Easter Sunday

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia! This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

The opening prayer is "God our Father, by raising Christ your Son you conquered the power of death and opened for us the way to eternal life. Let our celebration today raise us up and renew our lives by the Spirit that is within us. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, on God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Gospel this year for Easter Sunday morning seems to be from Luke 24: 13-35 and is the account of the two disciples who had left Jerusalem to walk to Emmaus, a village seven miles from Jerusalem. They are conversing together; Jesus draws near and walked with them. He asks them, "What are you discussing as you walk along?" Jesus stays with them; he listens to their discouragement and then chides them for not believing all that the prophets spoke. He then interprets for them what referred to him in all the scriptures. As they near the village, Jesus seems to be going on but they beg him, "Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over." So Jesus went in to supper with them and they recognized him when "He took bread, said the blessing, broke it and gave it to them." Jesus vanishes and they say to each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us?" Then they set out once more and returned to Jerusalem to tell the eleven.

I love this story and think that Jesus often likes to approach us the same way. He comes as we are just walking along and waits for us to invite him to stay with us. He wants to know what we are thinking, and he certainly does not want us to be discouraged or go about with long faces. He is risen and wants us to share in his joy. Alleluia, alleluia!!
How will I share in the joy of Jesus today?

Holy Saturday, a long, quiet day

This is a long, quiet day. We have stayed with Jesus as he was taken down from the cross and laid in the tomb. Now we wait. We have the advantage of knowing the Jesus is risen; the apostles did not and mourned their loss and could not accept the fact that Jesus had died as a common criminal on a cross. They are demoralized and very scared. It is a long day. We wait for Jesus to begin to show himself on Easter morning. I am sure that he went first to visit his mother who had held him as he was taken down from the cross. Now she is the first to see his glorified wounds and to know that he has risen from the dead as he had said. She did not go to the tomb with the women to anoint Jesus as she knew he was risen. Still, it is a long day. We wait for the resurrection, full of hope and love and desiring to rejoice with our risen Lord.
The night vigil on Holy Saturday has four parts: the service of light with the blessing of the fire and the lighting of the Easter candle, the procession in darkness with the deacon singing "Christ our light" and all answering Deo Gratias! The singing of the Exsultet concludes this first part; the second part is the liturgy of the word where the Church meditates on all the wonderful things God has done since the beginning; the third part is that of the liturgy of baptism when new members are baptized; and the forth part is the liturgy of the Eucharist.
May we enter into the ceremonies to praise Jesus with greater joy than ever as the Preface tells us. "By dying he destroyed our death; by rising he restored our life."

Good Friday

I think Jesus suffered the most in the Agony in the Garden; this was not the physical suffering of being nailed to a cross, but it was a terrible suffering of his whole being that caused him to sweat blood. He struggled in the garden to accept fully the will of his Father. Once he did that, he seems to have been strengthened and goes through the rest of his passion and death with a calmness and a control that is striking. In prayer in the garden he suffered alone; his heart was torn but being in agony he prayed longer and harder. He asked his three closest companions to watch and pray with him, but they went to sleep. He still says to us, "Can you not watch one hour with me?"

Holy Thursday

"Jesus, knowing that his hour was come, that he should pass out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them unto the end."
The greatest proof of love is the perfect gift of self. Generosity is essentially communicative, goodness is naturally difusive. Jesus gave us himself in the Eucharist. We have so much to be grateful for, but what a gift to be able to receive Jesus in the Eucharist!

Today we have the reading from John 13:1-15 where Jesus washes the feet of his disciples. And then he said to them, "Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me 'teacher' and 'master' and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another's feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do."

We need to approach each other with reverence and love; we receive Jesus in the Eucharist with reverence and love. I guess we will never understand the greatness of this sacrament where Jesus gives us himself. He is really with us always. Let us adore and thank him and aske for the grace to be attentive to his presence in both the Eucharist and in others.

Spy Wednesday

Tradition has called this day "Spy Wednesday" because this is the day Judas Iscariot went to the chief priests and asked them what they would give him for handing Jesus over to them. It is the beginning of the Passion and death of Jesus, but he shows himself in the Gospel today as thinking of and planning for the Passover that he will celebrate with his disciples. He is going to give us the gift of himself.

One of my favorite hymns from school days is in my mind today. I think it is worth copying here for meditation.

O Sacred Head surrounded
By crown of piercing thorn;
O bleeding Head, so wounded,
Reviled and put to scorn;
The veil of death falls o'er you,
The light withdraws its rays,
Yet angel hosts adore you,
And tremble as they gaze.

In darkness, we betrayed you,
In mortal fear denied;
In cowardice we judged you,
In sin, we crucified;
Yet you look down in mercy
From on your cross above,
And you forgive our blindness
In your redeeming love.

"One of you will betray me"

The hymn suggested for Tuesday morning prayer seems worth copying to reflect upon:
"O thou, who through this holy week,
Didst suffer for us all;
The sick to heal, the lost to seek,
To raise up them that fall.

We cannot understand the woe
Thy love was pleased to bear;
O Lamb of God, we only know
That all our hopes are there.

thy feet the path of suff'ring trod,
Thy hand the vict'ry won;
What shall we render to our God
For all that he hath done?

To God, the blessed Three in One,
All praise and glory be;
Crown, Lord, thy servants who have won
The victory through thee."

In the Gospel (John 13: 21-35,36-38)Jesus shows himself deeply troubled and testified, "Amen, amen I say to you, on of you will betray me."
He also tells Peter that he will deny him three times.
Imagine the pain of the Heart of Christ knowing that his closest companions will betray him, deny him, and leave him alone.

How will I stay with him during this Holy Week? How can I make up to him by my love?

The anointing at Bethany

The Gospel (John 12:1-11) is the anointing at Bethany. After dinner, served by Martha, Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil and anointed the feet of Jesus. When Judas criticizes this gesture of love, Jesus told him, "Leave her alone. Let her keep this for the day of my burial..." What am I giving the Lord today as a gesture of love?

Pope Benedict XVI wrote: "There is only one anointing that is strong enough to meet death and that is the anointing of the Holy Spirit, the love of God. There is, then, something that is both exemplary and lasting in Mary's anointing of Jesus at Bethany. It was above all a concern to keep Christ alive in this world and to oppose the powers that aimed to silence and kill him. It was an act of faith and love. Every such act can have the same effect."

The opening prayer for this Monday of Holy Week is: "All-powerful God, by the suffering and death of your Son, strengthen and protect us in our weakness. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever."

One other quotation that seems good to reflect on in Holy Week is from St. Thomas of Villanova. " It is necessary for us to consider not only what Christ suffered, but also who it is that suffered, and for what he suffered."

We can ask ourselves the questions St. Ignatius would have us ask as we look on Christ crucified: What have I done for Him? What am I doing for Him? What will I do for Him?"

Palm Sunday

The Preface for today, Palm Sunday, reminds us that "the days of his life-giving death and glorious resurrection are approaching. This is the hour when he triumphed over Satan's pride, the time when we celebrate the great event of our redemption."

The first reading is from the Prophet Isaiah (50:4-7) and one worth reflecting on as we begin Holy Week: "The Lord God has given me a well-trained tongue, that I might know how to speak to the weary a word that will rouse them. Morning after mourning he opens my ear that I may hear; and I have not rebelled, have not turned back. I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who plucked my beard; my face I did not shield from buffets and spitting.
The Lord God is my help, therefore I am not disgraced; I have set my face like flint, knowing that I shall not be put to shame."

The Lord God is my help, too. It is in my morning prayer that he opens my ear that I may hear. I wish I could say that I have not turned back, but the important thing is to keep trying to follow Jesus and know that he gives us the strength for whatever he may ask.

What scene from Mark's Passion calls me to pray over as Holy Week begins?

Miscellaneous Day - Five Priorities

Jesus is the Vine and we are the branches. It is only united to him that we bear fruit. I am thinking that this should be a miscellaneous day as I want to share some thoughts with you. Our General Chapter last summer chose five priorities for all of us to deepen. You can find more on how we are doing this by looking at our Province website listed on the right side of the page: www.rscj.org
The five priorities are really all related and part of the charism of the Society of the Sacred Heart. They are dialogue (includes relationships, networking, etc.); contemplation; community; justice and peace and the integrity of creation; and working with Youth. That is just my summary and I have been participating in an on-line Round Table with a dozen other RSCJs to see how our on-going formation strengthens our contemplation and interior life. I am more than ever aware of the need we have to share our inner life with at least another RSCJ or with a spiritual director, or even with our community. I think the best experience I had was when I was superior of a community in the poorest region of Chile and we gathered every Sunday to share our inner lives with each other. It was a tremendous grace.
How are you sharing your inner life with another?

Jesus brought life to the whole world

In the Preface of the Passion of the Lord we pray: "Father, all-powerful and ever-living God, we do well always and everywhere to give you thanks.
The suffering and death of your Son
brought life to the whole world,
moving our hearts to praise your glory.
The power of the cross reveals your judgment on this world
and the kingship of Christ crucified."

How am I thanking Jesus for bringing life to the whole world through his suffering and death on the cross?

Preparing for Palm Sunday

I continue to use Thursday to prepare for Sunday as the Sunday liturgies are so full. This Sunday is Palm Sunday and we begin what we call Holy Week. We will read Mark's Passion Narrative for the Gospel. Mark has eight scenes:
1. The arrest of Jesus in the Garden of Gethesmane.
2. Jesus on trial before the Jewish Sanhedrin.
3. The denials of Peter.
4. The trial before Pilate.
5. The mocking of Jesus by Pilate's soldiers.
6. The Way of the Cross.
7. The death of Jesus.
8. The burial of Jesus.
These are the eight scenes listed in the Little Black Book for Mark's Passion Narrative. Perhaps, as you listen to the Gospel, you will see other scenes, scenes you want to stop and reflect on during the day.

The liturgy celebrates first the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem. Often the palms are blessed outside of the Church and then there is a solemn procession with the faithful carrying palm branches singing "Hosanna to the Son of David, the King of Israel. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest."

This Sunday begins Holy Week. It is the holiest week of the year, but the world does not stop. Everything goes on - income tax, TV programs, regular work schedule...if I want this to be a "holy week" what do I do? Take time to think what would be pleasing to Jesus? It is good to try to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation before Holy Week, if you are a Catholic. Most Churches are having special Penance Services with many priests present to hear confessions.

"The truth will set you free"

We all have a path to follow. In today's Gospel (Jn 8:31-42), Jesus said to the Jews who believed in him, "If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

What is truth? We have the assurance from Jesus that the truth will set us free. The Little Black Book says that there is a freedom that is within the reach of everyone in this world. "It is a freedom that no one can take from us. It is the freedom to love my neighbor, to forgive my enemy, to receive God's forgiveness, to believe the great truths, to open myself up to God's love."
Where in my life do I feel hemmed in, not free? I need to talk to the Good Shepherd about it. Jesus is the Good Shepherd who leads me out of confinement, into the wide green pastures of freedom. With Jesus, I will walk the path that has been determined for me from all eternity.