Sunday, April 26, 2015

Gospel for Today - 4th Sunday of Easter

FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER (B)

"I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep." - Jn 10:14-15

Many of my students know that I keep a small flock of Soay sheep; a rare breed of primitive domestic sheep from the St. Kilda islands in the north Atlantic.  Yesterday I was celebrating the end of the semester with a cook out for my students at my home.  They always enjoy being able to spend time with my family and see the livestock on my little smallholding.  One student asked me yesterday if being a shepherd made me feel like Jesus.  The answer is usually not, because I am certain my little flock is much easier to care for than the people of God!  But keeping sheep does give me an appreciation of the meaning behind Jesus' words when He calls Himself the good shepherd, and us His sheep.

Early during our gathering yesterday, while I was cooking at the grill, I saw a group of students hanging out by the pasture gate, admiring the animals.  All the sheep were in the far corner of the pasture, eyeing the strange crowd suspiciously.  Later in the afternoon I walked out to the pasture with just one student who wanted to see the new lambs.  This time, instead of keeping their distance, the sheep all lined up and walked toward me.  Why the different reaction?  The answer is simple.  My sheep know me.  They know I am the one who cares for them.  In other words, they trust me.  And because of that, they follow me.  

Jesus says, "I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me."  As members of His flock, we are to trust and follow our shepherd.  People often are described as sheep in a negative way; as dumb animals who are easily led and will follow the crowd.  It is true that sheep prefer to stay in a herd, an individual generally following the group.  But in terms of following a shepherd, sheep will only follow one that they trust.  Do you trust Jesus enough to follow Him?  Or are you following some other shepherd?

Jesus also speaks of wolves coming in and scattering the sheep.   There are many other voices out there calling for our attention besides that of Christ the Good Shepherd.  There are plenty of false gods left to worship.  We worship power.  We worship money. We worship sex.  We worship pleasure.  We worship comfort.  Most of all, we worship ourselves.  Any of these things can easily draw us away from God if we allow them to.  One definition of idolatry is valuing a created thing above the Creator.  This is what is sinful about allowing anything -- even a good thing -- to have a place in our lives higher than God.  It is disordered to love a lesser good above the highest good.  

The truth is, as St. Peter reminds us in today's first reading (Acts 4:8-12), "There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved."  Other things in this world may offer us power or pleasure or fame or comfort or wealth or any number of other good things.  But only Jesus can offer us life.  Only Jesus can offer us forgiveness and mercy.  Only Jesus can lead us to perfection and holiness.  "Beloved, we are God's children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed.  We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is" (1 Jn 3:2).  

So do not run after these other gods.  Do not follow these other shepherds.  There is but one Good Shepherd who has true love and concern for His flock.  He will lead us to where we need to go.  We simply need to learn to recognize His voice and then trust Him enough to follow Him.  We can hear our Shepherd's voice through the Church, as Christ has given us shepherds in His name, as He told Peter after the Resurrection, "Feed my sheep" (Jn 21:17).  We can hear our Shepherd's voice in the scriptures.  We can hear His voice through our prayer.  Once we come to know and love Christ, we will follow when we hear His voice -- not cautiously or hesitantly, but with trust and love.

Christ is the Good Shepherd.  He knows us, His sheep.  May we always strive to know Him, our shepherd, and never hesitate to trust in His loving care for us.

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

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Sunday, April 19, 2015

Gospel For Today: 3rd Sunday of Easter

THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER (B)

"Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.  You are witnesses of these things."

This is the conclusion of our gospel reading for today, from Luke 24:35-48.  This, followed by His promise to send the Holy Spirit, are the last words Luke records Jesus saying to the disciples before His Ascension.  This is the meaning of Easter.  This is what it has all been for.  Why did Christ have to suffer and die, and then rise from the dead?  Jesus gives us the answer: so that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in His name.

And not only preached, but actuated.  We saw last week how Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit into the Apostles saying, "Whose sins you forgive are forgiven, whose sins you retain are retained" (Jn 20:23).  Thus the authority to convey Christ's forgiveness to those who repent and confess their sins is given to the Church.  But how are people to know to confess their sins?  How are we brought to repentance?  We need to be told and instructed, so Jesus commands His followers to witness to these things, to go tell the world.  We have examples today of two Apostles, Peter and John, doing just that.  Peter, in the first reading from Acts preaches about how the death and resurrection of the Christ was foretold in the scriptures, and ends his homily with the command to "repent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be wiped away" (Acts 3:17-19).

Some today wish to believe that Jesus' death and resurrection means automatic forgiveness of sins for everyone, with nothing left to do on our part.  Hell, in this view, is an empty place (if it even exists at all).  All are saved by Christ, no exceptions. Still more, though they may not profess universal salvation, conduct their lives as if it were true.  "Jesus died for me and there is nothing else I need to do."  And so they don't go to Confession, to Mass, read the scriptures, pray, attempt to avoid sin, or make any effort to know God at all.

Those who believe this way are partly correct.  Jesus did die for all.  And there is nothing you or I can do to save ourselves.  We must rely totally on Christ if we are to be redeemed.  The work is His, not ours.  But the Catholic Church does not teach universal salvation.  The reason is summed up in a statement by St. Augustine: "God created us without us: but He did not will to save us without us."  This line from one of his sermons is quoted in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which then immediately reminds us, "To receive His mercy, we must admit our faults" (CCC 1847).

We cannot forget that God is love.  We may think the most loving thing to do would be to universally save all mankind and make it impossible for anyone to go to Hell.  But that is not what love is.  Love does not force anyone into a relationship.  Love beckons and invites.  Love desires to be freely loved back.  Love wants to be in relationship with the beloved.  Heaven is nothing more than eternal union with God.  Hell is nothing less than eternal separation from God.  Our eternal destiny is determined by our relationship with the Creator.  Do we choose to be in relationship with Him or not?  That choice is made by us and by our actions in this life.

Our relationship with God is broken by sin, which originates in the human heart.  Our relationship with God is healed by forgiveness, which originates in the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  This is why St. Peter tells us in today's first reading to "repent" and "be converted."  To repent means to turn around, to change our minds.  We have to change our minds about our sins, turn away from them and back toward God.  To be converted literally means to be transformed.  When we repent from our sins and accept God's gift of forgiveness we are transformed into a new creation -- we become the person God made us to be.  But we do not transform ourselves.  We are converted by God, which can only happen when we turn away from sin and turn toward God.  Thinking we can transform ourselves into holy people is prideful.  Pride is the primordial sin, which is why humility is such an important aspect of growing in holiness.

John also gives witness to the need to repent and accept Jesus' forgiveness of sins in his letter from today's second reading (1 Jn 2:1-5a).  He writes of the importance of not only believing in God, but in living our lives in accordance with His will.  "The way we may be sure that we know Him is to keep His commandments," he writes.  "Those who say, 'I know Him,' but do not keep His commandments are liars and the truth is not in them."

While stressing the importance of keeping the commandments, John does not condemn those who fall into sin.  "My children," he writes, "I am writing this to you so that you may not commit sin.  But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one."  Our sins separate us from God; Jesus offers us reconciliation.  

Both Peter and John give us the continuation of the Easter message.  This is what Easter was for.  This is what you should do about it.  Repent and be converted.  

Practically speaking, what does this mean? 
  • Become aware of your sins.  Most likely, you know the "biggies" that are weighing on your conscience.  Study the moral teachings of the Church to help you identify other areas of your life that are at odds with the love of God.  Firmly resolve, with Jesus' help, to avoid those sins in the future.
  • Return to the sacraments.  If you have been away from Mass and/or Confession for a while, the best time to return is today.  Right now.  If you don't know what to do, just tell the priest you want to confess but you are not sure how.  He'll gladly walk you through it and rejoice with you in your forgiveness.
  • Don't dwell on your sins!  You've repented and been forgiven, so don't give your past sins any more power over you by dwelling on them.  You are not that sinful person any longer, you are a new creation.
  • Build a relationship with God.  That's why Jesus died for you, and why you repented from your sins -- to restore your relationship with God.  Start working on that relationship today.  Pray.  Every day.  It doesn't have to be long or complex.  Just a few minutes each day to lift your mind and heart to God.  You just have to do it.  Get to know Him more by reading His Word.  One easy way to start is by following this link to today's readings on the USCCB web site.  At the bottom of the page you can subscribe to start receiving the daily Mass readings in your email each day.  Spend time getting to know the scriptures.
  • Finally, and most importantly, allow God to do His work in your life.  He wants to change you for the better, but change can be difficult.  Sometimes it can hurt.  Our human instinct is all too often to fight against it.  Don't do this!  Satan wants you to stay as you are, but God wants you to be so much more.  He's willing to do the heavy lifting to transform you into a saint, but you have to let Him do it.  Giving yourself over to God's will can be frightening, but remember that everything God wants to do for you is good.  There is no need to be afraid.  Give God permission to work in your life.
Christ is Risen!  Turn away from your sins.  Turn towards the Risen Christ, and be transformed!



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

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Sunday, April 12, 2015

Gospel For Today: 2nd Sunday of Easter

SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER (B) - SUNDAY OF DIVINE MERCY

In the Jubilee Year of 2000 Pope St. John Paul II declared the second Sunday of Easter to be celebrated each year as a feast to Jesus' Divine Mercy.  And now 15 years later, Pope Francis has declared another Jubilee Year -- a year devoted to Mercy, to be celebrated from Dec. 8, 2015 (the feast of the Immaculate Conception) to Nov. 20, 2016 (the feast of Christ the King).  In his very first Angelus address as Pope, Francis reminded us, "Let us not forget that God forgives, and God forgives always."  This extraordinary holy year is a needed reminder to the world of God's great and loving mercy that can be found in the Catholic Church.

Recently I had the pleasure of escorting several students on retreat, the theme of which was "Reasons Why."  Each student on retreat was asked to reflect on the reasons why they were Catholic.  For some a decision was made to become Catholic as an adult.  For those born into the Church the decision must still be made in adulthood to remain a Catholic.  Why make that choice?  What does the Church have to offer?

When the English writer G. K. Chesterton was asked why he became a Catholic, he famously answered, "To get my sins forgiven."  Chesterton had a way of getting to the heart of the matter.  Truly, if the Church is stripped down to its core, the only reason for its existence is to mediate God's mercy to sinners so that they (we) may be reconciled to Him.  That is it.

The whole drama of salvation history has been all about this.  God's covenant relationship with the people of Israel.  The Incarnation.  All the teachings of Jesus. His passion and death.  His glorious resurrection.  The establishment of the Church.  All this has been about one simple thing: reconciling man to God by means of His mercy.

In our gospel today the Risen Christ appears to the Apostles one week after that first Easter Sunday. They are locked away in a room, hiding in fear.  But Christ does not want them to be hidden.  He does not want them to be fearful.  So He gives them His peace.  And He sends them on a mission.

"Peace be with you.  As the Father has sent me, so I send you."  And when He had said this He breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.  Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them.  Whose sins you retain are retained" (Jn 20:21-23).  

And so Jesus, the Son of God and the only man possessing God's authority to forgive sins, passes that authority on to the first leaders of the Church; an authority subsequently passed on to every priest and bishop from that time to this.  This is the origin of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, or what is commonly called Confession.  We humble sinners come before the priest, that minister of mercy, to confess our sins.  The priest, not on his own authority but with the authority granted by Christ through the Holy Spirit, conveys God's forgiveness.  

Elsewhere in scripture St. Paul tells us:

"All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them.  And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation.  We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us.  We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God" (2 Cor 5:18-20).

God wants nothing more than to shower His mercy upon us, but because His mercy comes from love it cannot be forced.  It can only be accepted.  Each time we come to the confessional we accept God's gift of mercy.  Each time a soul comes back to the Church, God rejoices at the reconciliation.  This is why He established the Church -- to open wide the gates of His mercy.

Come through those gates.  Come into the Church, the "community of believers that is one one heart and mind" (Acts 4:32).  To be reconciled to God is to be reconciled to one another.  Mercy is the mission of the Church and mercy is the mission of all in the Church.  The priest is the ambassador of Christ sacramentally in the confessional.  But every Christian is an ambassador of Christ in the world, helping to spread the message of His mercy to all who need it.  To receive God's mercy is to become yourself a conduit of mercy for others.  Every time you forgive someone in your heart, you are doing God's work.  Every time you hold anger or hatred in your heart toward another, you are doing the work of Satan.  Do not allow bitterness and anger to gain a foothold in your life.  Be an ambassador of forgiveness.  Show mercy to others, and you will know God's mercy all the more.

Let us pray for an increase of mercy in the world and in our hearts, today on this day of Divine Mercy, during the extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy, and for all years to come.

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Sunday, April 5, 2015

Gospel For Today: Easter Sunday

EASTER SUNDAY


Rejoice!  Today the Easter Alleluias ring!  Christ is Risen!  As in our baptism we are joined to Christ's death and resurrection, we have been joined with Christ in death through our Lenten penance and now rise with Him in Easter joy.  Today our family celebrates the baptism of our son, Jasper, born into this world three weeks ago and born again today in Christ.  We rejoice with all who have been baptized in Christ this Easter, or in the past.  I present to you today the following excerpt from St. Augustine on the end of our Lenten fast and the Easter Alleluia.  Please join me today in praising the Lord!

Our thoughts in this present life should turn on the praise of God, because it is in praising God that we shall rejoice for ever in the life to come; and no one can be ready for the next life unless he trains himself for it now. So we praise God during our earthly life, and at the same time we make our petitions to him. Our praise is expressed with joy, our petitions with yearning. We have been promised something we do not yet possess, and because the promise was made by one who keeps his word, we trust him and are glad; but insofar as possession is delayed, we can only long and yearn for it. It is good for us to persevere in longing until we receive what was promised, and yearning is over; then praise alone will remain.
Because there are these two periods of time - the one that now is, beset with the trials and troubles of this life, and the other yet to come, a life of everlasting serenity and joy - we are given two liturgical seasons, one before Easter and the other after. The season before Easter signifies the troubles in which we live here and now, while the time after Easter which we are celebrating at present signifies the happiness that will be ours in the future. What we commemorate before Easter is what we experience in this life; what we celebrate after Easter points to something we do not yet possess. This is why we keep the first season with fasting and prayer; but now the fast is over and we devote the present season to praise. Such is the meaning of the Alleluia we sing.
Both these periods are represented and demonstrated for us in Christ our head. The Lord's passion depicts for us our present life of trial - shows how we must suffer and be afflicted and finally die. The Lord's resurrection and glorification show us the life that will be given to us in the future.
Now therefore, brethren, we urge you to praise God. That is what we are all telling each other when we say Alleluia. You say to your neighbor, "Praise the Lord!" and he says the same to you. We are all urging one another to praise the Lord, and all thereby doing what each of us urges the other to do. But see that your praise comes from your whole being; in other words, see that you praise God not with your lips and voices alone, but with your minds, your lives and all your actions.
We are praising God now, assembled as we are here in church; but when we go on our various ways again, it seems as if we cease to praise God. But provided we do not cease to live a good life, we shall always be praising God. You cease to praise God only when you swerve from justice and from what is pleasing to God. If you never turn aside from the good life, your tongue may be silent but your actions will cry aloud, and God will perceive your intentions; for as our ears hear each other's voices, so do God's ears hear our thoughts.
--from St. Augustine of Hippo's discourses on the Psalms

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

at

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

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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

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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.




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