It is tempting to offer another gospel, an easier one one without the cross. But there God reconciles the world to himself, not counting our trespasses against us.
Human failure, soberly appreciated, reveals the faithfulness of God. Even in pitch-black darkness, divine generativity and grace, mysterious and uncategorizable, still go on.
While with his tongue the Suffering Servant made “intercession for transgressors” (Isa. 53:12), with torn flesh he made atonement for those who bruised him.
Until our own end, Christ’s Passion remains the singular source of salvation and holiness — in the sacraments, and in our love of him by acts of penance, reparation, and solidarity.