Tuesday, March 31, 2015

SACRED TRIDUUM AND STATIONS OF THE CROSS

FAITH FACTS: SACRED TRIDUUM AND STATIONS OF THE CROSS
The Sacred Triduum marks the high point of the Church's liturgical year.  Over the course of the year the Church recounts the important facts of Jesus' life and incorporates them into the life of the Church.  The Sacred Triduum is the time when we, in a very particular way, remember the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ -- the central events of our salvation.  Triduum means "three days," and the Sacred Triduum runs from the evening of Holy Thursday to the evening of Easter Sunday.  The USCCB web site says, "Though chronologically three days, they are liturgically one day unfolding for us the unity of Christ's Paschal Mystery."  It also makes mention of the Triduum as a "single celebration."

If you are able to celebrate with your local parish in the Triduum, I encourage you to do so.  The Triduum begins on the evening of Holy Thursday with the Mass of the Lord's Supper, where the Church recounts the institution of the Eucharist and the Priesthood.  The celebration ends with a procession with the Eucharist out of the church to "an altar of repose," recalling Jesus' time praying in the Garden of Gethsemene on the night before He died.  But the liturgy does not end on Holy Thursday.  There is no ita missa est, no "the Mass is ended, go in peace."  For it has not ended.  On Good Friday (the only day of the year when no Mass is celebrated), the liturgy silently resumes as the priest, deacon and servers process into the church and prostrate themselves before the bare altar and empty tabernacle.  No bells are rung; there is minimal singing.  The cross is venerated.  Again, the celebration never formally ends.  The people depart in silence.

Though not part of the Triduum liturgy, it is customary in most parishes to pray the Stations of the Cross on Good Friday.  (In many places they are prayed every Friday during Lent, or even all year long).  The Stations of the Cross is a traditional devotion recalling the events of the Passion.  What many people do not realize is that praying the Stations is actually a pilgrimage in miniature.  One of the most important aspects of our Catholic faith is that it is based on historical events.  Jesus Christ is not a fairy tale.  He walked the streets in Jerusalem.  He was actually arrested, tried, condemned and crucified.  And He truly rose from the dead.  

Because these are historical events, faithful Christians throughout history have sought to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and walk the Via Dolorosa ("Way of Sorrow"), following in Jesus' footsteps and visiting the places associated with His Passion.  In the Middle Ages, that became difficult because of Muslim occupation of the Holy Land, so St. Francis is said to have established the first Stations of the Cross, so that people unable to travel to the Holy Land could make a spiritual pilgrimage.  Today most every Catholic church has Stations of the Cross within the church -- some even outside on the church grounds.  On Good Friday, in many cultures, the Stations of the Cross are reenacted dramatically; even more poignantly recounting the historical events of this day.  (As will be the Hispanic Stations of the Cross at St. Mary's at 1:00pm).

The high point of the Triduum, and the pinnacle of all the Church's liturgies, is the Easter Vigil Mass, when the Resurrection is finally proclaimed, our fasting ends, the bells once more ring out and the people sing "Alleluia!"  This is the Mass at which catechumens are traditionally baptized and many thousands of people world wide will be born again into Christ on this night.  It is the longest Mass of the year, with multiple readings from the Old Testament recounting all of salvation history.  Finally, after the joyful celebration of the Risen Lord, we are told, "Go in peace, the Mass is ended, Alleluia, Alleluia!"  The events set in motion on Holy Thursday night have come to pass.  It is finished.

Whether you are celebrating Holy Week at home with your family, or right here in Cullowhee, I encourage you to join with the Church in prayer at this very special time of the year.  Pray for the grace to know Christ more intimately in your own life, so that you may join with Him in sorrow at His suffering for our sins, and join with Him in glory in His resurrection this Easter.

To learn more about the Sacred Triduum, read this message from Pope Benedict XVI from 2011.

God Bless,
Matt


--
WCU Catholic Campus Ministry
Matthew Newsome, MTh, campus minister
  
(828)293-9374  |   POB 2766, Cullowhee NC 28723

at
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Davidson CCM bulletin week of March 30

Thy grace shines forth, O Lord; it shines forth and gives light to our souls.
Behold, now is the accepted time: behold, now is the season of repentance.
Let us cast off the works off darkness and put on the armor of light,
That having sailed across the great seas of the Fast, we may reach, on the third day,
The resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ,
The Savior of our souls.
                ~ Byzantine Vespers


Our Lenten pilgrimage is at an end and we approach the Triduum, the summit of our liturgical year. Info about the season can be found at the end of this email. I hope you have a lovely break and find some time to catch your breath. ~Karen


EVANGELICAL CATHOLIC
Evangelical Catholic is a training program for Catholic College student leaders. ‘Evangelical’ means sharing the Good News through the work of campus ministry. There’s a chance to go to the conference this summer, with most/all expenses paid by the diocese, Philadelphia from July 20-24 (plus travel days). You need to let me know SOON if you are interested in going! And heads up, there might be a chance to go the training workshop in Florida next January, over the winter break. For more info, go here: https://www.evangelicalcatholic.org/etc/.




FAQs about the Triduum….

  • “Triduum” is Latin for “three days.” Lent ends at sundown on Thursday. (We retain this tradition from Judaism, ending and starting the liturgical day in the evening.) The Triduum goes from Thursday evening of Holy Week through Sunday evening—at which point the Easter season begins.
  • You can think of the three days of the Triduum as one celebration (of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus) that’s spread out over three days.

  • On Holy Thursday, in the evening, we celebrate the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, the last meal he shared with his friends. We commemorate the institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper; some churches observe Eucharistic Adoration after this mass.
  • Many churches practice the rite of foot washing. Holy Thursday is often called “Maundy Thursday” because in John’s gospel, Jesus washed his friends’ feet and then gives the mandatum, the command, “As I have done for you, so you should do for others.”  Mandatum became ‘maundy’ in English.

  • Good Friday is a day of abstinence and fasting for Catholics. But this fasting is not the same as Lenten fasting (to repent and reform); rather, it’s Paschal fasting (in anticipation and preparation for Easter and the resurrection). At this service we also observe the Veneration of the Cross.
  • Eucharist is never celebrated, but instead a communion service is offered instead,  using bread consecrated at Holy Thursday.

  • The Easter Vigil on Saturday night plunges us into the whole story of salvation history, God’s plan for the world and for us. It’s a long service—in the early church, it used to last all night, till dawn, as Christians kept vigil during those dark hours Jesus’ body lay in the tomb, as he passed from death to life. Nowadays it lasts a few hours.
  • It begins with the kindling of the new flame, the lighting of the Easter candle, and the singing of the Exultet (the Easter proclamation). Then there is a series of readings (from five to nine) from the Old and New Testaments that trace God’s saving actions in our history. Then we sing the Gloria and the Alleluia (which we haven’t done since Lent began) and we hear the gospel of the resurrection proclaimed. After this, new members might be baptized or received into the Church, and everyone renews their baptismal vows. Finally there is the liturgy of the Eucharist. And with any luck, after all of this, there are refreshments in the church basement!

  • Easter Sunday is the Easter service most folks actually experience, and it’s full of light and lilies and trumpets. Easter is the most important celebration in the Christian churches, the “Great Feast.” Just as Eucharist is meant to be the ‘source and summit,’ the foundation and goal of our Sunday worship and our daily lives, so Easter is the source and summit of all our worship throughout the year and of our whole lives as Christians.
  • The Easter season comes to an end with the Feast of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was given to the Church to continue Jesus’ mission and ministry. After that, Ordinary Time begins again.




___________________

Karen Soos
Associate Chaplain and Catholic Campus Minister
Davidson College
Campus Box 7196
Davidson NC 28035
704. 894. 2423

at

Sunday, March 29, 2015

Gospel For Today: Palm Sunday

PALM SUNDAY OF THE LORD'S PASSION (B)

Palm Sunday (or Passion Sunday) begins Holy Week, one of the most intense times of the Church year, which includes not only Palm Sunday, but the Easter Triduum of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, the Easter Vigil and of course, Easter itself.  This is the week we celebrate the central events of Jesus' life culminating in the salvation of man, the renewal of creation, the tearing of the veil between heaven and earth.  As it says in Revelation 21:5, "He who was seated on the throne said, 'Behold, I am making all things new.'"  

There is much that could be said about the deep mystical meaning of the events recounted in the celebrations of this coming week, which incorporate the Last Supper, the arrest, suffering, death and burial of Jesus Christ, and ultimately His glorious Resurrection.  A lifetime studying theology could not exhaust the depths of that spiritual well.  One of the things that makes Holy Week so intense is the range of emotions encapsulated in these celebrations; from the sorrow on the Cross to the joy of the Resurrection.

Palm Sunday itself incorporates some rather intense spiritual highs and lows.  One of the unique things about the Palm Sunday celebration is that it has two gospel readings.  Mass begins with a reading from Mark 11:1-10, recounting the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, with people spreading branches on the road before him, shouting, "Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!... Hosanna in the highest!"  Yet moments later we endure a lengthy reading of chapters 14 and 15 of Mark's gospel, which recount the passion and death of Jesus and all the suffering that entails. We now shout, "Crucify Him!"  The gospel ends grimly with a cold, heavy stone being rolled over the entrance of Jesus' tomb.  

From celebration to desolation, from life to death, from joy to sorrow, all in one Sunday liturgy.  Is that not a reflection of our own spiritual lives?  Do we not all experience highs and lows on our journey toward God?  St. Ignatius of Loyola wrote of this phenomena.  He described times of spiritual consolation as those times when we are on fire with the love of God.  We feel that we can freely give ourselves to God with no hindrances, and see everything in our lives in the context of a loving God.  Spiritual consolation is often marked by joy, but it can also include sadness over our own sins, or when we contemplate the suffering Jesus endured for us (as we do this week especially).  But whether in joy or sadness we are thankful to God and filled with the theological virtues of faith, hope and love.

St. Ignatius also wrote of spiritual desolation.  These are times when our spirit feels heavy.  We feel a lack of faith, hope and love.  We feel the seeming loss of God's presence.  We don't feel like praying.  We become dry and tepid in our faith.  Spiritual desolation can be caused by our own laziness or negligence of the spiritual life.  But it can also be from God.  It can be a trial allowed by Him to help us learn whether we truly love God or simply love the gifts that God gives us.  Spiritual desolation can be God allowing us to see just how much we need Him in our lives.  

When we are in times of desolation, St. Ignatius advises us to be humble and patient.  One of the particular things he advises is to meditate upon how God seems to have abandoned us, and how it feels to be apart from God.  It may sound like an odd thing for a saint to advise, but this is precisely what Jesus did as He hung upon the Cross, in His time of desolation.  "My God, my God," He cries, "Why have you abandoned me?" Jesus is quoting from Psalm 22, which is a prayer for deliverance from suffering.  The psalm begins with this desolate plea and speaks of God's abandonment, but ends with a declaration of praise for God.  Even in the midst of suffering, the soul can give praise and glory to God.  Even in the midst of desolation, we can choose to live for the Lord.  

We can accept the desolation God asks us to endure.  Like Jesus, we can pray, "If it is possible, take this cup from me.  Yet not my will, but Your will be done."  We can accept desolation because of the promise of consolation, the promise of life, joy and peace that is ours if we accept them.  Those who suffer with Christ shall rise with Christ and share in His glory now in His Kingdom on earth, and perfectly for all eternity in the Kingdom that is to come.




--
WCU Catholic Campus Ministry
Matthew Newsome, MTh, campus minister
  
(828)293-9374  |   POB 2766, Cullowhee NC 28723
at

Friday, March 27, 2015

CCM Bulletin week of March 23

<![if !vml]><![endif]>Yesterday was the 35th anniversary of the assignation of Archbishop Oscar Romero.
Oscar Romero was born in El Salvador in 1917. At age 13 he left home to enter the seminary and he was ordained in 1942 in Rome. He served as a country priest for a while, then ran the seminary, and then became an administrator. In 1970 he became a bishop.
In 1977, he was elected El Salvador’s archbishop. He was considered a ‘safe bet’ on the part of the conservative bishops. He was known to be orthodox, pious, a bookworm, and opposed to liberation theology, which was rapidly spreading throughout Central and South America. (Liberation Theology takes as its starting point God’s incarnation in history to liberate the poor and oppressed.) Romero offered no protest to any of the bloodshed that became increasingly prevalent in El Salvador, and supported the status quo.
Several weeks after his election as archbishop, his friend , Jesuit Fr. Rutilio Grande, and two parishioners, a 72 year-old man and a 7 year-old boy, were murdered while driving in the countryside. Romero began to question why there was no official inquiry into the murders; that led him to ask questions about how the country was run, and to discover that the wealthy elite ran the country and sanctioned the violence that maintained the status quo. He underwent a profound conversion. His weekly sermons, broadcast by radio throughout the country, began to feature a litany of each week’s human rights violations.
Within next year, 200 catechists and farmers were killed. By 1980, 3,000 people were being killed every month in a civil war; tortured bodies were showing up in the streets. In a country of 5.5 million people, 75,000 were killed, 1 million fled the country, and 1 million were left homeless. Romero’s pleas for international intervention were ignored, including the appeal he sent to US President Jimmy Carter (the US sent millions of dollars to fund El Salvador’s military) and the Vatican.
On the day before he died, he preached a homily in which he confronted the military: he called on soldiers to lay down their guns. The next day, March 24, 1980, while celebrating mass in a hospital chapel where he lived, he was assassinated, shot in the heart by a single rifle bullet by a member of the government death squads. Oscar Romero was the first bishop killed at the altar since Thomas Becket in the 12th century. He is regarded by many as the patron saint of Central America, and will be canonized this coming May.

As we wind down our Lenten pilgrimage, I hope you’ve had some time to ponder your call to discipleship, and the uncomfortable places it might be leading you. Today is the Feast of the Annunciation, when Mary’s life—and the lives of all humanity through all ages—was changed, by saying ‘yes’ to a crazy and ‘impossible’ future. ~Karen


EVANGELICAL CATHOLIC
Evangelical Catholic is a program for Catholic College student leaders that is designed to help you be more effective leaders in your campus ministry, and to get other students involved. Don’t be freaked by the ‘evangelical’ part! It just means sharing the Good News through the work of campus ministry. There’s a chance to go to the conference this summer, with most/all expenses paid by the diocese. We’re going to the training camp near Philadelphia from July 20-24 (plus travel days). You need to let me know SOON if you are interested in going! And heads up, there might be a chance to go the training workshop in Florida next January, over the winter break. For more info, go here: https://www.evangelicalcatholic.org/etc/.


___________________

Karen Soos
Associate Chaplain and Catholic Campus Minister
Davidson College
Campus Box 7196
Davidson NC 28035
704. 894. 2423

at

Sunday, March 22, 2015

Gospel For Today: 5th Sunday of Lent

FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT (B)

In today's gospel reading (Jn 12:20-33), Jesus speaks of His coming glorification in terms of death and life.  "Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.  Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life."

Is Jesus speaking in paradox?  In order to save our life we must die?  What sort of sense does that make?  Jesus illustrates His point beautifully with the grain of wheat.  A grain of wheat, on its own, is a pretty useless thing.  In order to become what it was meant to be, it has to be buried in the ground -- a kind of death.  Then and only then will the seed become the plant it was meant to be.  It is no accident that Jesus chose wheat to illustrate His point.  Once grown the wheat is harvested and made into bread to feed others.  By falling to the ground and dying, that little grain has become something that gives life to many.

We are also called to sacrifice ourselves for the good of others.  No, I am not necessarily talking about taking a bullet for someone.  I am talking about the little ways we are called to sacrifice our time, talent and treasure for the good of those around us every day.  We are called to be self-less, not selfish.  

Have you ever noticed that those who are overly concerned with self-fulfillment ("finding themselves"), and "getting their due" out of life are seldom happy?  They tend to be more brooding and angst-ridden.  Whereas those who practice self-discipline and self-sacrifice in order to help others seem far happier and more at ease with themselves.  

Viktor Frankl was an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist, and also a Holocaust survivor.  In 1941, Frankl applied for and was granted a visa to the US.  The Nazis had already started to round up the Jewish people in Austria for the concentration camps, starting with the elderly.  Frankl knew that he could go to America and escape the danger, but that would mean leaving his parents behind.  He went to St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna to pray about his decision.  When he returned home, he found a piece of marble rubble from a local synagogue that the Nazis had destroyed.  Engraved on the rubble was a fragment of the fourth Commandment -- honor thy father and mother.  Viktor Frankl stayed in Austria to be with his parents.

They were sent, as expected, to the concentration camps.  While there, Frankl observed that those who fared the best in those conditions of extreme suffering were those who understood that being human means being directed to someone or something other than one's self.  They were the ones who were living for something greater than their own happiness and comfort.  Later in life, in his psychiatric practice, Frankl would help people overcome depression by helping them to find meaning in life outside of themselves.

Christ also directs us outside of ourselves.  In summarizing the Ten Commandments, Christ tells us two things: we must love our neighbors, but first and foremost we must love God.  Those two must always go together, the horizontal and vertical aspects of Christianity.  If we live only for ourselves, we miss both.

This is the key to unlocking Jesus' seeming paradox.  If we love our own life too much, if we live only for our self and our own happiness, then we cannot grow.  We will remain a (fairly boring and useless) grain of wheat.  And ironically, we'll be pretty miserable.  (Some have described hell as an eternity trapped within ourselves.)

But if we are willing to sacrifice for the good of others -- as Christ was willing to do for us -- if we love God and neighbor above our own comfort -- then not only will we preserve our life but we will find that blessed peace and eternal happiness for which we each were made.

--
WCU Catholic Campus Ministry
Matthew Newsome, MTh, campus minister
  
(828)293-9374  |   POB 2766, Cullowhee NC 28723

at

Davidson CCM bulletin week of March 16

March 19th is the feast day of St. Joseph, Mary’s husband and the foster father of Jesus. Little is known of him: he courageously accepted Mary’s pregnancy and protected and cherished her and her child, fleeing with them to Egypt to keep them safe. It is the custom on his feast day to bless foods to be given to the poor (St Joseph’s table), and some Italian parishes hold potlucks on this day.

At the end of this bulletin you’ll find an excerpt of Fr. Putnam’s homily from this past Sunday. I thought you might be interested in it, especially if you weren’t at Lingle this Sunday. It’s an interesting framework to use in reflecting on Lent and our call to repentance.~ Karen




FAQ…. WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT?... OR, DIFFERENT WAYS OF THINKING ABOUT LOVE

On Sunday at mass, Fr. Putnam discussed four ways to think about love, based on Greek philosophy and literature. Here’s an abbreviated version. But don’t approach this as a head trip (Oh those Greeks, weren’t they interesting?) Rather, as you wind down your Lenten journey this year, a journey of refocusing and reprioritizing, perhaps you could reflect on how love functions in your own life, who you love and how you love, and how you might better embody the agape love of Jesus.
--

The New Testament was written in Greek, not English. And Greek has at least four different words for the single English word "love."
They all imply some kind of bond, connection, attraction, and appreciation between someone who loves and something or someone that is loved, but each one has a different shade of meaning.

The First Two Loves: Natural Affection and Eros

The first and most basic word for love in ancient Greek is "storge".
It means natural affection, the bond that we feel because of some natural connection.
  • This affection can be sweet and superficial, as in the affection we feel for a favorite ice cream (I "love" Butter Pecan") or for a favorite pet (I "love" Fido).
  • Or it can go very deep, as in the bond we feel naturally with members of our family. Even when siblings, for example, are estranged from each other for many years, there is still a unique bond between them, a natural connection or affection.
This type of natural affection doesn't really come up very much in the Bible.

The second Ancient Greek word for love is "eros".
  • This is the kind of love we talk about when we say that someone has "fallen in love."
  • This is the kind of passionate feeling that carries us away and fills us with intense and seemingly uncontrollable emotions.
  • It can refer to the passion that leads two people to become romantically involved.
  • Or it can refer to the passion that artists feel for their art or even that diehard sports fans feel for their sport.
  • The common denominator here is that the passionate feeling tends to carry us away, even leading us to become unreasonable and imprudent.  It doesn't have to, but in a fallen world it tends to.
  • We need God's grace to help us channel and govern these passions in a fruitful, beautiful way.
This word only appears twice in the Bible, both times in the Old Testament.

Love #3 - Friendship
The third ancient Greek word for love is "philia".
  • This word was used to describe a bond formed when two people share a common interest or ideal.
  • It was used most often to refer to friendship.
  • Instead of being based on instinctual affection or passionate intoxication, it was based on a conscious awareness and decision to share one's interests with another person.
  • The key characteristic here is that the two friends who share this kind of love are equals. "Philia" was not usually used to describe the relationship between a father and son, for example, or between a master and a beloved slave - they were not equals.

This word does appear in the New Testament.
  • It is used when Jesus says to his disciples at the Last Supper: "I shall no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know the master's business; I call you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have learnt from my Father" (John 15:15).
  • God's grace not only forgives our sins, but it elevates us; it makes us like Him.
Imagine if we could give our favorite pet the ability to talk, laugh, and interact with us on a human level. Well, God has done that with us.
  • Dog nature is inferior to human nature, and human nature is inferior to divine nature.
  • But God in his goodness and through his grace has elevated our human nature and made us partakers in the divine nature.
  • We are friends of Christ.

Love #4: Self-forgetfulness
The fourth word for love in ancient Greek is used far more frequently in the Bible than all the others combined.
It is "agape",sometimes translated as "charity."
Perhaps a better translation is "Christ-like love," since he revealed its meaning to us by his life, death, and resurrection.

This is the word used in today's Readings: "God so loved the world... because of the great love he had for us."
This is also the word used when Jesus gives his New Commandment at the Last Supper: "love one another as I have loved you."
  • It's interesting that this word was used so often in the New Testament, because in other Greek writings from that same time period, it appears infrequently.
  • As Pope Benedict XVI commented in his encyclical on love: "The tendency to avoid the word eros, together with the new vision of love expressed through the word agape, clearly point to something new and distinct about the Christian understanding of love" (Encyclical Letter Deus caritas est, #3).

What is the core meaning of this term [the "new and distinct" characteristic]?
Self-forgetfulness. 
  • This is the love that focuses on doing good to others, serving them, helping them in their needs, regardless of how I feel about them or what I might get in return.
  • This is generous love, sacrificial love, self-giving love.
  • This is the love of Jesus in the manger at Bethlehem, in the desert, and on the cross.... pouring out his life not because doing so filled him with ecstasy, but because we needed him to do it, because he wanted to restore hope to our sinful hearts and lead us back from our sinful exile into the Father's house.

When St John in his First Letter writes, "God is love," this is the word he uses.
God is completely self-forgetful, completely focused on our good, happiness, and fulfillment.
  • That's why he created us: not for his happiness, but for ours.
  • That's why he forgives us as often as we need to be forgiven.
  • That's why he feeds us with the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist.
  • That's why he carries our crosses with us, never leaving us to suffer alone.
  • And since we were created in God's image, this God who is love, we will find the fulfillment we yearn for as we gradually learn to love in this same self-forgetful, Christ-like way.

Spreading the Sunrise
God's love for each of us is personal, active, unconditional and unlimited, and the crucifix proves it.
And today the Church is reminding us of that.
  • After three weeks of Lenten penance, when we have been reminded of our sins and selfishness (the bad news), it is time to remember that it is precisely because of those sins and selfishness that Christ came to earth to save us (the Good News).
  • That's the reason this Sunday is called "Laetare Sunday," the Sunday of Rejoicing ["Laetare" is the first word of the entrance antiphon in Latin].
  • That's the reason we wear rose-colored vestments today.
  • Just as the horizon begins to brighten and turn a pale pink as the sun starts to rise after a long, dark night, so the love of God in Christ pierces the darkness of sin and sends the shadows of evil fleeing the bright light of eternal day.

Today as Christ renews his unconditional love for us in this holy Mass, and especially as we receive him in Holy Communion, let's thank him for these gifts.
And let's ask him for the grace not only to experience his love, but to share that experience with others, especially those who are still living in darkness.
This week, may our active, Christ-like love be like a sunrise in their hearts, giving them hope and drawing them towards the saving fountain God's grace.


___________________

Karen Soos
Associate Chaplain and Catholic Campus Minister
Davidson College
Campus Box 7196
Davidson NC 28035
704. 894. 2423

at

Sunday, March 15, 2015

Gospel For Today: 4th Sunday of Lent

Jesus teaches Nicodemus
FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT (B)


Today, the fourth Sunday of Lent, is traditionally called Laetare Sunday.  This name comes from the Introit (Entrance) antiphon for the day, which begins Laetare Jerusalem or "Rejoice, Jerusalem!"  The chant tells us to rejoice, all of us who love Jerusalem, and gather round her, for her sorrow is at an end.

This may seem an odd way to begin the Mass, considering the content of the first reading today (from 2 Chr 36).  It tells of the people of Judah "adding infidelity to infidelity, practicing all the abominations of the nations and polluting the Lord's temple ... in Jerusalem."

It speaks of God reaching out to them, again and again, but always meeting rejection.  "[T]hey mocked the messengers of God, despised his warnings, and scoffed at his prophets."  Eventually it got so bad that the enemies of Judah burned down the temple, toppled the walls of Jerusalem, and destroyed all their sacred objects.  The people themselves -- those who were not killed -- were exiled into Bablyon where they became slaves.

The Psalm today (Ps 137) is a lamentation of that time in captivity.  "By the streams of Bablyon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion."  And, "How could we sing the song of the Lord in a foreign land?  If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand be forgotten."

And yet today we begin the liturgy by singing, "Rejoice, Jerusalem!"  In light of the scriptures today, what is there to rejoice over?

As it turns out, plenty.  You see, the story does not end there.  The first reading tells of a God who "had compassion on his people," calling out to them again and again.  God did not forget or forsake Jerusalem, despite its infidelities.  This is an important lesson, for God never ceases to have mercy and compassion on His people.  His mercy did not cease when His people were enslaved by the Chaldeans.  His mercy did not cease when the Persians came to power, under king Cyrus.  His mercy never ceases, despite His people's rejection.

His love and His mercy continued until it reached the level of perfection spoken of in today's gospel (Jn 3:14-21).  This includes the verse that is seen along highways and at football games all across the nation.  "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life."  This is the gospel in a nutshell.  This is the good news.

We see "John 3:16" plastered in so many places that we tend to not see it any more, and not hear the content of its message.  But today, we have St. Paul explaining to us just how much of a mercy this is.  "God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life with Christ" (from the second reading today, Eph 2:4-10).

And so we rejoice today.  Because, like the ancient people of Judah, we have rejected God.  We have rejected His prophets, His messengers, His pleas for repentance.  We have rejected His love and mercy.  But He has not ceased to pour it out upon us.  Despite our sins, our transgressions and our failings, God's mercy is constant.  In fact, the depths of our failings make His mercy shine all the brighter.  He has given us His Son, not to condemn us, but to save us.

And so, rejoice, Jerusalem!  Your sorrow is at an end.  Let those of us who love her, who love the ways of the Lord, who have chosen light over darkness, let all of us gather around her.  Let us rejoice!

(Originally written for the 4th Sunday of Lent, 2012).

--
WCU Catholic Campus Ministry
Matthew Newsome, MTh, campus minister
  
(828)293-9374  |   POB 2766, Cullowhee NC 28723

at

Saturday, March 7, 2015

Gospel for Today - 3rd Sunday of Lent (B)

THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT (B)

Today the Church gives us a rather lengthy reading from Exodus where God delivers to Moses the Ten Commandments.  These commandments form the bedrock of our Catholic moral teachings, and while some of them tell us what to do (keep the Sabbath holy, honor your father and mother), the majority of them tell us what NOT to do.  Perhaps for this reason, many people's perception of the moral law is a negative one, something which restricts us from doing what we want.

The moral law is restrictive but not in the way you might think.  The moral law is restrictive in the way that guard rails are restrictive.  It is there to keep us on the right road, to help us avoid driving headlong off of a cliff. There are some roads on the Blue Ridge Parkway I would be terrified to drive on if there were not protective guard rails.  But because they are there I feel safe and so am more free to enjoy the scenic highway.  So the moral law allows us to more freely live good and holy lives.

Our Catholic moral teaching is based on the natural law.  The Ten Commandments belong to this natural law tradition.  So what is the natural law?  In a nutshell, natural law morality is based upon human nature.  There are things which are appropriate and fitting with human nature (morally good actions), and things which run counter to our human nature (morally evil actions). The "thou shalt nots" of the Ten Commandments warn us away from actions which are beneath our human dignity.

Buy a new microwave and it will come with a set of instructions.  In those instructions will be a warning page with a list of things not to do.  Doing those things would be bad, not because they offend the manufacturer, but because they will cause damage to the microwave and prevent it from functioning as it should.  You have a choice.  You can ignore the instructions and hope you don't break your new microwave, or you can heed the warnings given by the people who made the microwave and have a much easier time of using it. 

For us, the Ten Commandments are like that warning page.  The reason immoral acts are bad are not because they offend God, but because they are bad for us.  They go against our nature and harm our human dignity.  St. Thomas Aquinas points out that "the only way we offend God is by acting against our own good" (Summa Contra Gentiles III, 122).  Our sins do offend God.  He is offended because our sins cause us harm, and He loves us.  He loves us so much that He sent His only begotten Son to save us from our sins (Jn 3:16).

Commenting on today's gospel reading, wherein Jesus drives the money changers from the Temple, the third century theologian Origin notes that Jesus "always begins by reforming abuses and purifying from sin; both when He visits His Church and when He visits the Christian soul" (Homily on St. John, 1).  Like the money changers in His Father's house, Jesus desires to drive out sin from our hearts, so that we, too, may be fitting houses for the Father.  It behooves us to reflect on our sins, especially during this season of Lent, so that we can allow Jesus to drive that evil out of the hidden corners of our lives.  

Most of us are not used to reflecting on sin.  Thinking about our immoral actions makes us feel guilty, and guilt doesn't feel good.  Pain does not feel good, either, but it can be useful if it gets us to stop doing the thing that is causing us pain.  The same is true of guilt.  It is a good thing if it leads to repentance, which is the first step of accepting Jesus's offer of redemption.  You cannot repent from a sin of which you are not aware.  Some sins may be obvious to us, but other things we may not even realize are sinful because the judgment of our conscience has been clouded.  There are sins of commission (things we do), as well as sins of omission (things we should have done but didn't).

A great aid to identifying the sins in your life is an examination of conscience.  Many holy people have composed these lists of guiding questions meant to help us reflect on our own lives and conduct.  Most examinations are based on the Ten Commandments.   The USCCB has a very short examination on their web site.  Here is a somewhat longer (but still short) examination written by Fr. John Trigilio.  Most any Catholic prayer book will have an examination of conscience.  Doing an examen at the end of each day is a useful tool to help keep your life oriented toward Christ.

Making an examination of conscience helps us to get past the surface of the commandments and to uncover their heart, as Jesus does.  The commandment says not to murder.  Jesus tells us not to hate (Mt 5:22).  The commandment says not to commit adultery.  Jesus tells us not to lust (Mt 5:28).  Jesus shows us the spirit of the commandments -- a spirit of love.  

Our gospel today ends with this poignant phrase.  Jesus "did not need anyone to testify about human nature.  He Himself understood it well" (Jn 2:25).  Jesus is the perfect man and so He embodies human nature perfectly, untainted by sin.  Jesus knows us better than we know ourselves.  He is our Creator and our Redeemer.  As the author of human nature, He knows best what is good for us, and what will bring us everlasting joy.  A good examination of conscious, followed by sacramental reconciliation (confession) helps us to see ourselves in the light of Jesus, warts and all; as one fallen, but one He desires to redeem.

Let us pray this Lent for the grace to know Jesus more intimately and to follow Him more closely, so that we may come closer to being the beautiful saints He made us to be.

--
WCU Catholic Campus Ministry
Matthew Newsome, MTh, campus minister
  
(828)293-9374  |   POB 2766, Cullowhee NC 28723

at

Sunday, March 1, 2015

Gospel For Today: 2nd Sunday of Lent

SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT (B)

Today's gospel reading (Mk 9:2-10) gives us the story of Jesus' transfiguration, when Peter, James and John witness Christ shining in all His heavenly glory, standing on the mountaintop with Moses and Elijah.  The transfiguration is ripe with meaning and significance.  After predicting His passion and death, Christ gives His disciples a preview of the glory of His resurrection, and indeed the glory that awaits us as His followers.  He converses not just with two random figures from the Old Testament, but with Moses and Elijah, representing the law and the prophets.  Jesus is shown as the One whom the law and the prophets were pointing towards, their end and their fulfillment.

That Jesus is the fulfillment of the old covenant is why the Church also gives us today the story of Abraham sacrificing his son Isaac.  This is one of the better known stories from Genesis, but perhaps we do not know it as well as we think we do.  For those who are not familiar, God asks Abraham to take his only son to Moriah to be offered as a sacrifice.  Abraham obeys, and takes Isaac with him to the top of the mountain, carrying the wood for the sacrificial pyre.  He binds his son and lays him on the wood, but at the last moment an angel tells him to stop.  A ram appears caught in a thicket, so Abraham sacrifices the ram instead.  God tells him that because he did not withhold even his own son from Him, Abraham and his descendants will be blessed.

On our first reading of this story, we may be shocked that God would ask one of his faithful followers to make such a harsh sacrifice.  But on second reading, we may recall that God was willing to sacrifice His Son for us.  When we read the story a third time, we may marvel at Abraham's obedience and unshakable faith.  And maybe on a fourth reading, we notice the son.  Our reading from the Lectionary today only gives us excerpts from this passage in Genesis.  I encourage you to open your Bible and read all of chapter 22.  One of the verses not found in today's reading is Gen 22:6. "Thereupon Abraham took the wood for the holocaust and laid it on his son Isaac's shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife."

Isaac carried the wood.

We tend to imagine Isaac as a child.  I did a little experiment and did a Google image search for "Abraham and Isaac."  I was not surprised to find that much of the modern artwork depicting this scene shows Isaac as a young boy.  But older artwork shows him as a young man, fully grown.  The scriptures do not tell us how old Isaac was at this time.  But we do know that Abraham was already a hundred years old when Isaac was born (Gen 21:5).  By this time, Isaac was definitely the stronger of the two, which is why he had to carry the wood.

Another verse not given us in today's reading is Gen 22:9b, "Next he tied up his son Isaac, and put him on top of the wood on the altar."  When we read this, we would be wrong to imagine a strong adult man tying up a young child.  Abraham was in his advanced old age, while Isaac was large and strong enough to carry a large amount of wood to the top of a mountain.  Isaac at any point could have overpowered the feeble Abraham, yet he allowed himself to be bound, knowing full well what that meant.

Both Abraham and Isaac demonstrate great faith and obedience.  Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son.  Isaac was willing to be sacrificed.  Jesus, too, was completely obedient to the Father, and Jesus, too, was a willing sacrifice.  Like Isaac, Jesus carried the wood for His sacrifice.  Like Isaac, Jesus allowed Himself to be bound.  When Abraham told Isaac that "God Himself will provide the sheep for the holocaust," that prophecy was fulfilled not by the ram in the thicket, but by the sacrificial offering of God's own Son.

Jesus' transfiguration took place just after He began to teach about His own coming passion (Mk 8:31).  Peter objects to the idea that Jesus, whom he loves, should have to suffer and die.  Jesus rebukes him, and teaches that "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.  For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it" (Mk 8:34-35).  It is then, after this difficult saying, that Jesus takes Peter, along with James and John, to the mountain top and is transfigured before them.  Being obedient, holding nothing back from God, and being willing to deny yourself to the point of losing your very life are hard, hard things to do.  But this is the Christian life.  This is the only way to save your life.

Jesus shows us what lies down that road -- suffering, trial, persecution, even death, but also life, glory, radiance and beauty.  Jesus blazes the trail of obedience so that we may follow Him down that path.  Let us pray this Lent for the faith of Abraham and Isaac.  Let us pray for the strength to carry our cross and follow Jesus.  Let us pray for the grace of obedience to our heavenly Father.  And let us pray that we may be transfigured, formed into Christ, sharers in His divine glory.





--
WCU Catholic Campus Ministry
Matthew Newsome, MTh, campus minister
  
(828)293-9374  |   POB 2766, Cullowhee NC 28723

at
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