Holy
Saturday
ST. STANISLAUS
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. Traditionally we baptize those who are confident and
unafraid in time’s past. Let us pray that God’s grace is greater than the COVID
19.
Where Love Is Found Grace Abounds[1]
St. Peter's Square and the streets of
Rome, deserted, with only a few people with masks against the coronavirus
pandemic, mainly police and military. Pope Francis says confessions can take
place without seeing a priest while the Vatican has issued new guidelines on
forgiveness of sins during the coronavirus pandemic.
At his early morning Mass, the Pope urged
people to “return to the father” and ask forgiveness of their sins even if
individual confessions with a priest are impossible.
Across Europe and the United States public
liturgies have been suspended, while social distancing makes receiving the
sacrament of reconciliation from a priest problematic. The unprecedented
circumstances caused by the spread of Covid-19 is forcing the Church to adapt,
making use of digital technology to stream services and find new ways to
respond to the spiritual needs of believers.
“I know that many of you go to confession
before Easter… Many will say to me: ‘But Father…I can't leave the house and I
want to make my peace with the Lord…How can I do that unless I find a priest’?”
the Pope said today in his live-streamed Mass in the chapel of his home, the
Casa Santa Marta.
“Do what the catechism says. It's very
clear.
If you don't find
a priest to go to confession, speak to God. He's your Father. Tell Him the
truth: ‘Lord. I did this and this and this. Pardon me.’ Ask His forgiveness
with all your heart with an act of contrition, and promise Him, ‘afterward I
will go to confession.’ You will return to God's grace immediately.”
Hours later, the Vatican issued new
guidelines on “general absolution”, offering forgiveness of sins to groups of
people without them having to confess individually to a priest. The Apostolic
Penitentiary ruled that in places hard hit by the virus a blanket absolution
can be offered: for example, a priest or bishop who is unable to enter a
hospital. They should, the guidelines added, use an “amplification of the
voice, so that the absolution may be heard”.
Church rules allow for general absolution
to be offered in times of “grave need” although in the years following the
1962-65 Second Vatican Council the penitential services where general
absolution was offered were more widespread. Anecdotal evidence suggested it
led to a rise in individual confessions. But during the 1980s and 1990s the
Holy See clamped down on the use of general absolution and sought to heavily
restrict its use.
Along with the absolution guidelines, the
apostolic penitentiary also offered plenary indulgences to those “suffering
from the Coronavirus, subject to quarantine by order of the health authority,
or in their own homes.” According to Catholic teaching indulgences remove all "punishment”
in this life or the next for sins that have been confessed and forgiven.
The conditions for the indulgence for
those “with a spirit detached from any sin”, “unite themselves spiritually
through the media to the celebration of Holy Mass, to the recitation of the
Holy Rosary, to the pious practice of the Way of the Cross or other forms of
devotion, or if at least they will recite the Creed, the Lord's Prayer and a
pious invocation to the Blessed Virgin Mary.”
But the new ruling waives the normal requirement
to also attend Mass in person and make a personal confession in order to
receive the indulgence. It simply says that penitents should have “the will” to
fulfil these conditions.
In Bergamo in northern Italy, at the
epicentre of the coronavirus crisis, many of those who have contracted the
hospital are dying alone and without a funeral, and with just a blessing from a
priest. Coronavirus has killed 3,405 in Italy, more than any other country and
at least 18 of them are reportedly priests who have become exposed to the virus
during their ministry.
In a new interview with La Stampa, the
Pope likened the coronavirus to the Second World War.
“We have to think that it will be a bit
like a post-war period. There will no longer be ‘the other’, but it will be
‘us’. Because we can only get out of this situation together,” he said.
“I don’t want to make a distinction
between believers and nonbelievers. We are all human beings and as human beings
we are all in the same boat. And no human thing must be alien to a
Christian.”
He went on: “I think of the Apostles in
the storm when they invoke Jesus: ‘Master, we are drowning’. The prayer makes
us understand our vulnerability. It is the scream of the poor, of those who are
drowning, who feel threatened, alone. And in a difficult situation, desperate,
it is important to know that there is the Lord to hold on to”.
Holy Saturday[2]
Holy Saturday (from Sabbatum Sanctum, its
official liturgical name) is sacred as the day of the Lord's rest; it has been
called the "Second Sabbath" after creation. The day is and should be
the most calm and quiet day of the entire Church year, a day broken by no
liturgical function. Christ lies in the grave; the Church sits near and mourns.
After the great battle He is resting in peace, but upon Him we see the scars of
intense suffering...The mortal wounds on His Body remain visible...Jesus'
enemies are still furious, attempting to obliterate the very memory of the Lord
by lies and slander.
Mary and the disciples are grief-stricken,
while the Church must mournfully admit that too many of her children return
home from Calvary cold and hard of heart. When Mother Church reflects upon all
of this, it seems as if the wounds of her dearly Beloved were again beginning
to bleed.
According to tradition, the entire body of
the Church is represented in Mary: she is the "credentium collectio
universa" (Congregation for Divine Worship, Lettera circolare sulla
preparazione e celebrazione delle feste pasquali, 73). Thus, the Blessed Virgin Mary,
as she waits near the Lord's tomb, as she is represented in Christian
tradition, is an icon of the Virgin Church keeping vigil at the tomb of her
Spouse while awaiting the celebration of his resurrection.
The pious exercise of the Ora
di Maria is inspired by this intuition of the relationship between
the Virgin Mary and the Church: while the body of her Son lays in the tomb and
his soul has descended to the dead to announce liberation from the shadow of
darkness to his ancestors, the Blessed Virgin Mary, foreshadowing and
representing the Church, awaits, in faith, the victorious triumph of her Son
over death. — Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy
Although we are still in mourning, there
is much preparation during this day to prepare for Easter. Out of the kitchen
comes the smells of Easter pastries and bread, the lamb or hams and of course,
the Easter eggs.
There are no liturgies celebrated this day,
unless the local parish priest blesses the food baskets. In Slavic countries
there is a blessing of the traditional Easter foods, prepared in baskets: eggs,
ham, lamb and sausages, butter and cheeses, horseradish and salt and the Easter
breads. The Easter blessings of food owe their origin to the fact that these
particular foods, namely, fleshmeat and milk products, including eggs, were
forbidden in the Middle Ages during the Lenten fast and abstinence. When the
feast of Easter brought the rigorous fast to an end, and these foods were again
allowed at table, the people showed their joy and gratitude by first taking the
food to church for a blessing. Moreover, they hoped that the Church's blessing
on such edibles would prove a remedy for whatever harmful effects the body
might have suffered from the long period of self-denial. Today the Easter
blessings of food are still held in many churches in the United States,
especially in Slavic parishes.
If there is no blessing for the Easter
foods in the parish, the father of the family can pray the Blessing over
the Easter foods.
It is during the night between Holy
Saturday and Easter Sunday that the Easter Vigil is celebrated. The service
begins around ten o'clock, in order that the solemn vigil Mass may start at
midnight.
Activities
·
Today
we remember Christ in the tomb. It is not Easter yet, so it's not time for celebration.
The day is usually spent working on the final preparations for the biggest
feast of the Church year. The list of suggested activities is long, but
highlights are decorating Easter eggs and attending a special Easter food
blessing.
·
For
families with smaller children, you could create a miniature Easter garden,
with a tomb. The figure of the risen Christ will be placed in the garden on
Easter morning.
·
Another
activity for families is creation of a paschal candle to use at home.
·
The
Directory on
Popular Piety discusses some of the various devotions related to
Easter, including the Blessing of the Family Table, Annual Blessing of Family
Home, the Via Lucis and the Visit to the Mother of the Risen Christ.
Holy Saturday Vigil [3] 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 sepulcher. 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.
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.”
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.
St. Stanislaus[6]
I shall content
myself with relating the history of St. Stanislaus, Bishop of Cracow, Poland,
who restored to life a man who had been dead for three years, attended by such
singular circumstances, and in so public a manner, that the thing is beyond the
severest criticism.... This incident was known by countless persons and by all
the court of King Boleslaus II (reigned 1058-1080) St. Stanislaus, bought from
a man named Piotr [Peter] an estate situated on the banks of the Vistula in the
territory of Lublin for the use of his church at Cracow. The Prelate gave the
full price of it to the seller. This was done in the presence of witnesses, and
with the solemnities required in that country, but without written deeds, for
written accounts of transactions of this kind were seldom made in Poland at
that time. They contented themselves with having witnesses. Stanislaus took
possession of this estate, and his church enjoyed it peaceably for about three
years. In the interim, Piotr, who had sold it, happened to die. The King of
Poland, Boleslaus, had conceived an implacable hatred against the holy Bishop
because he had frequently reproved him for his excesses. Therefore, seeking to
cause him trouble, the King excited the three sons of Piotr, his heirs, against
their father and told them to claim the estate which their father had sold, on
the pretense that it had not been paid for. He promised to support their demand,
and to cause the estate to be restored to them. Thus, these three men had the
Bishop cited to appear before the King, who was then at Solec, occupied in
rendering justice under some tents in the country, according to the ancient
custom of the land, in the general assembly of the nation. The Bishop was cited
before the King and maintained that he had bought and paid for the estate in
question. The day was beginning to close, and the Bishop ran great risk of
being condemned by the King and his counselors. Suddenly, as if inspired by the
Holy Spirit, the Bishop promised the King to bring before him in three days
Piotr, the deceased man who had sold it to him. The condition was accepted
mockingly, as a thing impossible to be executed. The holy Bishop retired to his
Church a distance away, where he prayed
and fasted with his household for three days. On the third day, he went in
his pontifical robes, accompanied by his clergy and a multitude of people,
ordered the gravestone to be raised, and made them dig until they found the
corpse of the defunct, all fleshless and corrupted. Then St. Stanislaus
commanded him to come forth and bear witness to the truth before the King's
tribunal. The Bishop touched the bones with his crosier, and they filled out
with flesh. The dead Piotr rose; they covered him with a cloak. The Saint took
him by the hand and led him alive to the feet of the King. No one had the
boldness to interrogate him. But Piotr himself spoke out freely and declared
that he had in good faith sold the estate to the Prelate and that he had
received the value of it. After stating this, he severely reprimanded his sons,
who had so maliciously accused the holy Bishop. Stanislaus asked Piotr if he
wished to remain alive to do penance. Piotr thanked him and said he would not
expose himself anew to the danger of sinning. Stanislaus re-conducted him to
his tomb, where he again fell asleep in the Lord. It may be supposed that such
a scene had numerous witnesses, and that all Poland was quickly informed of it.
The King was only the more irritated against the Saint. Sometime after [on May
8, 1079], he killed the Bishop with his own hands as he was coming from the
altar in Wawel Castle outside the walls of Cracow. He then ordered that the
Prelate’s body be hacked into 72 pieces so that they might never be collected
together to be paid the honor due to them as the body of a martyr for the truth
and for pastoral liberty. St. Stanislaus was canonized in 1253 by Pope Innocent
IV. He is the patron of Poland and of the city and Diocese of Cracow and is
invoked in battle.
Things to Do:[7]
·
Sometimes
evil has to be confronted boldly, whatever the consequences. Brave men like St.
Stanislaus of Cracow risked death in facing evil. There is little chance today
that we will ever be in that danger, but we must always be willing to defend
the truth, and it should be very clear, in the face of genuine evil, where we
stand. Christ our Lord can expect no less from us. Say an extra prayer today
for the gift of fortitude.
·
Learn
a little more about the city of Kracow where both St.
Stanislaus and Pope John Paul II came from.
·
For
those who are extremely interested in knowing more about Polish history this
online book, Polish Americans and Their
Communities of Cleveland may prove to be a good source of information.
·
The
final work of Franz Liszt is the unfinished oratorio St. Stanislaus, for which he
left two scenes (one and four) and two polonaises. Learn more about this
oratorio here and if you are
able find a copy and listen.
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
[2]https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2020-04-11
[3]
Goffine’s Divine Instructions, 1896.
[4]
Hahn, Scott, Signs of Life; 40 Catholic Customs and their biblical roots. Chap.
1. Holy Water.
[5] Hahn, Scott, Signs of Life; 40 Catholic
Customs and their biblical roots. Chap. 21. Priesthood.
[7]https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2019-04-11
Comments
Post a Comment