Holy Week
In the first centuries of the Church, the week preceding the solemnity of Easter was called the “Great Week.” Then as now, Holy Week is the commemoration of the successful conclusion of the work of salvation accomplished by our Lord, starting with Christ’s triumphant entrance into Jerusalem, and culminating with His glorious Resurrection on Easter Sunday. Below is a brief summation of events.
Palm Sunday
The situation after the Coptic churches attack in Egypt on Palm Sunday and in view of the Pope’s visit scheduled for April 28 and 29
After His resurrection, the Lord Jesus revealed Himself to His disciples and spent time with them. In one such account, we find Jesus and Peter talking to each other, having one of the most beautiful conversations in the New Testament – where Jesus asked Peter if he loves Him three times.
Why did Jesus ask Peter three times?
The Five Holy Wounds or Five Sacred Wounds are the five piercing wounds Jesus suffered during the Crucifixion – the nail wounds on his hands and feet as well as the lance wound which pierced his side. Let us meditate on the Five Wounds of Jesus Crucified specially during Holy Hour of Reparation.
As I kneel before Thee on the Cross, most loving Savior of my soul, my conscience tells me it is I who have nailed Thee to that Cross with these hands of mine, as often as I have fallen into mortal sin, wearying Thee with my monstrous ingratitude.
April 8th is the optional memorial of Saint Julie Billiart. For the little girl who loved to play “school” as a child, founding a religious order dedicated to the education of the young was something that God apparently had in mind for her all along. Although her own formal education was very rudimentary, St. Julie Billiart was very well versed in the teachings of the Catholic faith, and she dedicated her life to passing them on to the generations that came after her.
The statistical yearbook of the Vatican registers an overall increase of 1,285 million of baptized Catholics in 2015. 49 per cent live in the Americas. For the first time since 2000, a decline of priests.
decline of priests.
Georg Gänswein in a TV interview denies the latest allegations on the renunciation: “It was a free decision. What has been recently said is invented.” The two Popes theory? “The Pope is one, Ratzinger was pope and has renounced”
Benedict XVI’s ninetieth birthday is approaching and monsignor Georg Gänswein, Prefect of the Papal Household and his private secretary, denies all the rumors and recent interviews about alleged pressure that led Joseph Ratzinger to resign. Gänswein was interviewed during Matrix an Italian late night TV show, broadcasted Wednesday, April 5, 2017.
Recalling an extraordinary gesture of Pope Montini while waiting for Francis’ Pilgrimage to the African country.
As Jesus hangs on the cross, naked, dying, and at the climax of his earthly ministry he cries: 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me.'
The phrase appears in both Matthew's and Mark's account of Jesus' death and both include a transliteration of what Jesus said: 'Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?' before adding, 'which means "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"'.
Jesus, the son of God, who has led a life in perfect union with God the Father, is abandoned by him at his most desperate moment.
The cross is a sign of God’s love for humankind and not just an emblem of Christianity or a piece of jewellery to display, Pope Francis said.
The cross is a symbol of “the power of God who made himself sin to heal us,” and its significance can be lost due to a lack of faith in its saving power or the desire to show off, the Pope said on April 4 during his morning Mass at the Domus Sanctae Marthae.
