The master thesis treats the paschal mystery from three different points of view. The first chapter focuses on Easter as a historic event. It opens with the Jewish paschal feast, the typology of the paschal lamb and the Exodus from the Egyptian slavery, which represent the background for the Christian understanding of redemption. Then, building on the testimonies of Jesus’ disciples, the death and resurrection of Jesus are presented as the foundation of the faith of the Church. The second chapter introduces the level of dogmatic reflection on the paschal mystery. The death of Jesus is described as reconciliation for people’s sins; Jesus’ descent to the limbo is viewed as an act of deepest solidarity with fallen mankind, while his resurrection and ascension are treated as a revelation of the glorified state, which in Jesus is open for all people and the whole of creation. The second chapter closes with a reflection on the inner life of the Holy Trinity as it is guided by the paschal dynamic of free self-offering love. The third chapter presents an actualization of the preceding discussion with regard to the life of Christians. It begins with an explanation of the sacramental way through which a human being enters in the dynamic of the paschal mystery. This is followed by a discussion of some characteristic paschal attitudes of life such as the readiness to acknowledge one’s own sinfulness and the necessity of redemption, the attitude of simplicity and smallness, the donative nature of love, the readiness to forgive injustices and, of course, the free acceptance of suffering and death. The chapter concludes with the assertion of the universal meaning of Easter, which, as the mystery of redemption, is designed for the whole creation and also offers appropriate criteria for interreligious dialogue. Finally, the concluding chapter sums up the central points of the thesis in a synoptic figure and presents the Easter attitude of self-offering love as the basic paradigm of creation.
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