Prayer: Benedict XVI

Jesus is risen not because his memory remains alive in the hearts of his disciples, but because he himself lives in us, and in him we can already savor the joy of eternal life.

Song: An Old Welsh hymn

Here is love, vast as the ocean,
Lovingkindness as the flood,
When the Prince of Life, our Ransom,
Shed for us His precious blood.
Who His love will not remember?
Who can cease to sing His praise?
He can never be forgotten,
Throughout Heav’n’s eternal days.

On the mount of crucifixion,
Fountains opened deep and wide;
Through the floodgates of God’s mercy
Flowed a vast and gracious tide.
Grace and love, like mighty rivers,
Poured incessant from above,
And Heav’n’s peace and perfect justice
Kissed a guilty world in love.

Let me all Thy love accepting,
Love Thee, ever all my days;
Let me seek Thy kingdom only
And my life be to Thy praise;
Thou alone shalt be my glory,
Nothing in the world I see.
Thou hast cleansed and sanctified me,
Thou Thyself hast set me free.

In Thy truth Thou dost direct me
By Thy Spirit through Thy Word;
And Thy grace my need is meeting,
As I trust in Thee, my Lord.
Of Thy fullness Thou art pouring
Thy great love and power on me,
Without measure, full and boundless,
Drawing out my heart to Thee.

Prayer: Holy Saturday

Something strange is happening—there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. God has died in the flesh and hell trembles with fear.

He has gone to search for our first parent, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, he has gone to free from sorrow the captives Adam and Eve, he who is both God and the son of Eve. The Lord approached them bearing the cross, the weapon that had won him the victory. At the sight of him Adam, the first man he had created, struck his breast in terror and cried out to everyone: ‘My Lord be with you all.’ Christ answered him: ‘And with your spirit.’ He took him by the hand and raised him up, saying: ‘Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.’

I am your God, who for your sake have become your son. Out of love for you and for your descendants I now by my own authority command all who are held in bondage to come forth, all who are in darkness to be enlightened, all who are sleeping to arise. I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be held a prisoner in hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead. Rise up, work of my hands, you who were created in my image. Rise, let us leave this place, for you are in me and I am in you; together we form only one person and we cannot be separated.

For your sake I, your God, became your son; I, the Lord, took the form of a slave; I, whose home is above the heavens, descended to the earth and beneath the earth. For your sake, for the sake of man, I became like a man without help, free among the dead. For the sake of you, who left a garden, I was betrayed to the Jews in a garden, and I was crucified in a garden.

See on my face the spittle I received in order to restore to you the life I once breathed into you. See there the marks of the blows I received in order to refashion your warped nature in my image. On my back see the marks of the scourging I endured to remove the burden of sin that weighs upon your back. See my hands, nailed firmly to a tree, for you who once wickedly stretched out your hand to a tree.

I slept on the cross and a sword pierced my side for you who slept in paradise and brought forth Eve from your side. My side has healed the pain in yours. My sleep will rouse you from your sleep in hell. The sword that pierced me has sheathed the sword that was turned against you.

Rise, let us leave this place. The enemy led you out of the earthly paradise. I will not restore you to that paradise, but I will enthrone you in heaven. I forbade you the tree that was only a symbol of life, but see, I who am life itself am now one with you. I appointed cherubim to guard you as slaves are guarded, but now I make them worship you as God. The throne formed by cherubim awaits you, its bearers swift and eager. The bridal chamber is adorned, the banquet is ready, the eternal dwelling places are prepared, the treasure houses of all good things lie open. The kingdom of heaven has been prepared for you from all eternity. - there is a great silence

Good Friday Reflection

"It was on the Friday."

It was on the Friday that they ended it all.
Of course, they didn't do it one by one.
They weren't brave enough.
All the stones at the one time or no stones thrown at all.

They did it in crowds.... in crowds where you can feel safe
and lose yourself and shout things you would never shout
on your own, and do things you would never do if you felt
the camera was watching you.

It was a crowd in the church that did it,
and a crowd in the civil service that did it,
and a crowd in the street that did it,
and a crowd on the hill that did it.

And he said nothing.

He took the insults, the bruises, the spit on the face,
the thongs on the back, the curses in the ears.
He took the sight of his friends turning away,
running away.

And he said nothing.

He let them do their worst until their worst was done,
as on Friday they ended it all....
and would have finished themselves had he not cried,
"Father, forgive them all."

And the revolution began.

from Stages on the Way, Chicago, GIA Publications.

Easter Sunday: He is Risen!

April 8, 2012

Vigil Mass: Gen. 1; Gen. 22; Exodus 14; Isaiah 54; Isaiah 55; Baruch 3; Ezekiel 36; Psalm 42 or 51; Romans 6; Mark 16:1-7

Mass during the Day: Acts 10:34, 37-43; Psalm 118; Colossians 3:1-4 (or 1 Cor. 5:6-8); John 20:1-9 or Luke 24:13-35

He is Risen! Alleluia!

                Good Friday has a strong grip on our consciousness. We are easily affected by the dramatic events of the day because we endure enough suffering on our own. It is easy for us to identify with some feelings of Jesus as he stumbles through his Passion. We are able to honor what Jesus is doing for us; at the same time we feel the weightiness of illness, dysfunction, broken relationships, and deep sorrow. We find that we reside in that sorrow as is it is a familiar friend. We look for meaning in it and try to find a way out, but we realize our powerlessness in the face of real suffering. We find that we are more of a Good Friday people than an Easter people. It is far easier to stay in the tomb in order to process our ambiguous feelings. We hang onto our memories of cherished times with loved ones and we want the world restored to its original beauty that we glimpsed at some point in our lives. We cling to hope while it is shrouded in darkness.

          The stillness of Holy Saturday keeps us inert. We do not feel like moving or doing much in order to properly pay respects to the dead Jesus. Our mourning is real; grief isolates us and causes us to move inwards. The tomb becomes comfortable as a place where we can say all those things we held back on saying while he was alive. We wait in vigil - hoping against hope that he will hear us and console us.

          It is a marvel that Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, and Salome arose from their sorrow and grief to go to the tomb to anoint the dead body of Jesus with spices. Though the anointing brings closure and allows them to say goodbye, it is difficult to muster strength to get out of bed and go to the tomb when feeling bereft. They knew they would have to wait for someone stronger to roll the large tombstone away. The next events were amazing (and it seems foolish that the young man clothed in a white robe told them not to be amazed) as they entered the empty tomb, the place where he was laid, and they saw and believed. The young man told them that Jesus of Nazareth has been raised and will meet his disciples and Peter in Galilee. The women too will see him, just as he told them.

          We approach Easter differently as the first disciples did. We do so through the Spirit of Christ who is alive to us and present in our memories. Though we know the rest of the story, we relive with Christ the events of his Passion because he has something significant to reveal to us. He ministry of freeing us and saving us is still at work. He comes to console us so we can share in his victory over sin and death. Those tyrants will never have the last word to any disciple of Jesus. He asks us to share in his joy - not that suffering and death are absent from us, but that we belong to a greater realm that includes our resurrection and everlasting happiness. The raised Jesus of Nazareth is still laboring hard for our benefit.

We unlikely will have a dramatic Easter moment the way the three Gospel women did. No. For us, Easter comes in tiny, nearly-insignificant, personal moments, but ones in which we can testify that God is at work taking some burdens off our shoulders or giving us fresh reassurance. Just as Jesus came into the world largely unknown, we experience his "rebirth" in equally obscured ways. We know they are real and that he is present to us continuing his ministry of consolation. These are intimate moments.

At church, we gather in stilled darkness; we wait in a hope that shows our reverent thankfulness to Jesus. We focus upon the steadfast God who is watching us listen again to God's story of salvation and friendship to us. This God created us and the world, and recreates us, brings life out of chaos and death, passes over us during plagues of death and destruction; and raises us to new life through the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. He is always active in our history. We pray that God will open our hearts even more widely to him as we remember the many ways he remains steadfast to us. God wants us to come to life fully - free from the burdens of this world - because we know God cares about our tiniest and weightiest concerns. God will save us from destruction as he has done before and call us forth into a bright, new life governed by his personal affection for us. He will raise us as he raised Jesus from the dead. Alleluia. Alleluia.

Themes for this Week’s Masses

First Reading: We follow the Acts of the Apostles in the Easter octave. Peter stands up on Pentecost to proclaim to Jews in Jerusalem that Jesus of Nazareth who they put to death has been vindicated by God and raised to new life. When the Jews realize the significance of their actions, they petition Peter to be baptized in the name of Jesus. Peter and John heal the crippled man at "the Beautiful Gate" at the temple. All who witnessed it recognized that the man used to be the crippled beggar. Peter and John preach to the Jews gathered at Solomon's portico and tell them all that the prophets and scripture say about Jesus. The priests, temple guards, and the Sadducees confront Peter and John and hold them in custody. The religious authorities question their teaching and healing power. The Sanhedrin dismissed them with instructions not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. Peter, John, and the healed man persevere in their boldness. The Sanhedrin wait to see if this is of God or of another source of power.

Gospel: In Matthew, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary meet Jesus on the way and he exhorts them not to be afraid. The chief priests hire soldiers to say, "the disciples came and stole the body of Jesus." In John, Magdalene weeps outside the tomb and thinks Jesus is the gardener, until he speaks to her familiarly. In Luke, two disciples heading towards Emmaus meet Jesus along the way and he opens the scripture for them. As they recount their story to the Eleven, Jesus appears before them, beckons them not to be afraid, and eats with them. In John, six disciples are with Peter as they fish at the Sea of Tiberius. After a frustrating night of fishing, Jesus instructs them to cast their nets wide and they catch 153 large fish. The beloved disciple recognized the man on the beach as the Lord and they rush to meet him. In Mark, Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene who told the Eleven about him. Two other disciples on the road returned to speak of their encounter, and then Jesus appears to them while they were at table.

Saints of the Week

No saints are remembered during the Easter octave.

This Week in Jesuit History

·         Apr 8, 1762. The French Parliament issued a decree of expulsion of the Jesuits from all their colleges and houses.

·         Apr 9, 1615. The death of William Weston, minister to persecuted Catholics in England and later an author who wrote about his interior life during that period.

·         Apr 10, 1585. At Rome, the death of Pope Gregory XIII, founder of the Gregorian University and the German College, whose memory will ever be cherished as that of one of the Society's greatest benefactors.

·         Apr 11, 1573. Pope Gregory XIII suggested to the Fathers who were assembling for the Third General Congregation that it might be well for them to choose a General of some nationality other than Spanish. Later he expressed his satisfaction that they had elected Everard Mercurian, a Belgian.

·         Apr 12, 1671. Francis Borgia, the 3rd general of the Society, was canonized by Pope Clement X.

·         Apr 13, 1541. Ignatius was elected general in a second election, after having declined the results of the first election several days earlier.

·         Apr 14, 1618. The father of John Berchmans is ordained a priest. John himself was still a Novice. 

Spirituality: What will happen with the Crucified Jesus?

The church does not pretend, as it were, that it does not know what will happen with the crucified Jesus. It does not sorrow and mourn over the Lord as if the church itself were not the very creation which has been produced from his wounded side and from the depths of his tomb. All through the services the victory of Christ is contemplated and the resurrection is proclaimed.

Thomas Hopko

Lenten Resolve

Know that your true home is in the holy Presence. It is that simple. Do not wait for your calendar to be empty, or your permanent address to change, before recognizing this reality.

Prayer: Pope Clement I of Rome

It is to the humble-minded that Christ belongs, not to those who exalt themselves above his flock... The Lord Jesus Christ did not, for all his power, come clothed in boastful pomp and overweening pride, but in a humble frame of mind.

Prayer: Andrew of Crete

Let us spread before his feet, not garments or soulless olive branches, which delight the eye for a few hours and then wither, but ourselves, clothed in his grace, or rather, clothed completely in him.

We who have been baptized into Christ must ourselves be the garments that we spread before him. Let our souls take the place of the welcoming branches as we join in the holy song: 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the lord. Blessed is the king of Israel.'

Lenten Resolve

Rediscover the joy of a quiet conversation, a simple story or game, an honest expression of affection for another. These simple gifts and pleasures will keep your life balanced.