EASTER - Part One

VOICES of EASTER

The Resurrection of Jesus. When the Sabbath was over, a Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go and anoint him. Very early when the sun had risen, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb. They were saying to one another, “Who will roll back the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” When they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back; it was very large. On entering the tomb they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a white robe, and they were utterly amazed. He said to them, “Do not be amazed! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Behold the place where they laid him.   Mark 16:

CONSIDERATIONS FOR MEDITATION

• Of all the claims of certainty in this life, it is here, at the grave, where they all meet. The famous and the infamous, the powerful and the poor, great minds and simple, nonbeliever and believer alike, all come to this final place where everything known is sealed behind the stone. 
• "Who will roll away the stone?" The stone, the last word of human certainty. Is there More?
• Three woman know what neither seats of power nor circles of learning can know with certainty.
• Is it the stone rolled back? The guards assembled with the elders and took counsel; then they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him while we were asleep.’ And this story has circulated among the Jews to the present day. Mtt. 28:11
• It is the VOICES you hear from witnesses: The angel said  “Do not be afraid! .... you are seeking Jesus the crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said.
• It is the VOICE of your own heart: Then they went away quickly from the tomb, fearful yet overjoyed, and ran to announce this to his disciples.
• It is the VOICE of Jesus coming in grace: ... And behold, Jesus met them on their way and greeted them. They approached, embraced his feet, and did him homage. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid."
• And so there three:

           1. the voices of witnesses - 

           2. the inner spiritual voices calling -

           3. the encounter with Jesus entering in and speaking to your heart -  
               grace without cause.

Each day of the Easter week is the one Easter day. Many are the voices to hear. listen attentively and watch as they role away the Stone.

........................................footnotes......................................

Review again the structure of this approach to prayer:

• PLACE: choosing a place with a measure of quiet and solitude.
• PRESENCE: entering this prayer expecting to be guided by Grace.
• PETITION: asking for the graces that will make this prayer fruitful.
• PASSAGE: preparing a passage of scripture for reflection.
• PRAYER: entering the passage, looking, listening, imagining you are there,    focusing on various persons, collecting your thoughts, feelings, reaction. 
• PRAISE and thanks: closing with a prayer formed in your own words, as one speaking face to face to another; expressing your gratitude for the blessings and guidance received in this prayer time.

HOLY WEEK - Part Five

Our focus for this posting is the Voices of the Passion of the Lord. 

The Agony in the Garden

Then they came to a place named Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples,

          “Sit here while I pray.” 

He took with him Peter, James, and John, and began to be troubled and distressed. Then he said to them, 

          “My soul is sorrowful even to death. Remain here and keep watch.” 

He advanced a little and fell to the ground and prayed that if it were possible the hour might pass by him; he said,

          "not what I will but what you will. 

When he returned he found them asleep. He said, 

          “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? Watch  
           and pray that you may not undergo the test. The spirit is willing but  
           the flesh is weak.”, 

The Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus

While he was still speaking, a crowd approached and in front was one of the Twelve, a man named Judas. He went up to Jesus to kiss him. Jesus said to him,

             “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”

 And Jesus said to the chief priests and temple guards and elders who had come for him, 

          “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs? Day
           after day I was with you in the temple area, and you did not seize
           me; but this is your hour, the time for the power of darkness.”

Peter’s Denial of Jesus

After arresting him they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest; Peter was following at a distance. They lit a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat around it, and Peter sat down with them. When a maid saw him seated in the light, she looked intently at him and said,

           “This man too was with him.”

But he denied it saying,

          “Woman, I do not know him.”

A short while later someone else saw him and said, “You too are one of them”; but Peter answered, “My friend, I am not.” About an hour later, still another insisted,           “Assuredly, this man too was with him, for he also is a Galilean.” 

But Peter said, 

           “My friend, I do not know what you are talking about.” 

Just as he was saying this, the cock crowed, and the Lord turned and looked at Peter; and Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him,

           “Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times. He went 

            out and began to weep bitterly.

Jesus before the Sanhedrin When day came the council of elders of the people met, both chief priests and scribes, and they brought him before their Sanhedrin. They said, 

           “If you are the Messiah, tell us,”

But he replied to them,

          “If I tell you, you will not believe, and if I question, you will not  
           respond. But from this time on the Son of Man will be seated at the  
           right hand of the power of God. 

They all asked, “Are you then the Son of God?” He replied to them,

          “You say that I am.”

Then they said, 

          “What further need have we for testimony? We have heard it from his  
           own mouth.”

The Death of Judas. 

Then Judas, his betrayer, seeing that Jesus had been condemned, deeply regretted what he had done. He returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying,

          “I have sinned in betraying innocent blood.”

They said, “What is that to us? Look to it yourself.” Flinging the money into the temple, he departed and went off and hanged himself.

The Trial before Pilate.

So Pilate came out to them and said,          

          “What charge do you bring [against] this man?” 

They answered and said to him,          

          “If he were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you.” 

At this, Pilate said to them,

          “Take him yourselves, and judge him according to your law.” 

Pilate went back into the praetorium and summoned Jesus and said to him,

           “Are you the King of the Jews?” 

Jesus answered,

          "My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong  
           to this world, my attendants would be fighting to keep me from being 
           handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not here.” 

           So Pilate said to him, “Then you are a king?” 

Jesus answered,  

          “You say I am a king. For this I was born and for this I came into the    
           world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth 
           listens to my voice.” 

          Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” 

Once more Pilate went out and said to them, 

          “Look, I am bringing him out to you, so that you may know that I find 
           no guilt in him.” 

So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple cloak. And he said to them, 

          “Behold, the man!” 

When the chief priests and the guards saw him they cried out, 

         “Crucify him, crucify him!” 

Pilate said to them, 

          “Take him yourselves and crucify him. I find no guilt in him.” 

The Jews answered, 

          “Take him away, take him away! Crucify him!” Pilate said to them,  
           “Shall I crucify your king?” The chief priests answered, “We have no 
            king but Caesar.” 

Then he handed him over to them to be crucified. The Crucifixion. When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him and the criminals there, one on his right, the other on his left. Then Jesus said, 

          “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” 

They divided his garments by casting lots. Above him there was an inscription that read, 

          “This is the King of the Jews.”

 Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, 

          “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us.” 

The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply, 

          “Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same  
           condemnation? And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the 
           sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has 
           done nothing criminal.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you 
           come into your kingdom.” 

He replied to him, 

          “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”


Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, 

          “Woman, behold, your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your 
           mother.” 

And from that hour the disciple took her into his home. After this, aware that everything was now finished, in order that the scripture might be fulfilled, Jesus said, 

           “I thirst.”   

There was a vessel filled with common wine. So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop and put it up to his mouth. When Jesus had taken the wine, he said, 

           “It is finished.” 

And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.

HOLY WEEK - Part Four

    

    The Lord's Supper ....... Passion  of the  Lord ...... The Lord's Resurrection

We enter now the most sacred time in the Church's liturgical worship, the Sacred Paschal Triduum; Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Their voices give us a rich resource for our personal prayer. We begin with The Lord's Supper.

Brothers and sisters:
I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you,
that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over,
took bread, and, after he had given thanks,
broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you.
Do this in remembrance of me.”
In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying,
“This cup is the new covenant in my blood.
Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup,
you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.

It is the second reading, in the description given by St. Paul, that we hear the account, of the institution of the Eucharist. It takes place at the Passover Meal, commemorating the night before the Exodus, when the Lord spared the Israelites who's doorposts were marked with the blood of the Pascal Lamb. 

Through his servant Moses, the Lord was about to free the people from slavery and lead them through the parted waters of the Red Sea into the promised land. Only those who passed through the sea would inherit this promised land. but what of those who would be born after this time, how were they to pass through the sea? By reenacting this ritual of the Passover Meal, those who shared in this meal would be transported, as it were, back in time, to join with those who first passed through the sea.

But now, the Lord Jesus, the "new Moses", is about to bring about the real salvation, by freeing the people from their slavery to sin and eternal death. And how is this to be accomplished?  By his perfect YES to the Father, and his humble surrender to his passion and death on the cross, Jesus breaks the chains of gilt that Satan has used to enslave the people. Now Jesus invites the people to unit their yes with his YES; and by their accepting a sharing in his passion and cross, as he will lead lead them through death into eternal life. 

Once again, it will be by partaking in a sacred meal. consider these words of Jesus recorded in John's gospel.

Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”

The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us [his] flesh to eat?” Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Mn and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.”               

Jesus gives us an instrument of "Communion" with himself. You bring your "yes" and truly lay it on the altar of sacrifice, to be united to Jesus YES. That is why the Mass is both sacrifice and meal. Jesus YES cost him his passion and death. Our "yes" means we too will accept what ever sacrifice we must face because of it. You seal your "yes" by partaking in this sacred meal of the Eucharist.

 Considerations for the next time you come to Mass:

• ... As you enter the church, you are coming to the "place of decision", where you will enter into a covenant, (a contract) with God. 
• ... As the scriptures are read, you hear the terms of this covenant.
• ... As the bread and wine are brought to the altar, they contain your unconditional "yes" to this covenant.
• ... As the words of consecration are pronounced, your "yes" is taken into the presence of God, by the High Priest, Jesus, by nailing it to his Cross.
• ... As you take communion, you seal your "yes" with love.  

.................................... footnotes ....................................

O God,
who have called us
to participate in this most sacred Supper,
in which your Only Begotten Son,
when about to hand himself over to death,
entrusted to the Church a sacrifice new for all eternity,
the banquet of his love, grant, we pray,
that we may draw from so great a mystery,
the fullness of charity and of life.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
– Amen.

HOLY WEEK - Part Three

There are many voices to hear during Holy Week, and many different characters in the drama of these days. We will be drawing on these for the focus of our prayer. We will focus on the: 

• The Voice of Jesus
• Voices From the People
• The voice of Satan (speaking through various people)

.................... Journey to Calvary ....................

In our previous Post, we heard this chilling account in John's gospel:

          “Amen, amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.”

          “It is the one to whom I hand the morsel after I have dipped it.”
           So he dipped the morsel and took it and handed it to Judas,
           son of Simon the Iscariot.

           After Judas took the morsel, Satan entered him.

           So Judas took the morsel and left at once. 

           AND IT WAS NIGHT.

 Once again we take up these events in Matthew's gospel.

One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot,
went to the chief priests and said,

          “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?”

They paid him thirty pieces of silver, and from that time on he looked 

for an opportunity to hand him over.

When it was evening, Jesus reclined at table with the Twelve.
And while they were eating, Jesus said, 

          “Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.”

Deeply distressed at this, they began to say to him one after another,

          “Surely it is not I, Lord?”

He said in reply,

          “He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me is the one who will betray me.
           The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him,
           but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed.
           It would be better for that man if he had never been born.”

Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply,

          “Surely it is not I, Rabbi?”

Jesus answered,

          “You have said so.”

Points to consider in your meditation:

• Satan enters one's heart, through the mind, as of an open door, unlatched from within, granted access freely.
• It is the mind that reasons what are the highest values to spend one's life on.
• Satan enters the discussion as a friend, with only your best interest to propose.
• He found wealth and power highly regarded in Judas' mind.
• Satan argues that neither wealth nor power will be achieved by following Jesus.
• He argues, abandon Jesus now, and gain favour with the powerful; and money.
• The argument bought, the latch is opened, Satan freely enters and the heart fills with the darkest of reasoning, "... and it is NIGHT.

Consider:

• ... your own history, the things you bought into because they seemed so reasonable and appealing to you at the time; things that you now regret. 
• ... how your turning to prayer and seeking to know the Lord and his will for you is changing the way you approach making decisions.  
• ... that much more is to come as you seek to put on the mind of Christ.

Remember there are two knocking at your door. Who are you letting in?

.................................... footnotes ....................................

O God,
who willed your Son to submit
for our sake to the yoke of the Cross,
so that you might drive from us the power of the enemy,
grant us, your servants,
to attain the grace of the resurrection.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.