Posted on 04/05/2012 5:29:18 AM PDT by NYer
.- In the final few days of Holy Week, Catholics should recognize that Christ’s love for them is shown by “the total gift of himself on the cross,” said Pope Benedict XVI.
“Let us allow ourselves to be touched by this love, to be transformed, so that the resurrection may really be realized in us. I invite you, therefore, to live the Paschal Triduum intensely, and I wish you all a Holy Easter!” the Pope said on April 4.
The Pope made his remarks to over 11,000 pilgrims who were gathered in St. Peter’s Square for his Wednesday general audience. He explained to them that from tomorrow afternoon onwards, “we enter the Easter Triduum, the summit of the liturgical year” that celebrates “the central mystery of faith: the passion, death and resurrection of Christ.”
Exploring the scriptural texts that will be used over those three days, the Pope explained how St. John’s Gospel describes those days in the life of Jesus as his “hour.”
“Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father. He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end,” Pope Benedict said, quoting the passage from St. John 13:1 in full.
“The whole life of Jesus is oriented towards this hour,” he noted, proposing that the whole historical episode is “characterized by two aspects that illuminate each other.”
The Pope described the first aspect is Christ’s hour being a “passage” -- “metabasis” in ancient Greek – while the second feature of his hour is Jesus’ “love until the end,” which is called “agape” in Greek.
“It is the divine love, the Holy Spirit of which Jesus is filled, which allows Jesus to ‘pass’ through the abyss of evil and death, and sees him emerge into the new ‘space’ of the resurrection,” he said.
And his hour is marked by “agape,” which “brings about this transformation” that allows Jesus to go “beyond the limits of the human condition marked by sin and overcomes the barrier that keeps man prisoner, separated from God and eternal life.”
Pope Benedict finished his reflections on the Paschal Triduum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday) by saying that those who participate in faith in the liturgical celebrations “are invited to experience this transformation brought about by agape.”
The next four days will be among the busiest of the year for 84-year-old Pope Benedict.
Tomorrow morning he will celebrate the Chrism Mass with the priests of the Diocese of Rome in St. Peter’s Basilica at 9:30 a.m. He will then travel across the city for the Mass of the Lord’s Supper at his cathedral church, the basilica of St. John Lateran, at 5:30 p.m.
On Good Friday, the Pope will lead the Celebration of the Lord’s Passion in St. Peter’s at 5:00 p.m., followed by the Stations of the Cross in Rome’s Coliseum at 9:15 p.m.
On Holy Saturday evening, the Pope will preside over the Easter Vigil, beginning at 9:00 p.m. in St. Peter’s.
The Pope’s intense schedule will wrap up with 10:15 a.m. Mass on Easter Sunday in St. Peter’s Square, followed by his “Urbi et Orbi" message and blessing to the “city and world” at noon.
The Sacred Triduum: Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter. The Mystery of Faith
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Spiritual Reading for the Sacred Triduum and Easter
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The significance of Holy Thursday (institution of the Eucharist and priesthood)
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Past Not Over (Why Passover is the most widely observed Jewish holiday.)
The Chrism Mass
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Washing the Feet of Men Only on Holy Thursday
ALTAR OF REPOSE - Catholic Liturgy for Maundy Thursday
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The Drawing of Christ on the Cross [Images]"
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The Three Crosses: The Bad Thief or the Cross Rejected
The Three Crosses: The Good Thief or the Cross Accepted
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The Exultet
The Dark before Dawn
Easter and the Holy Eucharist(Catholic/Orthodox Caucus)
Easter Day and Easter Season
THE EASTER LITURGY [Easter Vigil] (Anglican and Catholic Rites)
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Easter Vigil tonight
HOMILIES PREACHED BY FATHER ALTIER FOR EASTER VIGIL FROM 2002-2005
2 Paschal Candles; Lights On at Vigil And More on Washing of the Feet
RCIA and Holy Saturday
It is very sad, at the end of holy Mass on Holy Thursday,
the priest processes out with the Eucharist. The choir is singing a solemn hymn, the tabernacle is empty with it’s doors open, the altar is stripped, you feel a loss.
I walked out of church this evening and looked up to the clear night sky and there was this bright full moon. It was a comfort, I immediately thought of the consecrated host, the Holy Eucharist.
That was a very nice thing to write just now.
As Catholics, we draw great comfort from knowing that Christ is present in the Eucharist. Whenever I enter a Catholic Church, the first place my eyes are drawn is to the Tabernacle and the Sanctuary lamp that burns beside it, a constant reminder of His Presence. When the Eucharist is removed and the lamp extinguished, the Church is suddenly empty.
Though Roman Catholic, I practice my faith in a Maronite (Eastern) Catholic Church. Holy Thursday differs in that, following the Divine Liturgy, we have Adoration. Essentially, we are responding to Christ's request to His disciple: "So you could not keep watch with me for one hour?" (Matthew 26:40) The Blessed Sacrament remains exposed for 3 hours. During that time, local area catholics stop by to visit and pray before the Eucharist. The tradition is to visit and pray in 7 different churches.
On Good Friday, two ceremonies are celebrated. The first is the “Signing of the Chalice” also called the “Liturgy of the Pre-Sanctified”. It is a celebration of the Divine Liturgy with no Words of Institution, which are the center of every liturgy. On Good Friday, the only sacrifice is the sacrifice of Christ, who offered himself to his Father. During the ceremony, the priest invokes the Holy Spirit to descend upon the chalice placed on the altar and make it the Blood of Christ to be given during the communion with the hosts consecrated the previous night. The most important moment of this Liturgy is the procession with the Blessed Sacrament placed over the head of the priest reminding him of his day of ordination, when the Bishop handed over to him the celebration of the Eucharist and entrusted to him the service of the people of God.
The second ceremony is the Adoration of the Cross celebrated in memory of the death of Jesus Christ crucified on the “wood of shame”. Jesus was crucified between two criminals. One of them, on the right, repented and won the Kingdom. He entered with Jesus the kingdom prepared for him and for all believers since the foundation of the world. He is the perfect example of repentance. Even at the last minute, Jesus would accept our repentance. He is willing to forgive us and give us new life. During the ceremony, while the priest is reading from the Gospel of Luke the crucifixion of Jesus, the deacon or the server will light the candle placed to the right of the Cross to symbolize the deliverance of the criminal on the right. Many Christians during that day bring some flowers to honor the Holy Cross. All flowers are placed on the shroud that will be laid in the tomb prepared especially for this day. After the Ceremony, the cross is buried until Easter Sunday.
Essentially, this evening's service is like being at Golgotha. When we step into the church, the Crucifix will be in a stand on the altar with a candle on either side, representing the two thieves. At the foot of the crucifix is an icon of the Blessed Mother. After the readings from Isaiah, followed by Hosea and Corinthians. Two gospels are then proclaimed. You can read more about the service at This Link.
Wishing you both a Blessed Easter!
I never knew, the Holy Triduum for the Maronite Rite sounds
very reverent.
I’ve attended one Eastern Rite Mass, it was at an Antiochian
Orthodox Church. They were most welcoming, they introduced the visitor, me, at the end of Mass.
EWTN’s host of more than one of her radio and television shows, Father Mitch Pacqua, isn’t he Maronite (Eastern) Catholic? You learn something new every time he speaks, he’s a walking faith and history lesson.
He is so kind besides.... He treats everyone like gold and
laughs at himself.
Happy Easter NYer
The entire week is filled with marvelous liturgies beginning on Palm Sunday. Our parish is quite small (70 families) and the building we currently use is also tiny ... only one aisle. Attendance at Sunday mass (the only one celebrated) can be sparse as parishioners travel throughout the year. The first Palm Sunday I attended in this church, I was amazed .. standing room only! Even more remarkable, was how they dressed. The children wore beautiful gowns, fancy shoes .. even the boys wore suits and ties. The children arrived with pillar candles, decorated with symbols of the season - flowers, etc. It finally occurred to me that "these" are the descendants of those who greeted our Lord on his entry into Jerusalem. Hosanna (Palm) Sunday, for them, is more important than Easter.
You can read more about the "Coming to the Harbor" and other liturgies celebrated that week, at this link:
The Holy Week in the Maronite Church
EWTN’s host of more than one of her radio and television shows, Father Mitch Pacqua, isn’t he Maronite (Eastern) Catholic?
Fr. Mitch is Roman Catholic and a Jesuit. He has a degree in Biblical Theology and reads Hebrew, Aramaic, Koine Greek, et al. There is a Maronite Catholic Church in Alabama and Fr. Mitch was granted Maronite faculties by my bishop Gregory John Mansour. In July 2010, Fr. Mitch invited the two American Maronite bishops on his program, EWTN Live. You can watch the entire program at the following link:
The Maronite Church in America - Fr. Pacwa, SJ w/ Bishops Mansour and Shaheen
If you have the opportunity some time, I would encourage you to attend mass at a Maronite Church. These eastern catholics are very devoted to the Blessed Mother and the pope. In fact, of all the Eastern Catholic Churches, the Maronite Church is the only one that never separated from Rome, and suffered persecution for their fidelity, by other christians. Bishop Shaheen has often cited the Maronite position: "Where Peter is, there is the Church".
Thank you for the links, maybe I will attend a Maronite
Rite. I never knew this... thanks NYer.
...”of all the Eastern Catholic Churches, the Maronite Church is the only one that never separated from Rome, and suffered persecution for their fidelity, by other christians. Bishop Shaheen has often cited the Maronite position: “Where Peter is, there is the Church”.
He is something, I love Father Mitch. And I get after my children, I harp at them, especially our teenager, “dress up, we are goingto God’s house to honor Him.”
I have a friend, he is a pastor of an Orthodox Church, in another city. He knows how to offer the Tridentine Mass, Father learned it in seminary. He has a strong devotion to Our Lady and a devotion to prophecy. I tell him sometimes,
“One day, you will be of great help to fellow Orthodox
priests and Roman Rite priests when divine events take place.”
He is so kind, I can’t tell if he gets offended. I don’t
say much else about the divide, there it is in prophecy,
very soon....no more.
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