My Easter Sunday Daily Blessings, March 31, 2013

My Easter Sunday Daily Blessings

Be still, quiet your heart and mind, the Lord is here loving you, talking to you...............................................

 

The Mass of Easter Sunday (Roman Rite Calendar)

First Reading: Acts 10:34a, 37-43 

Peter proceeded to speak and said: “You know what has happened all over Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached,  how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power. He went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. 

We are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree. This man God raised on the third day and granted that he be visible, not to all the people, but to us, the witnesses chosen by God in advance, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commissioned us to preach to the people and testify that he is the one appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead. 

To him all the prophets bear witness, that everyone who believes in him will receive forgiveness of sins through his name.”

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23

"This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad."

Second Reading: Col 3:1-4

 

Brothers and sisters:
If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above,  where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.
For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ your life appears, then you too will appear with him in glory.

 

Gospel: Jn 20:1-9

On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning,
while it was still dark,  and saw the stone removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter  and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them,  “They have taken the Lord from the tomb,  and we don’t know where they put him.” So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter  and arrived at the tomb first;  he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in. When Simon Peter arrived after him,  he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there,  and the cloth that had covered his head,  not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place. Then the other disciple also went in,  the one who had arrived at the tomb first,  and he saw and believed. For they did not yet understand the Scripture  that he had to rise from the dead.

** Reflection:

Early Sunday morning the women went to the tomb to pay their last tribute to a dead body. The disciples thought that everything had finished in tragedy. Neither were ready to see an empty tomb and hear the angel's message,  Why do you seek the living among the dead (Luke 24:5)? Mary Magdalene is the first to report the startling news of the empty tomb! She assumed that Jesus' body had been stolen! She was not yet prepared to meet the risen Lord who would reveal himself to her while she later lingered in the garden near the tomb (John 20:11-18).

What is the significance of the stone being rolled away? It would have taken several people to roll away such a stone. And besides, the sealed tomb had been guarded by soldiers! This is clearly the first sign of the resurrection. Bede, a church father from the 8th century, comments: "[The angel] rolled back the stone not to throw open a way for our Lord to come forth, but to provide evidence to people that he had already come forth. As the virgin's womb was closed, so the sepulcher was closed, yet he entered the world through her closed womb, and so he left the world through the closed sepulcher." (From Homilies on the Gospels 2,7,24) Another church father remarked: "To behold the resurrection, the stone must first be rolled away from our hearts" (Peter Chrysologus, 5th century).  It is significant that the disciples had to first deal with the empty tomb before they could come to grips with the fact that scripture had foretold that Jesus would die for our sins and then rise triumphant. They disbelieved until they saw the empty tomb.

John, the beloved disciple of Jesus, wrote his gospel as an eye-witness of  the Word of God who became flesh and dwelt among us, and who died and rose for our salvation. John was the only apostle, along with the women who stood with Jesus at the foot of the cross, who witnessed Jesus' death on Good Friday. Now John is the first of the apostles, along with Peter, to see the empty tomb on Easter Sunday morning, after the women returned and gave their report. What did John see in the tomb that led him to believe in the resurrection of Jesus? It was certainly not a dead body. The dead body of Jesus would have disproven the resurrection and made his death a tragic conclusion to a glorious career as a great teacher and miracle worker. When John saw the empty tomb he must have recalled Jesus' prophecy that he would rise again after three days. Through the gift of faith John realized that no tomb on earth could contain the Lord and giver of life.

John in his first epistle testifies: What we have seen, heard, and touched we proclaim as the word of life which existed "from the beginning" (1 John 1:1-4). John bears witness to what has existed from all eternity. This "word of life" is Jesus the word incarnate, but also Jesus as the word announced by the prophets and Jesus the word now preached throughout the Christian church for all ages to come. One thing is certain, if Jesus had not risen from the dead and appeared to his disciples, we would never have heard of him. Nothing else could have changed sad and despairing men and women into people radiant with joy and courage. The reality of the resurrection is the central fact of the Christian faith. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Lord gives us "eyes of faith" to know him and the power of his resurrection. The greatest joy we can have is to encounter the living Lord and to know him personally. Do you celebrate the feast of Easter with joy and thanksgiving for the victory which Jesus has won for you over sin and death?

** Prayer:

"Lord Jesus Christ, you have triumphed over the grave and you have won new life for us. Give me the eyes of faith to see you in your glory. Help me to draw near to you and to grow in the knowledge of your great love and victory over sin and death."Amen. 

Sources: 

 

Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

**Don Schwager

Author and Writer, Sword of the Spirit

Editor of Living Bulwark

and member of Servants of the Word, UK

Holy Saturday: Vigil in the Holy Night of Easter, March 30, 2013

Vigil in the Holy Night of Easter, Holy Saturday 

March 30, 2013

Clk on this link for all liturgical readings: http://usccb.org/bible/readings/033013.cfm

Clk on this link for Reflections: http://www.rc.net/wcc/readings/mar31.htm

Pope at Casal Del Marmo Penitential Institute for Minors

POPE AT CASAL DEL MARMO: AS PRIEST AND BISHOP, I MUST BE AT YOUR SERVICE

Vatican City, 29 March 2013 (VIS) – At 5:00pm yesterday afternoon, Holy Thursday, Pope Francis left the Vatican to go to the Casal del Marmo Penitential Institute for Minors where he celebrated the “in Coena Domine”—the Lord's Supper—Mass, which is the first of the Easter Triduum. Around fifty of the boys and girls detained at the juvenile centre located on the outskirts of Rome were in attendance. The Pope washed the feet of ten boys and two girls and, in his homily, said that their obligation is to help others “as a priest and as a bishop should be at your service. It is a duty that comes from my heart.”

At the moment of washing their feet, Pope Francis kneeled six times, each time washing the feet of the young people in front of him. The Holy Father began by washing their feet, then dried them, and finally kissed them. The girls whose feet he washed were an Italian and an Eastern European. Following is the full text of the homily that the Pope delivered after the Gospel was read.

“This is touching. Jesus washing the feet of his disciples. Peter did not understand anything; he refused. But Jesus explained to him. Jesus—God—has done this! And He himself said to his disciples: 'Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me “teacher” and “master”, and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.' (Jn 13:12-15)”

“This is the Lord's example: He is the most important one and He washes [other's] feet because those who are the highest among us must be at the service of others. And this is a symbol, a sign, isn't it? Washing someone's feet is [saying] 'I am at your service'. And us too, among us, shouldn't we wash one another’s feet every day—but what does this mean? That we must help each other, help one another. Sometimes I'm angry at someone … but … let it go. Forget it. And, if someone asks a favour of you, do it. Help each other.”

“This is what Jesus teaches us and this is what I am doing. I do it wholeheartedly because it is my duty. As priest and as bishop I must be at your service. But it is a duty that comes from my heart: I love it. I love this and I love doing it because the Lord has taught me this. But you as well, help each other; always help each other; help one another.”

“And so, in helping one another we do good to each other. Now we'll have this ceremony of washing of the feet and we will think, each of us will think: 'Am I truly ready, am I ready to serve and to help another?' Let's just think of that. And let's think that this sign is Jesus' caress that Jesus does because He came precisely for this: to serve and to help us.”

Concelebrating the Mass with the Holy Father were Cardinal Agostino Vallini, vicar general of Rome, Archbishop Angelo Becciu, substitute of the Secretariat of State, Msgr. Alfred Xuereb, the Pope's personal secretary, and the institute's chaplain, Fr. Gaetano Greco, a tertiary Capuchin of Our Lady of Sorrows, with one of his confreres. The Mass was celebrated in the institute's chapel, which is dedicated to the “Merciful Father”. Of the youth in attendance, around 11 were girls. At the end of the ceremony, Pope Francis again gathered with the youth in the institute's gym where, among others, the Italian Minister for Justice, Paola Severino, was present. The youth of the detention centre gave the Pope a wooden crucifix and kneeler, which they had made themselves in the institute's workshop.

Before leaving, the Pope thanked the youth for welcoming him and when one of the youth asked him why he had decided to visit their detention centre the Pope answered that his heart had compelled him. “It is a feeling that came from my heart; I felt it. Where are those who, perhaps, will help me most to be humble, to be a server as a bishop must be? And I thought, I asked: 'Where are people who would like me to visit?' And they told me: 'Perhaps Casal del Marmo.' And when they told me that, I came here. But it just came from my heart. Matters of the heart cannot be explained; they just come [to you]. Thanks!” On bidding them farewell he told the youth: “I'm going now. Thank you so much for your welcome. Pray for me. Don't let yourselves be robbed of hope. Always go forward. Thank you very much!”

Pope Francis Warns Priests.......

CHRISM MASS: POPE FRANCIS WARNS PRIESTS THAT INSATISFACTION COMES FROM NOT GOING OUT OF ONESELF

Vatican City, 28 March 2013 (VIS) – This morning, Pope Francis warned Catholic priests around the world that “the reason why some priests grow dissatisfied, lose heart and become in some sense collectors of antiques or novelties” comes from seldom going out of oneself, which leads to “missing out on the best of our people”. Instead, he strongly urged priests to be “shepherds who have the smell of their sheep'.”

The solemn Holy Thursday Chrism Mass celebrated in the Vatican Basilica opens the Paschal Triduum of Holy Week. During the course of the Mass, celebrated in all the churches and cathedrals throughout the world, priests renew the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience that they made at their ordination. Also, the oil used to anoint catechumens and the oil used to anoint the sick as well as the chrism oil—olive oil scented with balsam—used to anoint those being baptised, confirmed, or receiving Holy Orders is blessed.

The Chrism Mass presided over by the Holy Father was concelebrated by the over 2,000 cardinals, archbishops, bishops, and priests present and was attended by over 10,000 faithful. Francis pointed out to them that the “clear proof” to recognizing a good priest is “by the way his people are anointed”. He added that “it is not in soul-searching or constant introspection that we encounter the Lord: self-help courses can be useful in life, but to live our priestly life by going from one course to another, from one method to another, leads us to become pelagians and to minimize the power of grace, which comes alive and flourishes to the extent that we, in faith, go out and give ourselves and the Gospel to others”.

He developed this theme throughout his homily, which he began by recalling that this Mass was a reminder to all priests—including himself—of the day of their ordination. In this context the Pope explained what it means to be anointed ones, to “be for” others, and he focused on the meaning of the liturgical vestments. “When we put on our simple chasuble, it might well make us feel, upon our shoulders and in our hearts, the burdens and the faces of our faithful people, our saints and martyrs, of which we have so many in our times.”

At the same time, he noted how “the beauty of all these liturgical things ... is not so much about trappings and fine fabrics” as it is destined to the action expected of priests. “The ointment, dear brothers, is not intended just to make us fragrant, much less to be kept in a jar, for then it would become rancid … and the heart bitter.”

The Holy Father also gave concrete details to inspire priests in their pastoral mission, commenting that: “our people like to hear the Gospel preached with 'unction', they like it when the Gospel we preach touches their daily lives, when it runs down like the oil of Aaron to the edges of reality, when it brings light to moments of extreme darkness, to the 'outskirts' where people of faith are most exposed to the onslaught of those who want to tear down their faith. People thank us because they feel that we have prayed over the realities of their everyday lives, their troubles, their joys, their burdens and their hopes. And when they feel that the fragrance of the Anointed One, of Christ, has come to them through us, they feel encouraged to entrust to us everything they want to bring before the Lord: '“Pray for me, Father, because I have this problem', 'Bless me, Father', 'Pray for me'.”

“What I want to emphasize,” the Pope said, “is that we need constantly to stir up God’s grace and perceive in every request, even those requests that are inconvenient and at times purely material or downright banal—but only apparently so—the desire of our people to be anointed with fragrant oil, since they know that we have it. To perceive and to sense, even as the Lord sensed the hope-filled anguish of the woman suffering from haemorrhages when she touched the hem of his garment.”

Before finishing his homily, the Holy Father also addressed the lay faithful, urging them to “be close to your priests with affection and with your prayers, that they may always be shepherds according to God’s heart.”

Good Friday of the Passion of the Lord, Daily Blessings, March 29, 2013

Good Friday of the Passion of the Lord 

Daily Blessings

Be still, quiet your heart and mind, the Lord is here loving you, talking to you..............................................

 

Good Friday of the Passion of the Lord (Roman Rite Calendar)

First Reading: Is 52:13--53:12

  

See, my servant shall prosper, he shall be raised high and greatly exalted. Even as many were amazed at hi — so marred was his look beyond human semblance and his appearance beyond that of the sons of man— so shall he startle many nations, because of him kings shall stand speechless; for those who have not been told shall see, those who have not heard shall ponder it.

Who would believe what we have heard?
To whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
He grew up like a sapling before him, like a shoot from the parched earth; there was in him no stately bearing to make us look at him, nor appearance that would attract us to him. He was spurned and avoided by people, a man of suffering, accustomed to infirmity, one of those from whom people hide their faces, spurned, and we held him in no esteem.

Yet it was our infirmities that he bore, our sufferings that he endured, while we thought of him as stricken, as one smitten by God and afflicted. But he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins; upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole, by his stripes we were healed. We had all gone astray like sheep, each following his own way; but the LORD laid upon him the guilt of us all.

Though he was harshly treated, he submitted and opened not his mouth; like a lamb led to the slaughter or a sheep before the shearers, he was silent and opened not his mouth. Oppressed and condemned, he was taken away, and who would have thought any more of his destiny? When he was cut off from the land of the living, and smitten for the sin of his people, a grave was assigned him among the wicked and a burial place with evildoers, though he had done no wrong nor spoken any falsehood. But the LORD was pleased to crush him in infirmity.

If he gives his life as an offering for sin, he shall see his descendants in a long life, and the will of the LORD shall be accomplished through him.

Because of his affliction he shall see the light in fullness of days; through his suffering, my servant shall justify many, and their guilt he shall bear.
Therefore I will give him his portion among the great, and he shall divide the spoils with the mighty, because he surrendered himself to death and was counted among the wicked; and he shall take away the sins of many, and win pardon for their offenses.

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 31: 2, 6, 12-13, 15-16, 17, 25

 

             "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit."

Second Reading: Heb 4:14-16; 5:7, 9

 

Brothers and sisters:
Since we have a great high priest who has  passed through the heavens, 
Jesus, the Son of God,  let us hold fast to our confession.
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses,  but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin.
So let us confidently approach the throne of grace  to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.

In the days when Christ was in the flesh,  he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears  to the one who was able to save him from death,  and he was heard because of his reverence. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered;  and when he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.

Gospel: Jn 18:1 -- 19:42

Jesus went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley  to where there was a garden,  into which he and his disciples entered. Judas his betrayer also knew the place,  because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. So Judas got a band of soldiers and guards  from the chief priests and the Pharisees  and went there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. Jesus, knowing everything that was going to happen to him,  went out and said to them, “Whom are you looking for?”
They answered him, “Jesus the Nazorean.” He said to them, “I AM.” Judas his betrayer was also with them. When he said to them, “I AM, “  they turned away and fell to the ground. So he again asked them, “Whom are you looking for?”
They said, “Jesus the Nazorean.” Jesus answered, “I told you that I AM. So if you are looking for me, let these men go.” This was to fulfill what he had said, 
“I have not lost any of those you gave me.”
Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it,  struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear. The slave’s name was Malchus. Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its scabbard. Shall I not drink the cup that the Father gave me?”

So the band of soldiers, the tribune, and the Jewish guards seized Jesus, bound him, and brought him to Annas first. He was the father-in-law of Caiaphas,  who was high priest that year. It was Caiaphas who had counseled the Jews  that it was better that one man should die rather than the people.

Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. Now the other disciple was known to the high priest,  and he entered the courtyard of the high priest with Jesus. But Peter stood at the gate outside. So the other disciple, the acquaintance of the high priest,  went out and spoke to the gatekeeper and brought Peter in.
Then the maid who was the gatekeeper said to Peter,  “You are not one of this man’s disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.”
Now the slaves and the guards were standing around a charcoal fire that they had made, because it was cold, and were warming themselves. Peter was also standing there keeping warm.

The high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and about his doctrine.
Jesus answered him, “I have spoken publicly to the world. I have always taught in a synagogue  or in the temple area where all the Jews gather,  and in secret I have said nothing. Why ask me? Ask those who heard me what I said to them. They know what I said.” 

When he had said this,  one of the temple guards standing there struck Jesus and said,  “Is this the way you answer the high priest?”
Jesus answered him, “If I have spoken wrongly, testify to the wrong;  but if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?” Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.

Now Simon Peter was standing there keeping warm.
And they said to him, “You are not one of his disciples, are you?”
He denied it and said, “I am not.”
One of the slaves of the high priest,  a relative of the one whose ear Peter had cut off, said,  “Didn’t I see you in the garden with him?” Again Peter denied it.
And immediately the cock crowed.
Then they brought Jesus from Caiaphas to the praetorium.
It was morning. And they themselves did not enter the praetorium, in order not to be defiled so that they could eat the Passover.
So Pilate came out to them and said,  “What charge do you bring against this man?” They answered and said to him, “If he were not a criminal,  we would not have handed him over to you.” At this, Pilate said to them,
“Take him yourselves, and judge him according to your law.” The Jews answered him,  “We do not have the right to execute anyone, “  in order that the word of Jesus might be fulfilled that he said indicating the kind of death he would die. So Pilate went back into the praetorium  and summoned Jesus and said to him,  “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Do you say this on your own  or have others told you about me?” Pilate answered, “I am not a Jew, am I?
Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me. What have you done?” Jesus answered, “My kingdom does not belong to this world.
If my kingdom did belong to this world,  my attendants would be fighting  to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not here.”
So Pilate said to him, “Then you are a king?”
Jesus answered, “You say I am a king. For this I was born and for this I came into the world,  to testify to the truth.
Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”
Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”

When he had said this, he again went out to the Jews and said to them, “I find no guilt in him. But you have a custom that I release one prisoner to you at Passover.
Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”
They cried out again, “Not this one but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a revolutionary.

Then Pilate took Jesus and had him scourged.
And the soldiers wove a crown out of thorns and placed it on his head,  and clothed him in a purple cloak,  and they came to him and said, “Hail, King of the Jews!”
And they struck him repeatedly.
Once more Pilate went out and said to them,
“Look, I am bringing him out to you,  so that you may know that I find no guilt in him.” So Jesus came out,  wearing the crown of thorns and the purple cloak. And he said to them, “Behold, the man!” When the chief priests and the guards saw him they cried out,  “Crucify him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him. I find no guilt in him.”
The Jews answered,
“We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die,  because he made himself the Son of God.”
Now when Pilate heard this statement, he became even more afraid,  and went back into the praetorium and said to Jesus,  “Where are you from?”
Jesus did not answer him. So Pilate said to him,
“Do you not speak to me?
Do you not know that I have power to release you
and I have power to crucify you?”
Jesus answered him,
“You would have no power over me
if it had not been given to you from above.
For this reason the one who handed me over to you
has the greater sin.”
Consequently, Pilate tried to release him; but the Jews cried out,
“If you release him, you are not a Friend of Caesar.
Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.”

When Pilate heard these words he brought Jesus out
and seated him on the judge’s bench  in the place called Stone Pavement, in Hebrew, Gabbatha.
It was preparation day for Passover, and it was about noon. And he said to the Jews,
“Behold, your king!”
They cried out,
“Take him away, take him away! Crucify him!”
Pilate said to them,
“Shall I crucify your king?”
The chief priests answered,
“We have no king but Caesar.”
Then he handed him over to them to be crucified.

So they took Jesus, and, carrying the cross himself, 
he went out to what is called the Place of the Skull, 
in Hebrew, Golgotha.
There they crucified him, and with him two others, 
one on either side, with Jesus in the middle.
Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross.
It read,
“Jesus the Nazorean, the King of the Jews.”
Now many of the Jews read this inscription, 
because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; 
and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek.
So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, 
“Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’
but that he said, ‘I am the King of the Jews’.”
Pilate answered,
“What I have written, I have written.”

When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four shares, a share for each soldier.
They also took his tunic, but the tunic was seamless, 
woven in one piece from the top down.
So they said to one another, 
“Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it will be, “ in order that the passage of Scripture might be fulfilled that says: 

They divided my garments among them, and for my vesture they cast lots.

This is what the soldiers did.
Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother
and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas,
and Mary of Magdala.
When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.” Then he said to the disciple,
“Behold, your mother.”
And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.

After this, aware that everything was now finished, 
in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled, 
Jesus said, “I thirst.”
There was a vessel filled with common wine.
So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop 
and put it up to his mouth.
When Jesus had taken the wine, he said,
“It is finished.”
And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.
(Here all kneel and pause for a short time.)

Now since it was preparation day,
in order that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath,
for the sabbath day of that week was a solemn one, 
the Jews asked Pilate that their legs be broken 
and that they be taken down.
So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first 
and then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus.
But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs, but one soldier thrust his lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out.
An eyewitness has testified, and his testimony is true; he knows that he is speaking the truth, so that you also may come to believe.
For this happened so that the Scripture passage might be fulfilled:
Not a bone of it will be broken.
And again another passage says:
They will look upon him whom they have pierced.

After this, Joseph of Arimathea, 
secretly a disciple of Jesus for fear of the Jews, 
asked Pilate if he could remove the body of Jesus.
And Pilate permitted it.
So he came and took his body.
Nicodemus, the one who had first come to him at night, 
also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes 
weighing about one hundred pounds.
They took the body of Jesus  and bound it with burial cloths along with the spices,  according to the Jewish burial custom.
Now in the place where he had been crucified there was a garden,  and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had yet been buried. So they laid Jesus there because of the Jewish preparation day;  for the tomb was close by.

 

** Reflection:

The cross brings us face to face with Jesus' suffering. He was alone – all his disciples had deserted him except for his mother and three women along with John, the beloved disciple. And his death was agonizing and humiliating. Normally a crucified man could last for several days on a cross. Jesus' had already been scourged, beaten with rods, and a crown of thorns pressed into his skull. It is no wonder that he died mid-afternoon. Pilate publicly heralded Jesus  "The King of the Jews" as he died upon the cross, no doubt to irritate and annoy the chief priests and Pharisees.

Jesus was crucified for his claim to be King. The Jews had understood that the Messiah would come as king to establish God's reign for them. They wanted a king who would free them from tyranny and foreign domination. Many had high hopes that Jesus would be the Messianic king. Little did they understand what kind of kingship Jesus claimed to have. Jesus came to conquer hearts and souls for an imperishable kingdom, rather than to conquer perishable lands and entitlements. We can find no greater proof of God's love for us than the willing sacrifice of his Son on the cross. Jesus' parting words, “It is finished!" express triumph rather than defeat. Jesus bowed his head and gave up his spirit knowing that the strife was now over and the battle was won. Even on the cross Jesus knew the joy of victory. What the Father sent him into the world to do has now been accomplished. Christ offered himself without blemish to God and he put away sin by the sacrifice of himself (see Hebrews 9:24-26).

Augustine (5th century) comments on those who stood at the cross of Jesus: "As they were looking on, so we too gaze on his wounds as he hangs. We see his blood as he dies. We see the price offered by the redeemer, touch the scars of his resurrection.  He bows his head, as if to kiss you.  His heart is made bare open, as it were, in love to you. His arms are extended that he may embrace you. His whole body is displayed for your redemption. Ponder how great these things are.  Let all this be rightly weighed in your mind: as he was once fixed to the cross in every part of his body for you, so he may now be fixed in every part of your soul." (GMI 248)

In the cross of Christ we see the triumph of Jesus over his enemies – sin, Satan, and death. Christian writers down through the centuries have sung the praises of the Cross of Christ. Paul the Apostle exclaimed, "But far be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Galatians 6:14). Hear what Gregory Nazianzen (329-389 AD), an early church father and bishop of Constantinople, wrote about the triumph of Christ's exaltation on the cross : "Many indeed are the wondrous happenings of that time: God hanging from a cross, the sun made dark and again flaming out; for it was fitting that creation should mourn with its creator. The temple veil rent, blood and water flowing from his side: the one as from a man, the other as from what was above man; the earth shaken, the rocks shattered because of the rock; the dead risen to bear witness to the final and universal resurrection of the dead. The happenings at the sepulcher and after the sepulcher, who can fittingly recount them? Yet no one of them can be compared to the miracle of my salvation. A few drops of blood renew the whole world, and do for all men what the rennet does for the milk: joining us and binding us together. (On the Holy Pasch, Oration 45.1)

Rupert of Deutz (1075–1129), a Benedictine theologian and abbot, wrote: "The cross of Christ is the door to heaven, the key to paradise, the downfall of the devil, the uplifting of mankind, the consolation of our imprisonment, the prize for our freedom." The Cross of Christ is the safeguard of our faith, the assurance of our hope, and the throne of love. It is also the sign of God's mercy and the proof of forgiveness. By his cross Jesus Christ has pardoned us and set us free from the tyranny of sin. He paid the price for us when he made atonement for our sins. The way to peace, joy, and righteousness in the kingdom of God and the way to victory over sin and corruption, fear and defeat, despair and death is through the cross of Jesus Christ. Do you follow the Lord Jesus in his way of the cross with joy, hope, and confidence?

** Prayer:

"Lord Jesus Christ, by your death on the cross you have won pardon for us and freedom from the tyranny of sin and death. May I live in the joy and freedom of your victory over sin and death." 

AMEN.

Sources:  

Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

**Don Schwager

Author and Writer, Sword of the Spirit

Editor of Living Bulwark

and member of Servants of the Word, UK