to seek out and advocate for the poor and needy, especialy families, for the kingdom of God.
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Daily Prayer Quotable CatholicsEaster Sunday continues the celebration of resurrection begun at the Vigil, with all of the Masses echoing the “Alleluia!” and the shouts of joy. In fact, one day can’t contain all the joy of Easter, so the whole week from Sunday to Sunday is celebrated liturgically as one day, as the prayers of the Liturgy of the Hours are repeated as if each day were Sunday.
And the Easter season continues on as we reflect on our call to new life throughout the coming weeks. But that’s my next article!
The silence down
As heavy cloud over the low hills-
of Jerusalem.
Yet
The quiet spoke,
with a force more powerful
Than thunder
When the earth quaked in fear and the sun hid shame
At the sight of God-man Crucified
For three days the deadly stillness reigned
Nature watched and waited.
Filled with longing
With hopeful excpectancy.
A faint stirring–a rustle–a gentle breeze–
Then
Suddenly the whole world leaped in joy.
The green grass humbly kissed
His wounded feet.
The Flowers bent their lovely heads in homage.
The soft breeze caressed Him
As a mother does her child.
All awaited upon
His caring smile of love
And in that precious moment found the
Meaning of life.
Ao it was then–
So it always will be–
Flowers will watch and wait,
In sheltered gardens
Until
Love arises.
–Sister Lucille Hintze, SHF
We end Thursday in silence, and we begin Friday’s service in silence. The stark simplicity of the altar is echoed by the simplicity of the liturgy, with the reading of the Passion from John’s Gospel, the solemn intercessory prayers, the veneration of the cross, and Holy Communion from the Blessed Sacrament reserved last night. Good Friday is the one day during the year when Mass is not celebrated.
We end our service in darkness and silence. Though we know the end of the story, it does seem as if darkness and evil have triumphed. Friday night and Saturday are solemn as we keep vigil with the Crucified One.
And Then Comes the Morning…
Darkness and evil cannot hold the Lord of All, and our Easter Vigil is a fitting celebration of the triumph of God’s love and power over the power of sin and death. With the blessing of the new fire and the new candle, the proclamation of Easter, the telling of our salvation history through God’s Word, the reception of new members into the church through baptism or profession of faith, the renewal of our own baptismal promises, and the celebration of the Eucharist, the Vigil can go on for three hours or more — and is followed by a reception, because who can sleep after all that excitement?
The Vigil marks the transition from the power of darkness, the power of the prince of this world, to the Power and Love of God. We move from darkness to light; we move from silence to shouts of joy. We return the “Alleluia,” which has not been uttered since before Ash Wednesday — and we sing it and shout it again and again. “Praise the Lord!” “Alleluia!”
Our Lenten observance continues until the beginning of the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Thursday evening. Three of our four Gospels tell the story of Jesus instituting the Eucharist by taking bread and wine, blessing them, and offering them to his disciples with the words, “Take and eat; this is my Body. Take and drink; this is my Blood.” John’s Gospel, on the other hand, tells of the Last Supper in terms of the washing of the feet of the disciples. At our Holy Thursday liturgy, we make the connection by ritually washing the feet of a number of disciples during our celebration of the institution of the Eucharist. The Gospel reading concludes with Jesus’ words: “I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.”
This Holy Thursday liturgy is the beginning of the Easter Triduum, or “three days.” Marking time in the ancient Jewish manner, from sunset to sunset, our first day is from Thursday at sunset to Friday at sunset; the second day from Friday at sunset to Saturday at sunset; and the third day from Saturday at sunset to Sunday at sunset. Lent is officially over, and we enter into a different kind of time, a three-day movement from intimacy and mandate through suffering and death and finally to triumph over death and resurrection. Like a long drama, our three days of celebrations are arranged as if they are one continuous movement.
Holy Thursday ends with the procession of the Blessed Sacrament to the altar of repose, the stripping of the altar in the main church, and the solemn vigil before the Blessed Sacrament, keeping watch on this holy and scary night of betrayal and intrigue.
by Sr. Carol J. Crater, SHF
Palm Sunday’s procession into the church with palms and cries of “Hosanna” began our celebration of Holy Week, our ritual commemoration of the last week of Jesus’ life before his saving death and resurrection. How easily the crowd moved from cries of “Hosanna!” to cries of “Crucify him!” How easily we ourselves moved from cries of “Hosanna!” to cries of “Crucify him!” just a few minutes later as we read the Passion from this year’s Gospel, Mark.
Monday evening brings the celebration of the Mass of the Oils, celebrated at one of the larger churches in the Diocese. At this annual Mass, the Bishop blesses the Oil of Catechumens, the Oil of the Sick and the Sacred Chrism, the three oils that will be distributed to parishes of the Diocese for the anointings that will occur during the coming year. Also at the Mass of the Oils, the priests of the diocese renew their commitment.
Acts 4:8-12; Psalm 118; 1 John 3:1-2; John 10:11-18
According to today’s Gospel, the difference between a good shepherd and a bad shepherd is that the good shepherd cares for the sheep, while the bad shepherd is just doing a job. In our individual lives as Catholic parishioners – “sheep,” in the church’s parlance – we have no doubt experienced many shepherds, some good and some not so good. It seems, especially in the last decade, that the bad shepherds get a lot of press while the good shepherds quietly go about caring for the sheep. The good shepherds care in this way not because it’s what they get paid to do, not because we’re always such adorable little lambs, but because the Big Shepherd has “put into [their] hearts a marvelous love for the faithful ones who dwell in the land” (Psalm 16:3).
Take some time this Good Shepherd Sunday to thank the good shepherds in your life.
