May 2
The corruption of death no longer holds any power
hrist received
from humankind a body like our own, and, since all were subject to the
corruption of death, he delivered this body over to death for all, and
with supreme love offered it to the Father. He did so to destroy the law
of corruption passed against all people, since all died in him. The law,
which had spent its force on the body of the Lord, could no longer have
any power against his fellow human beings. Moreover, this was the way in
which the Word was to restore humanity to immortality, after it had fallen
into corruption, and summon it back from death to life. He utterly destroyed
the power death had against humankind—as fire consumes chaff—by means of
the body he had taken and the grace of the resurrection.
This is the reason why the Word assumed a body that could die, so that
this body, sharing in the Word who is above all, might satisfy death's
requirement in place of all. Because of the Word dwelling in that body,
it would remain incorruptible, and all would be freed for ever from corruption
by the grace of the resurrection.
From John E. Rotelle, O.S.A., Tradition Day by Day: Readings from
Church Writers. Augustinian Press. Villanova, PA, 1994.
HTML text prepared by David P. Steelman
