Easter Sunday

 

Scripture:

Acts 10:34a, 37-43
Colossians 3:1-4 or 1 Corinthians 5:6b-8
John 20:1-9

 

Reflection:

Early morning darkness; the stone removed from the tomb; burial cloths rolled up; Jesus "missing"…the Good News takes shape — and the rest is history!

Today, this Easter 2010, is a day of Life and Joy — a day in which God gives new meaning to all of our lives in the Resurrection of Jesus.  The tragedy of Jesus’ suffering abuse, crucifixion, and death is transformed by the gift of His risen Life.  With Mary of Magdala, Peter and John, we witness this new, risen Life, but still try to understand its deeper meaning.

The reading from the Acts of Apostles helps us as we recount Peter’s proclamation of "good news", making some sense of what has happened:  Jesus went about doing good, suffered much, was crucified and died, was raised by God from the dead — and then made himself known to his early followers who were (and are) to carry the message to others. 

New Life through the Resurrection of Jesus is our goal as 21^st Century followers of Jesus.  Our hope in the Resurrection of Jesus gives meaning and purpose to our lives which we celebrate in each Eucharist, but especially this Easter.  What Jesus did in his Paschal Mystery, he did for our benefit!  The challenges and misfortunes of our lives and our world are transformed in Jesus’ risen Life.

"Alleluia’s" now flow from our hearts and lips.  The words of the memorial acclamations from the Easter Eucharist take on new meaning as truly Good News for us and our world:  "Christ has died, Christ is risen, and Christ will come again" … "Dying he destroyed our death, rising he restored our life" … "Lord, by your Cross and Resurrection you have set us free…"  We are the risen Jesus’ messengers in our day; Good News should radiate from our very being; we each are invited to be a living "alleluia" from head to toe (though at times our song might be a bit off key…)!

In the words of Psalm 118:  "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad!"  Good News, indeed…  The Word to remember is "Easter"!

 

Fr. John Schork, C.P. is the local leader of the Passionist community in Louisville, Kentucky. 

 

 

Holy Saturday

Scripture:

Ezekiel 36:16-17a, 18-28
Romans 6:3-11
Luke 24:1-12

 

Reflection:

What about today, the Sabbath, the day between that evening, (Jn 19:41), and that morning when Mary Magdala came to the tomb? Is this not a critical day in itself, a boundary, as it were, between the hideous, unthinkable that God is indeed vulnerable, incarnate, immersed in the contingencies of world and human affairs, and, the totally, loving Power greater than human that would restore life in the resurrected body of the Son of God?

In the words of the late theologian Alan E. Lewis, "The Christian story…pivots on the axis of Easter Saturday, that boundary between the cross and the empty tomb which reveals the even greater presence of God in the midst of a great absence: the plenitude of divine love’s resurrecting power manifest only in and through emptiness, negation and godforsakenness."

The Holy Saturday boundary enables us to contemplate the absolute freedom of God. "This is God’s freedom, to be not just our partner in eternity but our fellow creature in time, the fulfilling deity within the bonds of a truly finite life. God’s freedom to exist as a creature does not exclude a willingness to be the creature’s victim, to surrender to that opposition to God which characterizes human existence.

The consequence of this self-surrender of God is God’s suffering…a suffering even to death on the cross.  Why? Out of suffering a greater good, from the greatest Good -eternal faithful love in the Resurrection of the Crucified Lord.

Take time to reflect upon this Holy Saturday a critical day in the story of our redemption.

 

Fr. Alex Steinmiller, C.P. is president of Holy Family Cristo Rey High School, Birmingham, Alabama.

 

Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion

Scripture:

Isaiah 52:13-53:12
Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9
John 18:1-19:42

 

Reflection:

As I was preparing to share my reflections with you on this Good Friday of 2010, I considered that of all the days of the liturgical year, this would be THE DAY to have you share your reflections on the Scripture of today’s Liturgical Celebration.  Throughout Lent 2010, our website has offered you special Lenten reflections via e-mail; and our website has continued to post reflections on the daily readings of the lectionary.  Surely, we have the means at our disposal to share some of our thoughts about the sacredness of this day.  Perhaps a Tweet, a blog, a Facebook comment, or an e-mail sent to a group of family or friends can become our own testimony to the journey we have made during Lent of 2010.

Today, Good Friday, commemorates the day on which Jesus of Nazareth died on the cross, and was laid to rest in the belly of the earth.  He had surrendered himself to the power of human sin.  Three days later, Jesus the Christ would be the Risen Savior who brings life eternal to all who believe in him and profess their faith in him.

This day captures the meaning of the life of Jesus as does no other.  On this day he most "perfectly" fulfills the mission given Him by His Father; on this day, he embraces the human race in the most intimate embrace possible, "there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. (Jn 15:13)"

The first reading, from Isaiah 52 and 53, is the account of the "Suffering Servant".  The meek lamb being led to the slaughter, because "the Lord laid upon him the guilt of us all".  He was "pierced for our offenses", but "by his stripes we were healed."  It is the paradox of vicarious suffering…that somehow, the suffering endured by one, brings the release from suffering for another.

On Easter Sunday, April 4, my family will celebrate the 13^th anniversary of my father’s death.  While Jose P. Carrillo would never have dared to compare his suffering from Parkinson’s Disease with the sufferings of Jesus, my mother, my brothers and sisters, were never far from that image during the last years of his life.  No longer able to do for himself, tense with non-responsive muscles, or twitching with involuntary contractions, my father mirrored the agony of Jesus on the Cross in a non-bloody sacrifice of his self to our shared mortality.  More reassuringly, after years of reciting his collection of daily prayers, novenas, and devotions, when he was no longer able to unwrap the rubber band from the worn prayer book stuffed with leaflets, he didn’t have to.  He knew that like the "good thief", Jesus would call him home to Himself.  The sufferings of Jesus freed my father from the sufferings of an all too mortal life.  "…he shall take away the sins of many and win pardon for their offenses."

The second reading, from the Letter to the Hebrews, contains the pearl of wisdom that echoes the theme of vicarious suffering.  "Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered, and when he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him. (Heb 5:8-9)"  Don’t be misled by "perfect"; the translation is weak in capturing the meaning of "teleiotheis", which is not about divine perfection; the word is an expression of "telos", the "purpose" for which something exists.  The purpose of Jesus life and being is "savior", and once "finished"/"completed", he became the source of eternal salvation…."  Hence the richness of the final words of Jesus from the Cross (Jn 19:28): "it is finished/complete/perfect", again a form derived from "telos".  Jesus completely wraps up our human weakness, sinfulness and mortality in his saving-act, and completely frees us to achieve our own divine purpose.

If you are unable to participate in the Good Friday Liturgy, by all means take up the Gospel of John, and meditatively read the inspired Passion text in a prayerful setting.  Let the Holy Spirit of God draw you.  Give thanks to God for the gift of Jesus to us, and the gift of Jesus back to the Father.  "Greater love than this no one has, to lay down his life for his friends. (Jn 15:13)"

 

Fr. Arthur Carrillo is the local leader of the Passionist Community in Houston, Texas. 

 

Scripture:

Exodus 12: 1-8, 11-14
1 Corinthians 11: 23-16
John 13:1-5

 

 

Reflection:

Tonight is a day of "re-membering". The community gathers to remember and celebrate the stories. Tonight we begin with the story of Exodus: The story of Passover, when the Angel of God passed over the doorway marked with the blood of the sacrificed lamb and

the marvelous works that God did for the chosen people in leading them out of Egypt, away from slavery and repression, through the desert of Sinai and into the promised land.

Remembering is the essence of the ritual.  It makes present in history the story and the promises. What God did in ages past for the chosen ones, God does now, for those gathered at the table of Eucharist.  The story continues in every generation.

On this night, we remember Jesus of John’s Gospel…it is simple… Jesus intends to show his disciples how much he loves them before he leaves them… so , reversing the relationships, He, the master, takes off  his outer garments, gets on his knees and, he the Master,  washes their feet.  …After washing their feet, Jesus reclines at the table… challenges the disciples and us saying: "I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do…" 

In John’s gospel there is no specific ritual of the breaking of the bread and the sharing of the cup at the Last Supper.  For John’s community and for all the church, getting down on our knees in humble obedience is remembering Jesus’ example of a lifetime of service and performing those tasks that are needed in the world. 

In our second reading from Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, he tells us to remember and to pass on what we have received from the Lord, exactly we have been given.  The words, actions and intent of Jesus are all important.  This is the core of our worship, our lives, our communities and our meaning as Christians.

With the Psalmist, today we respond:  Our Blessing cup is a communion with the Blood of Christ.  

As we reflect on the readings of this Holy Thursday, let us ponder deeply the questions and their meanings for our own lives now…

                        "Why is this night different from all others?"

                        "How am I being called to "wash the feet" of my brothers and sisters?

Marcella Fabing, ,csj, Christ the King Passionist Retreat Center, Citrus Heights, California. 

 

Scripture:

Isaiah 49:1-6
John 13:21-33, 36-38

Reflection:

Moses Mendelssohn, the great-grandfather of the famous German composer, was far from being a handsome man.  In fact, he was inflicted with a grotesque humpback.

One day when his family was visiting a merchant in Hamburg, Moses noticed the man’s beautiful daughter.  He fell hopelessly in love with her.  But she was repulsed by his misshapen appearance.

When it was time for him to leave, he gathered up all his courage to try to speak with her.  But this beautiful girl wouldn’t even look at him.  And this caused him much pain. After several attempts at conversation, Moses shyly asked, "Do you believe marriages are made in heaven?"

"Yes," she replied, still looking at the floor.  "And do you?"

"Yes I do," he replied.  "You see, in heaven, at the birth of each boy, the Lord announces which girl he will marry.  When I was born, my future bride was pointed out to me.  Then the Lord added, ‘But your wife will be humpbacked.’"

"Right then and there I called out, ‘Oh, Lord, a humpbacked woman would be a tragedy.  Please, Lord, give me the hump and let her be beautiful.’"

This beautiful girl looked up into his eyes.  Then she reached out and touched his hand.  Later she became his devoted wife.

The story reminded me of the words of the prophet Isaiah,

It was our infirmities (sins) that he bore, our sufferings that he endured." (Isaiah 53:4)

Indeed, Jesus took upon himself the infirmities of us all.  We who were once humpbacked with selfishness and sin have been made beautiful by the sufferings and death of Christ.

The apostle John would later write, "Love then consists of this: Not that we have loved God, but that God has loved us and sent his Son as an offering for our sins. If God has loved us so, we must have the same love for one another."  (1 John 4:10-11)

From the beauty God has bestowed upon us, we in turn are called upon to make our world more compassionate, more forgiving and more kind.

 

Fr. Alan Phillip, C.P. is a member of the Passionist Community at Mater Dolorosa Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.  http://www.alanphillipcp.com/

 

Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion

Scripture:

Isaiah 50:4-7
Philippians 2:6-11
Luke 22:14-23:56

Reflection:

Today we begin the most important week of our Church year.

Today’s Gospel seems to be almost a "coming attractions" notice.  We hear today of the events that we will be remembering during the coming week and especially through the beginning of the Triduum – the Last Supper, the betrayal, and the Passion and Death of Christ. 

And yet we begin our Liturgy with a celebration!  The Church reenacts the joyful entrance of Christ into Jerusalem.  It is easy to feel a little stymied at this mixture of messages.  What message can we take from this day? 

Perhaps one thing we can take away from this is that Jesus willing accepts his suffering because it is the will of the Father and because a wondrous thing will happen because of his suffering.  Humanity will be saved!  I think WE celebrate today BECAUSE of Jesus’ Passion and death.

We would do well during this Holy Week to remember the words of St. Paul of the Cross, the founder of the Passionist Congregation:

"Meditation on Jesus Christ crucified is a precious balm which sweetens all our pains."

All of us know some degree of pain and suffering in our lives.  Whether it is our own illness, the death of someone in our lives, or the disappointments and set-backs of daily life, we all suffer. As we gaze at Jesus on the Cross, our own sufferings, frailties, concerns and cares are somehow lightened.  St Paul of the Cross is giving us the best remedy for our pain and that is to meditate on Christ’s suffering.  The Passion and death of Jesus is the greatest act of love ever known. If we think about this, we realize that acceptance of our own problems can also be gift if we place them on the Cross. Today and throughout this coming week we celebrate this gift Christ has given us in His Crucifixion.  How blessed we are!

In our second reading, the letter to the Philippians, we are again reminded of just how great is this gift of Christ’ death and how we are to respond. 

"….every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord…"

So let us today give thanks and glory to Christ…let’s wave our palms high and shout "Hosanna!"  Our Savior is here!

 

Mary Lou Butler ([email protected]) is the interim administrator at Christ the King Passionist Retreat Center, Citrus Heights, California. 

Monday of Holy Week

Scripture:

Isaiah 42:1-7
John 12:1-11

Reflection:

"There are many people who can do big things, but there are very few people who will do the small things."  ~Mother Teresa

Mary must have known! They all must have known! As the closest followers of the Master, the man they all called "Rabboni," they must have suspected this visit to their home in Bethany might well be his last. They knew he was on his way to Jerusalem- Jerusalem, the holy city, but also the city that "kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it." (cf. Mt.23:37) He told them time and time again that it would be there that "the Son of Man must undergo great suffering and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the scribes and be killed…" (Cf. Mk 8:31) Surely his closest friends, the women who cared for him and the man he raised from the dead -surely they must have known the end was near.

It was into this atmosphere of unspoken sadness mixed with bewilderment that Mary chooses to show her love for her Master. One small act which would demonstrate to him her faithfulness, her devotion, her complete self dedication in the face of almost certain loss. She took the most precious possession they had – a small vial of costly perfumed oil and used it generously to wash the feet of her Teacher. Such a simple act which, although unknown to her at the time, would reverberate throughout the centuries as a sign of her selfless devotion.    

The more pragmatic viewed this action with a certain amount of disdain. "Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days’ wages and given to the poor?" Judas only spoke the words that were on the minds of everyone else. Yet Jesus pointed to the fact that Mary’s act was in itself prophetic. Unknowingly her simple act of devotion prepared the body of Jesus for his future burial. And besides Jesus stressed "you will always have the poor with you…"

Fast forward now to our current age, more precisely the day of January 12, 2010 – that Tuesday evening we received news of a disastrous earthquake in Haiti. Father Rick Frechette, Passionist priest and physician, was home in the U.S. tending to his dying mother. He wondered if St. Damian’s Hospital in Tabarre, Haiti’s only free children’s hospital he co-founded years ago, was still standing.  He wondered how severe the causalities were. Did his friends, co-workers, children survive?

Immediately returning to Haiti Father Frechette had 18 funerals in one day. He spent the remainder of his time treating those severely wounded. He worried and prayed for this people who have suffered so much, yet lived with so much faith, with so much hope.

The more pragmatic among us might think a man like Father Frechette crazy. How could what little he was able to do matter in the face of such devastating loss and despair??? What could such simple acts of faith mean? How could such small gestures of compassion and solidarity matter to a people experiencing the overwhelming results of a natural disaster?

Yet to me, Father Frechette’s simple acts of love and devotion make perfect sense, particularly in the light of today’s gospel. His presence and actions among his people encompasses the Passionist spirit in its totality. Father Frechette saw in his sisters and brothers the suffering face of Jesus the Christ and because of his love for Christ in them he could do no less.

As we enter more deeply into this holiest of weeks, what simple act of love and compassion will you do? How will you demonstrate your devotion to Christ to those who are considered the least or the lost or the lacking?  

 

Patrick Quinn ([email protected]) is the director of Planned Giving at the Passionist Development Office in Chicago.

 

Scripture:
Ezekiel 37:21-28
Luke 11:45-56

Reflection:
Today’s Gospel reading follows the raising of Lazarus at the house of Mary and Martha.  That’s especially important to note because of the unspeakable evil that is about to transpire in the wake of that great miracle. 

We learn that many who saw this miracle "believed."  But others, it seems perhaps out of fear, went immediately to inform the Jewish authorities-the Pharisees and the Sadducees.  My 12 years of Catholic education failed me a bit, so I had to remind myself the difference between these two groups.  The Pharisees and Sadducees were actually theological and political opponents.  (Imagine for a moment what might unite the Democrats and the Republicans of today.  The most recent answer that comes to mind is 9/11.  So basically Jesus’ rise in popular esteem is akin to a national tragedy).  The fact that they were united in their desire to stop Jesus speaks volumes about the threat that they perceived in this new prophet and his ever growing popularity.  Together, they ask a simple question: "What are we going to do?"

And this is the line that leaves me cold every time I read it, "If we leave him alone, all will believe him . . ."  It seems that the amazing miracle of breathing life back into Lazarus was, ironically, the act that sealed Jesus’ own fate.  So there was no regard for the truth of Christ’s message, the greatness of his works, the power of his teachings, the magnitude of his character.  They weren’t going to allow his ministry to grow any more than it already had.  Their hearts were set against him even in the face of the increasing evidence of his divinity.  So, the question becomes, why?

The answer is, "the Romans will come and take away both our land and our nation."  These Jewish authorities enjoyed great power and privilege among their people.  Simply put, Jesus was a threat to their interest and position.  They decide it is better that "one man should die . . . so that the whole nation may not perish. . . . So from that day on they planned to kill him."  So in some ways, I suppose, this council chose Rome over God.  They would appease Rome and keep peace politically but sacrifice the Son of God.     

And what loyalty or protection or security did they get from Rome in return?  It was just a few generations later that all they sought to evade by handing over Jesus would in fact come to pass.  The Roman army came and destroyed Jerusalem and left the Temple in ruins. 

So I will leave you with some final food for thought.  There is a popular poem that has been re-written in countless forms since it’s origination in the 40s.  When first written by Martin Niemöller in response to the unspeakable crimes of the Holocaust, it went something like this:

First they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew.  Then they came for the Communists, and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist  Then they came for the Catholics, and I did not speak out because I was not a Catholic.  Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak out.

Marlo Serritella is on staff at the Holy Cross Province Development Office in Chicago.