Eternal Father Prayer (Divine Mercy Chaplet)

everbecoming2007

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I have an interest in this topic as I was in the past confirmed into the Catholic Church and distressed to have the Divine Mercy Chaplet imposed on me as a penance.

The topic is now for me mostly an intellectual curiosity since I returned to Anglicanism where this prayer is uncommon.

The Eternal Father prayer reads as follows:

"Eternal Father, I offer you the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your Dearly Beloved Son, Our Lord, Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world."

I cannot understand how such a prayer is orthodox. What does it mean to offer the Father his own divinity? The body, blood, and soul of Christ can be offered, but how do we offer the Father his own divine nature? Does not this prayer imply that the divinity of the Father and Son is not consubstantial?

What does it mean to offer the divinity in atonement?
 

everbecoming2007

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Never heard that and do not understand it? Could it be just how it is translated into English?

I don't think it's a translation issue. It is a reference to the body, blood, soul, and divinity present in the Eucharist, but seems to confuse the notion that the divine nature is present in Jesus with the idea, which I suspect is incoherent, that the divine nature can be offered in atonement to the Father.

I would like to think there is an orthodox way to interpret the words because I would rather not think that Arianism or similar notions are being officially promoted in the church. It also concerns me because I hear that some high church Anglicans adopt this devotion, so it doesn't just affect Catholics in communion with the Pope.
 
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Albion

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?? Well, we all know that the idea in that church is that the Mass is a sacrifice of Christ (or, nowadays, a "re-presentation" of the original sacrifice of the Cross, as though that were possible) and that the worshippers participating in offering it up to "God" might receive some benefit in return.

Therefore, the prayer you are referring to here doesn't seem to be out of step with that kind of theology.
 
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everbecoming2007

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?? Well, we all know that the idea in that church is that the Mass is a sacrifice of Christ (or, nowadays, a "re-presentation" of the original sacrifice of the Cross, as though that were possible) and that the worshippers participating in offering it up to "God" might receive some benefit in return.

Therefore, the prayer you are referring to here doesn't seem to be out of step with that kind of theology.

If we assume that type of theology, we can all agree the body and blood were offered to the Father, the humanity. But how would one offer the divine nature to the Father? The Father and Son are consubstantial in divinity.
 
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Albion

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I know what you are saying, and I guess that my reply was not so much a comment on your very reasonable point but was just something to say that this kind of thing is SOP in that church, rightly or wrongly. The prayer you presented to us is not at all surprising, therefore.
 
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tz620q

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I have an interest in this topic as I was in the past confirmed into the Catholic Church and distressed to have the Divine Mercy Chaplet imposed on me as a penance.

The topic is now for me mostly an intellectual curiosity since I returned to Anglicanism where this prayer is uncommon.

The Eternal Father prayer reads as follows:

"Eternal Father, I offer you the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your Dearly Beloved Son, Our Lord, Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world."

I cannot understand how such a prayer is orthodox. What does it mean to offer the Father his own divinity? The body, blood, and soul of Christ can be offered, but how do we offer the Father his own divine nature? Does not this prayer imply that the divinity of the Father and Son is not consubstantial?

What does it mean to offer the divinity in atonement?
Hard to say now because we can't ask Sr. Faustina exactly how this prayer came to her. In one account, she was given a vision of an angel that was going to destroy a city and prayed this in front of the Holy Trinity asking for mercy. The angels hands were stayed and Sr. Faustina realized that God's Mercy is abundantly given to all of us, every day. Perhaps this thought connected within her with the Eucharist, which is often called in Catholicism the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ. This idea on the Eucharist recognizes that the Son offered everything He had to the Father. It was not a matter of him hedging his bet and only offering part of himself, realizing that the other part would survive. I would go on to say that thinking he only offered part of himself on the cross is close to Docetism.

I am not sure why she used the words "I offer you" versus say "He offers you" to refer to Christ. Actually, since the prayer was originally in Polish, I am not even sure if the translation was done correctly. Assuming it is, then I can see the link between daily mass and daily Eucharist as a presentation of our lives to God's mercy in the presence of the Holy Trinity. This offering through the Eucharist is a work of both the human worshipers and the Holy Trinity as consecrator (priest), witness, and sacrifice.
 
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everbecoming2007

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Hard to say now because we can't ask Sr. Faustina exactly how this prayer came to her. In one account, she was given a vision of an angel that was going to destroy a city and prayed this in front of the Holy Trinity asking for mercy. The angels hands were stayed and Sr. Faustina realized that God's Mercy is abundantly given to all of us, every day. Perhaps this thought connected within her with the Eucharist, which is often called in Catholicism the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ. This idea on the Eucharist recognizes that the Son offered everything He had to the Father. It was not a matter of him hedging his bet and only offering part of himself, realizing that the other part would survive. I would go on to say that thinking he only offered part of himself on the cross is close to Docetism.

I am not sure why she used the words "I offer you" versus say "He offers you" to refer to Christ. Actually, since the prayer was originally in Polish, I am not even sure if the translation was done correctly. Assuming it is, then I can see the link between daily mass and daily Eucharist as a presentation of our lives to God's mercy in the presence of the Holy Trinity. This offering through the Eucharist is a work of both the human worshipers and the Holy Trinity as consecrator (priest), witness, and sacrifice.

Thank you for your response.

However, my question concerning offering the Father's divinity to the Father is not even close to implicating me in docetism. I am starting to think there is just no answer to this question.

But I will go ahead and ask again, how do you offer to the Father his own divine nature in atonement?
 
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tz620q

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Thank you for your response.

However, my question concerning offering the Father's divinity to the Father is not even close to implicating me in docetism. I am starting to think there is just no answer to this question.

But I will go ahead and ask again, how do you offer to the Father his own divine nature in atonement?
Sorry if I implied in any way that you were being a docetist. That was not my intent. I was trying to point out that Jesus Christ when he offered his body as a sacrifice for us did indeed offer his divinity to his Father's Justice. The hypostatic union of his divine and human natures means that both were indeed sacrificed. I suppose we could debate whether the divine can suffer; but in the context of this prayer she is trying to show the depths of God's Mercy that he showers on us, even to allowing his own Son, human and divine to suffer and die for us. Mercy, Love, and Justice are the very essence of God. These are all things that occur in between persons. I don't see a theological issue with the Son offering the Father himself.
 
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everbecoming2007

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Sorry if I implied in any way that you were being a docetist. That was not my intent. I was trying to point out that Jesus Christ when he offered his body as a sacrifice for us did indeed offer his divinity to his Father's Justice. The hypostatic union of his divine and human natures means that both were indeed sacrificed. I suppose we could debate whether the divine can suffer; but in the context of this prayer she is trying to show the depths of God's Mercy that he showers on us, even to allowing his own Son, human and divine to suffer and die for us. Mercy, Love, and Justice are the very essence of God. These are all things that occur in between persons. I don't see a theological issue with the Son offering the Father himself.

The divine nature cannot suffer. For you, what would it mean to offer the Father his own divine nature, something already integral to him?
 
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