I read this very interesting article by Father Steve Grunow regarding the circumcision of Christ, part of which is below. I never thought about this very important event in Christ's life and so found this teaching fascinating. Imagine a jeweled reliquary holding the foreskin of Christ! Unfortunately, it was stolen by a priest in 1983 -- why would he steal it and what did he do with it? Anyway, read the following for more enlightenment:
"Pius Parsch notes that the Circumcision of the Lord is remembered by the Church as the first sacrifice of blood that flows in redemption. There is scandal in this statement as well. We live in a culture that feigns that it can have love without sacrifice, and narrows its vision of love to accommodate this prejudice. It is in the cramped confines of this narrow vision that the risk of true love is diminished, as well as its power to redeem. The Incarnation is essentially an act of love, and though we try to convince ourselves otherwise, there is no real love in this world without a sacrifice of some sort. The Circumcision of Christ is the foreshadowing of the greater sacrifice that will inevitably come. The greater the love, the greater the potential for suffering — and the love of God in Christ is the greatest love of all."
Father Steve Grunow is the Assistant Director of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries.
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