God has reconciled us
From a letter by Saint Cyril of Alexandria, bishop (c. 376-444)
God has reconciled us to himself through Christ and given us the ministry of reconciliation
Those who have a sure hope, guaranteed by the Spirit, that they will rise again lay hold of what lies in the future as though it were already present. They say: Outward appearances will no longer be our standard in judging other men. Our lives are all controlled by the Spirit now, and are not confined to this physical world that is subject to corruption. The light on the Only-begotten has shone on us, and we have been transformed into the Word, the source of all life. While sin was still our master, the bonds of death had a firm hold on us, but now that the righteousness of Christ has found a place in our hearts we have freed ourselves from our former condition of corruptibility.
This means that none of us lives in the flesh any more, at least not in so far as living in the flesh means being subject to the weaknesses of the flesh, which include corruptibility. Once we thought of Christ as being in the flesh, but we do not do so any longer, say Saint Paul. By this he meant that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us; he suffered death in the flesh in order to give all men life. It was in this flesh that we knew him before, but we do so no longer. Even though he remains in the flesh, since he came to life again on the third day and is now with his Father in heaven, we know that he has passed beyond the life of the flesh; for having died once, he will never die again, death has no power over him any more. His death was a death to sin, which he died once for all; his life is life with God.
Since Christ has in this way become the source of life for us, we who follow in his footsteps must not think of ourselves as living in the flesh any longer, but as having passed beyond it. Saint Paul’s saying is absolutely true that when anyone is in Christ he becomes a completely different person: his old life is over and a new life has begun. We have been justified by our faith in Christ and the power of the curse has been broken. Christ’s coming to life again for our sake has put an end to the sovereignty of death. We have come to know the true God and to worship him in spirit and in truth, through the Son, our mediator, who sends down upon the world the Father’s blessings.
And so Saint Paul shows deep insight when he says: This is all God’s doing: it is he who has reconciled us to himself through Christ. For the mystery of the incarnation and the renewal it accomplished could not have taken place without the Father’s will. Through Christ we have gained access to the Father, for as Christ himself says, no one comes to the Father except through him. This is all God’s doing, then. It is he who has reconciled us to himself through Christ, and who has given us the ministry of reconciliation.
Source: The Liturgy of the Hours – Office of Readings
Saint Cyril of Alexandria, bishop (c.376-(444)
St. Cyril of Alexandria was Born at Alexandria, Egypt around the year 376 and was the nephew of the patriarch of Alexandria, Theophilus. He received a classical and theological education at Alexandria and was ordained by his uncle. He accompanied Theophilus to Constantinople in 403 and was present at the Synod of the Oak which deposed John Chrysostom, who was later restored and confirmed as bishop of Constantinople. Cyril succeeded his Uncle as patriarch of Alexandria in 412. Cyril began a series of attacks against the Novatians, whose churches he closed, and against the Jews whom he drove out of the city. In 430 Cyril became embroiled with Nestorius, the patriarch of Constantinople, who was preaching heresies denying Mary as the Mother of God, and opposing the doctrine of the Incarnation. A synod was held in Rome under Pope Celestine I which condemned Nestorius and his teachings. Refusing to recant his positions, Nestorius was excommunicated. In 431 Cyril presided over the third general Council at Ephesus, attended by some two hundred bishops, which condemned all the tenets of Nestorius and his followers. Nestorius was forced into exile.
Cyril wrote treatises that clarified the doctrines of the Trinity and the Incarnation which helped stem the spread of Nestorianism and Pelagianism from taking root in the Christian community. He died in 444 at the age of 68. He was the most brilliant theologian of the Alexandrian tradition. His writings are characterized by accurate thinking, precise exposition, and great reasoning skill. Among his writings are commentaries on John, Luke, and the Pentateuch, treatises on dogmatic theology, an Apologis against Julian the Apostate, and letters and sermons. He was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Leo XIII in 1882.