One of the practices of the MSBTs is to receive a mystery when you enter the Novitiate.
Back in the day, the sisters were given their mystery by Fr. Judge. Then there was a time when they would suggest a couple of mysteries that meant something to you and the folks in charge would pick one for you. Your mystery went with your religious name. So You might be Sr. Mary Christine of the Sacred Heart or John Marie of the Good Shepherd or Margaret Mary of the Sorrowful Mother.
Anyhow I entered at a time when we got to pick ours. So when I wrote my letter requesting to be accepted as a novice, I also asked for my name Barbara ( we were encouraged to go with our baptismal names) and I asked for the Paschal Mystery. One of the Sisters said to me after the ceremony accepting us as novices, "Hey, the Paschal Mystery, that means death!" I think I replied "yeah well it means resurrection to new life too!"
This is what the catechism says about the paschal mystery:
1067571 The Paschal mystery of Christ's cross and Resurrection stands at the center of the Good News that the apostles, and the Church following them, are to proclaim to the world. God's saving plan was accomplished "once for all"313 by the redemptive death of his Son Jesus Christ.
I asked for the Paschal Mystery because I was an alumnae of a retreat program known as TEC Teens Encounter Christ. It was heavy on the Sacraments and God's saving love for us as demonstrated in the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Today's scripture from Matthew 26:14 really shows what the Paschal Mystery involves. There we have Judas and Jesus. One makes a choice for others and the other makes a choice for himself.
I find it's a constant struggle to live this mystery. That;'s what we're supposed to do with our mysteries; somehow live them our in our daily life. Sometimes we joke about what would be a better mystery to pick so as to make life easy, something like the "Peace, Love and Joy of God" or the "Happy and Easy face of the Trinity" No such mysteries exist for there is no life without sacrifice and sorrow. That's just the way it is.
Apart from the cross there is no other ladder by which we may get to heaven St. Rose of Lima
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