A
Day of Recollection
As
has been announced in this website and in the church, Selam WeSenay
members held a day of recollection on Sunday 13 April 2003 at Comboni
Sisters in Chiswick, London.
The day
opened with an opening prayer and a song. The teaching of the day was
given by Father Chris Connor. The subject matter of the teaching emphasised
on the Holy Week, specifically on the question of why Jesus had to undergo
through all these suffering that culminated in His death. Was God the
Father so angry at Adam’s failure to guard the Garden of Eden
that His wrath could only be appeased by the sacrifice of His Son? God’s
great plan for mankind was destroyed by Satan. Adam failed the test
that was given to him, that of protecting the Garden. Therefore, the
second Adam, as St. Paul calls Jesus, has to engage the powers of evil
and bring us REDEMPTION, by buying us back through His sacrifice. The
Holy Week therefore is the revelation of God’s love for mankind.
There was far too much love burning in the heart of God the Father,
that He did not hesitate to give away His only Son.
Father
Chris went on to show how the New Testament is hidden in the Old Testament
and how the latter is also revealed in the former. He illustrated the
analogy of Abraham offering his only son Isaac for sacrifice on one
hand and the sacrifice of Jesus in the New Testament on the other. However,
the difference was while in Abraham’s case the Lord provided the
sacrifice, in Jesus’ case there was no other substitute.
The
Lamb of God that has been crucified and made into a sacrifice in Calvary
is made present to us today in the Holy Mass through the Eucharist.
When we celebrate the Holy Mass, we celebrate the Last Supper in which
Jesus has instructed us to do it in His memory and by doing so Calvary
is made present. Therefore forming this triangle consisting at the apex
of the triangle the Cross at Calvary, and at the bottom ends of the
triangle the Mass and the Last Supper. This was explained in detail
by Father Chris using a flip chart.
