Holy Saturday
Holy Saturday (from Sabbatum Sanctum, its official liturgical name) is sacred as the day of the Lord's rest; it has been called the "Second Sabbath" after creation. The day is and should be the most calm and quiet day of the entire Church year, a day broken by no liturgical function. Christ lies in the grave, the Church sits near and mourns. After the great battle He is resting in peace, but upon Him we see the scars of intense suffering...The mortal wounds on His Body remain visible....Jesus' enemies are still furious, attempting to obliterate the very memory of the Lord by lies and slander.
Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion
The first reading (Isaiah 52:13-53:12) is one of the most important readings of the year and serves as a hinge that holds together the Old and New testaments. Today's passage speaks of a Suffering Servant, one who was "pierced for our offenses and crushed for our sins." He bore our sins, he was "led like a lamb to the slaughter." Christians readily see this Suffering Servant as Jesus the Christ. But even more than that (if indeed there can be more), I am struck, this year, by the shock and wonder that emanates from today's texts. "[S]o shall he startle many nations, because of him kings shall stand speechless; for those who have not been told shall see, those who have not heard shall ponder it."
Holy Thursday
Today begins our Triduum. Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday (Easter Vigil), are deep with meaning that colors not only this particular day, but the whole of the Christian life. The paschal mystery expressed in this Triduum is at the heart of all we do.
Wednesday of Holy Week
In what may seem an ironic twist, the protagonist reveals the betrayal that is about to be committed by the antagonist in a way betraying the betrayer. Jesus did not need to be omniscient to perceive that something was going on in Judas. Surely, there were outward signs revealing his inner turmoil. If a close friend is acting extremely out of character, you think that something must be going on in their life. Still, can you imagine a close friend betraying you? Perhaps, it has happened. Even worse, some of us can recall being the one who betrayed a close friend or loved one. And on some level, each of us by our sin, contributed to Jesus needing to accept the cross on our behalf.
Tuesday of Holy Week
Last week Tuesday we saw that Jesus tells the Pharisees, “Where I am going you cannot come” (John 8: 21). The reading for today refers back to that exchange with the Pharisees. The Pharisees completely misunderstood Jesus’ words thinking that he was talking about suicide. But Jesus was making the point that they could not follow him where he is going, because they were focused on earthly rather than spiritual things.
Monday of Holy Week
With Palm Sunday yesterday, we began what is known as “Holy Week,” which includes the last of Lent and the Triduum of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. We are now quickly moving toward Jesus’ passion and death; we are hastening toward Jerusalem. Today’s first reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah is one from the Old Testament that our Church has always understood Christologically. In other words, although it was written before Jesus was born in Bethlehem, we look at this passage as applying to Christ.
Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion
Over the last two weeks I have spent much time in the confessional. And I have heard amazing stories of conversion. Both kids preparing for Confirmation and RCIA candidates preparing for baptism and reception into the church have been tremendous witness to me. I have been drawn to tears with their humility, their desire for God, and their willingness to follow Christ. I felt challenged by these conversion stories. As Holy Week approaches, these conversion stories have compelled me to evaluate my own Lenten journey. So I decided to go through all the homilies I preached and evaluate my life. I hope this reflection will be useful for you as well.
Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent
In today’s first reading, the prophet Ezekiel writes of how the LORD God will gather the people of Israel together again from their exile. God promises to heal their divisions, to cleanse them from their sinfulness, and to help them obey His commands. He promises to set up make a new and eternal covenant with them. He promises to make a sanctuary, a place to worship Him properly, that will last forever. As Catholic Christians, although we would acknowledge that the Jewish people may have other legitimate ways that they would see a passage such as this fulfilled in their own history, we interpret this passage primarily as relating to the coming of Jesus and to the establishment of the Church. Much of the passage is understood metaphorically- we do not seek to control a particular piece of land upon the earth but instead to be united to God as one “People of God” who are spread out all over the earth. In our understanding, the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist means that God dwells with us constantly in the tabernacles of our various Church communities.
Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Game shows like to heighten suspense by asking, “Is that your final answer?” , which potentially psyches out the contestant. Today’s scriptures display a similar kind of suspenseful questioning, but for Christians, these readings will not psyche us out, but give us some faith and hope.
Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent
With Easter quickly approaching, our eyes are drawn toward the paschal mystery – the story of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. This story is also the story of a covenant. Throughout salvation history, God has made covenants with his people. In today’s first reading, for example, we have a passage from Genesis where God tells Abraham that just as God will keep the covenant with Abraham’s descendants, they must also keep their covenant with God. The psalm response reinforces this theme: “The Lord remembers his covenant forever.”
Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent
What would happen if the person who you worked for asked you to do something that was against your faith? Think of it, if the person who signs your paycheck said I need you to sin in order for you to keep your job, would you? This choice may seem very possible but it happens. It has certainly happened in my own life. The choice might be clear, however usually there are many circumstances which may pull or push us in one direction or another. If this choice were a test would we pass?
Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent
One of the main goals of the gospel according to John is to show that Jesus is divine and that he has been sent by God. At several points in the reading he identifies himself with God by using the words ‘I AM.’ Those who hear or read these words are being led to make the same conclusion that many of Jesus’ disciples come to as described in the gospel of John—namely that he is “the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world” (John 11: 27).
Monday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Yesterday began our fifth and penultimate week of Lent. As we continue along our journey this week, our eyes are focused ever more intently on Jesus and his journey to Jerusalem, to his passion and crucifixion. Our first reading today comes from the book of Daniel and contains a story that is at once tragic, dramatic, and joyful. Susanna, a holy and beautiful woman, is unjustly accused by elders who have lusted after her. She is on the verge of being put to death unfairly when a young boy named Daniel steps in and comes to her defense by challenging the elders.
Fifth Sunday of Lent
Over the last three Sunday’s we have heard three rather long and dramatic episodes from the gospel of John. In many ways there are common themes that run between each of these three stories that are significant for us. As a reminder, two weeks back we had the story of the Samaritan woman, last week we read the story of the healing of the blind man and this week we have the reading of Martha, Mary and Lazarus. In these common themes, I would like to draw the practical implication for us today.
Saturday of the Fourth Week of Lent
There is an interesting interplay in today’s readings between our expectations or knowledge and God’s work. In the first reading from the prophet Jeremiah, we hear the emphasis on God as the one who knows all, “I knew their plot because the LORD informed me; at that time you, O LORD, showed me their doings” (Jer 11:18). All knowledge comes from God yet, like Jeremiah, we don’t always realize what God is telling us.– Tim Gabrielli
Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent
It is worth reading the whole of chapter 7 in today's gospel (John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30) because at least one thing will seem immediately strange when we read today's cut-and-pasted version. Why is it that Jesus says he will not go to the Feast of the Tabernacles in verses 1 and 2, but then in verse 10 seemingly has a change of heart and goes to join his brothers? When we read the whole chapter we see why: Jesus says in verse 6 that "My time is not yet here but the time is always right for you." His reason for initially not going to celebrate the Feast of the Tabernacles is very similar to the end of today's gospel reading where he manages to escape the authorities: "his hour had not yet come."
Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Our first reading today is from the book of Exodus. The exodus story is a powerful one because of the miracles God worked in freeing his people from slavery in Egypt. But while God managed to get the people out of Egypt, it was harder to get Egypt out of the people. They had become accustomed to the polytheistic religion of Egypt, and were used to the idea of worshiping statues and images. So when Moses went off to confer with God on Mt. Sinai, the people made a golden calf and worshiped the calf as though it were their God.
Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Have you ever felt truly alone? I mean so alone you felt forsaken. In those moments, the loneliness can seem an all consuming darkness. It is unclear how one has arrived there or how one leaves such a place. In the times that I have felt all alone, I have struggled to trust that the people who say they love me actually do. When I think about it now, it seems almost silly. Could a parent ever stop loving their child, and even if a parent could, would God? I cannot imagine such circumstances. Yet in those dark moments, it is as if our ability to hear, see or recognize love has been disabled. That sense of being forsaken can leave us feeling imprisoned by our emotion.
Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent
I find myself sometimes being slow to realize when God is offering grace in my life, slow to pick up on clues pointing me in one direction or another and to recognize God’s voice speaking to me through the events of my life. The readings for today suggest that I need to pay more attention to the ways that grace is offered to me on a daily basis.Joel Schickel
Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent
We are now about halfway through our season of Lent; yesterday began our fourth week dedicated to repentance. But in the midst of this repentance, we are also reminded that Lent is not simply about our repentance. Although we take on various Lenten sacrifices, we are ultimately called beyond these to the beauty of our salvation. In this season of Lent, we are called to praise God, for He has rescued us, as the psalm response for today proclaims (Ps 30:2a).