March 22, 1998Fourth Sunday of Lent |
It was a custom in the early days of the church that on this day they would bring roses to church to celebrate this halfway point. Because of this, this led the church to wear vestments of the color of rose. It is also a day when you may have floral arrangements on the altar and the singing can be more festive. It also can be looked upon liturgically as welcoming the paschal spring which is about to blossom forth at Easter.
We are called to be "ambassadors of Christ" (second reading). By virtue of our baptism we are meant to be agents and catalysts of God's message: "Be reconciled to God! God "has reconciled us to himself through Christ and ... has entrusted the message of reconciliation to us."
If reconciliation means "the process of coming to walk together again with God and with others," then it's our responsibility to remove whatever barriers there are in our lives which prevent us from achieving this reconciliation ourselves and from passing such reconciliation on to others.
The Lord says to Joshua in the first reading: "Today I have removed the reproaches of Egypt from you." In other words, God has forgiven his people and taken away from them the burden and enslavement of their sins.
This is precisely what happens to us in the Sacrament of Reconciliation or Penance. God's forgiveness is ever new, ever fresh, ever ready for us.
This is witnessed by today's wonderful story in the Gospel of the prodigal son, forgiving Father, and jealous and judgmental older son.
If we -- like the prodigal Son -- acknowledge God's mercy in our regard, admit our sins, affirm our change of heart, and accept the Lord's forgiveness (the open-arms approach of the forgiving Father in the story), there is no doubt that reconciliation will be ours.
The other brother (the "elder son"), however, is not somebody apart from ourselves, but rather is that tendency deep within us which is predisposed to resisting reconciliation. We all have the urge in some way or other -- even if we don't admit it! -- to hold grudges, to act out of rivalry or jealousy or revenge, to judge people's behavior just because of their color or choices or because of our feelings or fears. This urge prevents us from forgiving others or from receiving God's forgiveness.
So, how are you facing this subtle disposition toward a closed heart? How do you intend to reach out to forgive and be forgiven and hence achieve reconciliation?
--Father Benet OFM
In 1956 (already 42 years ago!) Pope Pius XII restored and renewed the observances of the Triduum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil).
This reform would become the basis for the general liturgical reform carried out after Vatican II and influenced the manner in which we celebrate the Triduum today.
Some of the changes mandated by both these reforms include:
Returning to the celebration of the "Mass of the Lord's Supper" to Thursday evening, restoring the "Mandatum" or the Washing of Feet, calling for the Altar of Repose to be located in a chapel apart from the place where the Eucharist is celebrated and decorated with "a severity which is proper to the liturgy of these days" (Pius XII, 1956), moved the Good Friday celebration of the Lord's Passion to "about" 3:00pm, and called for the Easter Vigil to take place at night: after nightfall, before daybreak, therefore making it a true vigil -- a waiting in the darkness for the Light which is Christ.
Sourcebook 1998, et al.
--compiled by Brother Richard OFM
According to the first chapter of Luke's gospel, the angel Gabriel came to tell Mary about God's plan of salvation. The angel announced that Mary was chosen to be the mother of Jesus, the Son of God. Mary freely answered, "Here I am, the servant of the Lord." Despite her puzzlement over the angel's mysterious words, she trusted in God's goodness.
At Easter we take joy in the willingness of Jesus to be our Savior by his death and burial and rising. Today God begins that work by becoming flesh in Mary's womb. This mystery is expressed in the Angelus prayer, which some people recite at the beginning, middle and end of each day. Here are its final words:
Lord, fill our hearts with your grace:
once, through the message of an angel,
you revealed to us the incarnation of your Son;
now, through his suffering and death,
lead us to the glory of his resurrection.
Artists often show Mary in a garden when Gabriel appeared to her. They want to remind us of the garden of Eden, where Adam and Eve said "no" to God. Here, today, in a new garden, Mary said, "yes."
In ancient times, scholars worked out all the feasts of the year mathematically. They decided that March 25 is a remarkable day. They calculated that this is the day Jesus died on the cross. Perhaps too the Jews' exodus from Egypt and even the creation of the world began on this day. And if all those things occurred on this one wonderful day, then surely this must be the best day to begin each new year.
For several hundred years, beginning in the twelfth century, March 25 was the official New Year's Day in many Christian countries. This matches the practice of several other cultures and countries, such as Iran, which still begin the year at the vernal equinox.
The Annunciation of the Lord is celebrated with symbols of the Holy Spirit, such as wind and fire. It is a day to search for signs of the newly arrived springtime.
We used to think of Lent just as a time for giving something up: chocolate, cigarettes, TV. We now see that Lent is also a time for doing something, for making special efforts to add to our daily lives actions that help us grow as faith- filled Christians. We try to share the Good News of Jesus in an explicit way.
Our sensitivity to others may come from deep insecurity inside of us. We have to be reassured that we are welcomed and appreciated. But it may also come from a very human need to create community, to make relationships, and this is something which does not happen automatically. We need to make community explicit in our families, at church, and even at our jobs, or else we drift apart.
If evangelization happens in our human relationships, then it has to be explicit as well. We need to reach out, we need to invite, we need to speak, we need to proclaim. By the simple living of faith and sharing, we make the Good News of Jesus explicit. It is important to witness to the integrity of the Gospel in order to be able to proclaim the Gospel. This is sharing our faith.
Each day Catholics are surrounded by people whose lives do not include the Gospel or show signs of God's presence. We work alongside these people. We live next to them. Often they are members of our own families. These people may hint about or talk about faith and religion to us. But we hesitate to proclaim it; we are not open to them about what our faith means to us.
As the implications of evangelization expand in our minds, with some images that make us comfortable and others which may challenge us, we have to return to the basic gospel rule: Catholic life demands that we witness to our faith, and insists that we invite others to share it with us.
Actually that is the key to Christianity. It's at the very heart of Catholic life. Maybe we fail to get that idea across. Or maybe we fail to live it.
When we take time each day for honest-to-goodness prayer, actually speaking to God, that's personal.
When we make sure we celebrate Christ's death and resurrection, his great act of love, by attending Mass every Sunday, that's personal.
When we forgive those who don't deserve to be forgiven, because Christ asked us to, that's personal.
When we sacrifice our time and our own preferences to help others, that's personal.
When we pass up a chance to add our own bit of gossip to a conversation, that's personal.
When we willingly adore Christ in the Eucharist, that's personal.
When we believe the Bible is addressed to me, and read it that way, that's personal.
When we are convinced God has forgiven even our worst mistake and we are determined to change our lives, that's personal.
Frs. Earl & Gilmary
The Sacrament of Anointing is administered to those who are of advanced years, seriously ill, or about to die. Different prayers are used for different needs. The intent of the sacrament is that it brings spiritual healing to the one being anointed, and sometimes physical healing. Your sins are forgiven by God. And, I could tell you stories about some physical healing that followed the reception of this sacrament. However, while there is not always physical healing, the relationship with God (spiritual healing) is always healed through the forgiveness of sins.
When you receive this sacrament it is our hope that the healing power of the sacrament will bring you a sense of peace.
