an act of love and tenderness, anointing Jesus’ body after his death on the cross.
Reflecting the dialogue between Jesus and Nicodemus in the Gospel, Bishop Amarante illustrated the fundamental transition from a religion based on law to a faith founded on divine grace. While Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert as a sign of a covenant bound by law, Christ is lifted up to bring salvation through grace, which is the gift.
Bishop Amarante recalled that the heart of the Redemptorist charism, embraced by Saint Alphonsus de Liguori, is precisely the proclamation of the abundance of God’s mercy, the reminder that Christ has already saved us. Humans are not asked to “earn” salvation, but to live in grace, striving to choose the good and to cling to that love which is the only path to salvation.
For this reason, the message of Copiosa Redemptio is a proclamation of hope addressed to all. Archbishop Amarante also defined it as a “charism of joy.” This charism allows the faithful to enter into the humanity of Christ to contemplate his divinity. This mystery is a “presence among us.” For us Christians, the more we enter into the mystery of Christ, the more we enter into the mystery of humanity, to journey toward God.
Scala News
