Let us Rejoice!!

CHRIST IS RISEN!  INDEED HE IS RISEN!

Paschal homily of Saint John Chrysostom:

If any be a devout lover of God,

  let him partake with gladness
from this fair and radiant feast.

If any be a faithful servant,

  let him enter rejoicing into the joy of his Lord.

If any have wearied himself with fasting,

  let him now enjoy his reward.

If any have laboured from the first hour,

  let him receive today his rightful due.

If any have come after the third,

  let him celebrate the feast with thankfulness.

If any have come after the sixth,

  let him not be in doubt, for he will suffer no loss.

If any have delayed until the ninth,

  let him not hesitate but draw near.

If any have arrived only at the eleventh,

  let him not be afraid because he comes so late.

For the Master is generous and accepts
the last even as the first.

He gives rest to him who comes at the eleventh hour

  in the same was as him who has laboured from the first.

He accepts the deed, and commends the intention.

Enter then, all of you, into the joy of our Lord.

First and last, receive alike your reward.

Rich and poor, dance together.

You who fasted and you who have not fasted,
rejoice together.

The table is fully laden: let all enjoy it.

The calf is fatted: let none go away hungry.

Let none lament his poverty;

  for the universal Kingdom is revealed.

Let none bewail his transgressions;

  for the light of forgiveness has risen from the tomb.

Let none fear death;

  for death of the Saviour has set us free.

He has destroyed death by undergoing death.

He has despoiled hell by descending into hell.

He vexed it even as it tasted of His flesh.

Isaiah foretold this when he cried:

Hell was filled with bitterness when it met
Thee face to face below;

  Hell is angered, for it was brought to nothing;

  Hell is angered, for it was mocked;

  Hell is angered, for it was overthrown;

  Hell is angered, for it was put in chains.

Hell received a body, and encountered God. It received earth, and confronted heaven.

O death, where is your sting?

O hell, where is your victory?

Christ is risen!
And you, O death, are annihilated!

Christ is risen!

And the evil ones are cast down!

Christ is risen!
And the angels rejoice!

Christ is risen!

And life is liberated!

Christ is risen!
And the tomb is emptied of its dead;

for Christ having risen from the dead,

is become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

To Him be Glory and Power, now and forever, and from all ages to all ages.

Amen!

(Hat tip to the Institute of Catholic Culture!)

 

  

Holy Saturday :: The Lord descends into hell

The second reading from today's Office of Readings from the Liturgy of the Hours:

 
 

From an ancient homily on Holy Saturday The Lord descends into hell

Something strange is happening—there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. God has died in the flesh and hell trembles with fear.

He has gone to search for our first parent, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, he has gone to free from sorrow the captives Adam and Eve, he who is both God and the son of Eve. The Lord approached them bearing the cross, the weapon that had won him the victory. At the sight of him Adam, the first man he had created, struck his breast in terror and cried out to everyone: “My Lord be with you all.” Christ answered him: “And with your spirit.” He took him by the hand and raised him up, saying: “Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”

I am your God, who for your sake have become your son. Out of love for you and for your descendants I now by my own authority command all who are held in bondage to come forth, all who are in darkness to be enlightened, all who are sleeping to arise. I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be held a prisoner in hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead. Rise up, work of my hands, you who were created in my image. Rise, let us leave this place, for you are in me and I am in you; together we form only one person and we cannot be separated.

For your sake I, your God, became your son; I, the Lord, took the form of a slave; I, whose home is above the heavens, descended to the earth and beneath the earth. For your sake, for the sake of man, I became like a man without help, free among the dead. For the sake of you, who left a garden, I was betrayed to the Jews in a garden, and I was crucified in a garden.

See on my face the spittle I received in order to restore to you the life I once breathed into you. See there the marks of the blows I received in order to refashion your warped nature in my image. On my back see the marks of the scourging I endured to remove the burden of sin that weighs upon your back. See my hands, nailed firmly to a tree, for you who once wickedly stretched out your hand to a tree.

I slept on the cross and a sword pierced my side for you who slept in paradise and brought forth Eve from your side. My side has healed the pain in yours. My sleep will rouse you from your sleep in hell. The sword that pierced me has sheathed the sword that was turned against you.

Rise, let us leave this place. The enemy led you out of the earthly paradise. I will not restore you to that paradise, but I will enthrone you in heaven. I forbade you the tree that was only a symbol of life, but see, I who am life itself am now one with you. I appointed cherubim to guard you as slaves are guarded, but now I make them worship you as God. The throne formed by cherubim awaits you, its bearers swift and eager. The bridal chamber is adorned, the banquet is ready, the eternal dwelling places are prepared, the treasure houses of all good things lie open. The kingdom of heaven has been prepared for you from all eternity.

Accept God's ocean of Love and MERCY!

Judas' Despair  

"Judas deeply regretted what he had done. He returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying : ' I have sinned in betraying innocent blood.' They said: 'What is that to us? Look to it yourself.' Flinging the money into the temple, he departed and went off and hanged himself." (Mt 27,3-5)

Saint Catherine heard God say to her: 

This is the sin that is never forgiven, now or ever: the refusal, the scorning of my mercy. For this offends me more than all the other sins they have committed. So the despair of Judas displeased me more and was a greater insult to my Son than his betrayal had been. Therefore, such as these are reproved for this false judgment of considering their sin to be greater than my mercy... They are reproved also for their injustice in grieving more for their own plight than for having offended me.

They are being unjust in this because they are not giving me what is mine, nor taking for themselves what belongs to them. It is their duty to offer love and bitter heartfelt contrition in my presence for the sins they have committed against me. But they have done the opposite. They have lavished such tender love on themselves and felt so sorry about the punishment they expect for their sins! So you see how unjust they are. They will be punished, therefore, on both accounts. They have scorned my mercy, so I turn them over to my justice.

Saint Catherine of Siena (1347-1380), Dominican tertiary, Doctor of the Church, co-patron of Europe.  Dialogue, 37 (trans. © Classics of Western spirituality)

Today we begin the Novena to the Divine Mercy. Click here to join in with the countless faithful who are  participating in this most powerful prayer. It offers a beautiful way to console the most Sacred Heart of Jesus as we contemplate with great love and compassion His Passion and Death on the most holy Cross, suffered for our sake and for the redemption of all humanity.

God bless you on this Good Friday and always!

The Little Flower's PRAYER FOR ACQUIRING HUMILITY

O Mighty Monarch of Heaven, yes, my soul finds rest in seeing You, clothed in the form and nature of a slave, humbling Yourself to wash the feet of Your apostles. I recall Your words that teach me how to practice humility: "I have given you an example so that you may do what I have done. The disciple is no greater than the Master. If you understand this, happy are you if you put them into practice." Lord, I do understand these words that came from Your gentle and humble heart and I want to practice them with the help of Your grace.

I want truly humble myself and to submit my will to that of my sisters. I do not wish to contradict them nor seek to see whether or not they have the right to command me. O my Beloved, no one had the right over You and yet you obeyed not only the Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph but even our executioners. Now in the Sacred Host I see You at the height of Your annihilations. How humble You are, O Divine King of Glory, to subject Yourself to all Your priests without making any distinction between those who love You and those who are, alas! lukewarm or cold in Your service....At their word, You come down from Heaven. Whether they advance or delay the hour of the Holy Sacrifice, you are always ready. O my Beloved, how gentle and humble of heart You seem under the veil of the white Host! To teach me humility You cannot humble Yourself further. Therefore, to respond to Your love, I desire that my sisters always put me in the lowest place, and I want to convince myself that this place is indeed mine. 

I beg You, my Divine Jesus, to send me humiliations whenever I try to set myself above others.

I know, O my God, that You humble the proud soul but to the one who humiliate herself You give an eternity of glory. So I want to put myself in the last rank and to share Your humiliations so as "to have a share with You" in the kingdom of Heaven.

But, You know my weakness, Lord. Every morning I make a resolution to practice humility and in the evening I recognize that I have committed again many faults of pride. At this I am tempted to become discouraged but I know that discouragement is also pride. Therefore, O my God, I want to base my hope in You alone. Since You can do everything, deign to bring to birth in my soul the virtue I desire. To obtain this grace of Your infinite mercy I will very often repeat: "O Jesus, gentle and humble of heart, make my heart like Yours!" (from "Prayers of St. Therese of Lisieux")

Snowstorm in Spring

After the Winter 

 Some day, when trees have shed their leaves
And against the morning's white
The shivering birds beneath the eaves
Have sheltered for the night,
We'll turn our faces southward, love,
Toward the summer isle
Where bamboos spire to shafted grove
And wide-mouthed orchids smile.

 

 

And we will seek the quiet hill
Where towers the cotton tree,
And leaps the laughing crystal rill,
And works the droning bee.
And we will build a cottage there
Beside an open glade,
With black-ribbed blue-bells blowing near,
And ferns that never fade.

 

by Claude McKay