Easter Week - 2024

EASTER WEEK Med. 07 - 12.	They praised in unison your conquering hand, O Lord, for wisdom open mouths that were mute and gave eloquence to the tongues of infants, alleluia.
HOLY WEEK / EASTER MEDITATIONS Meditation 01 Meditation 05 Meditation 09 Meditation 02 Meditation 06 Meditation 10 Meditation 03 Meditation 07 Meditation 11 Meditation 04 Meditation 08 Meditation 12

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Holy Saturday - 2024

Office of Readings for Holy Saturday - Second Reading From an ancient homily on Holy Saturday The Lord Descends into Hell 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.

Holy Week - 2024

We enter now the most important time in our liturgical year. Each moment, each event that now unfolds is of critical importance. Our hope of salvation is now in the hands of two combatants, Jesus and Satan. One might ask the question, what are they fighting over? The answer is they are in mortal struggle for your soul. This suggests that you were there. Hidden in the mystery of time and eternity is the fact that throughout the passion and on the day of the Cross you were there in the mind and heart of Jesus. By the vicious cruelty of the cross Satan is trying to rip you out the hands of Jesus so he can destroy you in hell. But how can this be since these events took place over two thousand years age? In the spiritual world this is understood as the mystery of time and eternity, which is so wonderfully explained in Psalm 139. (Your eyes saw my unformed body; all my days were written in Your book and ordained for me before one of them came to be. vs. 16) You were there on the cross with Jesus. From each cruel and vicious blow that struct Jesus you were protected  by the body of Jesus covering you, standing in for you. Satan's last weapon, death, also failed, defeated by the glorious resurrection of Jesus, and you rising with him. This mystery is realized in the flesh on the day of your baptism. . .  HOLY WEEK / EASTER MEDITATIONS Meditation 01 Meditation 05 Meditation 09 Meditation 02 Meditation 06 Meditation 10 Meditation 03 Meditation 07 Meditation 11 Meditation 04 Meditation 08 Meditation 12 There is a suggested meditation list beginning with Holy Week Monday.  Mon # 1 Tue # 2 Wed # 3 Thu # 4 Fri # 5 Sat # 6 Sun # 7 Mon # 8 Tue # 9 Wed # 10 Thu # 11 Fri # 12 .

Fifth Sunday of Lent - 2024

Jesus' HOUR  As we prepare to enter Holy Week there are two important words that will focus our attention: HOUR and GLORIFY. Sometimes the word "hour" refers simply and literally to a short period of chronological time (a 60-minute period during the day). But in John's gospel, "Jesus' hour" refers more broadly and metaphorically to the climactic event of Jesus' death and resurrection, which it also refers to as his "glorification". (Jo.12:23; 17:1) As you see these words occurring throughout the course of John's gospel, you realize how important they are to understanding the message of the gospel. Jesus understood well why he was sent, "... it is for this HOUR that I have come". We must understand how we too are connected to these words; that Jesus' HOUR continues through time, for it is the final HOUR in the story of creation. It is now our hour in time. To be a true Christian, one must be drawn into the effects of this HOUR, for it is our destiny as well. We must share in the passion of the Cross by the "Christ-like" acceptance of the crosses in our lives. We must undergo the death of all desire for what is sin, the product of evil, until it no longer has influence over us. Finally, we say with Jesus, "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit and we enter into our glorification. We may be able to identify with suffering in its many manifestation. So too, we can appreciate the struggle that is required to conquer the inordinate passions that would subdue us. We will all face our own death, our final hour on earth. But how do we understand glorification? It is not uncommon to hear the expression, "glorious", used to describe something one beholds with their eyes, i.e. a theatrical production, a celebration, such as a wedding or an Easter liturgy, sunset and sunrise, the vista of a natural landscape. By glorious we mean something of breathtaking beauty, fulfilled to perfection, eclipsing all our superlatives. Jesus' disciples beheld such a vision in the transfiguration of Jesus. ( He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Mtt. 17:2) St. Paul beheld the glorious risen Jesus, which began his conversion. In Acts he describes it in his own words:  “But it happened that as I was on my way, approaching Damascus about noontime, a very bright light suddenly flashed from heaven all around me, and I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’ ... “And those who were with me saw the light, to be sure, but did not understand the voice of the One who was speaking to me. Acts 22:6 Paul tells that the glorious brightness of the light caused him to be temporally blinded so that he had to led by the hand into Damascus. This glorification, seen in Jesus, is the glorification God has planned every soul that comes into His presence. It is natural humanity transfigured into a new state, the state of grace. St. Catherine of Siena was given a vision of a soul glorified. The Soul in the State of Grace- Catherine of Siena was permitted by God to see the beauty of a soul in the state of grace. It was so beautiful that she could not look on it; the brightness of that soul dazzled her. Blessed Raymond, her confessor, asked her to describe to him, as far as she was able, the beauty of the soul she had seen. St. Catherine thought of the sweet light of that morning, and of the beautiful colours of the rainbow, but that soul was far more beautiful. She remembered the dazzling beams of the noonday sun, but the light which beamed from that soul was far brighter. She thought of the pure whiteness of the lily and of the fresh snow, but that is only an earthly whiteness. The soul she had seen was bright with the whiteness of Heaven, such as there is not to be found on earth. ” My father,” she answered. “I cannot find anything in this world that can give you the smallest idea of what I have seen. Oh, if you could but see the beauty of a soul in the state of grace, you would sacrifice your life a thousand times for its salvation. I asked the angel who was with me what had made that soul so beautiful, and he answered me, “It is the image and likeness of God in that soul, and the Divine Grace which made it so beautiful.” (Dialogue of St. Catherine of Siena ) The goal of the prayer of meditation/contemplation is to connect us consciously with the process of glorification that has begun in us, through our state of grace. This way of prayer opens a vista for us to see into our souls. We experience on a human level what is happening to us on a mystical level. The ways we perceive this experience can vary, from a sense of peace coming over our heart, to visions and revelations, such as describe by the saints and the spiritual writers, (like Catherine of Siena). It is important that we realize our glorification has already begun in us by the state of grace of our souls. People may not be blinded by our outward appearance as we walk around, but there is an evidence that is perceptible to everyone. It is the fruit of our lives, the works of holiness and charity that we display by our actions. All the trees may look alike. You can tell the good ones by their fruit. (Mtt. 7:16) The following are the references for Jesus' Hour in John's gospel. Jesus, to his mother, at the Wedding at Cana: 2:4 – “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.” Jesus, to the Jews (using the word "kairos"): 7:6 – Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here.” The Evangelist/Narrator: 7:30 – Then they tried to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him, because his hour had not yet come. 8:20 – He spoke these words while he was teaching in the treasury of the temple, but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come. Jesus, to his disciples, before raising Lazarus from the dead: 11:9 – “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world.” Jesus, to his disciples, after Andrew and Philip tell him that some Greeks wanted to see him: 12:23 – “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” 12:27 – “Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say—‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour.” The Evangelist/narrator, beginning the "Book of Signs"; introducing the Washing of the Feet:13:1 – Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. Jesus, to his disciples, in the Last Supper Discourses: 16:2 – “They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, an hour is coming when those who kill you will think that by doing so they are offering worship to God.” 16:4 – “But I have said these things to you so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you about them. “I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you.” 16:21 – “When a woman is in labor, she has pain, because her hour has come. But when her child is born, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy of having brought a human being into the world.” 16:25 [Jesus, to his disciples] – “I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures, but will tell you plainly of the Father.” 16:32 – “The hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each one to his home, and you will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me.” Jesus, praying to his Father, at the end of the Last Supper Discourses: 17:1 – After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you.” Jesus, just before his dies on the cross: 19:27 – Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home. ++++++++++++++++++ Jesus' HOUR  Commentary by Dr. Brant Pitre * * * LINK * * *

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Fourth Sunday of Lent - 2024

But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God. The media platforms and devices we have today are quite brilliant, not only in their technological make up but in the literal light they display. People actually use cellphones as flashlights some times. But more importantly is the message they beam out at us about what media calls truth. All too often the message is a dark shadow of falsehood enveloping us in all manner of deception and error, all be it quite appealing. In our time we see increasing numbers of people, especially the young with cellphones in hand, walking away from religion and the Church and Jesus the true Light preferring, in the words of Jesus, the darkness. If the situation we are in today is the spread of darkness then what is to be the solution? Here is a homespun image. When the power goes out in our home we find ourselves in the dark. So we look for things that give out light. We light candles, turn on battery devices for example. If we notice our neighbour is in total darkness we go and share with them some of our lights. As the neighbourhood digs up more of these light sources the brighter things begin to look until the major problem is finally solved. Lent is a time to deal with what may be causing the absence light in us, we as individuals, we as the Church. Just as darkness is the absence of light so spiritual darkness is the absence of truth.   For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.   The true devotion of Lent invites everyone to come into the Light, so that the motive of their hearts may be exposed and where necessary the light of truth may expel any shadow of darkness that may have intruded. St. Ignatius is an outstanding teacher of how to shine the light of discernment on our lives. It is called the Prayer of Examen. Here is a link.  The Examen .

Third Sunday of Lent - 2024

The image of Jesus driving the money changers out of the temple is indeed quite striking, and on the surface, it could well be misunderstood. Let us have a deeper look. The temple of Jesus’ time is the second temple, built by Herod the Great. The first temple built by Solomon in 957 BC. was destroyed by the  Babylonians in 586 BC. In Matt. 24:2, Jesus predicts the destruction of this temple, which was carried out by the Romans in 70 AD. In Jo. 2:19, Jesus, referring to his body as the new temple, predicts it too will be destroyed but then be raised up indestructible and remain unto the end of time. This temple is his Body the Church of which we are the present members. But this temple, of which we are component parts is also not without its problems requiring cleansing and purification. It is here that the Church wants us to focus our reflection this Third Sunday of Lent.  The main problem Jesus has with the temple in today's gospel is the corruption of money and greed that has infiltrated the temple and is hindering people, especially the poor, from freely and devoutly worshiping God. With us who are parts of the new temple it is the corruption of serious sin that has infiltrated the temple of our hearts preventing true and holy worship to rise up to God. With each serious sin that enters us there is a demon attached, standing in our way, exacting a price we cannot pay for freedom to worship and pray with pure hearts. Here the example of Jesus in today's gospel makes sense. We must drive out all obstructing sins with us. The merciful hand of Jesus to which we call out to with true repentance will give us the zeal we need to deal with all that is preventing us from faithful and holy worship. Truly the Father loves us unconditionally. That is why he sent his Son to teach us how to deal with the Enemy that is trying to destroy us.  + + + + + +  You Tube has an excellent video that takes you on a tour of the temple as it looked and functioned at the time of Jesus. < < < LINK > > >