Christ: the one for all
By Fr.
ROY CIMAGALA,
roycimagala@gmail.com
April 25, 2026
IN the gospel, we can hear
Christ declaring himself as the door of the sheepfold. (cfr. Jn
10,7-9) “I am the door,” he said. “By me, if any man enters in, he
shall be saved, and shall go in, and go out, and shall find
pastures.”
With these words, we are
made to understand that he is the sole legitimate entrance to human
salvation, the protector who safeguards the sheep (us) from harm,
contrasting himself from false leaders and prophets who would only
exploit the flock.
In other words, he depicts
himself as the only and unique mediator, as articulated once by St.
Paul when he said: “There is one God, and one mediator between God
and men, the man Christ Jesus.” (1 Tim 2,5) In short, his salvific
mission and mediation have a universal scope, and not just meant for
some people.
In this regard, we can
cite some points from a Vatican document, issued way back in 2000,
entitled “Dominus Iesus, on the Unicity and Salvific Universality of
Jesus Christ and the Church.” It responded and clarified certain
theological trends that denied Christ’s exclusive mediation and
proposed alternative and complementary revelations.
It’s definitely a delicate
topic that has to be studied well and thoroughly. But first of all,
it has to be studied in a way that is always guided by faith and not
just by pure human reason that can present all kinds of theories,
hypotheses and assumptions.
Let’s remember that the
ultimate proof of the credibility of our Christian faith is the fact
that Christ who is regarded as the fullness of revelation can truly
be regarded as God because among the many good things he did, he
finally resurrected from the dead.
Christ’s resurrection is
the pivotal event that validates his claims about his divinity. It
shows his power over death and the fulfillment of the prophecies
that showed his relationship with God – that he is not just a man, a
very special man, but first of all, he is God, the son of God who
became man for our salvation.
We need to constantly
strengthen this belief especially nowadays when there are many
elements that tend to distract and weaken our belief in Christ.
There even are open efforts to present an alternative to Christ.
We need to do everything
to make Christ the constant focus and center of our life. May
everything that we do, from our thoughts and desires to our words
and deeds, begin with Christ as the inspiration, continue with
Christ as our main help, and reach its target with Christ as the
goal himself.
Let’s convince ourselves
that any way of being and acting that is outside of this loop would
expose us to deadly moral and spiritual dangers. Thus, right from
the beginning of the day, as when we wake up, the first thing that
should come to mind is regain this awareness that we need Christ
always.
And so, we should develop
the practice of making a morning offering to Christ of everything
that will take place on that day as soon as we get up from bed in
the morning. It’s what saints and many other people have been doing
to set the proper human and supernatural tone to their daily
affairs, giving them a sense of direction and purpose for the day.
The effort to give the
first thought of the day to Christ is all worthwhile since it
corresponds to the fundamental reality that our life is always, from
beginning to end, a shared life with Christ and therefore also with
God the Father, Creator, and God the Holy Spirit, the Sanctifier.
Christ should be our all! (cfr. Col 3,11)