In 2001 the international editorial board of Communio began an ongoing series on the mysteries of the life of Jesus. Each edition dedicates the first issue of the year to this theme.
"The singularity of the mysteries is not exhausted by their single occurrence, but instead transcends their historical context: they are a singular historical event whose singularity is manifested in its eternalization."
"The new Adam wanted to associate the new Eve to himself from the beginning, raising her 'yes' to the rank of a co-constituent of the Incarnation."
“The Church ‘is’ the immaculate and indissoluble unity of the love of the Trinity poured out upon and received by the Handmaid of the Lord.”
“The ‘transformation’ that took place in the womb of the Virgin Mary, in which the eternal Logos became man by the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit, anticipates the transformation of bread and wine into the body and blood of Jesus.”
“The ‘hidden life’ is the chronological translation of the difference between a revealed message and an Incarnation. It is demanded by the very nature of what Christianity brings.”
“The thirty hidden years . . . may be understood as a mysterium of the whole history of the world . . . as a ‘sacrament’ that sanctifies and gives meaning to our age and to every age.”
“In Nazareth, God’s Son sanctifies the ordinary, insofar as he recognizes it as a gift offered to him by the Father, whom he must follow in obedience.”
“When it describes the ages of Jesus’ life and identifies the laws that shape his time, the theology of the mysteries unlocks the meaning, not only of Christian existence, but of history and of the world itself.”
“Yahweh’s nuptials with his people, this eschatological nuptial mystery, is the true ‘mystery’ of Cana.”
“On Mary’s word, Joseph accepted, however much through a glass darkly, that the Annunciation was the Incarnation.”
"The condition for the possibility of Christian marriage is the virginal consent of Christ and of his Mother on behalf of the world."
“It is not enough then for the word to come down from heaven; it must also be born from the flesh. Hence it cannot be uttered all at once; it cannot dispense with the lapse of time required by the entire life of Jesus.”
“The flesh of Christ constitutes the place where transcendence can be most properly shown. The body and the concrete time frame of Jesus’s life are not only ways of making the imago Dei shine through, but are themselves the structure that allows the image to appear.”
“The Christology of the Transfiguration event is a theology of epiphany, which helped promote the earliest identifications of Jesus as distinct from the prophets.”
“Christianity’s contribution to our culture does not consist in accepting the great rift that divides our modern world, but rather in healing it. The resurrection of the flesh is precisely a witness that this healing is possible.”
“We cannot see God face to face, but he has graciously consented to let us see where he dwells.”
“Christianity’s contribution to our culture does not need to accept the great rift that divides our modern world, but consists rather in healing it. The resurrection of the flesh is precisely a witness that this healing is possible.”
“The Ascension is another step forward in the deepening bond of the flesh of Christ with the Church, and, through her, with the entire cosmos: ‘He ascended . . . that he might fill all things’ (Eph 4:10).”
“On the way to the Parousia, the action of Jesus Christ expands to the whole living body of the Church and, through his action, to the body of the world.”
“It is at the Transfiguration that he received this power [over death]. Jesus, if he had wanted to, would have been able to delight in the fullness of his glory from this moment on—but in that case, his joy would not have included our salvation.”