Passion Sunday — The Sunday before Easter, Palm Sunday, is observed by virtually all Christians. But for the Roman Catholic Church it is also Passion Sunday during which all stand for readings and meditations from the passion account. The feast has a bittersweet taste. Though it celebrates the King’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem amidst hosannas, the parade leads straight to the Lord Jesus’ suffering and death on Calvary.
The Pope in Santa Marta, “In bad and sad moments”, perhaps “poisoned by having talked against God”, we shall “ look at “the wounds” of Christ for by those wounds we have been healed”
“When we have a depressed heart, we must look at the Cross. When you are tired of the journey of life, look at the crucifix”. It is Pope Francis’ advice at this morning’s Mass, 20 March 2018, at Casa Santa Marta.
In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus knew perfectly just what it was for which He was to pay the penalty of death. He was to pay the penalty for sin — for all the sins of mankind, from the first to the last. Isaiah the prophet had cried out:
In present times, we often associate the religious dimension of our lives with “values,” both ethical and aesthetic. This passage from the Gospel helps us question the value we attribute to the Cross on which Jesus was crucified. The crucifixion certainly became a little overwrought in 19th century interpretations, and this was later redressed to a certain degree. But what do we make of the Cross now, this instrument of torture and torment, presented here as the means by which Jesus was elevated and glorified by God? This Gospel reading casts the cross in a more positive light.
This is the third and final “Scrutiny” that the Church proposes for catechumens and candidates.
In the first “Scrutiny”— focusing on the Woman at the Well — Jesus tells us of his thirst for mankind. When we respond in faith, we quench the thirst of Jesus. It’s amazing to ponder that God thirsts for us!
A series of books titled, “La Teologia di Papa Francesco” (The Theology of Pope Francis) have been published by the Vatican’s publishing house.
Following is the abstract of the books:
Bishop Semeraro’s pastoral instruction: an application document of “Amoris laetitia” prepared and shared together with the priests.
The Fourth Sunday of Lent is called Laetare Sunday in the Extraordinary Form, since its theme is one of rejoicing and expectation that Easter is near. It occurs just over half way through the penitential season of Lent. Laetare Sunday, takes its name from the first word in the entrance antiphon (introit) for that Sunday’s Mass, "Rejoice" [Latin: laetare]: "Rejoice, O Jerusalem, and come together all you that love her; rejoice with joy you that have been in sorrow: that you may exult, and be filled from the breasts of your consolation" (Isaiah: 66:10, 11).
The story of Joseph and his brothers from the Old Testament’s Book of Genesis is no doubt familiar to all of us. Joseph is the favorite of their father, Jacob, who after wrestling with the Angel is now Israel. He, along with his brother, Benjamin, are the sons from his favorite wife, Rachel. No doubt, Jacob loved all of his sons, but he adored these two youngest. They reminded him of his own dear wife, now long dead, having passed in childbirth.
“You do not pay for the Mass, if you want you can make an offering, do it but you don’t need to pay for the Mass”. Pope Francis, in the audience hall in the Vatican, raises his gaze from the prepared speech and speaks off the cuff to the faithful. The subject of his catechesis is the Eucharistic prayer, the heart of the Mass, which accompanies the consecration of the bread and wine. It is an opportunity to remember that there can be no “price-list” for the sacraments and that not even the suffrage Mass for the deceased should be “paid” for.
