[Salvation]

Catholic Culture

Daily Readings for: April 02, 2012
(Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: Grant, we pray, almighty God, that, though in our weakness we fail, we may be revived through the Passion of your Only Begotten Son. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

RECIPES

• Holy Thursday Meal Menu

ACTIVITIES

• A Jonas (Jonah) Project
• Holy Week in the Catholic Tradition
• Housecleaning for Holy Week I
• Housecleaning for Holy Week II
• Jonas and Holy Week
• Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of Holy Week in the Home
• Music for Lent and Easter: St. Matthew Passion by Bach
• Open, O Hard and Sinful Heart!
• Spring Cleaning
• The Passover Meal: 1. Introduction

PRAYERS

• Prayer for Monday of Holy Week
• Prayer Before a Crucifix
• Prayer for Palm Sunday and Holy Week
• Way of the Cross
• To Keep A True Lent
• Family Evening Prayer for Holy Week

Lent: April 2nd

  Monday of Holy Week Old Calendar: Monday of Holy Week

"Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom my soul delights. I have endowed him with my spirit that he may bring true justice to the nations. He does not cry out or shout aloud, or make his voice heard in the streets. He does not break the crushed reed, nor quench the wavering flame (Is 42:1-2)."

Outside of Holy Week today is the Optional Memorial of St. Francis of Paola.

Stational Church

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Meditation - Mary and Judas
Today the liturgy presents two noteworthy characters who play dissimilar roles in the Lord's passion. One fills us with solace and comfort; the other with uneasiness and wholesome fear. Their juxtaposition produces a powerful effect by way of contrast. The two characters are Mary of Bethany and Judas.

Jesus is in the house of Lazarus, at dinner. Mary approaches, anoints the feet of her Savior for His burial and dries them with her hair. Judas resents her action and resolves upon his evil course. These two persons typify man's relation to Christ. He gives His Body to two types of individuals: to Magdalenes to be anointed, to Judases to be kissed; to good persons who repay Him with love and service, to foes who crucify Him. How movingly this is expressed in the Lesson: "I gave My body to those who beat Me, and My cheeks to those who plucked them. I did not turn away My face from those who cursed and spit upon Me."

The same must hold true of His mystical Body. Down through the ages Christ is enduring an endless round of suffering, giving His body to other Marys for anointing and to other Judases to be kissed, beaten, and mistreated. Augustine explains how we can anoint Christ's body:

Anoint Jesus' feet by a life pleasing to God. Follow in His footsteps; if you have an abundance, give it to the poor. In this way you can wipe the feet of the Lord.

The poor are, as it were, the feet of the mystical Christ. By aiding them we can comfort our Lord in His mystical life, where He receives Judas' kisses on all sides-the sins of Christians.

The Gospel account may be understood in a very personal way. In everyone's heart, in my own too, there dwell two souls: a Judas-soul and a Mary-soul. The former is the cause of Jesus' suffering, it is always ready to apostatize, always ready to give the traitor's kiss. Are you full master over this Judas-soul within you? Your Magdalen-soul is a source of comfort to Christ in His sufferings. May the holy season of Lent, which with God's help we are about to bring to a successful conclusion, bring victory over the Judas-soul and strengthen the Magdalen-soul within our breasts.

Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch

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The Station today is at the church of St. Praxedes which was built over St. Praxedes' house. It was one of the twenty-five original parishes in Rome. It is easily one of the most beautiful churches in the Eternal City and is bedecked with incredibly beautiful mosaics. The present church is the one built by Pope Adrian I c. 780, completed and altered by Pope St. Paschal I c. 822. It was enlarged at that time mainly to serve as a repository for relics from the catacombs.

[Salvation]

The Word Among Us

Meditation: John 12:1-11

“They gave a dinner for him.” (John 12:2)

Doesn’t it seem odd that Jesus would start the final week of his earthly life by attending a dinner party? You might have expected him, with good reason, to have spent extra time in prayer and conversation with his Father, or in some other way strengthening himself for the ordeal ahead. But no, he had dinner with his friends. He received their gener­osity and love. And he loved them back by spending time with them, even at a time when more important things might have weighed heavily on him.

All the while, Judas had his eye out for the main chance—his oppor­tunity to skim more out of the money bag he held for Jesus and his friends. Jesus knew it, but he didn’t address it when Judas rebuked Mary. He was more focused on affirming Mary’s act of adoration than with calling out Judas’ greed. Evidently, Mary’s love was more significant than Judas’ selfishness.

Isn’t this amazing? Even as Jesus approached the hour of his death, his focus was on love: Loving oth­ers, receiving the love they offered him. Corrections, weaknesses—even sin—took a backseat to love.

Don’t forget about sin, but try to focus on love this holy week. Take Mary’s example, and be extravagant in how you express your love for God and for those around you. Spend the week sowing patience and recon­ciliation when you find yourself in situations that aggravate you. Show forbearance when sharp or cutting remarks rise in your thoughts during the day. Offer forgiveness—quietly, unseen, even unasked or unspoken. Think of an act of service or affir­mation you could do for someone. Maybe even host a dinner party for friends!

And of course, spend time with Jesus, pouring out on him that which is most precious to you. If you are a habitually busy person, offer him some one-on-one time. Whether it involves time or money, praise or service, think of a way to love extrav­agantly this week. Be creative as you consider how you can shift your focus, and ask the Holy Spirit to give you ideas that make the most sense for you. Above all, love others as deeply as you can, for love covers a multitude of sins.

“Jesus, thank you for loving me! Help me to love the people around me, just as you did.”

Isaiah 42:1-7; Psalm 27:1-3,13-14