Poem: “An Easter Carol” By Christina Rossetti

Spring bursts to-day,
For Christ is risen and all the earth’s at play.
Flash forth, thou Sun,
The rain is over and gone, its work is done.
Winter is past,
Sweet Spring is come at last, is come at last.
Bug, Fig, and Vine,
Bud, Olive, fat with fruit and oil and wine.
Break forth this morn
In roses, thou but yesterday a Thorn.
Uplift thy head,
O pure white Lily through the Winter dead.
Beside your dams
Leap and rejoice, you merry-making lambs.
All herds and Flocks
Rejoice, all Beasts of thickets and of rocks.
Sing, Creatures, sing,
Angels and Men and Birds and everything.
All notes of Doves
Fill all our world: this is the time of loves.

Poem: "Easter" by Edmund Spenser

Most glorious Lord of life, that on this day
Didst make thy triumph over death and sin;
And having harrowed hell didst bring away
Captivity thence captive, us to win:
This joyous day, dear Lord, with joy begin,
And grant that we for whom thou didst die
Bring with thy dear blood clean washed from sin,
May live forever in felicity.

And that thy love we weighing worthily,
May likewise love thee for the same again;
And for thy sake that all like dear didst buy,
With love may one another entertain.
So let us love, dear Lord, like as we ought.
Love is the lesson which the Lord us taught.

Poem: "Awaken Me" by Joyce Rupp

Risen One,
come, meet me
in the garden of my life.

Lure me into elation.
Revive my silent hope.
Coax my dormant dreams.
Raise up my neglected gratitude.
Entice my tired enthusiasm.
Give life to my faltering relationships.
Roll back the stone of my indifference.
Unwrap the deadness in my spiritual life.
Impart heartiness in my work.

Risen One,
send me forth as a disciple of your unwavering love,
a messenger
of your unlimited joy.

Resurrected One,
may I become
ever more convinced
that your presence lives on,
and on, and on,
and on.

Awaken me!
Awaken me!

(Taken from Out of the Ordinary)

Spirituality: "The Resurrection: by Rowan Williams (2009)

Rowan Williams, the present Archbishop of Canterbury, is a former Oxford theology professor. He has a well-deserved reputation for academic obscurantism, but when he puts his mind to it he can write quite convincingly on topics relevant to contemplative spirituality. His knowledge of the Eastern Orthodox tradition is very deep, which is exemplified in The Dwelling of the Light: Praying with Icons of Christ (Eerdmans 2003). He delivers meditations on four different icons, one of which is of the Resurrection.

Christ stands on a precarious-looking bridge, as if he is the one who by the great risks and pains of his incarnation connects what we have pulled apart. And in those icons where we see him reaching out simultaneously to Adam and Eve, it is as if he is reintroducing them to each other after the ages of alienation and bitterness that began with the recriminations of Genesis. The resurrection is a moment in which human beings are reintroduced to each other across the gulf of mutual resentment and blame; a new human community becomes possible. And similarly, remembering the other figures from the first covenant in the background of the picture, we realize that this community is unaffected by any division between the living and the dead: David and Solomon, Abraham, Moses, Elijah and Isaiah are our contemporaries because of Jesus' resurrection (31-32).

The resurrection, then, is to do with the creation of the new humanity, where resentment and hostility are 'unfrozen'; and with the establishment of scriptural revelation as a living relationship within this new humanity. It is the foundation for understanding both Church and Bible. But if we also bear in mind the context in which Maximus the Confessor sets the work of Christ, we can see here in outline the foundation for understanding the relation of Church and creation. The resurrection in principle does away with those factors that frustrate and distort our relation as human beings with our environment--our human and historical environment, all those who have gone before us (Abraham and Moses), but also our natural environment. If the Risen Christ takes hold of and speaks through the great figures of biblical history, can we say that by the same token he speaks through the world around us? That he introduces us to that world and requires us to listen to it and receive from it what he wants to communicate?(35-36)

And in this, of course, we are gradually nudged towards the central realization of all. We are brought into this friendship with the biblical revelation, with each other and with the world because the resurrection of Jesus brings us into friendship with the divine life itself. It is because the uttermost of death and humiliation cannot break the bond between Jesus and the Father that what Jesus touches is touched by the Father too. As he grasps Adam and Eve, so does the Father; as he draws together the immeasurable past with all its failures injuries, it is the Father to whom he draws it. Because of his relation with the Father, a new relation is made possible between ourselves and this final wellspring of divine life. The Christ of this icon, standing on the bridge over darkness and emptiness, moving into the heart of human longing and incompletion, brings into that place the mystery out of which his life streams, represented in the mandora against which his figure is set. The locked gates of death, the frozen lives cut short, these are overcome in the act of new creation which we are witnessing.

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 16, 2009 at Thursday, April 16, 2009

Divine Mercy Sunday

Divine Mercy Sunday

April 7, 2013

Acts 5:12-16; Psalm 118; Revelation 1:9-13, 17-19; John 20:19-31

On the first Easter night, we know the disciples are quietly huddled together behind locked doors because of their fear of the Jews. The author seems to know the location of their gathering, but it is kept quiet to keep the troubles away. Mary Magdalene has already been to the tomb; the same with Peter and John. With news of the empty tomb, I am certain that other women and the disciples went to see for themselves and they cowered together to discuss what happened. They needed time to process what they were feeling and to ask questions about this strange news that Jesus was raised from the dead.

The full effect of the Resurrection was being born. Peter, the Beloved Disciple, and Magdalene realized Jesus was providentially raised by God, but they had not yet learned that Jesus became victorious over death and sin and that his new ministry was one of consolation and encouragement. It would take a while before they understood what this curious event meant for them. It is no surprise that they were fearful because the chaos of the preceding days surely had diminished only slightly. The death of Jesus was still on the minds of friend and foe and the intensity of anger and confusion had not yet abated. The locked door provided necessary protection.

It did not take long for Jesus to return to his friends. Of course, Jesus first returned to visit his mother because what son, having returned from the dead, would not first go to his mom and wipe her tears away? He returns to his friends after sunset when he knows they are gathered together in the room where they shared the Seder meal. He longed to see them again and to let them know that he is glad to be with them once more. Their journey has taken them to incredible places together and he is both happy to see them again and to let them know that their place of friendship with him is secure.

Joy has to be nurtured to grow. We must let it take root by quietly reflecting on how it is evolving. The atmosphere in the room with the locked door changed dramatically within the first week from one of intense fear where all the senses are heightened to ward off any threats to one in which the disciples begin to share their beliefs with others more courageously. The confusing emotions from the Resurrection evolved slowly and steadily.

The disciples wait for Thomas to join them. They undoubtedly wanted him to experience first-hand the return of Jesus, but also they wanted to share their joy with him. The mood in the room was much lighter. They knew Jesus would not be satisfied unless he visited every one of the surviving Twelve again and offered them his continuing friendship. The task of reconciling relationships was beginning. Thomas, we know, reconciled in a majestic way by acknowledging Jesus as his Lord and God.

As Thomas arrived that night and Jesus appeared before them, the door to that room was still locked. When exactly did they no longer feel the need to lock themselves in? After the Passover pilgrimage died down and the many visitors returned home, perhaps the disciples thought they could show themselves in the public square again without forceful fear inhibiting their movements. They did not return to Galilee, but stayed in Jerusalem where they realized their lifetime work was beginning. The boldness they showed in the public arena, risking death and imprisonment, showed their great absence of fear.

We might realize the way our fear paralyzes us, and many of us have the greatest amount of fear in un-reconciled relationships. Learning to trust reduces fear and we don’t want to be the first one to make ourselves vulnerable before our enemy because we have experienced their wrath when we were hoping for goodness. It is understandable, but if we ever want to let Jesus unlock those doors, we have to make ourselves vulnerable before others as he did. The disciples learned that lesson as well when they subjected themselves to harm by the Temple authorities and came out victorious.

We cannot grow in any relationship unless we let ourselves be liberated by the bars we place around us to keep out potential opponents. Some of these locks we can undo ourselves, but it involves listening so we can understand a different perspective other than our own, but some of the locks are rusted and blocked so that no key can fit inside. These are the times we must realize that the only way for us to be free from our prison cell is by letting someone on the outside unlock that door.

Freedom often involves great pain and our release places us in an uncomfortably uncertain position when we realize we have choices to make. We unfortunately want someone else to free us and then tell us what we ought to do next. This is not freedom. Liberation will inspire our souls, brighten our imagination, reclaim the promise of hope, and wake up energized for the most difficult work ahead of us, but we know deep inside that we believe in our goodness and rightness. In the Resurrection, Jesus reminds us that he believes in us. He sees the good we have tried to do and he asks us to continue along the way because he will be there to give us many more resurrections of our soul.  Our immortal soul is aligned with his. Soul to soul, he affirms us and shares his joy that we will be together until the end of the age. Alleluia!

Themes for this Week’s Masses

First Reading:  We continue with the Acts of the Apostles in the Easter octave. Peter and John return to their people after being released from the religious authorities. They prayed to the Lord about their ordeal and as they prayed, the whole house shook. The high priest with the Sadducees had the Apostles jailed but during the night the doors of the prison were opened by the Lord and the Apostles went back to the Temple to teach. As the Apostles were brought forth again during their arrest, they were reminded that they were forbidden to preach. Peter said on behalf of the Apostles that they are to obey God, not men. Gamaliel the Pharisee urged wisdom for the Sanhedrin declaring that if this is of God it cannot be stopped, but if it is of men it will certainly die out. The number of disciples grew. Hellenists complained to the Hebrews that their widows were being neglected. The Twelve decided it was right to select seven reputable men (deacons) to take care of the daily distribution while they continued with prayer and the ministry of the word. Meanwhile the number of disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly. Even a large group of priests were becoming obedient to the faith.

Gospel: In John, Nicodemus appeared to Jesus at night asking how one could be born again to which Jesus answered, "you must be born from above." As the discourse continues, the Evangelist proclaims, "God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but that the world might be saved through him." He explains that Jesus has come from above and speaks of the things that are from above. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. At a feast of the Passover, Jesus miraculously feeds the hungry crowds as a good shepherd would. He reminds the people that the actions in his earthly life were precursors of the meal that are to share. They are to eat his body and drink his blood. Jesus then departs to the other side of the sea. When a storm picks up, he walked on the turbulent waves and instructed them not to be afraid. He is with them. He has power over the natural and supernatural world.

Saints of the Week

April 11: Stanislaus, bishop and martyr (1030-1079), was born near Krakow, Poland and studied canon law and theology before he renounced his family fortunes and became a priest. Elected bishop, he oppose the bellicose and immoral King Boleslaus II who often oppressed the peasantry. He excommunicated the king who ordered his murder but the soldiers refused to carry it out. The king murdered him by his own hands, but then had to flee into exile.

April 13^th: Martin I, pope, (6^th century – 655), an Umbrian was elected pope during the Byzantine papacy. One of his earliest acts was to convene the Lateran Council that dealt with the heretical Monothelitism.  Martin was abducted by Emperor Constans II and died in the Crimean peninsula.

This Week in Jesuit History

·      Apr 7, 1541. Ignatius was unanimously elected general, but he declined to accept the results.

·      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.

Poem: "And Death Shall Have no Dominion" by Dylan Thomas

And death shall have no dominion.
Dead man naked they shall be one
With the man in the wind and the west moon;
When their bones are picked clean and the clean bones gone,
They shall have stars at elbow and foot;
Though they go mad they shall be sane,
Though they sink through the sea they shall rise again;
Though lovers be lost love shall not;
And death shall have no dominion.

And death shall have no dominion.
Under the windings of the sea
They lying long shall not die windily;
Twisting on racks when sinews give way,
Strapped to a wheel, yet they shall not break;
Faith in their hands shall snap in two,
And the unicorn evils run them through;
Split all ends up they shan't crack;
And death shall have no dominion.

And death shall have no dominion.
No more may gulls cry at their ears
Or waves break loud on the seashores;
Where blew a flower may a flower no more
Lift its head to the blows of the rain;
Though they be mad and dead as nails,
Heads of the characters hammer through daisies;
Break in the sun till the sun breaks down,
And death shall have no dominion.

Prayer: Romans 11:33-36

O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!

How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

            "For who has known the mind of the Lord?

               Or who has been his counselor?"

            "Or who has given a gift to him,

               to receive a gift in return?"

For from him and through him and to him are all things.

To him be the glory forever.  Amen

Prayer: Clement of Alexandria

Martyrdom means bearing witness to God. Every soul that seeks in pureness of heart to know God and obeys the commandments is a martyr, bearing witness by life or by words.

Poem: Holy Saturday

Wrested again

from safe, familiar moorings

Abandoned

on a sea of darkness

Alone

no lights, no guiding star, no landmarks

Idled

by nothingness

Numbed

by the chilling spectre

of yesterday’s murderous violence

Incapacitated

by hopelessness and despair

No breezes even

to fair weather us

beyond defeat and death

All night long

and

All day long

Saddened

like wind bereft sails

Motionless

Upon

a silent sea

O Father

when will be our anchoring?

when our harbouring

in Your light and life?

Brendan J. Kelly, S.J. (Australia)

Poem: Holy Saturday

[for those who fish]

I said to my mind, be still, and wait without hope

For hope would be hope for the wrong thing; wait without love

For love would be love got the wrong thing; yet there is faith

But the faith and the hope and the love are all in the waiting.

Wait without thought, for you are not ready for thought:

So the darkness shall be light, and the stillness the dancing.

T. S. Eliot, East Coker