Jesus Christ

Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Jesus Christ, Jesus the Christ, Christ Jesus, Our Lord Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus the Son of Mary, Jesus the Son of Joseph, or simply Jesus or Christ, is the Fulfiller of Judaism and Founder of Christianity. But Jesus was not a rabbi or a member of the Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, or any Jewish group or sect, contrary to the longstanding and popular opinion.

Names

Advocate

Christ did not live for himself but for us and he is still in the presence of God on our behalf, interceding for us.

Amen

Christ is God's Yes to man and man's Yes to God. Hence we say Amen to God through him.

Anointed One

"Christ" means Anointed One, and Jesus is anointed by God with the Holy Spirit and with power.

Bishop

Christ is the Ambassador, the Emissary, or the Apostle, who continues his mission in the Church.

Bread of Life

Christ is the Eucharist, the medicine of immortality, the bread of the angels, which is everlasting life.

Center of the Angelic World

Christ loves his angels: All the angels are his, being created by him, through him, and for him.

Center of the Christian Life

Christ holds priority for all creatures, but especially for Christians. Priests signify this by their celibacy.

Center of Scripture

Christ's Heart not only refers to his physical heart and his love for us but also to the Scriptures.

Example

Christ, by sanctifying all work, has given us an example to follow: to obey God and do his will even in the least manner.

Example of Love

Christ sanctified the Church by his self-sacrifice for her, thus giving us an example of love.

Example of Purity

Christ, in his bodily and spiritual perfections and in his person and in his life and works, teaches purity.

First-Born of Humanity

Christ is the Head of the Church, and man is destined to become like Christ.

Friend of Mankind

Christ is the friend of our hearts, who reveals to us his Love, his Law, and his Will to save everyone.

Fulfillment of the Father's Will

Christ has fulfilled God's Will as God and as Man, and we share in his offering by offering ourselves to him.

Fulfillment of the Scriptures

Christ has fulfilled God's promises as God and as Man: He is the Messiah, the Manna, the Temple, etc.

Head of the People of God

Christ is to Church what the head is to the human body, and the Church is his reign on Earth.

Heart of Catechesis

Christ is the heart of catechesis because whatever the Church teaches, the Church teaches about him.

Hope

Christ nourishes the prayers of the Church, in himself and in the liturgy, in his goodness.

Intercessor

Christ is the New Moses, who always sees the Father, as the Son, and, being God and man, is our Mediator.

Judge

Christ, being perfect God and perfect man, judges each man in particular and all men in general.

King

Christ is the Suffering Servant, and thus the glorious King, for he reigns upon the most holy cross.

Lamb of God

Christ is the Paschal Lamb offered on the cross, who by the shedding of his blood redeems the world.

Liberator of man from sin

Christ delivers us from bondage to sin and breaks the power of Satan by his Paschal Mystery.

Life

Christ is God, the Author of life and Life itself, and prayer, his gift to us, unites us to him and he to us.

Light of Nations and of Men

Christ enlightens us by baptism and comes to bring the light to people who walk in the darkness.

Master of Prayer

Christ is the divine intercessor, who, by his consubstantiality with the Father, teaches us how to pray.

Master Who Teaches

Christ's life is mystery and teaching: he shows us the Father and how to do his will.

Messenger of the Kingdom

Christ is the apostle of the Gospel: in him and in his works is the kingdom of God, and among his works is the Church.

Messiah

Christ has fulfilled God's promises and prophecies: He is the awaited one, the Messiah.

Mystery of Salvation

Christ is our Salvation, and the Church is his sacrament, and there is no salvation outside her.

New Adam

Christ is the Repairer of sin, who goes beyond the demands of justice to make amends, to show us his love.

Only Word of Sacred Scripture

Christ is the Eternal Word, and all the Scriptures is a single Word, which is Christ.

Our Peace

Christ is the Prince of Peace, Peace incarnate, who has reconciled us with God, and all peace reflects and comes from him.

Physician of Souls and Bodies

Christ heals us spiritually and, if it should contribute to our salvation, bodily.

Priest

Christ is the High Priest who gives us a share in his holy sacrifice on the cross by spiritual sacrifices.

Prophet

Christ is the awaited Prophet, who teaches the Gospel and commissions us to do the same in him.

Purpose of the Law

Christ is the end of the Divine Natural Moral Law. He gives us the New Law and Justice of God.

Reconciliation of God with the World

Christ is our Redemption: He has restored our communion and covenant with God and has expiated our sins.

Redeemer

Christ is God our Savior, who, in his infinite love, wished to suffer and die for us and for our salvation.

Resurrection and Life

Christ raises us from spiritual and physical death, and will raise us unto glory on the last day.

Revelation of the Father

Christ, the Son incarnate, has revealed the Father and the life of the Trinity: Love.

Revelation of God

Christ, God incarnate, has revealed God and his innermost being: Love.

Sanctification of Men

Christ has consecrated us, and his greater glory and our salvation is our daily priority.

Savior

Christ is God, who saves us from sin and death, according to his promise to Adam and Eve.

Sent by God

Christ is the Son sent into the world to redeem the world, according to God's promises of old.

Servant

Christ serves us, beginning with his Incarnation, when he took on the form of a slave.

Shepherd of Men

Christ is the Good Shepherd who invites us to freely heed his call, calling not the righteous but the sinner.

Son of David

Christ is of the lineage of David: He is the promised Messiah, and in him is the Kingdom of God.

Son of God

Christ is God from God, begotten of the Father, consubstantial with the Father and with the Holy Spirit.

Son of Man

Christ became flesh to make us partakers in God: God became man so that man might become like God.

Son of the Virgin

Christ learned about human love from his mother, who, in her perpetual virginity, was full of pure love.

Source of Evangelization and of Preaching

Christ is the beginning, the center, and the end of the life and mission of the Church and of every Christian.

Source of Grace

Christ lives with spouses in the sacrament of matrimony, which is a sign of Christ and his Church.

Source of Hope

Christ is our Hope, our Rock, our Refuge, our Stronghold: he is never unfaithful nor unloving.

Temple of God

Christ is the New and Everlasting Temple, and by his grace Christians are temples of God the Holy Spirit.

Truth

Christ is the Truth and is led by the Spirit of Truth, and Christians who follow him live in his Spirit.

Vine

Christ is Holiness incarnate, and apart from him we cannot be holy, for he is the Way to Holiness: Love.

Way that Leads to Faith

Christ leads us, beyond mere emotions and our own understanding of things, to the Father. He is the Door.

Word

Christ is the Utterance of God, who is not mere words but God's communication of himself to man.

Life

Mysteries of the Rosary

Incarnation

Christ, predestined, was born of his predestined virgin-mother, Mary. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, who sanctified the womb of the All-Holy. Christ's conception was miraculous, for he had no human father but took his humanity from Mary.

Infancy

Christ was born into a poor family. He was born in a cave (a humble stable at that time in Bethlehem) where he was met by shepherds, to whom his angel had announced his nativity. After eight days, he was circumcised. The Holy Family then fled to Egypt to escape massacre. When they returned to Nazareth, Christ had a humble childhood. On Passover, Christ was brought to the Temple and consecrated by Mary and Joseph.

Public Life

Christ's public ministry began at the Jordan, where he was baptized by his cousin St. John the Baptist. The Holy Spirit entered Christ, who led him out into the desert, where he fasted and was tempted by the Evil One. After he defeated Satan, he went to preach the gospel and heal many who were afflicted with diseases and devils.

Christ allowed Sts. Peter, James and John to witness his Transfiguration, so as to strengthen their faith in anticipation of his suffering and death, but instructed them to tell no one about it until after the Resurrection.

Passion

Christ's Passion began in Gethsemani, where he prayed and experienced the horror of death unto the sweating of blood. He was tried by the Jewish authorities and condemned to death. When he was crucified, Christ prayed the Psalms. He commended his soul to the Father and said, "It is finished" - that is, the Redemption of man was completed.

Death

Immediately at death, Christ's soul descended into hell - that is, sheol - where he preached the gospel to the righteous dead. His body was buried in a rich man's tomb, but there was no time to anoint it before the Sabbath. Roman soldiers were stationed at the tomb's entrance, lest the Apostles steal Christ's body and declare him risen from the dead.

Resurrection

On Sunday morning, Christ's tomb was found empty by a group of women who had come to anoint Christ's body, since they couldn't do it on Friday. The women found angels in the tomb, one where Christ's head had rested and another where Christ's feet had rested, who proclaimed Christ risen from the dead.

The Resurrection is a historic yet transcendent event. It is unlike the resurrections which had Christ performed, where he brought people back to life. With his Resurrection Christ was risen unto glory, and as such enjoyed the properties of a glorified body. In his risen body Christ appeared to his Apostles and disciples.

Ascension

When Christ ascended into Heaven he commissioned the Apostles to preach the Gospel and promised to always be with them and he blessed them with the Sign of the Cross. He took his seat at the right-hand of the Father, e.g. he inaugurated his kingdom and became our intercessor.

Second Coming

When Christ comes again in glory, he will resurrect the dead, consummate the world, and judge mankind - the righteous to eternal life and the wicked to eternal death.

Before Christ comes, the Church, which shares in Christ's life, must pass through a final Passover. This final trial will consist of a great apostasy and the Antichrist. Nobody can know when this final Passover will take place, but it is suspended until the time of the Gentiles and the time of the Jews are fulfilled.

Disciples

Twelve Apostles

Christ chose twelve men as his Apostles, whom he sent out to preach the Gospel. He gave them the power to forgive sins and rule the Church, and, along with the seventy disciples, gave them the power to perform miracles in his name.

Seventy Disciples

Christ chose seventy men to be his disciples, whom he sent out to all the towns in Israel to preach the Gospel and perform miracles. They were amazed that they could perform miracles, but Christ told them to rejoice in the grace of eternal life.

St. Mary Magdalen, Apostle of the Apostles

After his Resurrection, Christ appeared to St. Mary Magdalen. He told her not to touch him but to go and preach the Gospel to his Apostles. Because she acted as an apostle to the Apostles, she is called the Apostle of the Apostles.

St. Paul, Apostle of the Gentiles

After his conversion, St. Paul preached the Gospel to the nations (gentiles). He would also remind the Christians of the Gospel by visiting churches and writing them epistles. Like the Apostles, he was divinely inspired.

St. Stephan, Protomartyr

When the Jews were persecuting the Christians, St. Stephan witnessed to Christ unto the shedding of his blood. He was wise and full of the Holy Spirit. Because he is the first known martyr, he is called the Proto- (first) -martyr (witness).

Popular Piety

Various Devotions

A number of litanties, chaplets, medals, icons, and other forms of devotions have sprung up around the Person of Jesus Christ, such as the Litany of Humility, the wearing of a miniature crucifix, and the Red Scapular.