Passion Sunday and Holy Week

March 28, 2010

We follow Luke’s account of the Passion today and as I pray over it, I savor its uniqueness among the Gospels. In fact, each of the Gospels tells the story with different nuances and intentions. Too often, when we think of the story of Jesus and his Passion, we get a conflated view (four stories synthesized into one portrait) and we miss the richness of the author’s point of view. Luke is telling the story of Jesus, the prophet who heals, as he remains faithful to his mission despite the increasingly difficult odds. In fact, on Palm Sunday we hear about his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, but he has to retreat in failure because like most prophets, he is rejected. Jesus is providing us a model for a lifetime of discipleship. We are to learn from his example and bring the prophetic words of the Gospel to others – even in light of our own rejection and suffering that we are sure to face.

I invite you to read Luke’s Passion (22:14-23:56) prayerfully and slowly again this week. Don’t just say, “Oh, I read this part before,” let the emotions of the scenes come alive for you. Imagine the dinner scene where Jesus as Teacher describes what will happen in some detail. Focus on the agony that so consumed him that he sweated blood. This is very real suffering that he did not want to experience. I always get choked up when I hear of Peter’s denial when “The Lord turns and looks at Peter,” who realizes what he has done to his best friend and runs away weeping bitterly. Other differences in this Gospel are: the political dance between Pilate and Herod, the grieving women of Jerusalem, the tone and purpose of Jesus’ last words, the presence of the two condemned thieves, and the role of Joseph of Arimathea. Savor Luke’s points early this week as you ready yourself to hear John’s Gospel proclaimed on Good Friday.

Finally, I invite you to use the fullness of your memory this week. Holy Week comes alive and has a power unto itself and the days are actually relived before our eyes in our own contexts. Pray for the grace to have compassion on Jesus as he gives up his life for us – in excruciating pain and suffering. It is very difficult to watch a loved one die. Our own memories of our experiences of death bring up so many complex, unresolved issues. It will happen again as we watch Jesus die. We may think of the times we denied him, betrayed him, or left him alone in his need. Suffering is never easy to watch, especially with a life-long friend. Yes, he must die and be buried in the tomb. If that doesn’t happen, he cannot be raised from the dead by God. In fact, as we move through life, we realize just how much we need Jesus to die for us and to make sense of our lives. My prayers will be with you as you pray this week. May the Lord reward you with the grace of much compassion as you experience the unfolding days of the Passion.

Quote for the Week

From the Transfer of the Holy Eucharist on Maundy Thursday’s Mass of the Lord’s Supper. Hymn: Pange Lingua (Sing, My Tongue) and Tantum Ergo.

Sing, my tongue, the ageless story as the cross is lifted high!
Tell how Christ our Savior conquered, when for us he came to die
as a victim in the battle, death’s dominion to belie.
-
Come, adore this wondrous presence; Bow to Christ, the source of grace!
Here is kept the ancient promise of God’s earthly dwelling place!
Sight is blind before God’s glory, faith alone may see God’s face.

Themes for this Week’s Masses

Monday of Holy Week: We hear from Isaiah 4 in the First Oracle of the Servant of the Lord in which God’s servant will suffer silently, but will bring justice to the world. In the Gospel, Lazarus’ sister, Mary, anoints Jesus’ feet with costly oil in preparation for his funeral.

Tuesday of Holy Week: In the Second Oracle of the Servant of the Lord, he cries out that I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach the ends of the earth. In deep hurt, distress and grief, Jesus tells his closest friends at supper that one of them will betray him and another will deny him three times before the cock crows.

(Spy) Wednesday of Holy Week: In the Third Oracle of the Servant of the Lord, the suffering servant does not turn away from the ridicule and torture of his persecutors and tormentors. The time has come. The Son of Man will be handed over by Judas, one of the Twelve, who sets the terms of Jesus’ arrest.

Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday: Only an evening Mass can be said today and we let our bells ring freely during the Gloria that has been absent all Lent. In Exodus, we hear the laws and customs about eating the Passover meal prior to God’s deliverance of the people through Moses from the Egyptians. Paul tells us of the custom by early Christians that as often as we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes. In John’s Gospel, Jesus loves us to the end giving us a mandate to wash one another’s feet.

Good Friday: No Mass is celebrated today though there may be a service of veneration of the cross and a Stations of the Cross service. In Isaiah, we hear the Fourth Oracle of the Servant of the Lord who was wounded for our sins. In Hebrews, we are told that Jesus learned obedience through his faith and thus became the source of salvation for all. The Passion of our Lord is proclaimed from John’s Gospel.

Holy Saturday and the Easter Vigil: No Mass, baptisms, or confirmations can be celebrated before the Vigil to honor the Lord who has been buried in the tomb. The Old Testament readings point to God’s vision of the world and the deliverance of the people from sin and death. All of Scripture points to the coming of the Righteous One who will bring about salvation for all. The Old Testament in relished during the Vigil of the Word as God’s story of salvation is told to us again. The New Testament epistle from Romans tells us that Christ, who was raised from the dead, dies no more. Luke’s Gospel finds the women at daybreak arriving at the tomb with spices so they could honor the dead body of Jesus. Two men in dazzling white garments talk with them and ask, “Why do you seek the living from among the dead? He is not here, but has been raised.” With instructions to return to the Twelve they told the others who disregarded their incredulous story. Only Peter ran to the tomb, saw the burial cloths, and went home amazed at what had happened. He is Risen. Alleluia.

Saints of the Week

No saints are celebrated during Holy Week. The solemn days of the Lord take precedence.

This Week in Jesuit History

• March 28, 1606: At the Guildhall, London, the trial of Fr. Henry Garnet, falsely accused of complicity in the Gunpowder Plot.
• March 29, 1523: Ignatius' first visit to Rome on his way from Manresa to Palestine.
• March 30, 1545: At Meliapore, Francis Xavier came on pilgrimage to the tomb of St. Thomas the Apostle.
• March 31, 1548: Fr. Anthony Corduba, rector of the College of Salamanca, begged Ignatius to admit him into the Society so as to escape the cardinalate which Charles V intended to procure for him.
• Apr 1, 1941. The death of Hippolyte Delehaye in Brussels. He was an eminent hagiographer and in charge of the Bollandists from 1912 to 1941.
• Apr 2, 1767. Charles III ordered the arrest of all the Jesuits in Spain and the confiscation of all their property.
• Apr 3, 1583. The death of Jeronimo Nadal, one of the original companions of Ignatius who later entrusted him with publishing and distributing the Jesuit Constitutions to the various regions of the early Society.

The Blessing of Palms

As we near the end of Lent, we celebrate Passion (Palm) Sunday. At the beginning of the liturgy, we receive palms in memory of Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem. As a symbol of triumph, the palms point us toward Christ's resurrection and might remind us of the saints in heaven "wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands" (Rev 7:9). The white robes remind us of baptismal garments, and the palms suggest their triumph over sin and death through the waters of Baptism.

Note:

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