Easter, the Fourth Sunday

ANTIPHON

The merciful love of the Lord fills the earth;
by the Word of the Lord the heavens were made, alleluia. (Psalm 33:5-6).

COLLECT

Almighty ever-living God,
lead us to a share in the joys of heaven,
so that the humble flock may reach
where the brave Shepherd has gone before.
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.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM

The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone. (Psalm 118:22).

SCRIPTURE EXCERPT

“Jesus said: "I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them. This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd. This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again. This command I have received from my Father (John 10:11-18.”

REFLECTION

To begin this Sunday, the words of Saint Gregory the Great are worth pondering:

"I am the good shepherd. I know my own—by which I mean, I love them—and my own know me. In plain words: those who love me are willing to follow me, for anyone who does not love the truth has not yet come to know it.

My dear brethren, you have heard the test we pastors have to undergo. Turn now to consider how these words of our Lord imply a test for yourselves also. Ask yourselves whether you belong to his flock, whether you know him, whether the light of his truth shines in your minds. I assure you that it is not by faith that you will come to know him, but by love; not by mere conviction, but by action. John the evangelist is my authority for this statement. He tells us that anyone who claims to know God without keeping his commandments is a liar.

Consequently, the Lord immediately adds: As the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for my sheep. Clearly he means that laying down his life for his sheep gives evidence of his knowledge of the Father and the Father’s knowledge of him. In other words, by the love with which he dies for his sheep he shows how greatly he loves his Father.

Again he says: My sheep hear my voice, and I know them; they follow me, and I give them eternal life. Shortly before this he had declared: If anyone enters the sheepfold through me he shall be saved; he shall go freely in and out and shall find good pasture. He will enter into a life of faith; from faith he will go out to vision, from belief to contemplation, and will graze in the good pastures of everlasting life.

So our Lord’s sheep will finally reach their grazing ground where all who follow him in simplicity of heart will feed on the green pastures of eternity. These pastures are the spiritual joys of heaven. There the elect look upon the face of God with unclouded vision and feast at the banquet of life for ever more.

Beloved brothers, let us set out for these pastures where we shall keep joyful festival with so many of our fellow citizens. May the thought of their happiness urge us on! Let us stir up our hearts, rekindle our faith, and long eagerly for what heaven has in store for us. To love thus is to be already on our way. No matter what obstacles we encounter, we must not allow them to turn us aside from the joy of that heavenly feast. Anyone who is determined to reach his destination is not deterred by the roughness of the road that leads to it. Nor must we allow the charm of success to seduce us, or we shall be like a foolish traveler who is so distracted by the pleasant meadows through which he is passing that he forgets where he is going."

Easter, the Third Sunday

ANTIPHON

Cry out with joy to God, all the earth; O sing to the glory of His Name. O render Him glorious praise (cf. Psalm 66:1-2).

COLLECT

May Your people exult for ever, O God, in renewed youthfulness of spirit, so that, rejoicing now in the restored glory of our adoption we may look forward in confident hope to the rejoicing of the day of 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. Amen.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM

Let Your face shine on us. (Psalm 4:7a).

SCRIPTURE EXCERPT

“While they were still speaking about this, He stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” But they were startled (πτοηθέντες, ptoethentes) and terrified (ἔμφοβοι, emphoboi) and thought that they were seeing a ghost. Then he said to them, “Why are you troubled (τεταραγμένοι, tetaragmenoi)? And why do questions (διαλογισμοὶ, dialogismoi) arise in your hearts? (Luke 24:36-38)” … Then he opened (διήνοιξεν, dienoizen) their minds to understand (συνιέναι, sunienai) the Scriptures (Luke 24:45).”

REFLECTION

In the end, the disciples really did not grasp Jesus’ teaching about His Resurrection. Even though He prepared them for the Cross and Resurrection, these teachings apparently never connected deeply in the hearts of the disciples. This is evident by their response to the Risen Lord: startled (πτοηθέντες, ptoethentes from πτοέω, ptoeo) and terrified (ἔμφοβοι, emphoboi from φόβος, phobos). Both πτοέω and φόβος signal a response to a perceived threat to life. Translated here as “startled,” πτοέω is a rather graphic verb indicating that one’s world is collapsing, and doing so rather quickly. All that a person has used to define existence no longer holds up to support life. All of the connections that one has formed unwind and render life uncertain and unsteady as stability crumbles into a pile of ruin. In such a precarious state, one has to decide: stay and fight the threat or flee with the intent of putting great distance between you and the threat. While the noun φόβος is commonly translated “fear,” in antiquity its verb-form part of a group of words that mean “to flee.” Fear, a response to that which is recognized as a threat to life, triggers – often automatically – some action involving fight or flight.

The Sacred text clearly presents the disciples “startled (πτοέω)” and “terrified (φόβος).” Yet examine Jesus’ question to them. He does not ask why are you “startled (πτοέω)”? He does not ask why are you “terrified (φόβος)”? He asks “Why are you troubled (τεταραγμένοι, tetaragmenoi from ταράσσω tarasso). Jesus knows that something is not right in the lives of the disciples. His question to them “Why are you troubled?” is actually a declaration to them that there is no threat to life. In asking “Why are you troubled?” Jesus is actually helping His disciples to perceive clearly the state of life. Life is not falling apart. There is no need to fight or flee. There is a need, however, “to understand (συνιέναι, sunienai from συνίημι suniemi).”

Being troubled as expressed by ταράσσω is a common response in many biblical episodes when God or an angel visits humanity. Early in Luke, both Zechariah and Mary are “troubled” by Gabriel’s visit and attempt to resolve the situation by asking questions. The disciples in the boat “are troubled” when Jesus comes walking to them on the water in Mark and Matthew. In John, Jesus directs his disciples ‘not to be troubled’ by having faith in Him. In the biblical era, ταράσσω conveyed the image of water being stirred up. As with any aqueous solution, when water is stirred or agitated, all of the particulate matter gets stirred up as well. What appeared to the senses as calm and clear is now a sea of confusion caused by the murky, gritty sediment swirling round and round. No wonder “troubled waters” became such a metaphor when confusion and uncertainty grip life.

Experience has often demonstrated that when clear water becomes cloudy, it will – many times – become clear again when the source of agitation is removed. For the disciples, their confused state requires ‘an opening that will lead to understanding.’ At the heart of “opening” their minds is literally the action of ‘giving birth.’ When Jesus opened (διήνοιξεν, dienoizen from διανοίγω dianoigo) their minds, this was not a casual planting of a thought or opinion. διανοίγω is used sometimes in antiquity to mean birth, particularly the birth of the biblical “first born.” In this sense, διανοίγω brings the struggle of birth imagery to convey the work that is involved in opening the mind. Yet once opened, the groundwork is then paved for an ongoing journey to and of understanding; for the understanding (συνιέναι, sunienai) that Jesus offers the disciples in their “troubled” state is actually “connecting.” Yes, that sounds awkward but the verb συνιέναι literally means “to put together.” These restored and new connections that Jesus makes for them not only transforms the “troubled” state of their lives, but will enable them to go out on mission filled with confidence to witness to Jesus, Risen Savior and thus allow a bit more of Easter joy to flood the cosmos.

Holy Saturday

Today’s Second Reading from the
Office of Readings (Liturgy of the Hours)
Holy Saturday

An excerpt from: A Homily on Holy Saturday
Unknown Ancient Christian Author

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 captive 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
and cried out to everyone:
"The Lord be with you all!"
Christ answered him, "And with your spirit!"
and 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 mankind,
I became like a man without help, free among the dead.
For the sake of you, who left a garden,
I was betrayed 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 hands to a tree.

I slept on the cross
and a spear pierced My side
for you who slept in paradise
and brought forth Eve from your side.
My side has healed the pain in yours.
The spear 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.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

 
 
 
 
 
 

Good Friday of the Passion of the Lord

From the Catecheses by Saint John Chrysostom

If we wish to understand the power of Christ’s blood, we should go back to the ancient account of its prefiguration in Egypt. “Sacrifice a lamb without blemish,” commanded Moses, “and sprinkle its blood on your doors”. If we were to ask him what he meant, and how the blood of an irrational beast could possibly save men endowed with reason, his answer would be that the saving power lies not in the blood itself, but in the fact that it is a sign of the Lord’s blood. In those days, when the destroying angel saw the blood on the doors he did not dare to enter, so how much less will the devil approach now when he sees, not that figurative blood on the doors, but the true blood on the lips of believers, the doors of the temple of Christ.

If you desire further proof of the power of this blood, remember where it came from, how it ran down from the cross, flowing from the Master’s side. The gospel records that when Christ was dead, but still hung on the cross, a soldier came and pierced his side with a lance and immediately there poured out water and blood. Now the water was a symbol of Baptism and the Blood, of the Holy Eucharist. The soldier pierced the Lord’s side, he breached the wall of the sacred temple, and I have found the treasure and made it my own. So also with the lamb: the Jews sacrificed the victim and I have been saved by it.

“There flowed from his side water and blood”. Beloved, do not pass over this mystery without thought; it has yet another hidden meaning, which I will explain to you. I said that water and blood symbolized baptism and the Holy Eucharist. From these two sacraments the Church is born: from baptism, “the cleansing water that gives rebirth and renewal through the Holy Spirit”, and from the Holy Eucharist. Since the symbols of baptism and the Eucharist flowed from his side, it was from his side that Christ fashioned the Church, as he had fashioned Eve from the side of Adam Moses gives a hint of this when he tells the story of the first man and makes him exclaim: “Bone from my bones and flesh from my flesh!” As God then took a rib from Adam’s side to fashion a woman, so Christ has given us blood and water from his side to fashion the Church. God took the rib when Adam was in a deep sleep, and in the same way Christ gave us the blood and the water after his own death.

Do you understand, then, how Christ has united his bride to himself and what food he gives us all to eat? By one and the same food we are both brought into being and nourished. As a woman nourishes her child with her own blood and milk, so does Christ unceasingly nourish with his own blood those to whom he himself has given life.

Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord

ANTIPHON

Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel. Hosanna in the highest. (Matthew 21:9).

COLLECT

Almighty ever-living God,
Who as an example of humility for
the human race to follow
caused our Savior to take flesh
and submit to the Cross,
graciously grant that we may heed
His lesson of patient suffering
and so merit a share in His Resurrection.
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God for ever and ever. Amen.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM

My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? (Psalm 22:2).

SCRIPTURE EXCERPT

“The veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. When the centurion who stood facing him saw how he breathed his last he said, "Truly this man was the Son of God!" There were also women looking on from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of the younger James and of Joses, and Salome. These women had followed him when he was in Galilee and ministered to him. There were also many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem. (Mark 15:38-41).””

REFLECTION

The Scrutinies have been celebrated. The Creed and the Lord’s Prayer have been handed-over to the Elect. The faithful have responded in Grace to the Gospel imperatives of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. All is ready for the difficult journey from palm waving, to a Meal that has some twists and turns, to arrest - abandonment - excruciating pain - and death. The Body of Christ is ready for the journey to Calvary. But is each member of the Body ready?

Throughout the Gospels there is a constant tension between Christology and discipleship: Who Jesus is and the claim He sounds to follow Him. This is not an invitation to embrace an ideology or a particular philosophical outlook on life. His words and deeds, expressions of His very being, are meant to elicit a relationship, a commitment, a bonding with and to Him. As each Gospel unfolds, we are immersed in the drama of fellow human beings saying yes to this relationship, some no and far more remaining lukewarm: no commitment whatsoever, just hanging out on the sidelines like a spectator.

As the Marcan account of the Lord’s Passion seeks its way into our hearts this Sunday, the fidelity of the God-man Jesus stands in sharp contrast to disciples who one-by-one, leave Him alone and abandoned. There are some flickers of hope: an anonymous woman and yes – to a degree – Peter himself, not to mention an anonymous outsider: a Roman centurion. In a loving gesture that speaks to both His death and His messianic Kingship, Jesus is anointed with perfume. She ‘gets it.’ She knows Jesus as Messianic King whose Kingship is born from the dregs of death. Peter, known far and wide for the thrice denial of His friend, does follow Jesus in His Passion, but does so “at a distance” and apparently “at a distance” has an unfortunate limit. But then there is the Centurion – a gentile – who comes to faith and boldly proclaims: “Truly this man was the Son of God!”

These sacred days known as Holy Week are offered to us as a gift to experience deeply the authentic identity of the Crucified Son of God and our commitment to Him as one of His disciples. To this end, the words of a fourth-century Cappadocian Father are well worth pondering:

“If you are a Simon of Cyrene, take up your cross and follow Christ. If you are crucified beside him like one of the thieves, now, like the good thief, acknowledge your God. For your sake, and because of your sin, Christ himself was regarded as a sinner; for his sake, therefore, you must cease to sin. Worship him who was hung on the cross because of you, even if you are hanging there yourself. Derive some benefit from the very shame; purchase salvation with your death. Enter paradise with Jesus, and discover how far you have fallen. Contemplate the glories there, and leave the other scoffing thief to die outside in his blasphemy.

If you are a Joseph of Arimathea, go to the one who ordered his crucifixion, and ask for Christ’s body. Make you own the expiation for the sins of the whole world. If you are a Nicodemus, like the man who worshiped God by night, bring spices and prepare Christ’s body for burial. If you are one of the Marys, or Salome, or Joanna, weep in the early morning. Be the first to see the stone rolled back, and even the angels perhaps, and Jesus himself (Gregory of Nazianzus, Oratio 45).”