Paschal Mystery

The Paschal Mystery is the life, passion, death, resurrection and glorious ascension of Jesus Christ, our Savior. It is important in our lives because like Jesus, everyone of us dies little deaths each and every day. These little deaths might include deaths to sin or temptation. The Paschal Mystery allowed us to come back into God's good graces. If we allow the Holy Spirit to join us to The Lord, the Blessed Trinity will adopt us into the divine family. "The liturgy of the church, the celebration of the sacraments, and the seasons of Lent and Easter are particular times when we pay attention to what Jesus Christ has done for us" through the Paschal Mystery (The Paschal Mystery in Everyday Life). As the Paschal Mystery is the process of dying,rising, death and new life we too have our own dying and risings. The obvious ones are something like a relative dying or a baby being born. As pointed out in the article there are non obvious ones too. An example of this is forgiving someone you had a dispute with (rising) or having an argument with a friend that leaves you feeling upset(dying). Another example is a seeing a homeless mother and child and not knowing how to help them(dying),or talking to your family about how you can help them (rising).

Nick's experience of life without limbs is an example of the Paschal Mystery. He struggled, "died" but was then reborn to a greater purpose. The first part of this process was the dying. He needed to overcome the "deaths" of his struggles, afflictions and difficulties. These included the thought that he would never accomplish anything in life, or that he was incomplete. Another thing he had to die to was the thought that he was incomplete because everyone else had what he did not. He needed to let go of the want to end his suffering and the desire for God to give him what everyone else has- arms and legs. By letting go of these beliefs he could realize his full purpose in life completely.

Christ showed Nick a promise of a new, more fulfilling life. Christ, his parents and friends helped Nick undergo daily deaths and risings to become the person he is today. The one thing that stopped him from committing suicide was his parents love for him. The only thing that stopped him from drowning himself was the thought of how much suffering