Msgr. Nicola Bux Speaks Out

Vatican theologian: ‘Clericalism’ is ‘smokescreen’ hiding homosexuality as abuse crisis’ real cause

Union with Christ

Just last week or so, I was reading something that identified union with Christ as a moral union, a union of wills (which is a supernatural bond, not a natural one) -- I think it was written by a Latin traditionalist. I'm not sure if I posted a link to that essay here. But it is actually more than that, as shown by the use of the image of Christ as Bridegroom and the Church as Bride, who become "one flesh" -- not that we truly are absorbed into the being of Christ and lose our own separate being, just as husband and wife do not become one person in the conjugal union, but rather, we are transformed into Christ but assimilating His life into us (or participating in it). Union as a metaphysics of participation, or the analogy of being with Christ as the primary analogate.

"Bridal mysticism" as a metaphor for the individual Christian can be understood properly in this way, even if there may be some repugnance to the imagery or to its literal application to men.