John the Baptist hailed Christ as “the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world” (John:1:29The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
See All...). All others (including so-called saints), being sinners (“all have sinned”—Romans:3:23For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
See All...) could not pay for another’s sins. Peter declared that Christ “suffered for sins, [He] the just [sinless one] for [us] the unjust [sinners], that he might bring us to God [to heaven, not purgatory]” (1 Peter:3:18For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
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Yet on EWTN, Michael Freze, author of They Bore the Wounds of Christ, glorifies the saints who, supposedly in response to Christ’s request, “offer themselves up to suffer in union with Christ for the sins of the world” and as a result bear the stigmata. He calls them “other Christs among us.”
Freze goes on to explain why neither the saints nor anyone else could be sure of their salvation. In a shocking denial of Christ’s triumphant cry “It is finished!” (John:19:30When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
See All...), Freze tells us it wasn’t really finished. Boldly, this young expert on the stigmata informs EWTN’s viewers:
“A lot of people, Catholics and others, say, ‘What about the crucifixion, wasn’t that our salvation once and for all?’ No, it wasn’t. It was the beginning of salvation … the redemption plan is ongoing. God chooses people to participate in Christ’s passion … Jesus is always offering Himself. …”