Consummatum est is the curious way that St. Jerome translated Τετέλεσται, Jesus’ final utterance on earth (Jn 19:30). This word means “It is finished” and suggests that the drama of the created order finds its spiritual center in the Cross in which all existence is drawn together into a cohesive and enduring whole (Col 1:20). While other words might have more aptly conveyed the sense of finality ascribed to the original text, St. Jerome seems to have chosen the phrase Consummatum est to highlight the erotic dimension of salvation: “It is consummated.” This makes sense in light of the fact that Jesus expresses his longing in the previous verse, “I thirst” (Jn 19:28); literally says, “This is my body” (1 Cor 11:24), the night before at the Last Supper; and is crucified in the nude (Jn 19:23) on the sixth day of the week (Jn 19:31), a time when intimacy was encouraged among Jewish spouses (Mishna Ketubot 5:6). If our own spiritual lives are lacking in passion, or if we have rejected the erotic as an enemy of the gospel, we just might be settling for a lukewarm version of faith that does not save. It is, indeed, for us to respond to the promptings of love by taking a risk on the Beloved who, at this very moment, is yearning and, in fact, aching for our arrival (Song 3:2). Ave Crux, Spes Unica.
