March 29, 1998Fifth Sunday of Lent |
LAST CHANCE
Sunday's readings ask us to think about our spiritual
lives. Isaiah's exiles, John's adulteress and Paul's
self-reflection all have something important to say to
us. Holy Week awaits. Now is our last chance to
prepare well.
The verses read from Isaiah recall the mighty
events of the Exodus and assure the Israelites that
they will experience the wonder of liberation. Their
own exodus from Babylon will again declare God's mercy
among all the nations.
Paul reminds us that what is important is the total
commitment to Jesus demanded by our baptism. He likens
his new Christian life to a race, while assuring us
that we have an edge in this contest; we have been
grasped by Christ. This helps us, like Paul, to "push"
on to what is ahead.
John's adulteress has a lot to teach us about true
repentance and religious honesty. While Jesus refuses
to condemn the woman, he admonishes her to reform her
life. He treats us all equally, accusers and accused.
Liturgy of the Word
Jesus dealt with the woman caught in adultery in the
spirit of a new beginning. Without minimizing the
gravity of her misconduct, he judged her less harshly
than her accusers and let her go with a warning not to
sin anymore. He echoes the word of Isaiah: "Remember
not the events of the past." Like St. Paul we can let
Christ take over our lives "forgetting what lies behind
but straining forward to what lies ahead."
From the Pastor
When I was in the seminary, part of the preparation for priesthood was called Minor and Major Orders. Preceding both was a ceremony called Tonsure - a small tuft of hair was clipped from the head. The Minor Orders consisted of Porter and Lector, Exorcist and Acolyte. Major Orders consisted of Subdiaconate, Diaconate and Priesthood. The porter, in the early years of the Church, was the one who opened and closed the church each day and rang the bell calling people to Mass. The Lector was - and still is - the one who did the readings at Mass. The Exorcist was the one who expelled demons. And the Acolyte was the one whose privilege and duty it was to serve Mass and distribute Holy Communion. A subdeacon did not have any additional responsibilities, but the deacon is able to preach, baptize solemnly, witness marriages. With the many changes in the Church, many of duties of the Minor Orders have been taken over by lay persons, and therefore are not needed in the Church.
Today, instead of Tonsure, there is a ceremony of accepting a person into the candidacy of Orders. There is still the Ministry of Acolyte for those preparing for the permanent diaconate or for priesthood. Last Saturday, March 21, Bishop McHugh accepted eighteen men for the Ministry of Acolyte. Thirteen of the men are preparing for the permanent diaconate. There were five seminarians from the diocese, including Allen Lovell, now studying at Pope John XXIII Seminary in Weston, Massachusetts. Allen spent part of the summer living here in St. Catherine's rectory. Those instituted as acolytes were presented with a chalice and a host as a symbol of serving at the table of the Lord. We congratulate Allen and the other new Acolytes for the Camden Diocese.
Father Frank's Corner:
A few "pearls" you might find helpful:
+ By perseverance the snail reached the ark.
+ Much prayer, much power. Little prayer,
little power. No prayer, no power.
+ We die daily --happy those who daily come to
life as well.
+ When I die, God won't measure my head to see
how clever I was. God will measure my heart
to see how loving I was.
+ No one needs love more than someone who
doesn't deserve it.
+ The hand will not reach out for what the
heart does not long for.
+ Sometimes opportunity knocks, but most of
the time it sneaks up on you and then
quietly sneaks away.
+ The value of persistent prayer is not that
god will hear us, but that we will finally
hear God.
God be with you.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
La esquina del Padre Frank:
Unas cuantas perlas que te pueden ser de mucha
ayuda:
+ Por la perseverancia del gusano obtiene un
hermoso caracol.
+ Mucha oración, Mucho poder. Poquita oración,
poquito poder. No oración, no poder.
+ Nosotros morimos diariamente---Felices
aquellos que diariamente renacen.
+ Cuando yo muera, Dios no va a medir mi
cabeza para ver que tan inteligente fuí.
Dios medir mi corazón para ver cuanto amé.
+ Nadie necesita más amor que aquel que no lo
merece.
+ Las manos no pueden alcanzar lo que el
corazón no desea.
+ Algunas veces las oportunidades tocan a la
puerta, pero la mayoría de las veces
solamente llegan nos tocan y después en
silencio se van.
+ El valor de la oración persistente, no es
que Dios nos escuchar , sino que finalmente
nosotros escucharemos a Dios.
Dios este con ustedes.
A WEEK CALLED HOLY
Next Sunday is the last of Lent's six Sundays, the Sunday
named for the palms, the Sunday for telling the story of Jesus'
passion. On Thursday, April 9, Holy Thursday, Lent will come
to an end.
The whole reason for Lent was to get somewhere. We were
marked with ashes for a journey, and through Lent's long winter
weeks, we have told some of our best stories: Jesus in the
wilderness and on the mount of transfiguration, the woman at the
well and the man born blind, this weekend's drama beside the
tomb that ended with Jesus shouting: "Lazarus, come
out!
All of these stories that we've shared will echo next
weekend as we tell the passion story. All of this story, every
sound, every image, every movement of the battle between life
and death will be caught up in the doings of Holy Week.
From Holy thursday evening until Easter Sunday afternoon,
we are called to be fully present to the passover, to the
passing-over of Jesus from death to life. We are called to find
how this mystery tells the deepest truth about each of us, about
our Church, about our world.
We keep these three days not as an anniversary of the death
and resurrection of Jesus, but as our own proclamation that the
cross is our tree of life, that in Jesus' wounds we are healed.
It is this faith that will enable us to gather to bless water,
to baptize, to welcome new members, to renew our own baptized
selves, and to take the Easter Eucharist. All of Lent, we have
been preparing for this.
THE OFFICE OF TENEBRAE
On Wednesday evening, April 8, 7:00 PM, in the church,
we shall celebrate the Office of Tenebrae.
The name "Tenebrae" (pronounced: ten-uh-bray) comes
from the Latin word for "darkness" or "shadows." In an
earlier age, monks would chant the ancient psalms and
lamentations in the darkness of night or very early morning
hours. These early offices, "Matins" and "Lauds" of the
Sacred Triduum, later began to be anticipated the evening
before, especially on Wednesday of Holy Week. Today Tenebrae
is celebrated as a bridge rite between the end of Lent and
the beginning of the Sacred Triduum.
A singular feature of this service is that as the chants
and readings progress, candles are gradually extinguished.
Here, in the darkened church, we will extinguish all the
lights until we are enveloped in complete darkness. For a
brief time we remain in total darkness, meditating on the
mystery of Christ's death and the apparent victory of
darkness and evil in our lives. A loud noise (strepitus)
startles us, symbolizing the earthquake at the time of the
resurrection and the victory of goodness over evil. The
candle then reappears and by its light we pray and leave
quietly, anticipating the events to unfold in the Sacred
Triduum: Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil.
This service invites your participation and quiet
reflection. Music and text are designed to speak
symbolically of our lives identified in the death and
resurrection of Jesus.
Fifth Sunday of Lent
We at St. Anthony's continue our "Mission
of Reconciliation" during this Lent of 1998 by
reflecting during this weekend of the Fifth Sunday
of Lent on a very basic reality in our journey
toward holiness: "You may go. But from now on,
avoid this sin" (Gospel).
Jesus' agenda for us is expressed in
Scripture: "I came that they might life and
have it to the full" (Jn 10:10).
"Choose life, then, that you and your
descendants might live" (Dt 30:19). So,
then, "do I indeed derive any pleasure from the
death of the wicked? says the Lord God. Do I not
rather rejoice when he turns from his evil way
that he may live?" (Ez 18:23).
Therefore, Jesus says, "Whoever wishes to
be my follower must deny his very self, take up
his cross each day, and follow in my steps"
(Lk 9:23). So, we respond: "I wish to
know Christ and the power flowing from his
resurrection; likewise to know how to share in his
sufferings by being formed into the pattern of his
death" (Phil 3:10, second reading).
In other words, to achieve reconciliation
("walking together with God, with one another,
with ourselves, with all of creation"), we need to
choose a pattern of living that is alive, growth-
filled, and healthy spiritually, mentally,
emotionally, physically, and relationally.
To keep on track with this "life to the full"
or abundant life in God, we must choose to put to
death (that is, turn our back on and remove)
whatever in our outlook or behavior destroys or
detours our journey toward life (that is,
sin).
This process is known as "taking up the
cross" because it is identifying within ourselves
the same movement that Jesus himself accomplished
by his death on the cross.
In practical, everyday language, we are
talking about facing, naming, and getting rid of
that sin which keep us from reconciliation, from
making a pathway in the desert and a river in the
wasteland (first reading).
The specific sin mentioned in this weekend's
Gospel is adultery which symbolizes a kind of
self-gratification or self-promotion which uses
others to advance our own agenda and which throws
to the wind the disciplines of right order, moral
conviction, and respectful relationships.
What's your "big sin"? Call it by name!
Confess it! Correct your conduct! Take up the
cross! Let new life spring forth!
--Father Benet OFM
WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY...
about Procession with gifts for the poor:
Where charity and love are found, there is
God.
The love of Christ has gathered us together
into one.
Let us rejoice and be glad in him.
Let us fear and love the living God,
and love each other from the depths of our
heart.
Therefore when we are together,
let us take heed not to be divided in mind.
Let there be an end to bitterness and
quarrels,
an end to strife,
and in our midst be Christ our God.
And, in company with the blessed, may we see
your face in glory, Christ our God,
pure and unbounded joy for ever and ever.
Procession with gifts for the poor,
Holy Thursday, Roman Rite.
--compiled by Brother Richard OFM
TO HELP PREPARE FOR GOD'S WORD
Readings for next week,
April 5, 1998
Passion/Palm Sunday:
Copyright © 1998 Liturgical Publications of St. Louis, Inc.
Last modified: Monday, March 9, 1998