Easter Monday 2023

 

The Empty Tomb: Christ has Risen!

Illustration 269919729 © Vladischern | Dreamstime.com

Easter Sunday 2023

Appearance of Jesus to Mary Magdalene

(Public Domain Photo Reproduction (Wikimedia) of the oil painting depicting the risen Jesus Christ speaking with Mary Magdalene, by Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov (Ca. 1835)

"Meanwhile Mary stayed out side near the tomb, weeping.  Then, still weeping she stooped to look inside and saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had been, one at the head, the other at the feet.  They said 'Woman, why are you weeping?' 'They have taken my Lord away' she replied 'and I don't know where they have put him'  As she said this she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, though she did not recognize him. Jesus said, 'Woman why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?' Supposing him to be the gardener, she said, 'Sir, if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and remove him', Jesus said, 'Mary!' She knew him then and said to him in Hebrew, "Rabbuni!' which means Master.  Jesus said to her, 'Do not cling to me, because I have not ascended to the Father. But go and find the brothers, and tell them: I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.' So Mary of Magdala went and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord and that he had said these things to her." (John 20:11-18)

Note: Scripture passage is from the  Jerusalem Bible copyright 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd and Doubleday & Company, Inc. Garden City, New York,

Good Friday 2023

 

Amidst chaos, Jesus is crucified with two thieves

(Photo ID 77227510 © Jozef Sedmak | Dreamstime.com.  A  photo of a Fresco of the Crucifixion in the Cathedral of Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary by Giovanna Antonio de Sacchis, nicknamed Pordenone (1484-1539)

"Then they took charge of Jesus, and carrying his own cross he went out of the city to the place of the skull or, as it was called in Hebrew, Golgotha, where they crucified him with two others, one on either side with Jesus in the middle.  Pilot wrote out a notice and had it fixed to the cross; it ran: 'Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews'.  This notice was read by many of the Jews, because the place where Jesus was crucified was not far from the city, and the writing was in Hebrew, Latin and Greek.  So the Jewish chief priests said to Pilate, 'You should not write "King of the Jews", but "This man said: I am King of the Jews"'  Pilate answered, 'What I have written, I have written'." (John 19:17-22)

Note: Scripture passage is from the  Jerusalem Bible copyright 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd and Doubleday & Company, Inc. Garden City, New York,

Holy Thursday 2023

 

Jesus washes Peter's feet at the feast of the Passover

(Photo 261287578 © Pascal Deloche | Dreamstime.com of Wood panel ca. 1500 by Giovanni Agostino da Lodi seen in Galerie dell Accademia in Florence, Italy)

" It was before the festival of the Passover, and Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to pass from this world to the Father. He had always loved those who were his in the world but now he showed how perfect his love was

"They were at supper, and the devil had already put it into the mind of Judas Iscariot son of Simon, to betray him. Jesus knew that the Father had put everything into his hands, and that he had come from God and was returning to God, and he got up from table, removed his outer garment and, taking a towel, wrapped it round his waist; he then poured water into a basin and begam to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel he was wearing. 

"He came to Simon Peter who said to him 'Lord are you going to wash my feet'' Jesus answered 'At the moment you do not know what I am doing, but later you will understand.' 'Never!' said Peter 'You shall never wash my feet.' Jesus replied, 'If I do not wash you, you can have nothing in common with me'. 'Then, Lord,' said Simon Peter 'not only my feet but my hands and my head as well!' Jesus said, 'No one who has taken a bath needs washing, he is clean all over.'  You too are clean, though not all of you are.'  He knew who was going to betray him, that was why he said, 'though not all of you are'." (John 13:1-11)

Note: Scripture passage is from the  Jerusalem Bible copyright 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd and Doubleday & Company, Inc. Garden City, New York,

Palm Sunday 2023

Jesus makes his triumphal entry into  Jerusalem

(Image 90500284 © Zatletic | Dreamstime.com)

" The next day the crowds who had come up for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem.  They took branches of palm and went out to meet him, shouting, 'Hosanna! Blessings on the King of Israel, who comes in the name of the Lord.' Jesus found a young donkey and mounted it -- as scripture says: Do not be afraid daughter of Zion; see, your king is coming, mounted on the colt of a donkey.  At the time his disciples did not understand this, but later, after Jesus had been glorified, they remembered that this had been written about him and that this was in fact how they had received him. All who had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead were telling how they had witnessed it: It was because of this, too, that the crowd came out to meet him: they had heard that he had given this sign.  Then the Pharisees said to one another, 'You see, there is nothing you can do; look, the whole world is running after him!'" (John 12:12-19)

Note: Scripture passage is from the  Jerusalem Bible copyright 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd and Doubleday & Company, Inc. Garden City, New York,

Ash Wednesday 2023

Illustration ID 268520234 © Antonius Andry Suharto Djumantara | Dreamstime.com

Lent for Catholics (and some other faiths) is a 40 day season of prayer, almsgiving  and fasting,  that begins this year on Ash Wednesday February 22, 2023.  Ashes derived from burnt palms from last year's Palm Sunday are applied to the foreheads of parishioners in the form of a cross as a reminder: "For dust you are and to dust you shall return" (Genesis 3:19, Ecclesiastes 3:20), and ends at sundown on Holy Thursday April 6, 2023. It's a period of preparation to celebrate the Lord's Resurrection at Easter Sunday April 9, 2023 . During Lent, we seek the Lord in prayer by reading Sacred Scripture; we serve by giving alms; and we practice self-control through fasting. We are called not only to abstain from luxuries during Lent, but to a true inner conversion of heart as we seek to follow Christ's will more faithfully. We recall the waters of baptism in which we were also baptized into Christ's death, died to sin and evil, and began new life in Christ.

Many know of the tradition of abstaining from meat on Fridays during Lent, but we are also called to practice self-discipline and fast in other ways throughout the season. Contemplate the meaning and origins of the Lenten fasting tradition in this reflection. In addition, the giving of alms is one way to share God's gifts—not only through the distribution of money, but through the sharing of our time and talents. As St. John Chrysostom reminds us: "Not to enable the poor to share in our goods is to steal from them and deprive them of life. The goods we possess are not ours, but theirs."

 (Parts of the above text are borrowed from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops website at usccb.org) 

Christmas 2022

 

New baby Jace born December 12, 2022

Humble Blogger, Loving Wife Rose and Santa's Helpers Emma Grinch and Paityn Grinch in front