Were You There: How many times has that old spiritual hymn been sung through the years: “Were you there when they crucified my Lord?” We know that John and Mary Magdalene and our Blessed Mother Mary were indeed there, physically present, at the foot of the cross on Calvary hill. Sadly, though, most of the apostles had fled. In the moment of his greatest suffering (and his greatest triumph), Jesus was abandoned by all but a small number of his flock. Amazingly, you and I can be with John and Magdalene and Our Lady this very week! The liturgy is timeless. Each Mass allows us to be at the Last Supper and to be with Christ as he hangs on his cross. This is true. This is the mystery that the Eucharist invites us into. As another Lenten/Easter hymn so beautifully reminds us: “What wondrous love is this?” Please, enter fully into Christ’s love this Holy Week. Move heaven and earth to be in church for the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Thursday, the Veneration of the Cross on Good Friday, and the celebration of the Easter Vigil on Saturday evening. Be there as Christ institutes the priesthood and the Eucharist. Be there as our Lord humbly washes the feet of his followers. Be there as he prays with agonizing fervor in the Garden of Gethsemani. Be there as Christ is arrested, mocked and scourged. Be there as Jesus is condemned by Pilate. Be there as he meets his Mother on the way to crucifixion. Be there as he forgives his persecutors. Be there as he welcomes the “good thief” into Paradise. Be there as he bows his head in death. Be there as he rises again! Please, together, let us answer the question – Were you there? – with a resounding YES! I so look forward to celebrating the days of our salvation with you.
Praying with the Church: The Liturgy of the Hours is the “official” prayer of the Catholic Church, the way, if you will, that the Church prays unceasingly (Eph 6:18). Priests and deacons make a solemn promise when ordained to pray these prayers throughout the course of their lives. At the heart of the Liturgy of the Hours are the Psalms. Each of the 150 Psalms is prayed during a 4-week cycle of prayer. Some of the Psalms are prayed each week. In the upcoming days of the Easter Triduum, we will pray the Liturgy of the Hours together in church on four occasions (please see the schedule). We did this last year and the folks who participated found the experience to be very enriching. Each of these prayer opportunities is brief – no more than 15 minutes – so a large time commitment on your part is not necessary. We also subscribe to a service that allows us to print out the prayers in a simple format, so no prior experience is necessary. I invite you to join us!
Be Reconciled with God: Remember that the only sin that cannot be forgiven is the one that we fail to confess and repent of. Please, get to confession. I go. Other priests go. If you have been to confession recently – great – I commend you for your faithfulness to the sacrament. If you have not been in a really, really long time - wow - you have the opportunity to make the angels rejoice. Scripture tells us that they do exactly that when a sinner turns back to God. Both Fr. Rick and I have added some extra confession times leading up to Easter. Please, go. Be reconciled to God. Experience his mercy and love.
A Call to Prayer: Finally, I ask for your prayer and your support. Me, Deacons Joe and Ray, the parish staff, the Parish Leadership Team, the musicians and singers, our readers and altar servers, the OCIA team, our volunteers – all of us want these days of Holy Week to be beautiful and prayerful and impactful. We want to see lives turned upside down! As described above, we sincerely hope that you are here in church to participate, but we also, as a parish team, ask for your prayers. Our liturgies and our preaching and our worshipping are all exercises in futility if the Holy Spirit himself doesn’t vivify our efforts. We are totally on mission for you, but totally dependent upon God. Thank you sincerely for your prayers. Have a powerful Holy Week.
Mary, Mother of the Redeemer – Pray for us!
Our Lady of Guadalupe – Pray for us!
St. Anthony – Pray for us!
St. Joseph – Pray for us!
Fr. Steve