"And when I am lifted up from the earth, I shall draw all men to myself," says Christ (Jn. 12:32). I found this helpful, by Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange OP:
The power upon which rests the spiritual life of all souls striving to be freed from evil and raised up to God is the redemptive action of Christ, his ever active and efficacious love directed to the Father and to us. He himself told us: As a branch cannot bear fruit all by itself, but must remain part of the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. The branches can live only if they are united to the vine and receive the sap from it. Come to me, all of you who labor and are overburdened, and I will give you rest—that is, burdened under the weight of your faults and sufferings. And when I am lifted up from the earth, I shall draw all men to myself.
Life itself teaches us that the strength of a soul in the midst of trial and temptations comes from its practical and experiential consciousness of the infinite value of Redemption, of the omnipotent efficacy of Christ’s death on the cross...
According to the definition of the Church, the redemptive act of Christ has an infinite value and efficacy. It makes satisfaction for any guilt whatsoever, repairs fully any offense against God, even though its gravity is infinite. It satisfies for all the sins of men, and still more. It compensates for all the rebellions against God, all the apostasies, all the acts of despair and presumption, all the feelings of hatred, and all kinds of crime. It merits all graces for even the most degraded souls, provided they are not stubbornly fixed in evil. It is impossible to think of a limit to the efficacy of the redemptive act.
The redemptive act of Christ has an infinite value and efficacy. Amen to that.
Happy St. Pat's,
LSP
