The Assumption of Our Lady 15th August

 

In this dogmatic statement, the phrase “having completed the course of her earthly life”, leaves open the question of whether the Virgin Mary died before her assumption or whether she was assumed before death; both possibilities are allowed. Mary’s assumption is said to have been a divine gift to her as the ‘Mother of God’. Ludwig Ott’s view is that, as Mary completed her life as a shining example to the human race, the perspective of the gift of assumption is offered to the whole human race.

In Ludwig Ott’s Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma he states that “the fact of her death is almost generally accepted by the Fathers and Theologians, and is expressly affirmed in the Liturgy of the Church”, to which he adduces a number of helpful citations, and concludes that “for Mary, death, in consequence of her freedom from original sin and from personal sin, was not a consequence of punishment of sin. However, it seems fitting that Mary’s body, which was by nature mortal, should be, in conformity with that of her Divine Son, subject to the general law of death”.

 The point of her bodily death has not been infallibly defined, and many believe that she did not die at all, but was assumed directly into Heaven. The dogmatic definition within the Apostolic Constitution Munificentissimus Deus which, according to Roman Catholic dogma, infallibly proclaims the doctrine of the Assumption leaves open the question whether, in connection with her departure, Mary underwent bodily death; that is, it does not dogmatically define the point one way or the other, as shown by the words “having completed the course of her earthly life”.

On November 1, 1950, Pope Pius XII solemnly declared:

By the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and by our own authority, we pronounce, declare, and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma: that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory.
Roman Catholic theologians consider this declaration by Pius XII to be an ex cathedra use of Papal Infallibility.  Although Pope Pius XII deliberately left open the question of whether Mary died before her Assumption, the more common teaching of the early Fathers is that she did.

 

Mary’s heavenly birthday the Assumption of Mary

Also called Ferragosto (in Italy)
Observed by Catholics
Anglicans
Most Orthodox as The Dormition
Type Christian, popular
Significance Mary’s assumption of body and soul into heaven
Date August 15
Observances Church services, vacations, trips
Related to End of the harvest

The Assumption is important to many Catholic and Orthodox Christians as the Virgin Mary’s heavenly birthday (the day that Mary was received into Heaven). Her acceptance into the glory of Heaven is seen by them as the symbol of the promise made by Jesus to all enduring Christians that they too will be received into paradise. The Assumption of Mary is symbolised in the Fleur-de-lys Madonna.

The present Italian name of the holiday, “Ferragosto”, may derive from the Latin name, Feriae Augusti (“Holidays of the Emperor Augustus”),  since the month of August took its name from the emperor. The feast of the Assumption on August 15 was celebrated in the eastern Church from the 6th Century. The Catholic Church adopted this date as a Holy Day of Obligation to commemorate the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the real physical elevation of her sinless soul and incorrupt body into Heaven.

The Feast of the Assumption on August 15 is a Public Holiday in many countries, including Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chile, Republic of Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Croatia, Colombia, Cyprus, East Timor, France, Gabon, Greece, Republic of Guinea, Haiti, Italy, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Republic of Macedonia, Madagascar, Malta, Mauritius, Monaco, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Tahiti, Togo and Vanuatu.

It is also a holiday in some predominantly Catholic states of Germany, including Bavaria and Saarland. In Guatemala it is observed in Guatemala City and in the town of Santa Maria Nebaj, both of which claim her as their patron saint. Also, this day is combined with Mother’s Day in Costa Rica. In many places, religious parades and popular festivals are held to celebrate this day. Prominent Catholic and Orthodox countries in which Assumption day is an important festival but is not recognized by the state as a public holiday include Argentina, Brazil, Czech Republic, Ireland, Mexico, the Philippines and Russia. In Canada, Assumption Day is the Fête Nationale of the Acadians, of whom she is the patron saint. Businesses close on that day in heavily francophone parts of New Brunswick, Canada. The Virgin Assumed in Heaven is also patroness of the Maltese Islands and her feast, celebrated on 15 August, apart from being a public holiday in Malta is also celebrated with great solemnity in all the local churches especially in the seven localities known as the Seba’ Santa Marijiet. In Anglicanism and Lutheranism, the feast is kept, but without official use of the word “Assumption”.

Assumption and Dormition (Eastern Christianity) compared

Possibly the most famous rendition of the subject in Western art, Titian’s Assunta (1516–18).The Catholic Feast of the Assumption is celebrated on August 15, and the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholics celebrate the Dormition of the Theotokos (the falling asleep of the Mother of God) on the same date, preceded by a 14-day fast period. Eastern Orthodox Christians believe that Mary died a natural death, that her soul was received by Christ upon death, and that her body was resurrected on the third day after her death and that she was taken up into heaven bodily in anticipation of the general resurrection. Her tomb was found empty on the third day. “…Orthodox tradition is clear and unwavering in regard to the central point [of the Dormition]: the Holy Virgin underwent, as did her Son, a physical death, but her body – like His – was afterwards raised from the dead and she was taken up into heaven, in her body as well as in her soul. She has passed beyond death and judgement, and lives wholly in the Age to Come. The Resurrection of the Body … has in her case been anticipated and is already an accomplished fact. That does not mean, however, that she is dissociated from the rest of humanity and placed in a wholly different category: for we all hope to share one day in that same glory of the Resurrection of the Body which she enjoys even now.”

Many Catholics also believe that Mary first died before being assumed, but they add that she was miraculously resurrected before being assumed. Others believe she was assumed bodily into Heaven without first passing through death. As mentioned earlier, this aspect of the Assumption is not authoritatively defined in Catholic theology, and either understanding may be legitimately held by Catholics. Eastern Catholics observe the Feast as the Dormition. Many theologians note by way of comparison that in the Catholic Church, the Assumption is dogmatically defined, while in the Eastern Orthodox tradition, the Dormition is less dogmatically than liturgically and mystically defined. Such differences spring from a larger pattern in the two traditions, wherein Catholic teachings are often dogmatically and authoritatively defined – in part because of the more centralized structure of the Catholic Church– while in Eastern Orthodoxy, many doctrines are less authoritative.

 

Scriptural sources
As mentioned, recent papal scholarship has cited John 14:3 as evidence of the Assumption in principle if not formally. Near the end of a review of the doctrine’s history – a review which serves as the bulk of Munificentissimus Deus – Pope Pius XII tells us: “All these proofs and considerations of the holy Fathers and the theologians are based upon the Sacred Writings as their ultimate foundation.” Precedent to this, he cites many passages that have been offered in support of this teaching:

the holy writers…employed statements and various images and analogies of Sacred Scripture to Illustrate and to confirm the doctrine of the Assumption, which was piously believed… On the feast day of the Assumption, while explaining the prophet’s words: “I will glorify the place of my feet,” [Isaiah 60:13] he [i.e. St. Anthony of Padua] stated it as certain that the divine Redeemer had bedecked with supreme glory his most beloved Mother from whom he had received human flesh. He asserts that “you have here a clear statement that the Blessed Virgin has been assumed in her body, where was the place of the Lord’s feet…”

St. Albert the Great… in a sermon which he delivered on the sacred day of the Blessed Virgin Mary’s annunciation, explained the words “Hail, full of grace” [Luke 1:28]-words used by the angel who addressed her-the Universal Doctor, comparing the Blessed Virgin with Eve, stated clearly and incisively that she was exempted from the fourfold curse that had been laid upon Eve [cf. Genesis 3:16. Along with many others, the Seraphic Doctor held the same views. He considered it as entirely certain that...God...would never have permitted her body to have been resolved into dust and ashes. Explaining these words of Sacred Scripture: "Who is this that comes up from the desert, flowing with delights, leaning upon her beloved?" [Song of Songs 8:5] and applying them in a kind of accommodated sense to the Blessed Virgin, he reasons thus: “From this we can see that she is there bodily…her blessedness would not have been complete unless she were there as a person. The soul is not a person, but the soul, joined to the body, is a person. It is manifest that she is there in soul and in body. Otherwise she would not possess her complete beatitude. …

The Pope also cites, significantly in paragraph 39, 1st Corinthians 15, where we read (vv. 21–26):

For by a man came death, and by a man the resurrection of the dead. And as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive. But every one in his own order: the firstfruits Christ, then they that are of Christ, who have believed in his coming. Afterwards the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God and the Father, when he shall have brought to nought all principality, and power, and virtue. For he must reign, until he hath put all his enemies under his feet. And the enemy death shall be destroyed last: For he hath put all things under his feet.

In this passage Paul alludes to Genesis 3:15 (in addition to the primary reference of Psalms 8:6), where it is prophesied that the seed of a woman will crush Satan with his feet. Since, then, Jesus arose to Heaven to fulfill this prophecy, it follows that the woman would have a similar end, since she shared this enmity with Satan. The pope comments thus in paragraph 39:

…although subject to [Jesus, who is] the new Adam, [Mary, the new Eve] is most intimately associated with him in that struggle against the infernal foe which, as foretold in the protoevangelium [i.e. Genesis 3:15], would finally result in that most complete victory over the sin and death which are always mentioned together in the writings of the Apostle of the Gentiles. Consequently, just as the glorious resurrection of Jesus was an essential part and the final sign of this victory, so that struggle which was common to the Blessed Virgin and her divine Son should be brought to a close by the glorification of her virginal body, for the same Apostle says: “When this mortal thing hath put on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory.”

Assumption statue, 1808 by Mariano Gerada, Ghaxaq, MaltaThe pope also mentions (in paragraph 26) Psalms 132, a liturgical psalm commemorating the return of the Ark of God to Jerusalem[24] and lamenting its subsequent loss. The second half of the psalm says that the loss will be recompensed in the New Covenant, and so it is hopefully prayed, “Arise, O Lord, into thy resting place: thou and the ark, which thou hast sanctified” (v. 8). Since the Church sees this New Covenant ark in Mary, it understands that she was taken into Heaven in the same manner as the Lord – that is, body and soul.

In the same paragraph, the pope mentions also Psalms 45:9–17 for support of a heavenly Queen present bodily with the heavenly King Jesus, and Song of Songs 3:6, 4:8, and 6:9, which speaks of David’s lover “that goeth up by the desert, as a pillar of smoke of aromatical spices, of myrrh, and frankincense, and of all the powders of the perfumer”. Regarding the Marian interpretations of those passages from Psalms 132 to Song of Songs 6:9 and those in between, the pope did, however, consider them “rather free in their use of events and expressions taken from Sacred Scripture” (paragraph 26).

Finally, he mentions in the next paragraph “that woman clothed with the sun [Revelation 12:1–2] whom John the Apostle contemplated on the Island of Patmos” as support for the doctrine. The text seems to parallel this woman with the woman of the Genesis 3 prophecy (and hence Mary): for in verse 9 the passage recalls “that old serpent” of Genesis 3, and reflects the prophecy that God would place “enmities between thee [i.e. Satan] and the woman, and thy seed and her seed” when it says that Satan “was angry against the woman: and went to make war with the rest of her seed” (Rev. 12:17).

All these passages – viz., John 14:3, Isaiah 60:13, Luke 1:28, Song of Songs 8:5, 1st Corinthians 15:21–26, Psalms 132:8, Psalms 45:9–17, Song of Songs 3:6, 4:8, 6:9, Genesis 3:15, and Revelation 12:1–2 – are drawn upon as Scriptural support of the Assumption both in that original document, and today by Catholic apologists.

Hail Mary full of grace, blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary Mother of God pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Easter Day

 

O Lord Jesus Christ, who upon this day did conquer death and rise from the dead,
and who are alive for ever more, help us never to forget your Risen Presence forever with us.
Help us to remember,
That you are with us in every time of perplexity to guide and to direct;
That you are with us in every time of sorrow to comfort and console;
That you are with us in every time of temptation to strengthen and to inspire;
That you are with us in every time of loneliness to cheer and befriend;
That you are with us even in death to bring us to the glory of your side.
Make us to be certain that there is nothing in time or in eternity, which can separate us from you, so that in your presence we may meet life with gallantry and death without fear.
You turn our darkness into light; in your light, we shall see light.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Christ the Lord is risen today!
ALLELUIA

Blest are you, Lord Jesus who came to us a little child
one of us, flesh and blood to share in our humanity
For God so loved the world

Blest are you, Lord Jesus who came to us as carpenter
and yet in whose creative hands a world was fashioned
For God so loved the world

Blest are you, Lord Jesus who came to us as fisherman
and yet pointed to a harvest that was yet to come
For God so loved the world

Blest are you, Lord Jesus who came to us as teacher
and opened eyes to truths that only
the poor could understand
For God so loved the world

Blest are you, Lord Jesus who came to us as healer
and opened hearts to the reality of wholeness
For God so loved the world

Blest are you, Lord Jesus who came to us as prophet, priest and king
and yet humbled himself
to take our place upon the cross
For God so loved the world

Blest are you, Lord Jesus who came to us as servant
and revealed to us the extent of his Father’s love
for human kind
For God so loved the world

Blest are you, Lord Jesus, who rose
from the ignominy of a sinner’s death
to the triumph of a Saviour’s resurrection
For God so loved the world

God so loved the world that he gave his only Son
for the sake of me
and you
and other sinners too
God so loved the world
Blest are you Lord Jesus, our Saviour and Redeemer

It was early on the first day of the week and still dark, when Mary of Magdala came to the tomb. She saw that the stone had been rolled away from the tomb and came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved. They have taken the Lord out of the tomb’ she said ‘and we don’t know where they have put him.

Therefore, Peter set out with the other disciple to go to the tomb. They ran together, but the other disciple, running faster than Peter, reached the tomb first; he bent down and saw the linen cloths lying on the ground, and also the cloth that been over his head; this was not with the linen cloths but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in; he saw and he believed. Until this moment, they had failed to understand the teaching of scripture that he must rise from the dead.

Today we celebrate the eternal truth of our faith: Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. Alleluia!

Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
The work of God’s justice is now complete; it is accomplished.

Through his death and resurrection, we have received every spiritual blessing, every grace, every gift, every charism.

Jesus has been glorified and the spirit is breathed upon us.

The Holy Spirit is truly our greatest gift given to guide and shape our lives.

The Spirit is the power of God; our liberation and our joy.

Father, we praise and bless you for your triumph over death in Christ your Son and for the gift of the Holy Spirit which is the priceless blessing you bestow upon us.

Bless all, especially those we know who have yet no sense of your goodness and no share of your liberating justice. Amen.

The Exsultet

Rejoice, heavenly powers! Sing Choirs of angels!
Exult, all creation around God’s throne!
Jesus Christ, Our King, is risen!
Sound the trumpet of salvation!

Rejoice, O earth, in shining splendour.
Radiant in the brightness of your king!
Christ has conquered! Glory fills you!
Darkness Vanishes for ever!

Rejoice, O Mother of Church! Exult in Glory!
The risen Saviour shines upon you!
Let this place resound with joy,
echoing the mighty song of all God’s people!

It is truly right
that with full hearts and minds and voices
we should praise the unseen God,
the all-powerful Father,
and his only Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ.

For Christ has ransomed us with his blood,
and paid for us the price of Adam’s sin
to our eternal Father.

This is our Passover feast,
when Christ, the true lamb, is slain,
whose blood consecrates the homes of all believers.

This is the night when first you saved our fathers:
You freed the people of Israel from their slavery and led them dry-shod through the sea.

This is the night when Christians everywhere,
washed clean of sin and freed from all defilement,
are restored to grace and grow together in holiness.

This is the night when Jesus Christ broke the chains of death and rose triumphant from the grave.

Father, how wonderful you care for us!
How boundless your merciful love!
To ransom a slave
You gave away your Son.

O happy fault, O necessary sin of Adam,
which gained for us so great a Redeemer!

The power of this holy night dispels all evil, washes guilt away,
restores lost innocence, brings mourners joy.

Night truly blessed when heaven is wedded to earth and man is reconciled with God!

Therefore, heavenly Father, in the joy of this night,
receive our evening sacrifice of praise,
your Church’s solemn offering.

Accept this Easter candle, may it always dispel the darkness of this night!

May the Morning Star which never sets
find this flame still burning:
Christ, that Morning Star, who came back from the dead,
and shed his peaceful light on all mankind,
your Son who lives and reins for ever and ever. Amen.

Sacred Triduum – Holy Saturday

Jesus is laid in his tomb

Holy Saturday, Sabbatum Sanctum in Latin, is the last day of Holy Week, and the 40th day of the traditional fast of Lent, although Lent ends liturgically on the evening of Holy Thursday. The evening of Holy Saturday begins the third and final day of the Paschal Triduum.

 

In the Western Church, no Masses are said on Holy Saturday, and the day is essentially a liturgically sparse time of reflection upon Christ’s death and burial in anticipation of the Great Vigil of Easter (Paschal Vigil).

The vigil usually begins the night of Holy Saturday, lasting until Easter morning. Very little happens on Holy Saturday, that is until the beginning of the Great Paschal Vigil.

Jesus is laid ith the tomb

There is deep symbolism upon which we can reflect on Holy Saturday.

On this day, the Church waits at the Lord’s tomb, and meditates on His Passion, Death, and His descent into Hell. With prayer and fasting, we await His glorious Easter resurrection.

 

Mary is also a Holy Saturday symbol. According to Catholic tradition, Mary represents the entire body of the Church. As she awaited in faith for the victorious triumph of Her Son over death on the first Holy Saturday, so we too wait with Mary on the present Holy Saturday. This faithful and prayerful symbolic waiting has been called the Ora della Madre or Hour of the Mother.

Night devoid of all dark, O night dispelling sleep and teaching us the vigilance of angels. O night the demons tremble at, night of all nights in all the year desired.

Father, we praise and bless you for your triumph over death in Christ your Son and for the gift of the Holy Spirit, which is the priceless blessing you bestow on us.
Bless all, especially those we know who have yet no sense of your goodness and no share in your liberating justice. Amen

Sacred Triduum – Good Friday

Good Friday anniversary of Jesus’ death on the cross. According to the Gospels, Jesus was put to death on the Friday before Easter Day. Since the early church Good Friday has been observed by fasting and penance.

In the Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Anglican traditions, the celebration of the Eucharist is suspended; liturgical service involves veneration of the cross, the Passion narrative from the Gospel of St. John, and communion using bread and wine consecrated the previous day, Maundy Thursday .

Other forms of observance include prayer and meditation at the Stations of the Cross, a succession of 14 images, depicting Christ’s crucifixion and the events leading up to it.

I Jesus is condemmed to Death

II Jesus receives his Cross

III Jesus falls the first time

 

 

 

IV Jesus meets his Blessed Mother

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Simon helps Jesus carry his Cross

 

 

 

Veronica wipes the face of Jesus

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

VII Jesus falls the second time

 

 

 

VIII Jesus speaks to the women of Jerusalem

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

X Jesus falls the third time

 

 

 

X Jesus is stripped of his garments

Yes, my Lord, this had to be because you loved me, and for no other reason. All I ask is that I live a good life.
You never said such a life would be easy.
I am willing to leave sin behind and live for you alone,
In my brothers and sisters.

 

 

 

Oh my God I am heartily sorry that I have offended thee, may I never offend thee any more, may I love thee more dearly and follow thee more nearly, all the days of my life.

Today is a good day. Today is the day of God’s justice; the day when justice and love are fully revealed.

 

 

 

 

Today we celebrate divine justice, laid bare for all to see, on the Cross of Calvary. Christ Jesus’ total gift of himself is made visible and perfect.

 

 

 

Death on a Cross. Our redemption salvation and forgiveness of our sins flows from this gift.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It flows from the blood of Christ shed for us on the Cross. It is not our sacrifices or effort or striving that sets us free but this sacrifice in which Jesus, true God, true man, the Eternal Son of the Living God, the Lamb, that takes away the sins of the world.

Sacred Triduum – Maundy Thursday

Maundy Thursday is the Thursday before Easter. Christians remember it as the day of the Last Supper, when Jesus washed the feet of his disciples and established the ceremony known as the Eucharist.

The night of Maundy Thursday is the night on which Jesus was betrayed by Judas in the Garden of Gethsemane.

The word maundy comes from the command (mandate) given by Christ at the Last Supper, that we should love one another.

In Roman Catholic churches the anthem Mandatum novum do vobis (a new commandment I give to you) would be sung on Maundy Thursday.

Maundy Thursday in the United Kingdom features the monarch offering Maundy money, also known as Royal Maundy, to selected senior citizens – one man and one woman for each year of the monarch’s age. The monarch presents each man and woman with a red and white purse during the service. The red purse traditionally contains an allowance for clothing and provisions and the white purse holds Maundy coins to match the monarch’s age.
Many church services, particularly in many Catholic and Anglican churches, are held in the evenings. They may involve the blessing of oils used for sacraments. Services on this day usually reflect on the story of the Last Supper, which is told in the Christian bible.

This day also commemorates the story of Jesus washing his disciples’ feet. Some priests or ministers may wash the feet of some congregation members in memory of this event.

Before the Passover meal, Jesus washed the feet of his disciples. By performing this lowly act of service, the Bible says in John 13:1 that Jesus “showed them the full extent of his love.” By his example, Jesus demonstrated how Christians are to love one another through humble service. For this reason, many churches practice foot-washing ceremonies as a part of their Maundy Thursday services.

During the Passover meal, Jesus took bread and wine and asked his Father to bless it.
He broke the bread into pieces, giving it to his disciples and said,

“This is my body, given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” Then he took the cup of wine, shared it with his disciples and said, “This wine is the token of God’s new covenant to save you–an agreement sealed with the blood I will pour out for you.”

These events recorded in Luke 22:19-20 describe the Last Supper and form the biblical basis for the practice of Communion. For this reason, many churches hold special Communion services as a part of their Maundy Thursday celebrations. Likewise, many congregations observe a traditional Passover Seder meal.

Perfect love is fully revealed in Jesus. In choosing to wash his disciples feet Jesus adopted the position of a lowly servant. In Israel at this time, only the lowest of the low, bond servants, washed the feet of its guests, so menial , dirty and degrading was this task considered to be.

This gesture of love and service reveals the true heart of Jesus: he came to serve and not to be served. He came to give and not to take. He came to lay down his life for us.

He came to give us what we could not give of ourselves. We too are called to wash the feet of others. We are blessed if we learn this lesson of humble service. In this way we enter the school of perfect love.

Spy Wednesday – Holy Week

 

One of the Twelve, the one called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?”

They paid him thirty pieces of silver, and from that moment, he began to look for an opportunity to betray him.
Matthew 26: 14-16
I for one will not be too quick to condemn Judas Iscariot for turning against his Lord for thirty pieces of silver. I have betrayed him myself more times, than I can remember for a lot less.

Jesus is my Lord and my All. Living for him is the only life worth living. Yet a day rarely goes by that I do not choose to live for something less. I run after the most meaningless things as though they were worth something. Without even giving it a thought, I sell out the Lord of my life day after day for next to nothing.

Judas Iscariot’s real problem was not that he betrayed the Lord. The impetuous Simon Peter was guilty of a similar offence when he denied Jesus three times. And the others of the Twelve, who were nowhere to be found on Good Friday, proved themselves to be not much better. Judas’ problem was that unlike the others he could not bring himself to ask for and accept forgiveness.

That is one of the most important lessons of the events of Holy Week. Betrayal is not the last word; forgiveness is. Jesus was willing to forgive everyone – those who judged and condemned him, those who carried out his execution, the bystanders who looked on in complicity, the disciples who fled, boastful, pathetic Peter, even Judas Iscariot. And even you and me. God loves us that much.

It is time to stop looking for opportunities to betray him.

 

We need the grace of humility in order to accept that we need ‘another’ to find fulfilment and happiness. That ‘another’ is Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ, son of the Eternal God. Only he can meet the deepest of our needs: the need for forgiveness and mercy; the need to be set free from sin, the need for grace and for salvation; the need for eternal life and the hope of heaven. We need Christ Jesus who being in very nature God did not consider equality with God something to be grasped. He humbled himself and became obedient even unto death on a cross. In that lies our justification.

Holy Tuesday

Tuesday’s gospel reading taken from the Gospel of John narrates how Jesus foretold that two of His disciples would turn their backs on Him. One would betray Him and turn Him over to soldiers (13:21); the other would deny Him three times before the cock crowed (13:28).

However, it appears that Jesus did not do anything to prevent Judas from collaborating with the chief priests. He even encouraged Judas to do whatever he is supposed to do: “What you are going to do, do quickly” (13:27).

Jesus foretold His passion and death and bade His disciples not to prevent it. Rather, He told them that through His passion, death, and resurrection, all men and women would be redeemed. However, let us not think that Jesus did not grieve. Like any other human being, He felt the hurt and pain.

The Gospel continues with the departure of Judas from the table. John describes Judas’ leaving in these words: “He immediately went out; and it was night.” (13:30). John, although it would seem that it was already indeed night time when Judas left, was also using figurative language. It was night and it was dark. Judas had left Jesus, “the Light of the World,” and went into the dark.

Peter’s denial of Jesus happened also at midnight. If Christ is with us, we are in the light. We are all children of the light. The light of Christ leads us in the right direction in life.

The light of Jesus inspires us to imitate Him in His way of simplicity, humility, and obedience. But at times, we ignore or simply forget this wonderful reality.

Some people prefer to stay in darkness because they do not want their evil thoughts and deeds exposed in the light.

This Holy Tuesday, let us keep in mind that genuine happiness can only come from Jesus who is the Light of the World.

Holy Week 2010

Yesterday we celebrated Palm Sunday, the day when Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey and was greeted by a great throng of people carrying palm branches and spreading them before him as he rode into that city.

Jesus enters Jerusalem

As we embark upon the holiest week in the churches calendar, it’s been quite sad to see how much things are deteriorating in this country with regard to Christianity. The press seem to be having a field day, trying as they might to discredit our heritage, and some of the most discriminating events that have been thought up by some of the large institutions of this land, by which they try and justify themselves by saying that “it might offend our Muslim friends”

This country has always been associated with tolerance, however this has been abused and continues to be so, we also are supposed to have the right of free speech but again if you say anything that is remotely bias you are castigated as being racist, however it’s interesting to note it doesn’t seem to work the other way round!

This has and always has been a Christian country and it’s about time our so-called politicians stepped up to the mark. Several serving and retired Bishops of the C of E stepped up yesterday to support  Shirley Chaplin who is a nurse but was told she could not wear her Crucifix at work as she has done for some 30 years. Mrs Chaplin refused to remove or hide her cross when Royal Devon and Exeter NHS trust told her that it was a health and safety risk to patients!!

She has worn her cross every day since her confirmation 40 years ago as a sign of her Christian faith. However it is a very sad state when the initiative was taken by the retired Archbishop of Canterbury yet the current incumbent when asked about it said “no comment” is it any further wonder as I have stated before that the C of E is dead, when its leader can’t step up to the mark!

The Holy Father himself is also at the centre of a press slur and he said yesterday that “ the Roman Catholic Church would not be intimidated by claims of sexual abuse” and that they were “part of a conspiracy against the church” at the Palm Sunday mass in Rome he said “ From God comes the courage not to be intimidated by the petty gossip of dominant opinion” In London Archbishop Vincent Nichols said “ the Pope won’t resign, He is the one above all else in Rome who has tackled these things head on”

The most abiding picture that we have of our Lord is that of him on the Cross. We are unable to imagine just the physical agony that this act alone must have caused him.

We wear our Crucifixes as a reminder of the supreme act of love. It is there ever present that Christ gave his life so that we all could live.
There is that old saying that for those who do not believe in God no explanation is possible and for those who do believe no explanation is necessary

As we prepare to re enact the events of The Last Supper, Good Friday and Holy Saturday ( The Triduum) let us pray that Jesus’ supreme act of selfless love be not found wanting in this Christian land of ours.

Holy Week: What Happened on Fig Monday?

On Monday morning, Jesus and the Twelve leave Bethany to return to Jerusalem, and along the way, Jesus curses the fig tree
Matthew 21:18-19
In the morning, as he was returning to the city, he became hungry. And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it,
“May no fruit ever come from you again!”
And the fig tree withered at once.

The Annunciation of The Lord

Behold the handmaid of the Lord.
Be it done unto me according to thy Word

The angel of the Lord declared unto Mary. And she conceived by the Holy Ghost.

Our Blessed Lady never said no to God, she knew she was part of something big, she knew that for some reason yet to be revealed that she was special in some way. The enormity of it all can only be imagined and she would only have been a teenager at the time, yet given all that she knew she would have to endure, she put her trust and faith in God.

Be it done unto me according to Thy Word

Sing we of the blessed Mother
Who received the angel’s word
And obedient to his summons
Bore in love the infant Lord;
Sing we the joys of Mary
At whose breast that child was fed
Who is Son of God eternal
And the everlasting bread

Sing, we too, of Mary’s sorrows
Of the sword that pierced her through
When beneath the cross of Jesus
She his weight of suffering knew,
Looked upon her Son and Saviour
Reigning from the awful tree,
Saw the price of Man’s redemption
Paid to set the sinner free.

Sing the chiefest joy of Mary
When on earth her work was done,
And the Lord of all creation
Brought her to his heavenly home;
Virgin Mother, Mary blessed,
Raised on high and crowned with grace
May thy Son, the worlds redeemer,
Grant us all to see his face.

Now in Passiontide and looking forward to Easter just over a week away we also remember the role that Mary had to play in the theatre of his crucifixion. Simeon told Mary at the beginning of her child’s life that “a sword of sorrow” would pierce her heart. Mary stood by her Son throughout His passion and, in her faith experienced the joy of His resurrection.

I followed close behind my son as he stumbled toward Calvary. Nothing had ever hurt me more than to see him in such pain. I saw the cross digging into his shoulders, my heart stopped when I saw him fall face to the ground, the heavy cross landing squarely on his back.
For a moment I thought my beloved son was dead. Now my whole body began to tremble, then the guards kicked him. He slowly began to rise and walk again yet they still whipped him. I wanted to shield him with my own body.
But, I knew this had to be, so I walked on and wept silently.

I had managed to break through the crowd and was walking by the side of my son, I called to him through the shouting voices.
He stopped, our eyes met, mine full of tears and anguish, his full of pain and confusion.
I felt helpless;
Then his eyes said to me “Courage! There is a purpose for this”
As he stumbled on, I knew he was right, so I followed and prayed silently.

What greater pain is there for a mother than to see her son die right in front of her eyes!
I, who had brought this saviour into the world and watched him grow stood helplessly beneath his cross as he lowered his head and died.
His earthly anguish over but mine was greater than ever, yet this had to be, and I had to accept it, so I stood and mourned silently.

The crowd had gone, the noise had stopped I stood quietly with one of Jesus’ friends and looked up at the dead body of our saviour, my son.
Then two men took the body from the cross and laid it in my arms.

A deep sorrow engulfed my being, yet, I also felt a deep joy.
Life had ended cruelly for my son but it had also brought life to us all, I knew this had to be.
I could only be most grateful for the sacrifice of my son for us, yet, what emptiness I felt. Trying to live without him whom I loved so!
But, only two days later that emptiness was filled beyond belief – he had risen.
Our saviour had opened the doors to a new life.
That is the way it had to be – because his undying love for you would not stop at anything less. I could rejoice forever, but not in silence.

English Church (C of E) Dead!

Having been born into the Church of England, practised Anglo-Catholicism from the age of 16 – 38 or there about I was horrified latterly to find that amongst others I was being presented with a choice, stay and accept so-called “women priests” or leave and join the true Church of Christ.

At that time there was general uproar from the Catholic wing of the C of E and many rally’s were held. The rest is history and when the vote to Ordain these people went through this was the sign that God was sending to us that we become “proper” Catholics and return home to the bosom of Our Blessed Lord. For myself the journey was not an easy affair, living as I did then in Birmingham, I had connections with the Birmingham Oratory and so I went off to receive instruction from the Provost The Very Reverend Paul Chavasse, and was duly received on Monday of Holy Week (Fig Monday) 19–

In 1994 I moved to my present address some 100 miles away and found it initially difficult to find and settle to a church that suited me and indeed I have moved arround several times in the last 15 years, the reasons being are that I was spoilt, in my C of E days as the two Anglican churches I had belonged to had ceremonial of the highest order and indeed I had worked my way up the ranks as a server from an acolyte to MC and Sacristan over many years.

The Catholic Church since the 1960′s had been going through stages of re – building itself and the problem was as is accepted by many, that it went far beyond its remit. Once beautiful churches had succomed to modernism for modernism sake. Altars were ripped out, statues were replaced by faceless images, vestments and altar frontals, candlesticks, everything was gone in an instant, the liturgy changed it seemed forever.

It was a difficult place to be especially as you knew how things were to be done indeed should be done and it did not sit well.

The town of Reading in Berkshire where I live had a tradition of three churches in the Anglican tradition. All Saints, Downshire Square, Holy Trinity, Oxford Road and St Giles, Southampton Street. The latter I knew very well as my old parish priest had moved there from  Birmingham some years before and indeed it was from there that I took him back to the Birmingham Oratory after he had resigned from the C of E over the issue of women in the priest hood, to start his studies for the Catholic Priesthood.

After a period of thought I went up to Holy Trinity, Good Friday 2004 and found the service very beautiful and moving, I spent Easter there and continued from then on until last year (2008) becoming involved again in the serving and administration of the church and also taking on the role of Sacristan and must say a role I enjoyed immensely. The then Parish Priest moved on which left the church in interregnum, relying on local priests to fill in all except one to good effect things did not go to well for me during this time and I also had to face the fact that I was a Catholic and not an Anglican so my concience kicked in and I left. 

Pope Benedict XVI does not recognise them as a Church, which he made quite plain from the start of his pontificate. As a traditionalist himself he is gradually bringing back and reinstating all the old practices. He knows the church has moved down a road it was never meant to go and that Bishops at the last Vatican council interpreted what John XXIII had said to their own ends, which set about a cancer which spread around the globe but which is now being cured by the current Holy Father.

The C of E however has set itself on a path and determined to see it through whatever, by the ordination of the first so-called female Bishop in this country!

Those that did not leave the C of E the first time will certainly go this, The Holy Father in anticipation of this event and as a reply to a cry from the traditional Bishops, clergy and people of this land made a very generous offer recently to welcome them into the true faith with special conditions attached not previously available which prevented many more the first time round. ANGLICANORORUM COETIBUS

The C of E was furious because “they had not been consulted” perhaps they should look back to the time when they ordained the first woman, the Roman Church had not been consulted either!