Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 04-19-14, Holy Saturday, Easter Vigil-Holy Night of Easter

April 19, 2014

Holy Saturday
At the Easter Vigil in the Holy Night of Easter

In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth,
the earth was a formless wasteland, and darkness covered the abyss,
while a mighty wind swept over the waters.

Then God said,
“Let there be light,” and there was light.
God saw how good the light was.
God then separated the light from the darkness.
God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.”
Thus evening came, and morning followed—the first day.

Then God said,
“Let there be a dome in the middle of the waters,
to separate one body of water from the other.”
And so it happened:
God made the dome,
and it separated the water above the dome from the water below it.
God called the dome “the sky.”
Evening came, and morning followed—the second day.

Then God said,
“Let the water under the sky be gathered into a single basin,
so that the dry land may appear.”
And so it happened:
the water under the sky was gathered into its basin,
and the dry land appeared.
God called the dry land “the earth, “
and the basin of the water he called “the sea.”
God saw how good it was.
Then God said,
“Let the earth bring forth vegetation:
every kind of plant that bears seed
and every kind of fruit tree on earth
that bears fruit with its seed in it.”
And so it happened:
the earth brought forth every kind of plant that bears seed
and every kind of fruit tree on earth
that bears fruit with its seed in it.
God saw how good it was.
Evening came, and morning followed—the third day.

Then God said:
“Let there be lights in the dome of the sky,
to separate day from night.
Let them mark the fixed times, the days and the years,
and serve as luminaries in the dome of the sky,
to shed light upon the earth.”
And so it happened:
God made the two great lights,
the greater one to govern the day,
and the lesser one to govern the night;
and he made the stars.
God set them in the dome of the sky,
to shed light upon the earth,
to govern the day and the night,
and to separate the light from the darkness.
God saw how good it was.
Evening came, and morning followed—the fourth day.

Then God said,
“Let the water teem with an abundance of living creatures,
and on the earth let birds fly beneath the dome of the sky.”
And so it happened:
God created the great sea monsters
and all kinds of swimming creatures with which the water teems,
and all kinds of winged birds.
God saw how good it was, and God blessed them, saying,
“Be fertile, multiply, and fill the water of the seas;
and let the birds multiply on the earth.”
Evening came, and morning followed—the fifth day.

Then God said,
“Let the earth bring forth all kinds of living creatures:
cattle, creeping things, and wild animals of all kinds.”
And so it happened:
God made all kinds of wild animals, all kinds of cattle,
and all kinds of creeping things of the earth.
God saw how good it was.
Then God said:
“Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.
Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea,
the birds of the air, and the cattle,
and over all the wild animals
and all the creatures that crawl on the ground.”
God created man in his image;
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
God blessed them, saying:
“Be fertile and multiply;
fill the earth and subdue it.
Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air,
and all the living things that move on the earth.”
God also said:
“See, I give you every seed-bearing plant all over the earth
and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit on it to be your food;
and to all the animals of the land, all the birds of the air,
and all the living creatures that crawl on the ground,
I give all the green plants for food.”
And so it happened.
God looked at everything he had made, and he found it very good.
Evening came, and morning followed—the sixth day.

Thus the heavens and the earth and all their array were completed.
Since on the seventh day God was finished
with the work he had been doing,
he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had undertaken.

or Gn 1:1, 26-31a

In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth,
God said: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.
Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea,
the birds of the air, and the cattle,
and over all the wild animals
and all the creatures that crawl on the ground.”
God created man in his image;
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
God blessed them, saying:
“Be fertile and multiply;
fill the earth and subdue it.
Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air,
and all the living things that move on the earth.”
God also said:
“See, I give you every seed-bearing plant all over the earth
and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit on it to be your food;
and to all the animals of the land, all the birds of the air,
and all the living creatures that crawl on the ground,
I give all the green plants for food.”
And so it happened.
God looked at everything he had made, and found it very good.

responsorial psalm Ps 104:1-2, 5-6, 10, 12, 13-14, 24, 35

R/ (30) Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.
Bless the LORD, O my soul!
O LORD, my God, you are great indeed!
You are clothed with majesty and glory,
robed in light as with a cloak.
R/ Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.
You fixed the earth upon its foundation,
not to be moved forever;
with the ocean, as with a garment, you covered it;
above the mountains the waters stood.
R/ Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.
You send forth springs into the watercourses
that wind among the mountains.
Beside them the birds of heaven dwell;
from among the branches they send forth their song.
R/ Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.
You water the mountains from your palace;
the earth is replete with the fruit of your works.
You raise grass for the cattle,
and vegetation for man’s use,
Producing bread from the earth.
R/ Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.
How manifold are your works, O LORD!
In wisdom you have wrought them all—the earth is full of your creatures.
Bless the LORD, O my soul! Alleluia.
R/ Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.

or Ps 33:4-5, 6-7, 12-13, 20 and 22

R/ (5b) The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.
Upright is the word of the LORD,
and all his works are trustworthy.
He loves justice and right;
of the kindness of the LORD the earth is full.
R/ The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.
By the word of the LORD the heavens were made;
by the breath of his mouth all their host.
He gathers the waters of the sea as in a flask;
in cellars he confines the deep.
R/ The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.
Blessed the nation whose God is the LORD,
the people he has chosen for his own inheritance.
From heaven the LORD looks down;
he sees all mankind.
R/ The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.
Our soul waits for the LORD,
who is our help and our shield.
May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us
who have put our hope in you.
R/ The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.

Reading 2 Gn 22:1-18

God put Abraham to the test.
He called to him, “Abraham!”
“Here I am, “ he replied.
Then God said:
“Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love,
and go to the land of Moriah.
There you shall offer him up as a holocaust
on a height that I will point out to you.”
Early the next morning Abraham saddled his donkey,
took with him his son Isaac and two of his servants as well,
and with the wood that he had cut for the holocaust,
set out for the place of which God had told him.

On the third day Abraham got sight of the place from afar.
Then he said to his servants:
“Both of you stay here with the donkey,
while the boy and I go on over yonder.
We will worship and then come back to you.”
Thereupon Abraham took the wood for the holocaust
and laid it on his son Isaac’s shoulders,
while he himself carried the fire and the knife.
As the two walked on together, Isaac spoke to his father Abraham:
“Father!” Isaac said.
“Yes, son, “ he replied.
Isaac continued, “Here are the fire and the wood,
but where is the sheep for the holocaust?”
“Son,” Abraham answered,
“God himself will provide the sheep for the holocaust.”
Then the two continued going forward.

When they came to the place of which God had told him,
Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it.
Next he tied up his son Isaac,
and put him on top of the wood on the altar.
Then he reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son.
But the LORD’s messenger called to him from heaven,
“Abraham, Abraham!”
“Here I am!” he answered.
“Do not lay your hand on the boy,” said the messenger.
“Do not do the least thing to him.
I know now how devoted you are to God,
since you did not withhold from me your own beloved son.”
As Abraham looked about,
he spied a ram caught by its horns in the thicket.
So he went and took the ram
and offered it up as a holocaust in place of his son.
Abraham named the site Yahweh-yireh;
hence people now say, "On the mountain the LORD will see.”

Again the LORD’s messenger called to Abraham from heaven and said:
“I swear by myself, declares the LORD,
that because you acted as you did
in not withholding from me your beloved son,
I will bless you abundantly
and make your descendants as countless
as the stars of the sky and the sands of the seashore;
your descendants shall take possession
of the gates of their enemies,
and in your descendants all the nations of the earth shall find blessingC
all this because you obeyed my command.”

or Gn 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18

God put Abraham to the test.
He called to him, “Abraham!”
“Here I am, “ he replied.
Then God said:
“Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love,
and go to the land of Moriah.
There you shall offer him up as a holocaust
on a height that I will point out to you.”

When they came to the place of which God had told him,
Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it.
Then he reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son.
But the LORD’s messenger called to him from heaven,
“Abraham, Abraham!”
“Here I am, “ he answered.
“Do not lay your hand on the boy, “ said the messenger.
“Do not do the least thing to him.
I know now how devoted you are to God,
since you did not withhold from me your own beloved son.”
As Abraham looked about,
he spied a ram caught by its horns in the thicket.
So he went and took the ram
and offered it up as a holocaust in place of his son.

Again the LORD’s messenger called to Abraham from heaven and said:
“I swear by myself, declares the LORD,
that because you acted as you did
in not withholding from me your beloved son,
I will bless you abundantly
and make your descendants as countless
as the stars of the sky and the sands of the seashore;
your descendants shall take possession
of the gates of their enemies,
and in your descendants all the nations of the earth shall find blessingC
all this because you obeyed my command.”

Responsorial Psalm Ps 16:5, 8, 9-10, 11

R/ (1) You are my inheritance, O Lord.
O LORD, my allotted portion and my cup,
you it is who hold fast my lot.
I set the LORD ever before me;
with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.
R/ You are my inheritance, O Lord.
Therefore my heart is glad and my soul rejoices,
my body, too, abides in confidence;
because you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld,
nor will you suffer your faithful one to undergo corruption.
R/ You are my inheritance, O Lord.
You will show me the path to life,
fullness of joys in your presence,
the delights at your right hand forever.
R/ You are my inheritance, O Lord.

Reading 3 Ex 14:15-15:1

The LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me?
Tell the Israelites to go forward.
And you, lift up your staff and, with hand outstretched over the sea,
split the sea in two,
that the Israelites may pass through it on dry land.
But I will make the Egyptians so obstinate
that they will go in after them.
Then I will receive glory through Pharaoh and all his army,
his chariots and charioteers.
The Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD,
when I receive glory through Pharaoh
and his chariots and charioteers.”

The angel of God, who had been leading Israel’s camp,
now moved and went around behind them.
The column of cloud also, leaving the front,
took up its place behind them,
so that it came between the camp of the Egyptians
and that of Israel.
But the cloud now became dark, and thus the night passed
without the rival camps coming any closer together
all night long.
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea,
and the LORD swept the sea
with a strong east wind throughout the night
and so turned it into dry land.
When the water was thus divided,
the Israelites marched into the midst of the sea on dry land,
with the water like a wall to their right and to their left.

The Egyptians followed in pursuit;
all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and charioteers went after them
right into the midst of the sea.
In the night watch just before dawn
the LORD cast through the column of the fiery cloud
upon the Egyptian force a glance that threw it into a panic;
and he so clogged their chariot wheels
that they could hardly drive.
With that the Egyptians sounded the retreat before Israel,
because the LORD was fighting for them against the Egyptians.

Then the LORD told Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea,
that the water may flow back upon the Egyptians,
upon their chariots and their charioteers.”
So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea,
and at dawn the sea flowed back to its normal depth.
The Egyptians were fleeing head on toward the sea,
when the LORD hurled them into its midst.
As the water flowed back,
it covered the chariots and the charioteers of Pharaoh’s whole army
which had followed the Israelites into the sea.
Not a single one of them escaped.
But the Israelites had marched on dry land
through the midst of the sea,
with the water like a wall to their right and to their left.
Thus the LORD saved Israel on that day
from the power of the Egyptians.
When Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the seashore
and beheld the great power that the LORD
had shown against the Egyptians,
they feared the LORD and believed in him and in his servant Moses.

Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD:
I will sing to the LORD, for he is gloriously triumphant;
horse and chariot he has cast into the sea.

Responsorial Psalm Ex 15:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 17-18

R/ (1b) Let us sing to the Lord; he has covered himself in glory.
I will sing to the LORD, for he is gloriously triumphant;
horse and chariot he has cast into the sea.
My strength and my courage is the LORD,
and he has been my savior.
He is my God, I praise him;
the God of my father, I extol him.
R/ Let us sing to the Lord; he has covered himself in glory.
The LORD is a warrior,
LORD is his name!
Pharaoh’s chariots and army he hurled into the sea;
the elite of his officers were submerged in the Red Sea.
R/ Let us sing to the Lord; he has covered himself in glory.
The flood waters covered them,
they sank into the depths like a stone.
Your right hand, O LORD, magnificent in power,
your right hand, O LORD, has shattered the enemy.
R/ Let us sing to the Lord; he has covered himself in glory.
You brought in the people you redeemed
and planted them on the mountain of your inheritance
the place where you made your seat, O LORD,
the sanctuary, LORD, which your hands established.
The LORD shall reign forever and ever.
R/ Let us sing to the Lord; he has covered himself in glory.

Reading 4 Is 54:5-14

The One who has become your husband is your Maker;
his name is the LORD of hosts;
your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel,
called God of all the earth.
The LORD calls you back,
like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit,
a wife married in youth and then cast off,
says your God.
For a brief moment I abandoned you,
but with great tenderness I will take you back.
In an outburst of wrath, for a moment
I hid my face from you;
but with enduring love I take pity on you,
says the LORD, your redeemer.
This is for me like the days of Noah,
when I swore that the waters of Noah
should never again deluge the earth;
so I have sworn not to be angry with you,
or to rebuke you.
Though the mountains leave their place
and the hills be shaken,
my love shall never leave you
nor my covenant of peace be shaken,
says the LORD, who has mercy on you.
O afflicted one, storm-battered and unconsoled,
I lay your pavements in carnelians,
and your foundations in sapphires;
I will make your battlements of rubies,
your gates of carbuncles,
and all your walls of precious stones.
All your children shall be taught by the LORD,
and great shall be the peace of your children.
In justice shall you be established,
far from the fear of oppression,
where destruction cannot come near you.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11-12, 13

R/ (2a) I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
I will extol you, O LORD, for you drew me clear
and did not let my enemies rejoice over me.
O LORD, you brought me up from the netherworld;
you preserved me from among those going down into the pit.
R/ I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
Sing praise to the LORD, you his faithful ones,
and give thanks to his holy name.
For his anger lasts but a moment;
a lifetime, his good will.
At nightfall, weeping enters in,
but with the dawn, rejoicing.
R/ I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
Hear, O LORD, and have pity on me;
O LORD, be my helper.
You changed my mourning into dancing;
O LORD, my God, forever will I give you thanks.
R/ I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.

Reading 5 Is 55:1-11

Thus says the LORD:
All you who are thirsty,
come to the water!
You who have no money,
come, receive grain and eat;
come, without paying and without cost,
drink wine and milk!
Why spend your money for what is not bread,
your wages for what fails to satisfy?
Heed me, and you shall eat well,
you shall delight in rich fare.
Come to me heedfully,
listen, that you may have life.
I will renew with you the everlasting covenant,
the benefits assured to David.
As I made him a witness to the peoples,
a leader and commander of nations,
so shall you summon a nation you knew not,
and nations that knew you not shall run to you,
because of the LORD, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, who has glorified you.

Seek the LORD while he may be found,
call him while he is near.
Let the scoundrel forsake his way,
and the wicked man his thoughts;
let him turn to the LORD for mercy;
to our God, who is generous in forgiving.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD.
As high as the heavens are above the earth,
so high are my ways above your ways
and my thoughts above your thoughts.

For just as from the heavens
the rain and snow come down
and do not return there
till they have watered the earth,
making it fertile and fruitful,
giving seed to the one who sows
and bread to the one who eats,
so shall my word be
that goes forth from my mouth;
my word shall not return to me void,
but shall do my will,
achieving the end for which I sent it.

Responsorial Psalm Is 12:2-3, 4, 5-6

R/ (3) You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.
God indeed is my savior;
I am confident and unafraid.
My strength and my courage is the LORD,
and he has been my savior.
With joy you will draw water
at the fountain of salvation.
R/ You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.
Give thanks to the LORD, acclaim his name;
among the nations make known his deeds,
proclaim how exalted is his name.
R/ You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.
Sing praise to the LORD for his glorious achievement;
let this be known throughout all the earth.
Shout with exultation, O city of Zion,
for great in your midst
is the Holy One of Israel!
R/ You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.

Reading 6 Bar 3:9-15, 32-4:4

Hear, O Israel, the commandments of life:
listen, and know prudence!
How is it, Israel,
that you are in the land of your foes,
grown old in a foreign land,
defiled with the dead,
accounted with those destined for the netherworld?
You have forsaken the fountain of wisdom!
Had you walked in the way of God,
you would have dwelt in enduring peace.
Learn where prudence is,
where strength, where understanding;
that you may know also
where are length of days, and life,
where light of the eyes, and peace.
Who has found the place of wisdom,
who has entered into her treasuries?

The One who knows all things knows her;
he has probed her by his knowledgeC
The One who established the earth for all time,
and filled it with four-footed beasts;
he who dismisses the light, and it departs,
calls it, and it obeys him trembling;
before whom the stars at their posts
shine and rejoice;
when he calls them, they answer, “Here we are!”
shining with joy for their Maker.
Such is our God;
no other is to be compared to him:
He has traced out the whole way of understanding,
and has given her to Jacob, his servant,
to Israel, his beloved son.
Since then she has appeared on earth,
and moved among people.
She is the book of the precepts of God,
the law that endures forever;
all who cling to her will live,
but those will die who forsake her.
Turn, O Jacob, and receive her:
walk by her light toward splendor.
Give not your glory to another,
your privileges to an alien race.
Blessed are we, O Israel;
for what pleases God is known to us!

Responsorial Psalm Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 11

R/ (John 6:68c) Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.
The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul;
the decree of the LORD is trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the simple.
R/ Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.
The precepts of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the command of the LORD is clear,
enlightening the eye.
R/ Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.
The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever;
the ordinances of the LORD are true,
all of them just.
R/ Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.
They are more precious than gold,
than a heap of purest gold;
sweeter also than syrup
or honey from the comb.
R/ Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.

Reading 7 Ez 36:16-17a, 18-28

The word of the LORD came to me, saying:
Son of man, when the house of Israel lived in their land,
they defiled it by their conduct and deeds.
Therefore I poured out my fury upon them
because of the blood that they poured out on the ground,
and because they defiled it with idols.
I scattered them among the nations,
dispersing them over foreign lands;
according to their conduct and deeds I judged them.
But when they came among the nations wherever they came,
they served to profane my holy name,
because it was said of them: “These are the people of the LORD,
yet they had to leave their land.”
So I have relented because of my holy name
which the house of Israel profaned
among the nations where they came.
Therefore say to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord GOD:
Not for your sakes do I act, house of Israel,
but for the sake of my holy name,
which you profaned among the nations to which you came.
I will prove the holiness of my great name, profaned among the nations,
in whose midst you have profaned it.
Thus the nations shall know that I am the LORD, says the Lord GOD,
when in their sight I prove my holiness through you.
For I will take you away from among the nations,
gather you from all the foreign lands,
and bring you back to your own land.
I will sprinkle clean water upon you
to cleanse you from all your impurities,
and from all your idols I will cleanse you.
I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you,
taking from your bodies your stony hearts
and giving you natural hearts.
I will put my spirit within you and make you live by my statutes,
careful to observe my decrees.
You shall live in the land I gave your fathers;
you shall be my people, and I will be your God.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 42:3, 5; 43:3, 4

When baptism is celebrated.

R/ (42:2) Like a deer that longs for running streams, my soul longs for you, my God.
Athirst is my soul for God, the living God.
When shall I go and behold the face of God?
R/ Like a deer that longs for running streams, my soul longs for you, my God.
I went with the throng
and led them in procession to the house of God,
Amid loud cries of joy and thanksgiving,
with the multitude keeping festival.
R/ Like a deer that longs for running streams, my soul longs for you, my God.
Send forth your light and your fidelity;
they shall lead me on
And bring me to your holy mountain,
to your dwelling-place.
R/ Like a deer that longs for running streams, my soul longs for you, my God.
Then will I go in to the altar of God,
the God of my gladness and joy;
then will I give you thanks upon the harp,
O God, my God!
R/ Like a deer that longs for running streams, my soul longs for you, my God.

Responsorial Psalm Is 12:2-3, 4bcd, 5-6

When baptism is not celebrated.

R/ (3) You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.
God indeed is my savior;
I am confident and unafraid.
My strength and my courage is the LORD,
and he has been my savior.
With joy you will draw water
at the fountain of salvation.
R/ You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.
Give thanks to the LORD, acclaim his name;
among the nations make known his deeds,
proclaim how exalted is his name.
R/ You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.
Sing praise to the LORD for his glorious achievement;
let this be known throughout all the earth.
Shout with exultation, O city of Zion,
for great in your midst
is the Holy One of Israel!
R/ You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.

or Ps 51:12-13, 14-15, 18-19

When baptism is not celebrated.

R/ (12a) Create a clean heart in me, O God.
A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.
R/ Create a clean heart in me, O God.
Give me back the joy of your salvation,
and a willing spirit sustain in me.
I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners shall return to you.
R/ Create a clean heart in me, O God.
For you are not pleased with sacrifices;
should I offer a holocaust, you would not accept it.
My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
R/ Create a clean heart in me, O God.

Epistle Rom 6:3-11

Brothers and sisters:
Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus
were baptized into his death?
We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death,
so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead
by the glory of the Father,
we too might live in newness of life.

For if we have grown into union with him through a death like his,
we shall also be united with him in the resurrection.
We know that our old self was crucified with him,
so that our sinful body might be done away with,
that we might no longer be in slavery to sin.
For a dead person has been absolved from sin.
If, then, we have died with Christ,
we believe that we shall also live with him.
We know that Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more;
death no longer has power over him.
As to his death, he died to sin once and for all;
as to his life, he lives for God.
Consequently, you too must think of yourselves as being dead to sin
and living for God in Christ Jesus.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23

R/ Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever.
Let the house of Israel say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
R/ Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
The right hand of the LORD has struck with power;
the right hand of the LORD is exalted.
I shall not die, but live,
and declare the works of the LORD.
R/ Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
By the LORD has this been done;
it is wonderful in our eyes.
R/ Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Mt 28:1-10

After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning,
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.
And behold, there was a great earthquake;
for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven,
approached, rolled back the stone, and sat upon it.
His appearance was like lightning
and his clothing was white as snow.
The guards were shaken with fear of him
and became like dead men.
Then the angel said to the women in reply,
“Do not be afraid!
I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified.
He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said.
Come and see the place where he lay.
Then go quickly and tell his disciples,
‘He has been raised from the dead,
and he is going before you to Galilee;
there you will see him.’
Behold, I have told you.”
Then they went away quickly from the tomb,
fearful yet overjoyed,
and ran to announce this to his disciples.
And behold, Jesus met them on their way and greeted them.
They approached, embraced his feet, and did him homage.
Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid.
Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee,
and there they will see me.”

1. In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulcher.
2. And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.
3. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:
4. And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.
5. And the angel answered and said to the women, Fear not you: for I know that you seek Jesus, which was crucified.
6. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
7. And go quickly and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goes before you into Galilee; there shall you see him: lo, I have told you.

PSEUDO-CHRYS. After the mocking and scourging, after the mingled draughts of vinegar and gall, the pains of the cross, and the wounds, and finally after death itself and Hades, there rose again from the grave a renewed flesh, there returned from obstruction a hidden life, health chained up in death broke forth, with fresh beauty from its ruin.

AUG. Concerning the hour when the women came to the sepulcher there arises a question not to be overlooked. Matthew here says, On the evening of the Sabbath. What then means that of Mark, Very early in the morning, the first day of the week? Truly Matthew, by naming the first part of the night, to wit, the evening, denotes the whole night in the end of which they come to the sepulcher. But seeing the Sabbath hindered them from doing this before, he designates the whole night by the earliest portion of it in which it became lawful for them to do whatever, during some period of the night, they designed to do.

Thus, On the evening of the sabbath, is just the same as if he had said, On the night of the sabbath, i.e. the night which follows the day of the sabbath, which is sufficiently proved by the words which follow, As it began to dawn towards the first day of the week. This could not be if we understood only the first portion of the night, its beginning, to be conveyed by the word, evening. For the evening or beginning of the night does not begin to dawn towards the first day of the week, but only the night which is concluded by the dawn. And this is the usual mode of speaking in Holy Scripture, to express the whole by a part. By evening therefore he implied the night, in the end of which they came to the sepulcher.

BEDE; Otherwise; It may be understood that they began to come in the evening, but that it was the dawn of the first day of the week when they reached the sepulcher; that is, that they prepared the spices for anointing the Lord's body in the evening, but that they took them to the sepulcher in the morning. This has been so shortly described by Matthew, that it is not quite clear in his account, but the other Evangelists give the order more distinctly. The Lord was buried on the sixth day of the week, and the v omen returning from the sepulcher prepared spices and ointments as long as it was lawful to work; on the sabbath they rested, according to the commandment, as Luke plainly declares; and when the Sabbath was past and the evening was come, and the season of labor returned, with zealous devotion they proceeded to purchase such spices as they yet lacked, (this is implied in Mark's words, when the sabbath was past, that they might go and anoint Jesus, for which purpose they come early in the morning to the sepulcher.

JEROME; Or, otherwise; This apparent discrepancy in the Evangelists as to the times of their visits is no mark of falsehood, as wicked men urge? but shows the sedulous duty and attention of the women, often going and coming, and not enduring to be long absent from the sepulcher of their Lord.

REMIG. It is to he known that Matthew designs to hint to us a mystical meaning, of how great worthiness this most holy night drew from the noble conquest of death, and the Resurrection of Our Lord. With this purpose he says, On the evening of the Sabbath. For whereas according to the wonted succession of the hours of the day, evening does not dawn towards day, but on the contrary darkens towards night, these words show that the Lord shed, by the light of His resurrection joy and brilliance over the whole of this night.

BEDE; For from the beginning of the creation of the world until now, the course of time has followed this arrangement, that the day should go before the night, because man, fallen by sin from the light of paradise, has sunk into the darkness and misery of this world. But now most fitly night goes before day, when, through faith in the resurrection, we are brought back from the darkness of sin and the shadow of death to the light of life, by the bounty of Christ.

CHRYSOLOGUS. Because the sabbath is illuminated, not taken away, by Christ, Who said, I am not come to destroy the Law, but to fulfill it. It is illuminated that it may lighten into the Lord's day, and shine forth in the Church, when it had hitherto burnt dim, and been obscured by the Jews in the Synagogue.

It follows, Came Mary Magadalen, and the other Mary, &c. Late runs woman for pardon, who had run early to Sill; in paradise she had taken up unbelief, from the sepulcher she hastens to take up faith; she now hastens to snatch life from death, who had before snatched death from life. And it is not, They come, but came, (in the singular,) for in mystery and not by accident, the two came under one name. She came, but altered; a woman, changed in life, not in name; in virtue, not in sex.

The women go before the Apostles, bearing to the Lord's sepulcher a type of the Churches; the two Marys, to wit. For Mary is the name of Christ's mother; and one name is twice repeated for two women, because herein is figured the Church coming out of the two nations, the Gentiles and the Jews, and being yet one. Mary came to the sepulcher, as to the womb of the resurrection, that Christ might be the second time born out of the sepulcher of faith, who after the flesh had been born of her womb; and that as a virgin had borne Him into this life present, so a sealed sepulcher might bring Him forth into life eternal. It is proof of Deity to have left a womb virgin after birth, and no less to have come forth in the body from a closed sepulcher.

JEROME; And, behold, there was a great earthquake. Our Lord, Son at once of God and man, according to His twofold nature of Godhead and of flesh, gives a sign one while of His greatness, another while of His lowliness. Thus, though now it was man who was crucified, and man who was buried, yet the things that were done around show the Son of God.

HILARY. The earthquake is the might of the resurrection, when the sting of death being blunted, and its darkness illuminated, there is stirred up a quaking of the powers beneath, as the Lord of the heavenly powers rises again.

CHRYS. Or the earthquake was to rouse and waken the women' who had come to anoint the body; and as all these things were done in the night-time, it was probable that some of them had fallen asleep.

BEDE; The earthquake at the Resurrection, as also at the Crucifixion, signifies that worldly hearts must be first moved to penitence by a health-giving fear through belief in His Passion and Resurrection.

CHRYSOL. If the earth thus quaked when the Lord rose again to the pardon of the Saints, how will it quake when He shall rise again to the punishment of the wicked; As the Prophet speaks, The earth trembled when the Lord rose again to judgment. And how will it endure the Lord's presence, when it was unable to endure the presence of His Angel? And the Angel of the lord descended from heaven. For when Christ arose, death was destroyed, commerce with heaven is restored to things on the earth; and woman, who had of old held communication to death with the Devil, now holds communication to life with the Angel.

HILARY. This is an instance of the mercy of God the Father, to supply the ministry, of heavenly power to the Son on His resurrection from the grave; and he is therefore the proclaimer of this first resurrection, that it may be heralded by some attendant token of the Father's good pleasure.

BEDE; Forasmuch as Christ is both God and man, therefore there lack not amidst the acts of His humanity the ministrations of Angels, due to Him as God. And came and rolled back the stone; not to open the door for the Lord to come forth, but to give evidence to men that He was already come forth. For He who as mortal had power to enter the world through the closed womb of a Virgin, He when become immortal, was able to depart out of the world by rising from a sealed sepulcher.

REMIG. The rolling back of the stone signifies the opening of Christ's sacraments, which were covered by the letter of the Law. For the Law having been written on stones, is here denoted by the stone.

CHRYSOL. He said not 'rolled,' but rolled back; because the rolling to of the stone was a proof of death; the rolling it back asserted the resurrection. The order of things is changed; The Tomb devours death, and not the dead; the house of death becomes the mansion of life; a new law is imposed upon it, it receives a dead, and renders up a living, man. It follows, And sat thereon. He sat down, who was incapable of weariness; but sat as a teacher of the faith, a master of the Resurrection; upon the stone, that the firmness of his seat might assure the steadfastness of the believers; the Angel rested the foundations of the Faith upon that rock, on which Christ was to found His Church. Or, by the stone of the sepulcher may be denoted death, under which we all lay; and by the Angel sitting thereon, is shown that Christ has by His might subdued death.

BEDE; And rightly did the Angel appear standing, who proclaimed the Lord's coming into the world to show that the Lord should come to vanquish the prince of this world. But the Herald of the Resurrection is related to have been seated, to show that now He had overcome him that had the power of death, He had mounted the throne of the everlasting kingdom. He sate upon the stone, now rolled back, wherewith the mouth of the sepulcher had been closed, to teach that He by His might had burst the bonds of the tomb.

AUG. It may disquiet some, how it is that according to Matthew the Angel sat upon the stone after it had been rolled back from the sepulcher, whereas Mark says that the women having gone into the sepulcher, saw a young man sitting on the right hand. Either we may suppose that they saw two, and that Matthew has not mentioned him whom they saw within, nor Mark him whom they saw without the sepulcher; but that they heard from each severally what the Angels said concerning Jesus. Or the words, entering into the sepulcher, may mean entering into some enclosed place, which probably there might be in front of the rock out of which the sepulcher was hewn; and thus it might be the same Angel whom they saw sitting on the right hand, whom Matthew describes as sitting on the stone which he had rolled . back.

CHRYSOL. The splendor of his countenance is distinct from the shining of his raiment; his countenance is compared to lightning, his raiment to snow; for the lightning is in heavier, snow on the earth; as the Prophet said, Praise the Lord from the earth; fire and hail, snow and vapors. Thus in the Angel's countenance is preserved the splendor of his heavenly nature; in his raiment is shown the grace of human communion. For the appearance of the Angel that talked with them is so ordered, that eyes of flesh might endure the still splendor of his robes, and by reason of his shining countenance they might tremble before the messenger of their Maker.

ID. But what means this raiment where there is no need of a covering? The Angel figures our dress, our shape, our likeness in the Resurrection, when man is sufficiently clothed by the splendor of his own body.

JEROME; The Angel in white raiment signifies the glory of His triumph.

GREG. Or otherwise; Lightning inspires terror; snow is an emblem of equity; and as the Almighty God is terrible to sinners and mild to the righteous, so this Angel is rightly a witness of His resurrection, and is exhibited with a countenance as lightning, and with raiment as snow, that by His presence He might terrify the wicked, and comfort the good; and so it follows, And for fear of him the keepers did shake.

RABAN. These who had not the faith of love were shaken with a panic fear; and they who would not believe the truth of the resurrection become themselves as dead men.

CHRYSOL. For they kept watch over Him with a purpose of cruelty, not with the solicitude of affection. And no man can stand who is forsaken by his own conscience, or troubled with a sense of guilt. Hence the Angel confounds the wicked, and comforts the good.

JEROME; The guards lay like dead men in a trance of terror, but the Angel speaks comfort not to them, but to the women, saying, Fear not you; as much as to say, Let them fear with whom unbelief abides; but do you who seek the crucified Jesus hear that He has risen again, and has accomplished what He promised.

CHRYSOL. For their faith had been bowed by the cruel storm of His Passion, so that they sought Him yet as crucified and dead; I know that you seek Jesus which was crucified; the weight of the trial had bent them to look for the Lord of heaven in the tomb, but, He is not here.

RABAN. His fleshly presence, that is; for His spiritual presence is absent from no place. He is risen, as he said.

CHRYS. As much as to say, If you believe me not, remember His own words. And then follows further proof, when he adds, Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

JEROME; That if my words fail to convince you, the empty tomb may.

CHRYSOL. Thus the Angel first announces His name, declares His Cross, and confesses His Passion; but straightway proclaims Him risen and their Lord. An Angel after such sufferings, after the grave acknowledges Him Lord; how then shall man judge that the Godhead was diminished by the flesh, or that His Might failed in His Passion. He says, Which was crucified, and points out the place where the Lord was laid, that they should not think that it was another, and not the same, who had risen from the dead. And if the Lord reappears in the same flesh, and gives evidence of His resurrection, why should man suppose that he himself shall reappear in other flesh? Or why should a slave disdain his own flesh, seeing the Lord did not change ours?

RABAN. And this glad tiding is given not to you alone for the secret comfort of your own hearts, but you must extend it to all who love Him; Go quickly, and tell his disciples.

CHRYSOL. As much as to say, Woman, now thou art healed, return to the man, and persuade him to faith, whom you did once persuade to treachery. Carry to man the proof of the Resurrection, to whom you did once carry counsel of destruction.

CHRYS. And, behold, he shall go before you, that is, to save you from danger, lest fear should prevail over faith.

JEROME; Mystically; He shall go before you into Galilee, that is, into the wallowing style of the Gentiles, where before was wandering and stumbling, and the foot had no firm and steady resting-place.

BEDE; The Lord is rightly seen by His disciples in Galilee, forasmuch as He had already passed from death to life, from corruption to incorruption; for such is the interpretation of Galilee, 'Transmigration.' Happy women! who merited to announce to the world the triumph of the Resurrection! More happy souls, who in the day of judgment, when the reprobate are smitten with terror, shall have merited to enter the joy of the blessed resurrection!

8. And they departed quickly from the sepulcher with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.
9. And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.
10. Then said Jesus to them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.

HILARY; The women having been comforted by the Angel, are straightway met by the Lord, that when they should proclaim His resurrection to the disciples, they should speak rasher from Christ's own mouth than from an Angel's.

AUG. They departed forth of the tomb, that is, from that spot of the garden which was before the tomb hewn in the rock.

JEROME; A twofold feeling possessed the minds of the women, fear and joy; fear, at the greatness of the miracle; joy, in their desire of Him that was risen; but both added speed to their women's steps, as it follows, And did run to bring his disciples word. They went to the Apostles, that through them might be spread abroad the seed of the faith. They who thus desired, and who thus ran, merited to have their rising Lord come to meet them; whence it follows, And, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail.

RABAN. Hereby He showed that He will meet with His help all those who begin the ways of virtue, and enable them to attain to e, everlasting salvation.

JEROME; The women ought first to hear this Hail, that the curse of the woman Eve may be removed in these women.

CHRYSOL. That in these women is contained a full figure c of the Church is shown hereby, that Christ convinces His disciples when in doubt concerning the Resurrection, and confirms them when in fear; and when He meets them He does not terrify them by His power, but prevents them with the ardor of love. And Christ in His Church salutes Himself, for He has taken it into His own Body.

AUG. We conclude that they had speech of Angels twice at the sepulcher; when they saw one Angel, of whom Matthew and Mark speak; and again when they saw two Angels, as Luke and John relate. And twice in like manner of the Lord; once at that time when Mary supposed Him to be the gardener, and now again when He met them in the way to confirm them by repetition, and to restore them from their faintness.

CHRYSOL. Then Mary was not suffered to touch Him; now she has permission not only to touch, but to hold Him altogether; they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.

RABAN. It was told above how He rose when the sepulcher was closed, to show that that body which had been shut up therein dead, was now become immortal. He now offers His feet to be held by the women, to show that He had real flesh, which can be touched by mortal creatures.

CHRYSOL. They hold Christ's feet, who in the Church present the type of Evangelic preaching, and merit this privilege by their running to Him; and by faith so detain their Savior's footsteps, that they may come to the honor of His perfect Godhead. She is deservedly bid to touch me not, who mourns her Lord upon earth, and so seeks Him dead in the tomb, as not to know that He reigns in heaven with the Father. This, that the same Mary, one while exalted to the summit of faith, touches Christ, and holds Him with entire and holy affection; and again, cast down in weakness of flesh, and womanly infirmity, doubts, undeserving to touch her Lord, causes us no difficulty. For that is of mystery, this of her sex; that is of divine grace, this of human nature. And so also we, when we have knowledge of divine things, live to God; when we are wise in human things, we are blinded so by our own selves.

ID. They held His feet to show that the head of Christ is the man, but that the woman is in Christ's feet, and that it was given to them through Christ, not to go before, but to follow the man. Christ also repeats what the Angel had said, that what an Angel had made sure, Christ might make yet more sure. It follows, Then said Jesus to them, Fear not.

JEROME; This may be always observed, both in the Old and New Testament, that when there is an appearance of any majestic person, the first thing done is to banish fear, that the mind being tranquilized may receive the things that are said.

HILARY; The same order as of old now followed in the reversal of our woe, that whereas death began from the female sex, the same should now first see the glory of the Resurrection, and be made the messenger thereof. Whence the Lord adds, Go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, there shall they see me.

CHRYSOL. He calls them brethren whom He has made akin to His own body; brethren whom the generous Heir has made His co-heirs; brethren, whom He has adopted to be sons of His own Father.

AUG. That the Lord, both by His own mouth, and by the Angel, directs them to seek for Him, not in that place in which He was to show Himself first but in Galilee, makes every believer anxious to understand in what mystery it is spoken. Galilee is interpreted 'transmigration,' or 'revelation'. And according to the first interpretation what meaning offers itself, save this, that the grace of Christ was to pass from the people of Israel to the Gentiles, who would not believe when the Apostles should preach the Gospel to them, unless the Lord Himself should first make ready their way in the hearts of men. This is the signification of that, He shall go before you into Galilee. There shall you see him, means, there shall you find His members, there shall you perceive His living Body in such as shall receive you. According to the other interpretation, 'revelation,' it is to be understood, you shall see him no longer in the form of a servant, but in that in which He is equal with the Father. That revelation will be the true Galilee, when we shall be like him, and shall see him as he is. That will be the blessed passing from this world to that eternity.

Catena Aurea Matthew 28

Catholic Culture

Daily Readings for:April 19, 2014
(Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: O God, who make this most sacred night radiant with the glory of the Lord's Resurrection, stir up in your Church a spirit of adoption, so that, renewed in body and mind, we amy render you undivided service. 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.

RECIPES

o Casatiella (Egg Pizza)

o Babka I (Polish Easter Bread)

o Babka II (Polish Easter Bread)

o Paskha (Ukrainian Easter Bread)

o Beranek

o Easter Eggs

o Hard-Cooked Egg Cookies

o Italian Easter Baskets

o Moravian Love Cakes

o Babka (Polish Easter Bread)

o Koulich (Russian Sweet Easter Bread)

o Easter Baba (Polish Easter Coffee Cake)

o Easter Story Cookies

o Italian Easter Bread Eggs

ACTIVITIES

o A Jonas (Jonah) Project

o Alleluia Egg

o Baptismal Candles

o Blessing of the Easter Foods

o Creating a Lumen Christi (Light of Christ)

o Cross of Victory

o Easter Breakfast Picnic

o Easter Eggs Decorations

o Easter Marian Hymn: Rejoice, O Rejoice, Heavenly Queen

o Easter or Paschal Candle

o Easter Song: Three Women at Break of Day

o Easter Standard

o Easter Vigil

o Holy Saturday Activities in the Home

o Holy Saturday and Easter in the Home

o Holy Saturday Festivities

o Holy Saturday with the Slovaks

o Holy Week in the Catholic Tradition

o Home Altar Hangings

o Home Easter Vigil

o Jonas and Holy Week

o Lent Hymn: Open, O Hard and Sinful Heart!

o Lenten Customs of the Russian Germans

o Music for Lent and Easter: St. Matthew Passion by Bach

o New Fire of Easter

o Paschal Candle as a Centerpiece

o Paschal Candle for Home

o Sacred Triduum in the Home

o Symbolism of the Easter Eggs

o Tenebræ

o Traditional Easter Hymns

o Triptych

o Window Transparencies

o Wreath of Victory

o Decorating Easter Eggs

PRAYERS

o Prayer Before a Crucifix

o Prayer for Palm Sunday and Holy Week

o Prayer for Holy Saturday

o Polish Easter Blessing

o Blessing of the Home with Easter Water

o Way of the Cross

o To Keep A True Lent

o Holy Saturday Table Blessing

o Book of Blessings: Blessing of Food for the First Meal of Easter

o Book of Blessings: Blessing Before and After Meals: Sacred Triduum (2nd Plan)

o Easter Blessing of Food

o Divine Mercy Novena

o Family Evening Prayer for Holy Week

o Book of Blessings: Blessing Before and

· Lent: April 19th

· Holy Saturday — Easter Vigil

Old Calendar: Holy Saturday — Easter Vigil

On Holy Saturday the Church waits at the Lord's tomb, meditating on his suffering and death. The altar is left bare, and the sacrifice of the Mass is not celebrated. Only after the solemn vigil during the night, held in anticipation of the resurrection, does the Easter celebration begin, with a spirit of joy that overflows into the following period of fifty days.

Stational Church

Holy Saturday

Holy Saturday (from Sabbatum Sanctum, its official liturgical name) is sacred as the day of the Lord's rest; it has been called the "Second Sabbath" after creation. The day is and should be the most calm and quiet day of the entire Church year, a day broken by no liturgical function. Christ lies in the grave, the Church sits near and mourns. After the great battle He is resting in peace, but upon Him we see the scars of intense suffering...The mortal wounds on His Body remain visible....Jesus' enemies are still furious, attempting to obliterate the very memory of the Lord by lies and slander.

Mary and the disciples are grief-stricken, while the Church must mournfully admit that too many of her children return home from Calvary cold and hard of heart. When Mother Church reflects upon all of this, it seems as if the wounds of her dearly Beloved were again beginning to bleed.

According to tradition, the entire body of the Church is represented in Mary: she is the "credentium collectio universa" (Congregation for Divine Worship, Lettera circolare sulla preparazione e celebrazione delle feste pasquali, 73). Thus, the Blessed Virgin Mary, as she waits near the Lord's tomb, as she is represented in Christian tradition, is an icon of the Virgin Church keeping vigil at the tomb of her Spouse while awaiting the celebration of his resurrection.

The pious exercise of the Ora di Maria is inspired by this intuition of the relationship between the Virgin Mary and the Church: while the body of her Son lays in the tomb and his soul has descended to the dead to announce liberation from the shadow of darkness to his ancestors, the Blessed Virgin Mary, foreshadowing and representing the Church, awaits, in faith, the victorious triumph of her Son over death. — Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy

Although we are still in mourning, there is much preparation during this day to prepare for Easter. Out of the kitchen comes the smells of Easter pastries and bread, the lamb or hams and of course, the Easter eggs.

There are no liturgies celebrated this day, unless the local parish priest blesses the food baskets. In Slavic countries there is a blessing of the traditional Easter foods, prepared in baskets: eggs, ham, lamb and sausages, butter and cheeses, horseradish and salt and the Easter breads. The Easter blessings of food owe their origin to the fact that these particular foods, namely, fleshmeat and milk products, including eggs, were forbidden in the Middle Ages during the Lenten fast and abstinence. When the feast of Easter brought the rigorous fast to an end, and these foods were again allowed at table, the people showed their joy and gratitude by first taking the food to church for a blessing. Moreover, they hoped that the Church's blessing on such edibles would prove a remedy for whatever harmful effects the body might have suffered from the long period of self-denial. Today the Easter blessings of food are still held in many churches in the United States, especially in Slavic parishes.

If there is no blessing for the Easter foods in the parish, the father of the family can pray the Blessing over the Easter foods.

It is during the night between Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday that the Easter Vigil is celebrated. The service begins around ten o'clock, in order that the solemn vigil Mass may start at midnight.

Activities

Today we remember Christ in the tomb. It is not Easter yet, so it's not time for celebration. The day is usually spent working on the final preparations for the biggest feast of the Church year. The list of suggested activities is long, but highlights are decorating Easter eggs and attending a special Easter food blessing.
For families with smaller children, you could create a miniature Easter garden, with a tomb. The figure of the risen Christ will be placed in the garden on Easter morning.
Another activity for families is creation of a paschal candle to use at home.
The Directory on Popular Piety discusses some of the various devotions related to Easter, including the Blessing of the Family Table, Annual Blessing of Family Home, the Via Lucis and the Visit to the Mother of the Risen Christ.

The Station today is at St. John Lateran. During the afternoon of Holy Saturday the faithful were summoned here for the final scrutiny of the catechumens. Then, in the evening began the vigil or night of watching which concluded at dawn with the solemn baptisms — the neophytes, plunged into the baptismal waters and there buried with Christ, were born to the life of grace at the very time when our Savior came forth triumphant from the tomb at dawn on Easter morning.

Vultus Christi

Life’s Troubles

Saturday, 19 April 2014 12:40

I am profoundly touched by the many messages of encouragement that came to us following the events of early Good Friday morning in our guesthouse. Heartfelt thanks to all of you who have affirmed your support of Silverstream Priory. Not a few friends saw in the nocturnal burst of hot water and steam a manifestation of the Evil One’s discontent with what is happening at Silverstream. A brother monk in an English abbey was kind enough to write:

Just a word to say to you and the brethren to hang in there! You must be doing something right if the Devil sees fit to try to throw you off during the Triduum. Stand up to him, strong in faith. Make do as best you can and the Lord, and the Church, will supply. I have no doubt that the Lord will provide for you, in his own good way and in his own good time.

Another dear friend in California wrote:

I also want to encourage you as others have already done on your blog to stay strong and not allow this to get the better of you. Others have said it quite well i.e. that the evil one wants nothing more than to assault and destroy efforts to honor and praise the Lord—not to mention those committed to honoring, loving, and living for Him alone. In just such a time, He is closer to you than ever, and your efforts to carry on and not let this incident daunt you honor Him and draw down a flood of graces for priests and for a world full of sinners in need of God’s mercy. Trust in Him and praise Him, and all will be well in a little while.

The plumbers are here again today, trying to restore heat and hot water to the monks’ rooms and to the guestrooms. As soon as we can reach our insurance providers, we shall have the damage assessed and make the appropriate claims, so that things can be repaired in a timely manner.

This morning I opened, seemingly at random, the volume of Mother Mectilde’s unedited letters, and came upon this one addressed to her friend Marguerite de Lorraine, the Duchess of Orleans (1613–1672). It so struck me as appropriate that I took some time to translate it today.

Mother Mectilde’s allusion to “the vapours” — a quaint Victorian–sounding expression in English — may cause certain readers to smile. The term is no longer used but the reality it signifies is as prevalent today as it was in the 17th century. “The vapours” was used to designate depressive illness in women; generally speaking, the term “melancholy” was used to designate the same disease in men. The Duchess of Orleans was struggling with her own demons within as well as suffering trials and afflictions from without. These, Mother Mectilde refers to as crosses. Mother Mectilde offers wise counsel on how to cope with the things that get one down. All such things, she says, are opportunities to surrender to the Providence of God, trusting blindly in His wisdom and in His love.

You Are Shutting Down

It seems to me that you are shutting down so much, that you no longer want to soothe your heart by sharing in some little way the crosses that you are suffering without almost any respite. One doesn’t give up showing compassion for so many sufferings, but it is with even more sorrow when one sees oneself incapable of giving you relief, because you close yourself up with your pain to devour it all alone in the presence of God.

The Counsel of Few Good Servants of God

I know well that this is heroic, and that great souls display their courage by overcoming life’s afflictions, but however generous one may be by nature, the heart cannot protect itself from being wounded in a thousand different circumstances, and God does not forbid one to confide in another in order to bear one’s burden. The Son of God allowed Simon of Cyrene to carry part of the cross, so as to diminish His pain a little. I know well that when God wills that a soul suffer, He suspends all the consolations in heaven and on earth, but I do not believe, Madame, that God wants you in so great a destitution. It is certainly permitted you to take some help in the counsel of few good servants of God. Consult them, Madame, and see, before God, if there is not some remedy for your troubles. See what is causing your troubles and what can be done to free you of them.

The One Who Crucifies Also Secretly Sustains

There are crosses which are, in no wise, good to keep, and which Providence sends us, without limiting the means by which we may seek relief [from them]. There are others which the hand of God presses upon us so sensitively and so deeply that He places the soul in the incapacity of being able to get out from under them. One must resign oneself to crosses such as these and, with the patience of Jesus Christ, suffer and die upon their wood. The One who crucifies also secretly sustains; He knows how to put to death and bring to life all at the same time.

Both the Sword and the Remedy

Abandon yourself to the unknown designs of His love, for He knows how to plunge one into hell and draw one out of it. Never will a soul, subjected to His divine operations, perish. The hand that wounds in such dispositions is rigorous and gentle, opening the wound and healing it, bringing together both the sword and the remedy. You must not trouble yourself in this trial; it is what divine love does in souls who, without reserve, want to be all transformed into Jesus Christ. Such souls must be purified and, to this end, tribulations serve as fire.

Image of Mother Mectilde courtesy of the Benedictines of Perpetual Adoration of Warsaw, Poland

Someone to Help You

You need [while] in this crucible someone to help you bear it with courage, by a loving confidence in God and the surrender of your whole self to His good pleasure. For the rest, let this lovable Saviour act; He has no motive apart from sanctifying your soul and transforming it in His love.

God Will Sort It Out

When, however, crosses are caused and produced by temporal things, take counsel and look for the remedies. If none of these succeed, leave everything to the divine disposition and, with unshakeable faith, hope that the all–good God will infallibly sort it out, by the workings of His divine wisdom, which cannot deceive, and which acts for our good in all things, even though the human spirit is not always very persuaded of this.

Leave the Outcome to Him

We must not remain crushed under the weight of the things that afflict us. If they are turning us away from God and taking away our interior peace, we must overcome them by a holy disdain and by withdrawing our spirit into God, so as to leave to Him the outcome of such afflictions. Accept them gently and lovingly, [together with] the setbacks, the abjections, and the contradictions that come of them. Until a soul is totally resigned to God in all that pleases Him and in the manner He wills, it is altogether impossible for that soul to have a solid inward calm. May it please God, Madame, that you should possess the One whom I wish for you. The vapours would then have no power to vex you.

How He Makes Saints

Place all things in God, and leave yourself there. He will, according to His holy will, look after everything that affects you. Embrace this blindly, and disentangle yourself gently from all things so as to attach yourself to God alone. If He turns everything upside down, you must bless him together with the holy man Job; this is how He makes saints.

He Is Operating Divinely in You

God is admirable in His works; by means of all your crosses, He is operating divinely in you; He is doing there a work worthy of Himself and of the eternal felicity that will crown all your sufferings by changing them into joy. Does it matter what we are in this world, provided that we joy eternally in God?

Rest in God Forever

Courage, then, the end will come. All created things will return into the nothingness whence they came, and you will pass over into Jesus to rest in God forever. Cujus regni non erit finis. (And of His kingdom there shall be no end.) Pardon me for putting you to the trouble of reading this scrap; it will be enough for me if it helps to relieve you for a moment. I am not worthy to serve you, even though my zeal and my tenderness would push me to do more. God will supply for the rest; this I pray with all my heart. May He give you to know, Madame, what I am to you in His love, and with profound respect.

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Matthew
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Matthew 28
1.	AND in the end of the sabbath, when it began to dawn towards the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalen and the other Mary, to see the sepulchre.	Vespere autem sabbati, quæ lucescit in prima sabbati, venit Maria Magdalene, et altera Maria, videre sepulchrum.	οψε δε σαββατων τη επιφωσκουση εις μιαν σαββατων ηλθεν μαρια η μαγδαληνη και η αλλη μαρια θεωρησαι τον ταφον
2.	And behold there was a great earthquake. For an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and coming, rolled back the stone, and sat upon it.	Et ecce terræmotus factus est magnus. Angelus enim Domini descendit de cælo : et accedens revolvit lapidem, et sedebat super eum :	και ιδου σεισμος εγενετο μεγας αγγελος γαρ κυριου καταβας εξ ουρανου προσελθων απεκυλισεν τον λιθον απο της θυρας και εκαθητο επανω αυτου
3.	And his countenance was as lightning, and his raiment as snow.	erat autem aspectus ejus sicut fulgur : et vestimentum ejus sicut nix.	ην δε η ιδεα αυτου ως αστραπη και το ενδυμα αυτου λευκον ωσει χιων
4.	And for fear of him, the guards were struck with terror, and became as dead men.	Præ timore autem ejus exterriti sunt custodes, et facti sunt velut mortui.	απο δε του φοβου αυτου εσεισθησαν οι τηρουντες και εγενοντο ωσει νεκροι
5.	And the angel answering, said to the women: Fear not you; for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.	Respondens autem angelus dixit mulieribus : Nolite timere vos : scio enim, quod Jesum, qui crucifixus est, quæritis.	αποκριθεις δε ο αγγελος ειπεν ταις γυναιξιν μη φοβεισθε υμεις οιδα γαρ οτι ιησουν τον εσταυρωμενον ζητειτε
6.	He is not here, for he is risen, as he said. Come, and see the place where the Lord was laid.	Non est hic : surrexit enim, sicut dixit : venite, et videte locum ubi positus erat Dominus.	ουκ εστιν ωδε ηγερθη γαρ καθως ειπεν δευτε ιδετε τον τοπον οπου εκειτο ο κυριος
7.	And going quickly, tell ye his disciples that he is risen: and behold he will go before you into Galilee; there you shall see him. Lo, I have foretold it to you.	Et cito euntes, dicite discipulis ejus quia surrexit : et ecce præcedit vos in Galilæam : ibi eum videbitis : ecce prædixi vobis.	και ταχυ πορευθεισαι ειπατε τοις μαθηταις αυτου οτι ηγερθη απο των νεκρων και ιδου προαγει υμας εις την γαλιλαιαν εκει αυτον οψεσθε ιδου ειπον υμιν
8.	And they went out quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy, running to tell his disciples.	Et exierunt cito de monumento cum timore et gaudio magno, currentes nuntiare discipulis ejus.	και εξελθουσαι ταχυ απο του μνημειου μετα φοβου και χαρας μεγαλης εδραμον απαγγειλαι τοις μαθηταις αυτου
9.	And behold Jesus met them, saying: All hail. But they came up and took hold of his feet, and adored him.	Et ecce Jesus occurrit illis, dicens : Avete. Illæ autem accesserunt, et tenuerunt pedes ejus, et adoraverunt eum.	ως δε επορευοντο απαγγειλαι τοις μαθηταις αυτου και ιδου ιησους απηντησεν αυταις λεγων χαιρετε αι δε προσελθουσαι εκρατησαν αυτου τους ποδας και προσεκυνησαν αυτω
10.	Then Jesus said to them: Fear not. Go, tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, there they shall see me.	Tunc ait illis Jesus : Nolite timere : ite, nuntiare fratribus meis ut eant in Galilæam ; ibi me videbunt.	τοτε λεγει αυταις ο ιησους μη φοβεισθε υπαγετε απαγγειλατε τοις αδελφοις μου ινα απελθωσιν εις την γαλιλαιαν και εκει με οψονται

Meditation: Matthew 28:1-10

Marriage=One Man and One Woman 'Til Death Do Us Part