Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 4-17-03, Holy Thursday, Chrism Mass

Reading I
Is 61:1-3a, 6a, 8b-9

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me;
He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the lowly,
to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
and release to the prisoners,
To announce a year of favor from the Lord
and a day of vindication by our God,
to comfort all who mourn;
To place on those who mourn in Zion
a diadem instead of ashes,
To give them oil of gladness in place of mourning,
a glorious mantle instead of a listless spirit.

You yourselves shall be named priests of the Lord,
ministers of our God shall you be called.

I will give them their recompense faithfully,
a lasting covenant I will make with them.
Their descendants shall be renowned among the nations,
and their offspring among the peoples;
All who see them shall acknowledge them
as a race the Lord has blessed.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 89:21-22, 25 and 27

R (2) For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
"I have found David, my servant;
with my holy oil I have anointed him.
That my hand may always be with him;
and that my arm may make him strong."
R For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
"My faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him;
and through my name shall his horn be exalted.
He shall say of me, ‘You are my father,
my God, the Rock, my savior!'"
R For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.

Reading II
Rv 1:5-8

[Grace to you and peace] from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness,
the firstborn of the dead and ruler of the kings of the earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his Blood,
who has made us into a Kingdom, priests for his God and Father,
to him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen.

Behold, he is coming amid the clouds,
and every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him.
All the peoples of the earth will lament him.
Yes. Amen.

"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God,
"the one who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."

Gospel
Lk 4:16-21

Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had grown up,
and went according to his custom
into the synagogue on the sabbath day.
He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah.
He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring glad tidings to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.

Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down,
and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him.
He said to them,
"Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing."

FEAST OF THE DAY

Holy Thursday is the traditional day for the celebration of the Mass of
Chrism. At this Mass, the three different oils used for various
Sacraments are blessed or consecrated for use throughout the
following year. These oils are used in the sacraments of Baptism,
Confirmation, Anointing of the Sick, and Holy. The oils not used
during the previous year are to be disposed of by burning. The Mass
of Chrism is also used by the Church as a time for the priests of a
diocese to come together with their bishop as a public sign of unity
and communion.

Today, Lent ends and the Easter Triduum begins with the evening
Mass of the Lord's Supper. The celebration of Holy Thursday serves
to remind us of historical action of Jesus instituting both the
priesthood and the Eucharist while celebrating the Paschal Feast.
On this night he fulfilled all the promises made by God in the Old
Covenant and instituted the New Convent by making a sacrifice of
his own Body and Blood in the non-bloody form of a meal. We are
reminded of this aspect of the ceremony through the narrative read
from the First Book of Corinthians.

The Mass of the Lord's Supper helps remind the faithful of Jesus'
historical institution of the Eucharist and the priesthood, and it also
reminds us that we are all called to service. This is explicitly pointed
out by the washing of feet done by the priest after the homily at this
Mass. This action echoes Jesus washing the feet his Apostles and
reminds us that we are here to serve others and that we should
always work to be humble in the sight of the Lord.

In order to remember the celebration of the Lord's Passion tomorrow,
Mass will not be celebrated, therefore a sufficient amount of bread is
consecrated today for distribution tomorrow. After Communion, the
remaining consecrated hosts are carried in a procession to the
tabernacle, and it is encouraged that the faithful adore the Blessed
Sacrament through the night. After Mass, in order to show the
solemnity of coming events, the altar is stripped of its cloths, and
crosses are covered with red or purple cloth. Holy water is also
removed form all fonts, it will be replaced by the new water blessed
at the Easter Vigil.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

In this dark vale of tears, I wish solely to feed upon this secret
manna, this delicious substance. -St. Cajetan

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TODAY IN HISTORY

858 Pope Benedict III dies
1492 Christopher Columbus signs contract with Spain to find the Indies

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TODAY'S TIDBIT

God our Father, we are gathered here to share in the supper which
your only Son left to his Church to reveal his love. He gave it to us
when he was about to die and commanded us to celebrate it as the
new and eternal sacrifice. We pray that in this Eucharist we may find
the fullness of love and life. -Taken from the Opening Prayer for
Mass of the Lord's Supper in the Sacramentary

----

INTENTION FOR THE DAY

Please pray for all ordained ministers of the Church.

Lenten Reflections

Thursday of Holy Week

"But if I washed your feet...then you must wash each other’s feet." (John 13:14)

Reflection.

In April of 1945 American artillery in the town of Siegburg, Germany, was shelling a nearby village, in which there were about 20 German soldiers. The natives were in constant danger of being hit by bullets from either side. Toward evening of April 12 the people persuaded the German soldiers to cease fire. Next morning the village priest carried a white flag to the American outpost to inform the commander that the German soldiers had gone and the civilian population had no desire to resist further. Instructions were given to fly white flags from all the houses. The question uppermost in the minds of the towns-people was: How will the Americans treat us?
They had heard terrible tales of cruelty on the part of the Russians. How would these conquerors act?
The Americans began a thorough search for weapons and German soldiers. Two soldiers armed with pistols came to a certain three- room home. They stopped short in the living room before a hand- carved family altar. Into the bedroom they went, to find there a beautiful crucifix. The soldiers noticed the cross. They stopped, took off their steel helmets, changed their automatics from right hand to left, and respectfully made the sign of the cross.
As a member of the family related, the members of that household feared no longer. Yes, the sign of the cross is the salute of the true follower of Christ whether he is conqueror or conquered, whether he is German, Chinese, American or Australian. It is the countersign of the Christian. In particular, it is the special salute of the Catholic.

Lenten Fact
Those who are impeded from visiting a church, during the Stations Of The Cross, may gain indulgences by piously reading and meditating on the passion and death of our Lord for one-half hour. The continued importance of the stations in the devotional life of Catholics is attested by both Pope Paul VI, who approved a Gospel-based version of the stations in 1975, and Pope John Paul II, who has also written his own version.

Lenten Action.

Imagine what it would feel like, if your loved one was taken to prison without due cause. Imagine how the apostles felt as Jesus was carried away.

Prayer

Father, by the power of the Holy Spirit you anointed your only Son Messiah and Lord of creation; you have given us a share in his consecration to priestly service in your Church. Help us to be faithful witnesses in the world to the salvation Christ won for all mankind. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.

Stations Of The Cross

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