Saturday, April 20, 2019
Holy Saturday
WEED DAY
Isaiah, Chapter 12, Verse 2-4
2God indeed is my salvation; I am confident and unafraid. For the LORD is my strength and my might, and he has been my salvation. 3With joy you will draw water from the fountains of salvation, 4And you will say on that day: give thanks to the LORD, acclaim his name; Among the nations make known his deeds, proclaim how exalted is his name.
2God indeed is my salvation; I am confident and unafraid. For the LORD is my strength and my might, and he has been my salvation. 3With joy you will draw water from the fountains of salvation, 4And you will say on that day: give thanks to the LORD, acclaim his name; Among the nations make known his deeds, proclaim how exalted is his name.
Indeed, Holy Saturday presents the history of
Christ’s salvation of his people when in the morning he rises and proclaims His
victory over death. Tonight, we baptise those who are confident and unafraid.
Holy Saturday[1] We should have during the morning
and afternoon, a mournful remembrance of our Lord in the tomb.
Prayer. GOD! Who makest this most sacred
night illustrious by the glory of the resurrection of Our Lord, preserve in the
new offspring of Thy family the spirit of adoption which Thou hast given them;
that, being renewed in body and soul, they may serve Thee with purity of heart.
EPISTLE. Colons, iii. 1-4.
Brethren: If you be risen with
Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is sitting at the right
hand of God: mind the things that are above, not the things that are upon the
earth. For you are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ
shall appear, Who is your life, then you also shall appear with Him in glory.
GOSPEL. Matt, xxviii. 1-7.
In the end of the Sabbath, when it
began to dawn towards the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene, and the
other Mary, to see the sepulchre. And behold there was a great earthquake. For
an angel of the Lord descended from heaven: and coming, rolled back the stone,
and sat upon it. And his countenance was as lightning, and his raiment as snow.
And for fear of him the guards were struck with terror and became as dead men.
And the angel answering, said to the women: Fear not you: for I know that you
seek Jesus Who was crucified. He is not here, for He is risen, as He said.
Come, and see the place where the Lord was laid. And going quickly, tell ye His
disciples that He is risen and behold He will go before you into Galilee: there
you shall see Him. Lo, I have foretold it to you.
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.
Lenten
Calendar[2]
Read:
“We
by Baptism, are immersed in that inexhaustible source of life, which is the
death of Jesus, the greatest act of love in all of history. . .” (Pope Francis,
General Audience, January 8, 2014)
Reflect:
As
you prepare for the Paschal celebration of Easter, reflect on how well you have
lived your Lenten commitments during this journey through the desert to the
foot of the Cross.
Pray:
"Praise
the Lord who bore the spear and who received the nails in his hands, in his
feet. He entered into hell and took its spoils."
—St. Ephrem of Syria, Hymns on the Nativity, 13.30
—St. Ephrem of Syria, Hymns on the Nativity, 13.30
Act:
Attend
tonight’s Easter Vigil.
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.”
April 20 has become a counterculture holiday in North
America, where people gather to celebrate and consume cannabis. Some
events have a political nature to them, advocating for the legalization of
cannabis. North American observances have been held at Hippie Hill in San
Francisco's Golden Gate Park near the Haight-Ashbury district, the University
of Colorado's Boulder campus, Ottawa, Ontario, at Parliament Hill
and Major's Hill Park, Montreal, Quebec at Mount Royal monument, Edmonton,
Alberta at the Alberta Legislature Building, as well as Vancouver,
British Columbia at the Vancouver Art Gallery. The growing size of
the unofficial event at UC Santa Cruz caused the Vice Chancellor of Student
Affairs to send an e-mail to parents in 2009 stating: "The growth in scale
of this activity has become a concern for both the university and surrounding
community."
Q: I have a question regarding the use of
marijuana and whether it is considered a sin to smoke it recreationally now
that it is legal in Washington state. I have a Catholic friend who smokes it
and doesn’t seem to think that there is anything wrong with doing so. What does
the church teach about using marijuana recreationally — is it a sin?
A: During the period of continuing formation
following my ordination, I was introduced to Stephen Covey’s well-known book
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. The second habit has always stuck with
me: “Begin with the end in mind.” It means that before we start something, we
need to think it out and make sure our present actions will help us toward our
future goals.
Covey’s second habit can be applied to the
spiritual life. The goal of our spiritual lives is ultimately to love God and
others to the fullest possible extent, and ultimately to make it to heaven.
What we do in the present should assist us in these spiritual goals.
So, to your question, with the
understanding that marijuana is a legally prescribed therapeutic drug for
certain mental and physical conditions: Does recreational marijuana use help or
hinder us in reaching this goal of our Christian life?
The Catechism of the Catholic Church,
quoting Vatican II, says the following: “God willed that man should be ‘left in
the hand of his own counsel,’ so that he might of his own accord seek his
Creator and freely attain his full and blessed perfection by cleaving to him.”
(1730) God doesn’t force us to seek and love him; it is something that he has
left us free to do.
Marijuana affects the limbic system of the
brain, which deals with emotion, behavior, motivation, long-term memory, and
sense of smell and time. Using this substance, as many studies show, causes
both physical and psychological effects in the user, including heightened heart
rates, short-term memory loss, delayed reaction, depression and even anxiety.
When a person smokes marijuana, they are placing chemicals in their nervous
system that alter their consciousness and have the potential to produce future
emotional and physical damage.
Marijuana certainly is not beneficial to
the spiritual life, and if it becomes a serious impediment to growth in the
spiritual life and drawing closer to God and our ultimate goal, heaven, the
church would consider its recreational use a sin. It’s important to remember
that there is a big difference between recreational and therapeutic drug use
and this understanding does not apply only to marijuana.
YouCat, the youth catechism of the
Catholic Church, says: “Every time a person loses or forgets himself by
becoming intoxicated, which can also include excessive eating and drinking,
indulgence in sexual activity, or speeding with an automobile, he loses some of
his human dignity and freedom and therefore sins against God. This should be
distinguished from the reasonable, conscious, and moderate use of enjoyable
things.” (389)
When we forget ourselves in this way
through “intoxication” of any kind, we run the risk of forgetting what the
purpose and goal of our lives are, and certainly are not considering this
ultimate goal in the present.
St. Paul says, “Do you not know that your
body is a temple of the holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and
that you are not your own?” (1 Corinthians 6:19) We were created to be good and
responsible stewards of God’s creation, including our bodies, which are sacred.
Recreational marijuana use can be an impediment to the fullness of life that
God wants to share with us and so can become a hindrance to being a good
steward of what God has created. Do you want to be a Dude or a Dud?
Are you Drifting?
In life we are always moving toward the future. Our
destination is life eternal with our creator. In our little sailboat of life,
we tend to be either moving toward God by taking advantage of His graces which
provide the wind for our sails or we do nothing but drift.
Napoleon Hill noted in his manuscript on a book he
never published entitled “Outwitting the devil” stated drifting was one of the
tools the devil uses to keep us off tack and not sailing towards God’s
mountain.
A
Protection against drifting lies within easy reach of every human being who has
a normal body and a sound mind. The self-defense can be applied through these
simple methods:
1.
Do
your own thinking on all occasions. The fact that human beings are given
complete control over nothing save the power to think their own thoughts is
laden with significance.
2.
Decide
definitely what you want from life; then create a plan for attaining it and be
willing to sacrifice everything rather than accept permanent defeat.
3.
Analyze
temporary defeat, no matter of what nature or cause, and extract from it the
seed of an equivalent advantage.
4.
Be
willing to render useful service equivalent to the value of all material things
you demand of life, and render the service first.
5.
Recognize
that your brain is a receiving set that can be attuned to receive
communications from the universal storehouse of Infinite Intelligence, to help
you transmute your desires into their physical equivalent.
6.
Recognize
that your greatest asset is time, the only thing except the power of thought
which you own outright, and the one thing which can be shaped into whatever
material things you want. Budget your time so none of it is wasted.
7.
Recognize
the truth that fear generally is a
filler with which the Devil occupies the unused portion of your mind. It is
only a state of mind which you can control by filling the space it occupies
with faith in your ability to make life provide you with whatever you demand of
it.
8.
When
you pray, do not beg! Demand what you want and insist upon getting exactly that,
with no substitutes.
9.
Recognize
that life is a cruel taskmaster and that either you master it or it masters
you. There is no half-way or compromising point. Never accept from life
anything you do not want. lf that which you do not want is temporarily forced
upon you, you can refuse, in your own mind, to accept it and it will make way
for the thing you do want.
10. Lastly, remember that your
dominating thoughts attract, through a definite law of nature, by the shortest
and most convenient route, their physical counterpart. Be careful what your
thoughts dwell upon.
A
simple formula combining all the ten points:
Be definite in everything you do and never leave unfinished thoughts in
the mind. Form the habit of reaching definite decisions on all subjects.
Can the
habit of drifting be broken, or does it become permanent once it has been
framed?
The
habit can be broken if the victim has enough willpower, providing it is done in
time. There is a point beyond which the habit can never be broken. Beyond that
point the victim is mine. He resembles a fly that has been caught in a spider’s
web. He may struggle, but he cannot get out. Each move he makes entangles him
more securely. The web in which I entangle my victims permanently is a law of
nature not yet isolated by, or understood by, men of science.
In the bible a priest is a father—and even more of a
father than our own earthly father. In the Old Testament the history of the
priesthood had two periods: the patriarchal and the Levitical. The patriarchal
was based on the family order that place authority down from father to first
born son in the form of a “blessing” and the leadership of the building of
altars and for the presenting of sacrifice for the family. Fathers are
empowered as priests by nature. Fatherhood is the original basis of priesthood.
The firstborn is the father’s heir apparent, the one groomed to succeed one day
to paternal authority and priesthood within the family. Imagine the blow to the
Egyptian with the last plague which killed the firstborn. The pattern continued
into the Exodus. There God declared to Moses, “Israel is my firstborn son”—that
is, among the many peoples of the earth, Israel was God’s heir and his priest.
God in His mercy made all heirs through Christ and with Christ came a
restoration of the natural priesthood of fathers and the establishment of a
fatherly order of New Covenant Priests. To Christ, we are “the children God has given me”, the “Many sons”, “his bretheren”,
the new “seed of Abraham” who
together form God’s “family/household”
which Jesus builds and rules as a son. As all Christians are identified with
Christ, the Church becomes the “assembly
of the firstborn.” (Heb. 2, 3, 12) In the truest sense priests are so much
more than managers, they are fathers. True fatherhood involves the
communication of life. Natural fathers communicate human life but in the
sacraments of baptism and Eucharist, a priest communicates divine life and the
divine humanity of Jesus Christ. Every Priest therefore requires our respect in
spite of their weaknesses or sins and we should pray for them. This is why our
Holy Father asks us to pray for him.
Second Day - Today Bring Me the Souls of Priests and Religious.
Most Merciful
Jesus, from whom comes all that is good, increase Your grace in us, that we may
perform worthy works of mercy, and that all who see us may glorify the Father
of Mercy who is in heaven.
Eternal Father,
turn Your merciful gaze upon the company [of chosen souls] in Your vineyard -
upon the souls of priests and religious; and endow them with the strength of
Your blessing. For the love of the Heart of Your Son in which they are
enfolded, impart to them Your power and light, that they may be able to guide
others in the way of salvation, and with one voice sing praise to Your
boundless mercy for ages without end. Amen.
Daily Devotions
[1]
Goffine’s Divine Instructions, 1896.
[3]
Hahn, Scott, Signs of Life; 40 Catholic Customs and their biblical roots. Chap.
1. Holy Water.
[6] Hahn, Scott, Signs of Life; 40 Catholic
Customs and their biblical roots. Chap. 21. Priesthood.
[7]https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/prayers/view.cfm?id=1032
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