Lent - A time to sow good seed on fertile soil

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March 30, 2013 - Holy Saturday:
March 30, 2013 (evening) - The Easter Vigil in the Holy Night (Solemnity)

Today’s catechesis & reflections from these links:

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?p=10546261#post10546261
www.ewtn.com/faith/lent/Holy_Sat.htm
catholicism.about.com/od/Holy-Week/p/Holy-Saturday.htm

Novena to the Divine Mercy - Day 2 (Holy Saturday):
www.ewtn.com/devotionals/mercy/novena.htm#2

Note: During the Novena leading to Divine Mercy Sunday, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy should be offered for each day’s intentions.
www.ewtn.com/devotionals/mercy/dmmap.htm
 
March 29, 2013 - Friday of the Passion of the Lord (Good Friday):

Today, we commemorate and interiorize the sufferings and death of Our Lord on the Cross. This event was prefigured in Zech 12:10:

‘…when they look on the one whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.’

The actual reality of this crucifixion was confirmed in Jn 19:37:

‘They will look on the one whom they have pierced.’

Act of Contrition:

'O my God,
I am heartily sorry
for having offended you,
and I detest all my sins,
because I dread the loss of heaven
and the pains of hell;
but most of all
because they offend you, my God,
who are all good
and deserving of all my love.
I firmly resolve,
with the help of your grace,
to confess my sins,
to do penance,
and to amend my life. Amen.’
 
March 31, 2013 - Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord

Collect:
“O God, who on this day,
through your Only Begotten Son,
have conquered death
and unlocked for us the path to eternity,
grant, we pray, that we who keep
the solemnity of the Lord’s Resurrection
may, through the renewal brought by your Spirit,
rise up in the light of life.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.”

For today’s Easter reflections:
www.ewtn.com/faith/lent/eastersunday.htm
catholicism.about.com/od/holydaysandholidays/p/What_Is_Easter.htm
catholicism.about.com/od/holydaysandholidays/f/Easter_Duty.htm

Novena to the Divine Mercy - Day 3 (Easter Sunday):
www.ewtn.com/devotionals/mercy/novena.htm#3

Note: During the Novena leading to Divine Mercy Sunday, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy should be offered for each day’s intentions.
www.ewtn.com/devotionals/mercy/dmmap.htm
 
Easter Sunday Reflections from the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

CCC 639: "The mystery of Christ’s resurrection is a real event, with manifestations that were historically verified, as the New Testament bears witness…"

CCC 640: "Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen." The first element we encounter in the framework of the Easter events is the empty tomb. In itself it is not a direct proof of Resurrection; the absence of Christ’s body from the tomb could be explained otherwise. Nontheless the empty tomb was still an essential sign for all. Its discovery by the disciples was the first step toward recognizing the very fact of the Resurrection. This was the case, first with the holy women, and then with Peter. The disciple ‘whom Jesus loved’ affirmed that when he entered the empty tomb and discovered ‘the linen cloths lying there,’ ‘he saw and beleived.’ This suggests that he realized from the empty tomb’s condition that the absence of Jesus’ body could not have been of human doing and that Jesus had not simply returned to earthly life as had been the case with Lazarus."

CCC 644: "Even when faced with the reality of the risen Jesus the disciples are still doubtful, so impossible did the thing seem: they thought they were seeing a ghost. ‘In their joy they were still disbelieving and still wondering.’ Thomas will also experience the test of doubt and St. Matthew relates that during the risen Lord’s last appearance in Galilee ‘some doubted.’ Therefore the hypothesis that the Resurrection was produced by the apostles’ faith (or credulity) will not hold up. On the contrary their faith in the Resurrection was born, under the action of divine grace, from their direct experience of the reality of the risen Jesus."
 
CCC 645: "By means of touch and the sharing of a meal, the risen Jesus establishes direct contact with his disciples. He invites them in this way to recognize that he is not a ghost and above all to verify that the risen body in which he appears to them is the same body that had been tortured and crucified, for it still bears the traces of his passion. Yet at the same time this authentic, real body possesses the new properties of a glorious body: not limited by space and time but able to be present how and when he wills; for Christ’s humanity can no longer be confined to earth, and belongs henceforth only to the Father’s divine realm. For this reason too the risen Jesus enjoys the sovereign freedom of appearing as he wishes … precisely to awaken their faith."

CCC 646: "Christ’s Resurrection was not a return to earthly life, as was the case with the raisings from the dead that he had performed before Easter: Jairus’ daughter, the young man of Naim, Lazarus… Christ’s Resurrection is essentially different. In his risen body he passes from the state of death to another life beyond time and space. At Jesus’ Resurrection his body is filled with the power of the Holy Spirit: he shares the divine life in his glorious state, so that St. Paul can say that Christ is ‘the man of heaven.’"
 
March 31, 2013 - Easter Sunday:

Sharing with you some excerpts from today’s Euchalette, p. 4:

“The Resurrection is first of all, an event that concerns Jesus Christ. It is his personal triumph over death, and the vindication of the truth of his teaching … He experienced his physical resurrection in all its transforming vitality, just as he had experienced the destructive power of sin in his agony and death. This is what the ‘Paschal Mystery’ is all about…”

But whatever happened to Christ has also cosmic resonance … ** At the Incarnation, the Son of God united himself in a permanent way to every human being with a solidarity that makes him share in all the miseries of every individual (including the deadly consequences of sin), and makes every human being a sharer in Christ’s dignity, holiness, and glory.**"

"This is why Jesus’ coming out of the tomb alive, transformed, immortal … concerns us, too. It concerns all human beings. His resurrection is also mankind’s resurrection because it marks mankind’s liberation from the oppression of sin."

“Christ’s shattering the shackles of death (manifested through the breaking of the seals of his grave) is like the cracking of the shell of a seed which allows the sprout to burst forth with all the freshness of the new life it carries. That sprout is Christ, but is also all mankind. It is also each one of us. On Easter morning a new world dawned, a new humanity rose from the slavery of sin and death, in Jesus, through him and with him. (See Col 2:12-13).”

“No human expression can exhaust the transforming greatness of this mystery. The Church has been proclaiming it during her 20 centuries of existence through her liturgy, her creeds, and her life. She will continue to do so until the liberating power of the Resurrection will have reached its full manifestation in the Kingdom of heaven.”

"There are a billion and one reasons for celebrating, then, as we commemorate, re-live and rejoice in the Resurrection of Jesus. It is our resurrection, too. But we are challenged to prove it by living a new life …" (p. 4.)

Easter Blessings to all!
May we celebrate Our Lord’s Resurrection today,
and let its grace and blessings color our life,
today, and every remaining day of our lives! Amen.
 
Novena to the Divine Mercy:
During the Novena, the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy should be offered for each day’s intentions.

April 2 - Day 5 (Tuesday within the Octave of Easter):

www.ewtn.com/devotionals/mercy/novena.htm#5
www.ewtn.com/devotionals/mercy/dmmap.htm

April 3 - Day 6 (Wednesday within the Octave of Easter):

www.ewtn.com/devotionals/mercy/novena.htm#6
www.ewtn.com/devotionals/mercy/dmmap.htm

April 4 - Day 7 (Thursday within the Octave of Easter):

www.ewtn.com/devotionals/mercy/novena.htm#7
www.ewtn.com/devotionals/mercy/dmmap.htm
 
April 7, 2013 - Second Sunday of Easter or Divine Mercy Sunday:

Collect:
“God of everlasting mercy,
who in the very recurrence of the paschal feast
kindle the faith of the people you have made your own,
increase, we pray, the grace you have bestowed,
that all may grasp and rightly understand
in what font they have been washed,
by whose Spirit they have been reborn,
by whose Blood they have been redeemed.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.”

The Second Sunday of Easter is also Divine Mercy Sunday as decreed by the Congregation for Divine Worship on May 23, 2000. Devotion to the Divine Mercy was promoted by St. Faustina Kowalska who was canonized on April 30, 2000 by Blessed John Paul II. (Ref ORDO.)

For the Divine Mercy Sunday Indulgence, see:
www.ewtn.com/devotionals/mercy/indulgence.htm
 
After our 2013 Lenten Journey with Christ, ardent thanksgiving should expectedly be among the major dispositions we ought to have towards the Lord. The Holy Mass or the Eucharistic Celebration is the means par excellence to express our gratitude.

We know that the word ‘eucharist’ comes from the Greek word meaning ‘thanksgiving’. In Hebrew, the parallel word for thanksgiving is ‘todah’. However, ‘todah’ in the Hebrew culture means more than merely saying a verbal ‘Thank you!’ In addition to gratitude expressed verbally, ‘todah’ includes joyful praise, and it connotes a thank offering or a thank sacrifice being offered by a person who has been saved from serious danger.

We all know that the Lord Jesus has saved us from eternal damnation. By His sacrificial death on Calvary, He saved us from eternal death by suffering a most brutal, violent and inhuman death on the Cross.

Thus, our thanksgiving - our todah - should fittingly be more than merely a verbal 'Thank You, Lord! We ought to offer Him our todah accompanied by a thank offering consisting of something from our life, something from ourselves and from the blessings we have received from Him. What shall it be?

Today, let us ask the Lord:
***Lord, what is that particular thing in my life that You wish me to offer You as *my todah offering/***I]?

Here I am Lord!
youtube.com/watch?v=GINNh15cT08

More information on ‘todah’ from:
catholiceducation.org/articles/apologetics/ap0124.html*
 
To follow the Lenten Season 2014, we will use this thread from last year.
Please proceed to the following posts. Thank you. 🙂
 
On March 5th, the Lenten Season for 2014 begins with Ash Wednesday. Here are some thoughts to refresh us on what Lent is, how we are to observe it, what it hopes to do for our lives.

The Lenten Season is a grace-filled time to assess our lives; a time to prepare ourselves for a more meaningful re-sealing of our Covenant with the Lord; a re-sealing which we make by renewing our Baptismal Vows as faithful believers celebrating the Paschal Mystery.

The Lenten Season has a double character, namely, to prepare both catechumens and faithful to celebrate the Paschal Mystery. The catechumens, with the Rite of Election and Scrutinies and by catechesis, are prepared for the celebration of the Sacraments of Christian initiation; the faithful, ever more attentive to the Word of God and prayer, prepare themselves by penance and other Lenten spiritual exercises for the renewal of their Baptismal promises. (Ceremoniale Episcoporum, 249).

It is fitting that the Lenten season conclude, both for the individual Christian as well as for the whole Christian community, with a penitential celebration, so that all may be helped to prepare to celebrate more fully the Paschal Mystery. Such a celebration should take place before the Easter Triduum. (cf. Misericordia Dei).

More on Lent from James Akin’s article All About Lent:
ewtn.com/library/ANSWERS/LENT.htm
 
Excerpts on Lent from the St. Joseph Weekday Missal (1975):

"The word lent is an ancient word for spring. The season of Lent is a time in our personal lives for new life to appear, and for old frozen attitudes to disappear. It is a time to clear the ground, to clear away rubbish. A time for sowing, so that one day, the Day of the Lord, there will be a harvest.

Jesus came into the world to share His life with us. We say we are in ‘Him’. We could examine the priorities in our lives with His mission in mind. His mission is to bring each man [woman] to human dignity, and all men [women] to brotherhood, leading them to the Father. He sought to do the will of His Father … What does that mean for us?

Lent is a time of instruction. Faith comes by hearing, which certainly includes reading, and study, and good conversation. And today it would include the communication that comes from good film and art. Faith needs to grow, to ask questions, and to reflect on the answers. To grow in faith calls for an alert and attentive person, one who listens. The man of faith listens to others, and to himself, to one’s speech and one’s conscience. He also listens to the world.

In the early Christian centuries Lent was, and … still is, a time of preparation for baptism on Easter Eve. If we are already baptized, then it is time to think what the covenant should mean to us … The Church provies a baptismal renewal at Easter. A serious spiritual effort in Lent will keep that renewal from becoming an empty gesture."
(Read on for continuation of thought.)
 
Excerpts from the St. Joseph Weekday Missal (1975), continued:

"Lent is a time of listening. The Word of God is given to us in abundance. Look at the texts of the Lenten Sundays (and all the weekdays), the rich parables, the choice of Gospels, the great themes of faith, conversion, and turning back to a God who is already waiting and loving us. We are asked to do more than listen in this Lenten Season. We are asked to make the Word of God a judgment upon our lives. Lent is a time for special penance and personal evaluation …

The Gospel during Lent is chosen each day in accord with the major Lenten themes and preparation for baptism: penance, prayer, effort to live a good Christian life, and acceptance of the mystery of salvation through the cross …"

What shall I offer up for Lent? ewtn.com/faith/lent/F18.htm
 
No other prophet in the Old Testament has expressed God’s love for His people as did Hosea. The Book of Hosea flashes before us a glimpse into the inner life of God, and there, we find His steadfast faithfulness in spite of His people’s repeated infidelities and harlotries.

Through Hosea, God offers His people forgiveness and reconciliation; He calls them to come back to Him and to remain faithful to the Covenant.

And how were they to remain faithful? God answers through Hosea: “I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.” (Hos 6:6)

To offer God steadfast love, one needs to know Him first. For, knowledge of God enables us to appreciate and to trust Him, to offer Him a love that goes deeper than the external rites of celebration because it comes from the core of our being.

Today, God extends the same offer of forgiveness and reconciliation to each of us. He wills that we be faithful to the Covenant, and to live a life with Him that is ever new, at ever deepening levels.

What will our response be to Him during this Lenten Season?

The following hymn, Come Back to Me, was inspired by the Book of Hosea. As once God called His people back to Him through Hosea, He calls each of us now. Let us listen to Him …

youtube.com/watch?v=FB0TWvag_Ic
Come Back to Me (Hosea) - John Michael Talbot
 
March 5, 2014 - Ash Wednesday:

Collect Prayer:
“Grant, O Lord, that we may begin with holy fasting
this campaign of Christian service,
so that, as we take up battle against spiritual evils,
we may be armed with weapons of self-restraint.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.”

www.ewtn.com/faith/lent/ash_F17.htm
www.ewtn.com/library/ANSWERS/ASH_WED.HTM

Scripture readings and reflections for today:
ymlp232.net/archive_gbmbuqgjgu.php
www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2014-03-05

Lenten Season 2014 - provided by EWTN
www.ewtn.com/faith/lent/
 
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