Holy Saturday
Baruch,
Chapter 6, Verse 64
Know,
therefore, that they are not gods; do not fear
them.
“Take courage; get
up, he is calling you.” (Mk: 10:49)
Christ calls us to a greater purpose:
No
man or woman of good will can renounce the struggle to overcome evil with good.
This fight can be fought effectively only with the weapons of love. When
good overcomes evil, love prevails and where love prevails, there peace
prevails. This is the teaching of the Gospel, restated by the Second
Vatican Council: "the fundamental law of human perfection, and
consequently of the transformation of the world, is the new commandment of
love"…Christians must be convinced witnesses of this truth. They should
show by their lives that love is the only force capable of bringing fulfillment
to persons and societies, the only force capable of directing the course of
history in the way of goodness and peace…By Christ's death and resurrection,
made sacramentally present in each Eucharistic celebration, we are saved from
evil and enabled to do good. Through the new life which Christ has bestowed on
us, we can recognize one another as brothers and sisters, despite every
difference of language, nationality and culture. In a word, by sharing in the
one bread and the one cup, we come to realize that we are "God's family"
and that together we can make our own effective contribution to building a
world based on the values of justice, freedom and peace.[1]
Aids in Battle [2] The
Enemy’s Strategies
·
The
adversary of our human nature examines from every side all our virtues:
theological, cardinal, and moral. Wherever he discovers the defenses of eternal
salvation to be the weakest and most lacking, there he attacks and tries to
take us by storm. ST. IGNATIUS LOYOLA
·
[St.
Catherine of Siena reports that Our Lord said to her:] I have told you that the
Devil invites men to the water of death— that is, to the things he has. Then,
blinding them with the pleasures and circumstances of the world, he catches
them with the hook of pleasure through the lure of something good. He could
catch them in no other way; they would not allow themselves to be caught if
they saw that no good or pleasure for themselves could be obtained in this
manner. For the soul, by her very nature, always relishes good. Yet it is true
that the soul, blinded by self-love, does not know and discern what is truly
good and profitable to the soul and to the body. So the Devil, seeing them
blinded by self-love, wickedly places before these souls diverse and various
delights, colored so as to have the appearance of some benefit or good. He
tempts each one, according to his condition, to those principal vices to which
that soul seems to be most disposed.
·
When
the sly demon, after using many devices, fails to hinder the prayer of the
diligent, he desists for a little while. But when the man has finished his
prayers, the demon takes his revenge. He either fires the man’s anger and thus
destroys the good condition produced by prayer, or he excites an impulse toward
some animal pleasure and thus mocks the man’s mind. ST. NILUS OF SINAI
Holy Saturday[2] We should have during the
morning and afternoon, a mournful remembrance of our Lord in the tomb.
Why
is this day called Holy Saturday? Because Jesus Christ, the Holy of
holies, on this day rested in the grave, and because on this day the new fire
and the baptismal water are blessed.
What
is the new fire? It
is the fire caught from the sparks of a flint, and then blessed by the priest,
from which afterwards the candles and lamps in the church are lighted.
Why
is this done, and what does it signify? The fire is first caught from a flint to
indicate that Christ, the light of the world, though rejected by the Jews, is
the real corner-stone, and, though seemingly extinguished in the grave, arose
gloriously and sheds the beams of His blessed light on the world.
What
is signified by the three candles, or triple candlestick? The Most Holy
Trinity, one in the divine nature, but three in person.
Why
are all the candles of the church lighted from the triple candle? To signify that
all enlightening comes from the Most Holy Trinity.
What
does the paschal or Easter candle signify? It represents Jesus Christ, Who
died, but rose again, and now lives forever, the light of the world, giving
light to all, and delivering us from the darkness of sin. The wax signifies His
body, the wick His soul, the light His divinity. The five holes in the Easter
candle, in the form of a cross, represent the five holy wounds which Christ
retains for our consolation. The five grains of incense inserted therein
signify the spices used in embalming the corpse of Our Savior.
What
is the signification of the ceremonies used in blessing the baptismal water? They signify
the different effects of Baptism.
Why
does the priest pour out the baptismal water towards each of the four quarters
of the globe?
To indicate that as the four streams went forth from paradise to water the
earth, so also, according to the command of Christ, shall the stream of grace,
through holy Baptism, flow to all parts of the world for the washing away of
sin.
What
does it mean when the priest breathes three times upon the water? The breathing
upon the water denotes the communication of the Holy Ghost.
What
does it mean when the priest dips the Easter candle thrice into the baptismal
water? The
immersion and withdrawal of the candle from the water denote that it is
sanctified by Christ to be a means through which the baptized are drawn out of
the abyss of sin.
What
is the meaning of the mixing of the holy oils with the consecrated water? The holy oils
are mixed with the consecrated water partly to indicate the union of Christ
with His people, and partly also to denote that the grace of the Holy Ghost, of
which the holy oil and chrism are figures, together with faith, hope, and
charity, is infused into the heart of the catechumen. ~No Christian should
forget to-day to revisit the holy sepulcher, to thank Jesus for His passion and
death, and to venerate the sorrowful Mother Mary.
We begin in water; our human form
in the amniotic sac, “bag of waters”, in the womb. In the order of nature birth
begins when a mothers “water breaks.” So with water we begin our visits to
church and we dip a hand into the holy water font and bless ourselves. When the
world was lost to sin and needed cleansing and rebirth, God sent a great flood,
and from the flood the family of Noah found new life. When Israel emerged from
slavery as a unified nation, it first had to pass through the waters of the Red
Sea. Though babies had always been born through “water,” now grown men and
women could be “born of water and the Holy Spirit.” The Church Fathers taught
that Jesus, by descending into the waters of the River Jordan, had sanctified
the waters of the world, He made them living and life-giving, He made them a
source of supernatural regeneration, refreshment and cleansing. St. Teresa of
Avila wrote that “there is nothing the devils flee from more—without
returning—than holy water.”
As Jesus neared the end of His public life, the opposition of the Jewish leaders became more violent and their desire to kill Him more determined. Our Lord, however, continued to teach in the temple, where large crowds came to hear Him. The admiration of the people intensified the hatred of the priests, and they planned to ensnare Jesus in His speech that they might have grounds for condemnation. While His enemies plotted His downfall, Our Lord spent the night in prayer on the Mount of Olives. The contrast between the character of Christ and that of His enemies could not be more pronounced. Yielding to base passion, they were openly seeking the death of the Messiah. Jesus, on the contrary, in the spirit of generous charity, was spending His days in teaching and His nights in prayer. Does our conduct in difficult circumstances resemble that of Christ? When we are unjustly accused, criticized, or condemned, do we calmly continue our work and have recourse to God in prayer? Perhaps we seek vengeance upon those who oppose us by wishing them evil or persuading others to despise and condemn them. Let us leave our reputation in the hands of God and imitate Christ's efforts to benefit those who hated and condemned Him.
"The Lord is the protector
of my life: of whom shall I be afraid?"
Rene Descartes[5]
Rene Descartes (1596-1650),
founder of Analytical Geometry and Modern Philosophy
In
the beginning of his Meditations (1641) Descartes wrote:
“I
have always been of the opinion that the two questions respecting God and the
Soul were the chief of those that ought to be determined by help of Philosophy
rather than of Theology; for although to us, the faithful, it be sufficient to
hold as matters of faith, that the human soul does not perish with the body,
and that God exists, it yet assuredly seems impossible ever to persuade
infidels of the reality of any religion, or almost even any moral virtue, unless,
first of all, those two things be proved to them by natural reason. And since
in this life there are frequently greater rewards held out to vice than to
virtue, few would prefer the right to the useful, if they were restrained
neither by the fear of God nor the expectation of another life.” (Descartes
1901).
“It
is absolutely true that we must believe in God, because it is also taught by
the Holy Scriptures. On the other hand, we must believe in the Sacred
Scriptures because they come from God.” (Descartes 1950, Letter of Dedication).
“And
thus I very clearly see that the certitude and truth of all science depends on
the knowledge alone of the true God, insomuch that, before I knew him, I could
have no perfect knowledge of any other thing. And now that I know him, I
possess the means of acquiring a perfect knowledge respecting innumerable
matters, as well relative to God himself and other intellectual objects as to
corporeal nature.” (Descartes 1901, Meditation V).
Daily Devotions
·
Manhood of
the Master-Day 7 week 9
·
Please
pray for me and this ministry
[2]
Goffine’s Divine Instructions, 1896.
[3]
Hahn, Scott, Signs of Life; 40 Catholic Customs and their biblical roots. Chap.
1. Holy Water.
Comments
Post a Comment