In our day, sacrifice has a bad name. Must we
consider it a foreign body in Christianity that should
be rejected unconditionally in the name of the
Gospel of love?
The purpose of these pages is to show that sacrifice,
correctly understood, is indispensable for life—and
for the life of faith. Rooted in the human need to
establish and reinforce relationships, conformed
to faith in a compassionate God who takes the
initiative, totally transfigured by the entry of that
God into our world, sacrifice situates us at the heart
of the human adventure. It shows us that the secret
of life consists not in accumulating possessions or
attempting to gain power over others, but rather in
the search for communion.
