Easter season, a time when we rejoice for 50 days by singing and proclaiming “Alleluia”. This year we have more reason than ever to celebrate and to be filled with joy as we notice signs of spring and signs that the coronavirus pandemic is weakening. Join me in reading and reflecting or meditating on Preface I of Easter:
It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation, at all times to acclaim you, O Lord, but in this time above all to laud you yet more gloriously, when Christ our Passover has been sacrificed. For he is the true Lamb who has taken away the sins of the world; by dying he has destroyed our death, and by rising, restored our life. Therefore, overcome with paschal joy, every land, every people exults in your praise and even the heavenly Powers, with the angelic hosts, sing together the unending hymn of your glory, as they acclaim: Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts ...
Among the celebrations and feasts we will celebrate during Easter Season 2021 are: Divine Mercy Sunday, Jesus our Good Shepherd, First Communions [on April 17 & 25 and May 2], Saint Joseph the Worker [May 1], Mother’s Day [May 9], The Ascension of the Lord [May 15 & 16], Pentecost Sunday [May 22 & 23], Confirmation [May 23], Baptisms and Graduations. Check the bulletin each week for details.
During the GOOD FRIDAY SERVICE one part is “Adoration of the Holy Cross”. Of the many pious exercises connected with the veneration or adoration of the Cross, none is more popular than the Via Crucis. Through this pious and spiritual exercise, the faithful movingly follow the final earthly journey of Christ Jesus: from Gethsemane to Calvary where he would be crucified between two thieves (Luke 23:33) and to the garden where he was placed in a new tomb (John 19:40-42).
With its origin in medieval processions between Churches commemorating the various stages of the via dolorosa the Stations of the Cross is itself a sort of pilgrimage to the land of “the dolorous journey of Christ.” Through the centuries the stations have taken on various forms, but always conclude “in such fashion as to leave the faithful with a sense of expectation of the resurrection in faith and hope.” Since the middle of the 17th century, this devotion has consisted of fourteen stations. Some modern versions of the stations have included a fifteenth station meditating on the Resurrection of the Lord.
We hope that you made the Stations of the Cross during the season of Lent. You are invited to join others for the Stations / Way of the Cross on Good Friday [April 2] at 2:30pm in Saint Patrick Church. In addition, we will offer this devotion publicly on Saturday (March 27) after Mass in Hanover, on Tuesday (March 29) after 8:30am Mass in Waukon, and on Wednesday at 6:30pm in Dorchester.
Question for us to ponder this week: are we glorifying His Name? In today’s Gospel Jesus said, “... Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it and will glorify it again.”
By his passion, death and resurrection Jesus glorifies the Father’s name. What can you and I do to glorify God’s name? The answer during the season of Lent can be as simple as PRAYER. FASTING. CHARITY/GIVING. Are you glorifying God’s name daily? Are you glorifying God’s holy name by what you say and do, in what you cherish or treasure, by whom you worship or love?
So, how can we best glorify the name of God? 1 - by obeying the law and commandments. 2 - by dying to ourselves and following Jesus’ example of self-sacrificing. 3 - by obedient and patient suffering like Jesus did. 4 - by opening our heart, mind and soul to God’s holy word. 5 - by placing yourself (as Jesus did) in God’s hands and trusting that God the Father will see you through every problem or difficulty. 6 - by participating in Sunday Eucharist because it is the foundation, source and summit of all Christian practices. 7 - by loving our sister and brother as Jesus has loved you.
In today’s reading from the prophet Jeremiah, God announces that He is about to establish a new covenant. Unlike the old covenant which was written on stone, this covenant will be written on the heart. God’s Spirit has spoken this covenant about the ways of truth and love, given to us through baptism and faith. At baptism we become members of a community of faith, we receive the Spirit by practicing faith and religion.
Let us pray: Lord, give us the spiritual grace, the courage and strength to glorify your name. Open our hearts, souls, eyes, mind, ears to the treasure that your word and grace are for every Christian. Grant us the ability to put you, our loving God, at the center of our daily life. Amen.
There is a scene in the Star Wars movie “The Empire Strikes Back” when young Luke Skywalker asks Yoda (the Jedi Master) if the dark side of the Force is stronger than the light. Yoda answers, “No, no, no. Quicker. Easier. More seductive.” How true this remains for the life of a Christian as we struggle daily against the allure of the quicker, easier path.
In the reading from the Second Book of Chronicles. we are told Early and often did the Lord, the God of their fathers, send his messengers to them [his people] ...and they rejected them. We might ask why? Because to accept the message would mean to change, to grow, to face their own sinfulness and wickedness. Human nature prefers the quicker road, the easier path. Therefore, they chose their ways over God’s ways.
In the Gospel Nicodemus comes to visit with Jesus. I like to describe this scene as a “Come to Jesus” moment. Another way to describe this meeting with Jesus is a “Come to the Light” experience. The evangelist John writes: This is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. John 3:19 Yoda was right: quicker, easier, more seductive. The people [including you and I today] prefer darkness to light, my way rather than God’s way. Only light from God can and will lead us to truth; only light can show us the right path to follow. Only this light can dispel gloom and darkness.
Pay close attention to the words of Yoda; he did not say the darkness was stronger, just that it was more alluring. If honest with ourselves, we are familiar with the temptation and allure of sin. But, Jesus Christ as the light of the world saves us from the darkness of sin & death. Jesus said, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. John 8:12. The saving power of God brings love and mercy, healing and salvation, eternal light that overcomes all darkness in the world and in our hearts.
During the final days of Lent turn back to the Lord and to the light. Rejoice. We are called by the Lord, summoned by God to live in the light. May the light of Christ Jesus shine brightly in us. Join me in praying that the light of Christ will lift us up, illuminate the way forward, and guide us to be witnesses of God’s love
In reading from the Book of Exodus [First Reading of Mass] God delivers the “Ten Commandments” to Moses. The Ten Commandments were written on stone tablets. I wonder if our hearts are sometimes like stone when we fail to respond to or obey God’s law and love. Join me in taking a few minutes during Lent to read the Ten Commandments over slowly and ask ourselves - how am I doing in obeying these commandments? Who do I worship? {God or Lady Gaga, the Lord or LeBron James, God our Father or golfing / fishing} What false idols am I ranking above God?
The Ten Commandments presuppose that one is already participating in the covenant between God and God’s people. We obey these commandments because of love, faithfulness, and gratitude. All of God’s people are called to live a life that is moral, holy, and caring for others. This prompts another question: What do I need to “cleanse” in order to make room for God’s abundant grace? Take courage- the same God who raised Jesus from the dead can also cleanse and breathe new life into our hearts. Love, faithfulness, and gratitude toward God ought to be our motivation to obey the Ten Commandments.
Take the following step today: ask Jesus to cleanse your heart and soul, implore the Lord to transform your heart of stone. Jesus seeks to purify our hearts, to help us change our bad habits, and to obey the commandments. Pray that the Lord gives you the grace to make a clean heart and to follow the Ten Commandments. Then as you receive the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, pray:
Jesus, help me! I want to change my “cold or stone” heart and to cleanse my heart in order to make more room for you. Amen.