With all of the craziness that accompanies the Triduum, in the midst of everything, life still goes on as normal outside the walls of the parish. I was reminded of this in a special way within these last minutes.
We received a call from one of our local hospices that a man was in the process of dying, and his family had requested one of the priests to visit and pray. They gave me the name of the man, and I was on my way. When I arrived, one of the nurses met me and introduced me to the family. One of the children of the dying man is a well-known member of the media in the area. How gracious the children were to have a priest come and anoint and pray with their dying father in the midst of the chaos of Easter preparations.
As I was making some small talk with the family prior to praying, we agreed that if this man - this father - was to die, there was not a better time to do it within the veil of the celebration of Easter, within the celebration of the Paschal Mystery. Truly, it is the ultimate time of transition from this life to the next.
As I was driving back to the parish, it struck me that it is in the "ordinary-ness" of life that make us appreciate not only the whole understanding of how our relationship with God underlies all that we are and do (or at least it should), but also how much the presence of Christ is truly found in the smallest of moments - in the quiet of the chaos that surrounds us. Our openness to the moments when God makes Himself known to us are profound opportunities in which we come to grasp - even if it's just for the briefest moment - a glimpse of the Divine. And these small glimpses strengthen us for what is ahead. Yet, these glimpses ought to lead us to a deeper relationship with God - especially the strengthening of our relationship with God through the celebration of the Sacraments of the Eucharist and Reconciliation.
We are all constantly in some type of transition. Yet there is not a better time to reflect upon the greatest of all the transitions - that from death to life - than at this time of Easter. And I'm glad I had the opportunity to, if just briefly, see this transition happen at this time, within the veil of the celebration of Easter and the Paschal Mystery.
Lord, help us in all of our times of transition. Allow us to see the glimpses of You to allow us to know of Your constant Presence with us. May these glimpses, especially through the celebration of the Sacraments, enable us to be strengthened in the knowledge of Your love and new life. Amen.
Enjoy the journey . . .
23 April 2011
22 April 2011
B16's Holy Thursday
Pope Benedict XVI had some wonderful thoughts in his homilies for the Chrism Mass and for the Holy Thursday Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper. I thought that I would share with you some of the quotes that really impacted me.
"I wish not merely to be called Christian, but also to be Christian, said Saint Ignatius of Antioch."
"Through this first anointing [with the Oil of Catechumens], which takes place even prior to baptism, our gaze is turned towards people who are journeying towards Christ - people who are searching for faith, searching for God."
" . . . God himself is searching for us."
"Driven by love, God has set out towards us."
"God is searching for me. Do I want to recognize him? Do I want to be known by him, found by him? God loves us. He comes to meet the unrest of our hearts, the unrest of our questioning and seeking, with the unrest of his own heart, which leads him to accomplish the ultimate for us. That restlessness for God, that journeying towards him, so as to know and love him better, must not be extinguished in us."
"Let us remain constantly on a journey towards him, longing for him, always open to receive new knowledge and love!"
"The proclamation of God's Kingdom, of God's unlimited goodness, must first of all bring healing to broken hearts."
"Christians are a priestly people for the world. Christians should make the living God visible to the world, they should bear witness to him and lead people towards him."
"We have reason to cry out at this time to God: 'Do not allow us to become a "non-people"! Make us recognize you again! Truly, you have anointed us with your love, you have poured out your Holy Spirit upon us. Grant that the power of your Spirit may become newly effective in us, so that we may bear joyful witness to your message!'"
"With great gratitude for the vocation [to the priesthood] and with humility for all our shortcomings, we renew at this hour our 'yes' to the Lord's call: yes, I want to be intimately united to the Lord Jesus, driven on by the love of Christ. Amen."
----------------------------------------
"Jesus desires us, he awaits us. But what about ourselves? Do we really desire him? Are we anxious to meet him? Do we desire to encounter him, to become one with him, to receive the gifts he offers us in the Holy Eucharist? Or are we indifferent, distracted, busy about other things?"
"Eucharistic communion requires faith, but faith requires love; otherwise, even as faith, it is dead."
"Yet at his final meal, more than anything else, Jesus prayed."
"Jesus turns his suffering into prayer, into an offering to the Father for the sake of mankind."
"The ultimate purpose of Eucharistic transformation is our own transformation in communion with Christ. The Eucharist is directed to the new man, the new world, which can only come about from God, through the ministry of God's Servant."
"All of us eat the one bread and receive the one Body of the Lord; this means he opens each of us up to something above and beyond us. He makes all of us one. The Eucharist is the mystery of the profound closeness and communion of each individual with the Lord and, at the same time, of visible union between all. The Eucharist is the sacrament of unity. It reaches the very mystery of the Trinity and thus creates visible unity. Let me say it again: it is an extremely personal encounter with the Lord and yet never simply an act of individual piety."
" . . . unity is something utterly concrete, it has names. In this way unity becomes visible; it becomes a sign for the world and a concrete criterion for ourselves."
"Every human being, save Mary, has constant need of conversion."
" . . . in the humility of one who knows that he is a sinner, is he called."
"We too, all of us, need to learn again to accept God and Jesus Christ as he is, and not the way we want him to be."
"Tonight we want to ask Jesus to look to us, as with kindly eyes he looked to Peter when the time was right, and to convert us."
"'I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you.' Lord, you desire us, you desire me. You eagerly desire to share yourself with us in the Holy Eucharist, to be one with us. Lord, awaken in us the desire for you. Strengthen us in unity with you and with one another. Grant unity to your Church, so that the world may believe. Amen."
I would recommend that you read the entirety of both homilies. They are excellent. They give us wonderful reflection material for the quiet of these days.
Enjoy the journey . . .
From the homily for the Chrism Mass
"I wish not merely to be called Christian, but also to be Christian, said Saint Ignatius of Antioch."
"Through this first anointing [with the Oil of Catechumens], which takes place even prior to baptism, our gaze is turned towards people who are journeying towards Christ - people who are searching for faith, searching for God."
" . . . God himself is searching for us."
"Driven by love, God has set out towards us."
"God is searching for me. Do I want to recognize him? Do I want to be known by him, found by him? God loves us. He comes to meet the unrest of our hearts, the unrest of our questioning and seeking, with the unrest of his own heart, which leads him to accomplish the ultimate for us. That restlessness for God, that journeying towards him, so as to know and love him better, must not be extinguished in us."
"Let us remain constantly on a journey towards him, longing for him, always open to receive new knowledge and love!"
"The proclamation of God's Kingdom, of God's unlimited goodness, must first of all bring healing to broken hearts."
"Christians are a priestly people for the world. Christians should make the living God visible to the world, they should bear witness to him and lead people towards him."
"We have reason to cry out at this time to God: 'Do not allow us to become a "non-people"! Make us recognize you again! Truly, you have anointed us with your love, you have poured out your Holy Spirit upon us. Grant that the power of your Spirit may become newly effective in us, so that we may bear joyful witness to your message!'"
"With great gratitude for the vocation [to the priesthood] and with humility for all our shortcomings, we renew at this hour our 'yes' to the Lord's call: yes, I want to be intimately united to the Lord Jesus, driven on by the love of Christ. Amen."
----------------------------------------
From the Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper
"Jesus desires us, he awaits us. But what about ourselves? Do we really desire him? Are we anxious to meet him? Do we desire to encounter him, to become one with him, to receive the gifts he offers us in the Holy Eucharist? Or are we indifferent, distracted, busy about other things?"
"Eucharistic communion requires faith, but faith requires love; otherwise, even as faith, it is dead."
"Yet at his final meal, more than anything else, Jesus prayed."
"Jesus turns his suffering into prayer, into an offering to the Father for the sake of mankind."
"The ultimate purpose of Eucharistic transformation is our own transformation in communion with Christ. The Eucharist is directed to the new man, the new world, which can only come about from God, through the ministry of God's Servant."
"All of us eat the one bread and receive the one Body of the Lord; this means he opens each of us up to something above and beyond us. He makes all of us one. The Eucharist is the mystery of the profound closeness and communion of each individual with the Lord and, at the same time, of visible union between all. The Eucharist is the sacrament of unity. It reaches the very mystery of the Trinity and thus creates visible unity. Let me say it again: it is an extremely personal encounter with the Lord and yet never simply an act of individual piety."
" . . . unity is something utterly concrete, it has names. In this way unity becomes visible; it becomes a sign for the world and a concrete criterion for ourselves."
"Every human being, save Mary, has constant need of conversion."
" . . . in the humility of one who knows that he is a sinner, is he called."
"We too, all of us, need to learn again to accept God and Jesus Christ as he is, and not the way we want him to be."
"Tonight we want to ask Jesus to look to us, as with kindly eyes he looked to Peter when the time was right, and to convert us."
"'I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you.' Lord, you desire us, you desire me. You eagerly desire to share yourself with us in the Holy Eucharist, to be one with us. Lord, awaken in us the desire for you. Strengthen us in unity with you and with one another. Grant unity to your Church, so that the world may believe. Amen."
I would recommend that you read the entirety of both homilies. They are excellent. They give us wonderful reflection material for the quiet of these days.
Enjoy the journey . . .
13 April 2011
A Passiontide Prayer
O great Passion!
O profound Wounds!
O outpouring of blood!
O highest Sorrow!
O Death suffered in every bitterness!
Be to us healing and eternal life.
O profound Wounds!
O outpouring of blood!
O highest Sorrow!
O Death suffered in every bitterness!
Be to us healing and eternal life.
Enjoy the journey . . .
04 April 2011
Nutrolls = Commitment
As one of our fundraising efforts for the pilgrimage to Madrid, Spain, for World Youth Day in August, our group is making nutrolls. (We're planning to bake about 300 nutrolls, and, hopefully, about 50 apricot rolls.) We've done them before, but they seem to be an intense process to make.
One does not simply seem to need enough dough or enough filling to make sure that we have the item to eventually sell, but one also needs to have the people in the kitchen to make all these treats become a reality. As always, "Many hands make light work!" This can seem like an overwhelming process if you do not have the people to assist. In the long run, these nutrolls equal commitment.
The pilgrims who are attending World Youth Day (WYD) from the parish have committed themselves to help not only in the fundraising efforts for the group to get to Spain, but also in assisting the other members of the group in their own preparation for the voyage. There is a commitment from each of the pilgrims to support, through prayer and action, the others journeying with them to Europe. And this is a daunting thing when one stops to think about it. The commitment that I and the other adult leaders have agreed to does not simply begin at one point in time and end at another - we are here to see the preparation of the group, the journey of the group, and the returning of the group home. We are simply not putting our lives up for grabs for two weeks in Spain; rather, we are entering into a commitment with the other pilgrims that, beginning in the here and now (which already had begun before I arrived here in July), should carry us in a committed relationship of Christian fellowship throughout our lives, whether we remain physically connected or not. Our group's total commitment to manifesting the Mystical Body of Christ on a physical level within the fraternity that we build amongst ourselves.
And so our nutrolls are simply something more than just a tasty treat which we're trying to sell to raise some money to travel to Spain to be with other Catholics from throughout the world. Rather, these nutrolls symbolize a deeper commitment in those who bake them - and those who buy them - to support one another in our journey of faith . . . and to help lead each other to the Kingdom of God. I know in a few days, I will be sick of thinking of and dealing with nutrolls.
But I also know something greater:
Nutrolls are only a small part in the way that we help each other journey in our lives of faith.
Enjoy the journey . . .
One does not simply seem to need enough dough or enough filling to make sure that we have the item to eventually sell, but one also needs to have the people in the kitchen to make all these treats become a reality. As always, "Many hands make light work!" This can seem like an overwhelming process if you do not have the people to assist. In the long run, these nutrolls equal commitment.
The pilgrims who are attending World Youth Day (WYD) from the parish have committed themselves to help not only in the fundraising efforts for the group to get to Spain, but also in assisting the other members of the group in their own preparation for the voyage. There is a commitment from each of the pilgrims to support, through prayer and action, the others journeying with them to Europe. And this is a daunting thing when one stops to think about it. The commitment that I and the other adult leaders have agreed to does not simply begin at one point in time and end at another - we are here to see the preparation of the group, the journey of the group, and the returning of the group home. We are simply not putting our lives up for grabs for two weeks in Spain; rather, we are entering into a commitment with the other pilgrims that, beginning in the here and now (which already had begun before I arrived here in July), should carry us in a committed relationship of Christian fellowship throughout our lives, whether we remain physically connected or not. Our group's total commitment to manifesting the Mystical Body of Christ on a physical level within the fraternity that we build amongst ourselves.
And so our nutrolls are simply something more than just a tasty treat which we're trying to sell to raise some money to travel to Spain to be with other Catholics from throughout the world. Rather, these nutrolls symbolize a deeper commitment in those who bake them - and those who buy them - to support one another in our journey of faith . . . and to help lead each other to the Kingdom of God. I know in a few days, I will be sick of thinking of and dealing with nutrolls.
But I also know something greater:
Nutrolls are only a small part in the way that we help each other journey in our lives of faith.
Enjoy the journey . . .
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