Audio March A: Padua Media Catholic Radio.
Season of Salvation. Liturgical Year A Living Seasons of Change series, covers the 5th & 6th weeks of Lent, Holy Week, Easter Sunday and Mercy Sunday. Note that the Year A’s 5th and 6th weeks of Lent are also part of the Scrutiny’s readings for catechumens for all years. The majesty of the kingdom of God was won through a battle of blood, a battle of betrayal, suffering and death. Our prize–salvation—is completed as the body of Jesus is restored to glory.
OTL 1/8/2008
The majesty of the kingdom of God brought to earth by my Son Jesus was won through a battle of blood. The sacrifice of the Holy One began on the day of conception and was manifested by the betrayal, the beating and death of the Crucifixion. What lesson is to be learned? First that the events, though effected by the free will of man, were part of a Master Plan. Salvation was not happenstance but was decided upon and revealed at the Garden. As Jesus returns to the Garden to pray the symbolism of the obedience of one strikes the disobedience of the other.
- Betrayal of friends show that love and community are set aside when fear is allowed to take root and self rules over surrender to God’s will; accepting versus being in control. Judas “controlled” the manifestation but despaired when he lost control.
- Why was suffering and death necessary? Decay caused by sin had to be destroyed and death gives final destruction. Suffering frames obedience and faithfulness that “no matter what” Jesus remained faithful and obedient.
- The differences in the accounts of the Passion: Year A has Matthew; Good Friday has John.
- The 5th Sunday prepares us for the Resurrection that takes place on Easter.
- Without Easter, without the “overcoming” the death and sacrifice would have no meaning. Salvation—completed as the body is restored to Glory so is the people restored into the Glory of God
- The Eucharist instituted (celebrated on) Holy Thursday combines the sacrifice and the resurrection for all to receive/be present for perpetuity
- Catholics celebrate new members of the faith with Baptism and Confirmation at the Easter Vigil as salvation history is again revealed and celebrated
- Mercy Sunday follows immediately after Easter to “lock in” [like on a target]on the saving Mercy that continues to be made available—once and for all.
The Radio Show aired originally on Catholic radio KDUA. Hosted by Patti Brunner and Monsignor David LeSieur, VF, a Catholic priest of the Diocese of Little Rock .
Transcript March A Season of Salvation
Recorded January 17, 2008; re-recorded 3-14-08; original broadcast on Padua Radio 96.5 and PaduaMedia.com
Patti Brunner: Hello, I’m Patti Brunner and you’re listening to Living Seasons of Change, the show that helps you expand your understanding of the Church’s weekly liturgy. My co-host today is Monsignor David LeSieur, a priest of the Diocese of Little Rock. Welcome Monsignor!
Msgr. David LeSieur: Thank you, Patti. Today’s show is the Season of Salvation; the fifth week of Lent through Holy Week to Mercy Sunday of Year A. Most of our discussion today will center on the passion of Christ.
Patti Brunner: On Palm Sunday we hear the passion narrative from Matthew’s Gospel then on Good Friday we hear from John’s Gospel. The Good News on Easter Sunday reveals the basis of the entire Church: He is risen! Jesus has conquered death! The passion reveals that the majesty of the kingdom of God, brought to earth by Jesus, was won through a battle of blood. The sacrifice of the Holy One began on the day of conception and was manifested by the betrayal, the beating and death of the Crucifixion.
Msgr. David LeSieur: The Passion narratives teach us much. One of the first lessons to be learned is that the events, though affected by the free will of man, were part of a Master Plan.
Patti Brunner: Right! Salvation was not happenstance but was decided upon and revealed at the Garden with Adam and Eve. God preserved and protected the way to the Tree of Life by placing the cherubim and a revolving flaming sword.[i] Jesus came to show us the way to return to God. As Jesus returns to the Garden to pray[ii], the symbolism of the obedience of one strikes the disobedience of the other.
Msgr.: In the second garden, the scene of Gethsemane, Jesus is obedient and gives Himself over to His Father’s will, “Father, not as I will but as You will.” I would rather not do this but if You want Me to do it, I will.
Patti: As the Last Supper is set – we hear of the betrayal of Judas. How do we relate to the betrayal of Judas and the denial by Peter?
Msgr.: Judas’ betrayal seems worse, more egregious, because he actually plotted with the authorities to turn Jesus over. He led the army, the captors, to Jesus. Judas said, “The one that I kiss is the one, seize Him.” Peter, on the other hand, just froze in the moment, and said, “I don’t know Him.” It wasn’t as though Peter premeditated his denial.
Patti: Matthew shows us that Judas premeditated his betrayal immediately after the costly ointment in the alabaster jar was used to anoint Jesus[iii]. This offended the disciples as a waste of resources. That’s when Judas offered to deliver Jesus to the chief priests and they paid him thirty pieces of silver.
Msgr.: But later he tried to turn the money back in when he saw the actual results. He tried to take it back.
Patti: I’ve seen different ideas on why Judas betrayed Jesus and I am wondering if he wanted to be in control of the situation. If Judas was impatient and attached to wealth perhaps Judas tried to “control” the manifestation of a Messiah but despaired when he lost control. Betrayal, and denial, of friends show that love and community are set aside when fear is allowed to take root; and self rules over surrender to God’s will; accepting versus being in control.
Msgr.: “Judas, went to the chief priest and said, ‘What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” So, it’s like his motivation was money – “what are you willing to give me?” “They paid him 30 pieces of silver and from that time on, he looked for an opportunity to hand Him over.”
Patti: Of course, Judas was never really in control but in his selfishness he got the monetary benefit from the timing of the arrest.
Msgr.: John makes the point that Judas controlled the purse strings and that he was a thief.
Patti: Do you think Judas’ motivation was just greed? That doesn’t make sense to me.
Msgr.: The New American Bible footnote[iv] says that “the motive of avarice is introduced by Judas’ question (What will you give me?) …Thirty pieces of silver the price of betrayal is found only in Matthew. It is derived from Zechariah 11:12 where it is the wage paid to the rejected shepherd, a cheap price. That amount is also the compensation paid to those whose slave has been gored by an ox.”
Patti: If he was only into the money why did Matthew report that he tried to give the money back? Perhaps Judas originally thought that Jesus was going to step up and be the Messiah when he handed him over.
Msgr.: And be the leader of the army so to speak, like King David.
Patti: Right! Let’s put ourselves in his place. We are blinded to truth because of our own sin.
Msgr.: Or our own expectations.
Patti: Yes! We are blinded. So, we’re thinking, “I might as well get something out of this.” And, so, he’s decides to hand Jesus over. He knows the undercurrents of the community. He may be trying to raise himself up among the leaders.
Msgr.: Ingratiate himself by handing him over.
Patti: But it all falls apart.
Msgr.: I don’t remember anything in Matthew’s gospel about why Judas would have wanted to turn Jesus over. It says he returned the 30 pieces of silver to the chief priests and the altar saying “I have sinned in betraying innocent blood” and they said, “What is that to us. Look to it yourself.”[v] Then he threw the money away and ran and hanged himself.
Patti: Even though we don’t have Judas’ particular motivation, we do have his example; that is, we can be with Christ everyday and still not surrender to the will of Christ, not surrender our attachments to selfish things. Like Judas we go off and do our own thing, control our own life rather than surrender our life to Jesus. Judas was chosen by Jesus, so he could have been a true apostle, if he had made better choices, of his own freewill.
Msgr.: Peter and Judas are counterpoints in this story. They both were followers of Jesus. They both did something wrong. They both denied or betrayed Jesus, sold him down the river, so to speak. Maybe that’s the lesson for us. We’ve all betrayed in some sense. We’ve denied our Christian principles for something that we wanted, in avarice. We can give up and say, “I can’t be forgiven for this.” Or, we can repent. Some people just give in to their sins and say, “I’m too far gone,” which gives God no chance to work his mercy on us. What lesson can Judas teach us? This bears a lot of thought.
Patti: The Crucifixion shows us that Jesus knows we are sinners. He accepts us and loves us regardless of our sinfulness, and he gave His life for us so that we could have true life, so that we could have forgiveness.
Msgr.: In John’s Gospel, Jesus is fully in charge. When Judas arrives with a band of people to arrest him, Jesus said, “Who are looking for?” They said, “Jesus of Nazareth”. When he says, “I AM,” which is another name for God, they retreat and they fall to the ground. He knows what is happening and He lets it happen. It’s different in Matthew’s gospel, but in John’s gospel, Jesus is in charge of what’s happening.
Patti: Precisely! When Pilate said, “Don’t you know that I have the power to release you and I have power to crucify you?” And Jesus says, uh-uh! You have no power.”
Msgr.: Jesus said, “You would have no power over me if it had not been given to you from above.”
Patti Brunner: Since Jesus was in control, why was suffering and death necessary?
Msgr.: In other words, why did Jesus have to die? Why couldn’t He have just lived a nice long live?
Patti: Or just proclaim, “You’re forgiven.” Why was the shedding of blood necessary? I know that John highlights the blood, the saving blood, in his Gospel.
Msgr.: The whole history of the Jewish people included sacrifice. There was sacrifice when Noah[vi] established the new covenant with God after the flood. Abraham sacrificed when he made a covenant with Yahweh and the flame passed between the halves of the bull. At the first Passover, Moses had the people take the blood of the lamb and spread it on the door posts.[vii] Later Moses ratified the covenant by sacrificing the lamb and sprinkling the blood on the people and on the altar. Life had to be given and blood had to be shed because blood is the symbol of life when something as important as a covenant is made, between Abraham and God, or God and Israel or even Noah and God. The blood sacrifice was a complete gift, like you are giving something completely away to God. And, Jesus, on our behalf, gave Himself completely to God. Jesus’ sacrifice fit in with the tradition of offering sacrifice.
Patti: Decay caused by sin had to be destroyed and death gives final destruction. And this perfect blood sacrifice seals the covenant of God. His suffering frames obedience, and faithfulness, proving that “no matter what” Jesus remained faithful and obedient.
Msgr.: In nature the seed dies and comes back to life in another way. Paul talks about that in I Corinthians 15. “What planted is corruptible, what comes out of that is incorruptible[viii]”. Paul refers, of course, to Jesus’ resurrection. Unless Jesus had been willing to give himself completely, he couldn’t have come back to that new life; that resurrected life.
Patti: In liturgical year “A” we hear Matthew’s Gospel on Palm Sunday but we always hear John’s Gospel on Holy Thursday and Good Friday. The Synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke are very similar in narrative of the life of Christ but with differences that focus on the audience for whom each was written.
Msgr. David LeSieur: Matthew’s Gospel was written to the Jews and consistently pulls in Old Testament prophecies to apply them to Jesus.
Patti Brunner: John’s gospel is the most different. For example, Chapter 13, the Last Supper in John’s gospel includes the washing of the feet which reveals the humility needed to imitate Christ. He then teaches about the Father and the Holy Spirit.
Msgr.: There is no institution of the Eucharist reported at John’s last supper.
Patti: We have to go all the way back to Chapter 6 to get John’s discourse on the Bread of Life[ix] and the teaching on the Eucharist. Matthew’s Last Supper has the same liturgical prayer that we use at Mass, right?
Msgr.: The words of institution? Yes. “While they were eating, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and giving it to his disciples said, “Take and eat; this is my body.”[x]
Patti: There is difference in the trials, too. Matthew spends more time with the Jews and their preliminary trial before Jesus is handed over, where John spends more time at the Roman trial—with Pilate.
Msgr.: John spends a lot of time with Pilate. There is a lot of back and forth seen there with Jesus and Pilate. I think he describes about 7 times Pilate goes back and forth between the chief priests and the people and Jesus.
Patti: Again, each writer is writing for a particular purpose to highlight a certain point of theology. Both Gospels show us how easy it was for Peter to deny Jesus, even though he said, “I would take death before denying you.”
Msgr. David LeSieur: We all need to pray the Our Father, to pray not be put to the test.
Patti Brunner: Because, like Peter, we’ll probably fail the test! I liked what Stephen Binz, in his commentary “The Passion and Resurrection Narratives of Jesus”[xi], says about the differences and likenesses of the Passion narratives by the four gospel writers. He says, “It is like taking a photograph[xii] from different angles to give us a better appreciation of the reality.”
Msgr.: We are getting the same basic story but through the eyes of the community for which it was written and the circumstances for which it was written. But it is still the same event in all four gospels.
Patti: I always like to mix it all together and come out with one whole. But that is not how the Gospels are written.
======Break=======
Patti Brunner: Welcome back, I’m Patti Brunner and I’m talking with Msgr. David LeSieur about the Season of Salvation. The Fifth Sunday of Lent, before Holy Week, prepares us for the Resurrection with the story of Lazarus. It’s really a precursor to Easter.
Msgr.: The story of Lazarus gets us ready for it. Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead after he has been in the tomb several days.
Patti: That shows Jesus has the power over death.
Msgr.: “I am the Resurrection.”[xiii]
Patti: “I am the Resurrection.” We have fulfillment of the glorious Resurrection with Easter.
Msgr.: Jesus foreshadowed Easter in raising Lazarus as an image of resurrection to new life. Not just the same life but to another kind of life. Jesus gives living water to the thirsty. He gives sight to the blind. He gives life to the dead and He, Himself, is full of life, the new life, the resurrected life, the changed life, to which we are all called.
Patti: And just as Jesus was restored to glory, so, too, are we restored to the glory of God. That happens when we are baptized; we are baptized into life and receive the Holy Spirit.
Msgr. David LeSieur: Easter is a primary celebration of our faith. No more death. All things are new. That’s what Easter is all about; renewal of God’s people. It’s re-creation. Baptism is re-creation; it’s our second birth.
Patti: And Mercy Sunday kind of wraps it all up even though the readings are not definitive; Mercy Sunday hones in on the whole effect of the Holy Week.
Msgr.: The Gospel reading for Mercy Sunday, the Second Sunday of Easter is always doubting Thomas, which is a beautiful passage.
Patti: And the beginning of that Gospel where Jesus breaths on them as says, “Receive the Holy Spirit” may really be more the focus of the mercy –
Msgr.: “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven.” He then sends them out empowered to heal and forgive.
Patti: It’s the completion of His task, which was to bring us life through the Holy Spirit and the forgiveness of sin.
Msgr.: God has called us beloved son and beloved daughter in baptism. We have the dignity of the sons and daughters of God at baptism. Now, the glory may not be manifest in us at that time, but it is there. Sometimes that dignity is hidden, as it was with Jesus until His transfiguration. I guess it’s not easy to see the glory or experience the glory that is really ours, but it is there. We have to live into that. When Baptism is given to us, it’s a “bigger” garment than we are able to handle at the time. We have to live into it. We have to grow into it. That takes an entire lifetime. Then in heaven we see how it fits.
Patti: That’s good!
Msgr. David LeSieur: The glory, that is ours as Children of God, is a hidden glory, which is why we sometimes get discouraged. Our sins mar it or cover it. Our sins don’t destroy it, unless we choose to simply walk away from God and never wear the garment of salvation. It takes a life of faithfulness and trust in God, to some day experience the full glory that is ours as Children of God.
Patti: I wonder if sometimes we just let layers of dust accumulate on our robes of glory and drift away from our purposes in God. I know it is so easy when you feel the power of God. You feel the anointing. You feel the energy of the Spirit. It’s like with everything you do, you just know that the Lord is with you and in you. Then other times, at the end of the day you look back and think, “Boy, I blew it again today.” Some days you don’t even think about your purpose in God. You just live your life and you don’t even think about it. You’re really buried under the dust at that time.
Msgr.: Those times you describe–when you feel really close to God–that’s kind of like transfiguration times, I guess, when you can really see God’s glory or feel it and experience it on some level. Most days, you just try to live in faith. You say, “I don’t see how this is working but I just trust that it is. Although I don’t see God in this, I trust that God is here.” You just do the best you can. That’s the life of faith. That’s the way most people live – in darkness. And, yet, there’s a tremendous amount of light beneath that darkness.
Patti: We might live in darkness but we’re called to live in the light. We are called to let the light of Christ be exposed in us.
Msgr.: And it’s probably there more than we think. But sometimes, as humans, we just don’t see it or feel it or experience it. If we could see ourselves as God sees us, I think we would be a lot more encouraged. [add?]
Patti: What are some things we can do to allow ourselves to be drawn more into the light of Christ? Besides listening to this program?
Msgr.: Certainly spending time with God in prayer, the way Jesus did. He was at prayer, in Luke’s gospel, when he experienced transfiguration.
Patti: Through Easter we have salvation. Without Easter, without Jesus overcoming death, his sacrifice would have no meaning. But as Jesus was restored to glory so are we restored into the glory of God. Now, how do we come into the fullness? How do we experience the fact that we are baptized sons and daughters of God?
Msgr.: I think we are in the fullness. It is given to us at baptism. Our struggle is trying to be faithful to it, by not letting it become covered over with dust and sin. Just because we are baptized doesn’t mean we are free of the struggle to live a baptized life and to let God transform us.
Patti: Paul tells Timothy “stir into flame the gift of God,”[xiv] to get those embers stirred into flames.
Msgr.: I think we have to stir into flame the gifts we have been given. We have often let them grow cold. We just probably have no idea of our gifts. If we could just see ourselves as God created us to be! In the 7th preface for Sunday Mass of Ordinary Time we pray, “That you might see and love in us what you see and love in Christ.”
Patti Brunner: Isn’t that beautiful!
Msgr. David LeSieur: That is our connection to Christ, that through baptism we become, in Jesus, a son or a daughter that is just as beloved as He is! We don’t see that. We don’t think that. We don’t believe it. So we don’t live it, because it is hard to believe that we can be that loved, and that God would care about us that much that He would actually send us His Son to redeem us.
Patti Brunner: Yes! God proved His love for us that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.
Msgr. David LeSieur: We get caught up in those everyday details of slogging through the mud of everyday life. We don’t realize how glorious we are. I think it takes Lent and Easter for us to get a glimpse of that. That is why we have these wonderful seasons every year, to help renew us and to give us hope: Lent to focus on our sinfulness and our need, but Easter to focus on our glory. As Jesus was glorified, then we, too, if we belong to Jesus, will be glorified along with Him. I think the life we are living here in the world is like Lent. Lent is a time of reflection on our sinfulness. We know how imperfect we are, if we are serious. And, if we are not too caught up in our own egos, we can see how needy we are of God and how lacking we are in and of ourselves. With God in the picture, we have hope. We need Easter to show us the end result.
Patti: In every Eucharistic Celebration, in every Mass, we have Easter. When we have the prayers of consecration and Holy Communion, we are made present to the Last Supper and to the death and resurrection of Christ. It’s all there for all of us to receive. We are made present to that sacrifice on the Cross at every Mass. The Eucharist combines the sacrifice and the resurrection eternally.
Msgr.: If we’ll just notice and be aware of that! Often we forget. It would be great if we could see the liturgy the way the angels see it. Our liturgy, our little familiar Sunday liturgy, as simple as it is, is glorious. It’s our approximation of the heavenly liturgy. Yet, we are so earthbound and our eyes are so blinded, that it takes faith to accept it. We walk by faith and not by sight.
Patti: Monsignor, part of the special Easter ritual at the Vigil Mass is the celebration of the new members of the faith with Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist. I love the liturgy at Easter Vigil. A lot of people who are not into being at church more than an hour may never have seen the Holy Saturday, the Easter Vigil liturgy because it can last some three or four hours.
Msgr.: In our parish it’s usually at least three hours.
Patti: But it is so beautiful. It starts with the church dark and after the blessing of the fire, each person lights their candles accepting the light of Christ. Salvation history is again revealed and celebrated through beautiful readings. We have at least seven readings or more, right?
Msgr.: If you do them all, there are nine, including the passage from Paul to the Romans and the Gospel. There are seven Old Testament readings and two from the New Testament.
Patti: Then we have the ceremony of Baptism and Confirmation and the profession of faith by the adult candidates and catechumens, people who have studied several months and prepared and made the decision to come into full communion with the Catholic Church.
Msgr.: Baptism is particularly an Easter sacrament. We can baptize anytime, of course, and we do all through out the year, but Easter is an especially appropriate time to celebrate a baptism because of going into the water of death and rising up again renewed. In our parish the priest or deacon gets into the water with them. The priest lowers their head under the water.
Patti Brunner: Three times for the Trinity.
Msgr. David LeSieur: Last year when I did that some people struggled a little bit. It’s a little unnerving to have someone push your head under the water and, yet, it’s not meant to be totally fun. They struggle a little bit because death is a struggle; going under the water is a symbol of death. When they come up out of that water, a symbol of resurrection, they are free of sin and are a new creation. They come out dripping wet but it’s a new birth.
Patti: They are “born again” like in John chapter 3.
Msgr.: They dress in white and come back into the church carrying a lighted candle. They are anointed with the oil of Confirmation and given First Communion all on the same night. It is quite something.
Patti: The Easter candle that was lit with the new fire and blessed the baptismal water, is given prominence in the church and is used at every baptism after that.
Msgr.: It is lit at every Mass throughout the Easter season, then at every baptism and every funeral. Baptism is our beginning and the funeral is the collective culmination of our life. Therefore, we drape the casket with a pall, representing the white garment of Baptism. The Easter candle is lit again. The casket is sprinkled with blessed water to remind us of the baptism of that person. So, in a way, we recap baptism in the funeral rite, reminding ourselves that this person’s bodily death is the culmination that person’s life of baptism; they are now fully immersed in Christ’s death so they can share fully His life in resurrection.
Patti: It’s like death gives the final release to the fullness.
Msgr.: Yes, like a seed dying. It has to die fully before it can come back to life.
Patti: We release our final attachment-our attachment to this life.
Msgr.: Exactly! There’s always a little crucifix on top the casket and the person inside the casket beneath that pall, lying beneath the crucifix is fully conformed to Christ’s death. It is as though they are on the cross with Christ. They are fully conformed.
Patti Brunner: They are completely dead like Christ was, but only so they can share His eternal life of glory. That’s beautiful.
Msgr.: I think Catholic liturgy has some beautiful powerful symbols.
Patti: It does. Mercy Sunday follows immediately after Easter to “lock in” on the saving mercy that continues to be made available—once and for all. Mercy Sunday officially became a Feast Day in 2000 on the same day Pope John Paul II canonized St. Faustina[xv]. She promoted the devotion of Divine Mercy under the direction of Jesus who appeared to her.
Msgr.: John Paul II ordained Mercy Sunday to be a universal Church observance on the Second Sunday of Easter. It’s in the Ordos now. It’s on every Church calendar.
Patti: And it is to remind us to draw on God’s mercy and forgiveness, right?
Msgr.: Yes, His great mercy! Many churches on this day will have special devotions for Divine Mercy around the three o’clock hour.
Patti: All through this holy season the liturgies are very powerful. Easter services around here are always packed.
Msgr.: Yes, Easter, Christmas and Mother’s Day are services that draw a lot of people to the light of Christ.
Patti Brunner: These special occasions are marvelous moments of grace. Do you look at those as opportunities to witness, to evangelize?
Msgr.: I do. I try in my homilies, on those special days, to welcome those who are here infrequently. I try to say in all honesty, “we are here every week. If you are moved by this, come again” because you can’t hear the full story of our faith on one or two Sundays. You need to be here every week to hear the whole story.
Patti: I want to invite all our listeners to our liturgical celebrations. The Catholic Church is open to anyone who wants to come to our services. We don’t have open communion; that is, we don’t invite everyone to receive Holy Communion until they have made the decision to be in full communion with us. But as far as having to be a Catholic or Christian to come to our services, you don’t. Anyone can walk in off the street and come to any of our services. Catholic Churches everywhere in the world are very open to anyone who would like to come and be in the presence of God with us.
Msgr.: Right! If they like what they see and want to talk with anyone, any priest will be happy to talk with them to try to answer their questions or encourage them.
Patti Brunner: Monsignor, will you close our show with a blessing?
Msgr. David LeSieur: [blessing]
Patti: Thank you Monsignor. To get a copy of references in today’s show or to read the Liturgical readings of the current season please check the website patriarchMinistries.com
Resources
[i] Genesis 3:15 “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”” Genesis 2: 8 “And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 And out of the ground the LORD God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”…” 22 Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever”– 23 therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken. 24 He drove out the man; and at the east of the Garden of Eden he placed the cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.”
[ii] Matthew 26:39 And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.”
[iii] John 12: 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was to betray him), said, 5 “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii * and given to the poor?” 6* This he said, not that he cared for the poor but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box he used to take what was put into it.
[iv] Matthew 26:15 The New American Bible footnote[iv] says that “the motive of avarice is introduced by Judas’ question …Thirty pieces of silver the price of betrayal is found only in Matthew. It is derived from Zechariah 11:12 where it is the wage paid to the rejected shepherd, a cheap price. That amount is also the compensation paid to those whose slave has been gored by an ox.”[Ex 21:32 quote]
[v] Matthew 27:4 saying “I have sinned in betraying innocent blood” and they said, “What is that to us. Look to it yourself.”
[vi] Genesis 8: 20 Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 And when the LORD smelled the pleasing odor, the LORD said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I ever again destroy every living creature as I have done.
[vii] Exodus 12, Exodus ??
[viii] NAB:1 Corinthians 15:42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown corruptible; it is raised incorruptible.
[ix] John 6: 53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; 54 he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. 56* He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me. 58* This is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live for ever.”
[x] Matthew 26:26 . “While they were eating, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and giving it to his disciples said, “Take and eat; this is my body.”
[xi] Stephen Binz in his commentary “The Passion and Resurrection narratives of Jesus”
[xii] [see above] p 10 “Each Gospel presents us with a different portrait of Jesus. Just as a scene can be photographed from several different angles to give us a better appreciation of the reality, the person of Jesus can be known and understood more fully because we have four different portraits. All of them are given to us by the inspiring Spirit, yet none of them exhausts the fullness of who Jesus is.”
[xiii] John 11: 25* Jesus said to her, ” I am the resurrection and the life; * he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26* and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die
[xiv] 2 Timothy 1: 6 For this reason, I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands.
[xv] Source: www.ewtn.com/devotionals/mercy/feast.htm “During the course of Jesus’ revelations to Saint Faustina on the Divine Mercy He asked on numerous occasions that a feast day be dedicated to the Divine Mercy and that this feast be celebrated on the Sunday after Easter. The liturgical texts of that day, the 2nd Sunday of Easter, concern the institution of the Sacrament of Penance, the Tribunal of the Divine Mercy, and are thus already suited to the request of Our Lord. This Feast, which had already been granted to the nation of Poland and been celebrated within Vatican City, was granted to the Universal Church by Pope John Paul II on the occasion of the canonization of Sr. Faustina on 30 April 2000.”
“ In a decree dated 23 May 2000, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments stated that “throughout the world the Second Sunday of Easter will receive the name Divine Mercy Sunday, a perennial invitation to the Christian world to face, with confidence in divine benevolence, the difficulties and trials that mankind will experience in the years to come.” These papal acts represent the highest endorsement that the Church can give to a private revelation, an act of papal infallibility proclaiming the certain sanctity of the mystic, and the granting of a universal feast, as requested by Our Lord to St. Faustina.
Concerning the Feast of Mercy Jesus said:
Whoever approaches the Fountain of Life on this day will be granted complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. (Diary 300)
I want the image solemnly blessed on the first Sunday after Easter, and I want it to be venerated publicly so that every soul may know about it. (Diary 341)
This Feast emerged from the very depths of My mercy, and it is confirmed in the vast depths of my tender mercies. (Diary 420)
On one occasion, I heard these words: My daughter, tell the whole world about My Inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment.* [our emphasis] On that day all the divine floodgates through which grace flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity. Everything that exists has come forth from the very depths of My most tender mercy. Every soul in its relation to Me will I contemplate My love and mercy throughout eternity. The Feast of Mercy emerged from My very depths of tenderness. It is My desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy. (Diary 699)
Yes, the first Sunday after Easter is the Feast of Mercy, but there must also be deeds of mercy, which are to arise out of love for Me. You are to show mercy to our neighbors always and everywhere. You must not shrink from this or try to absolve yourself from it. (Diary 742)
I want to grant complete pardon to the souls that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion on the Feast of My mercy. (Diary 1109)
References for LSC Season of Salvation. Scriptures and liturgical readings are available at Liturgical Readings .
Flaming sword at the Garden of Eden. Genesis 3:24 “He drove out the man; and at the east of the Garden of Eden he placed the cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.”
Jesus praying at the Garden. Matthew 26:39 “And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.””
Costly ointment used before betrayal by Judas. John 12:4-6 The New American Bible footnote at Matthew 26:15 says that “the motive of avarice is introduced by Judas’ question …Thirty pieces of silver the price of betrayal is found only in Matthew. It is derived from Zechariah 11:12 where it is the wage paid to the rejected shepherd, a cheap price. That amount is also the compensation paid to those whose slave has been gored by an ox.”[Ex 21:32 quote]Matthew 27:4 Judas after the betrayal took the money back to the chief priests. saying “I have sinned in betraying innocent blood” and they said, “What is that to us. Look to it yourself.”
Noah’s sacrifice. Genesis 8: 20 “Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.”
Paul’s seed and life. New American Bible: 1 Corinthians 15:42 “So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown corruptible; it is raised incorruptible.”
John’s discourse on the Bread of Life. John 6: 53-58
Words of institution of the Eucharist. Matthew 26:26 “While they were eating, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and giving it to his disciples said, “Take and eat; this is my body.”
Stephen Binz. “The Passion and Resurrection Narratives of Jesus, A Commentary”. Liturgical Press. 1989. Page 10 “Each Gospel presents us with a different portrait of Jesus. Just as a scene can be photographed from several different angles to give us a better appreciation of the reality, the person of Jesus can be known and understood more fully because we have four different portraits. All of them are given to us by the inspiring Spirit, yet none of them exhausts the fullness of who Jesus is.”
John 11: 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life”
2 Timothy 1: 6 “For this reason, I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands.”
Mercy Sunday and St. Faustina. Source: www.ewtn.com/devotionals/mercy/feast.htm [Note: source no longer available] “During the course of Jesus’ revelations to Saint Faustina on the Divine Mercy He asked on numerous occasions that a feast day be dedicated to the Divine Mercy and that this feast be celebrated on the Sunday after Easter. The liturgical texts of that day, the 2nd Sunday of Easter, concern the institution of the Sacrament of Penance, the Tribunal of the Divine Mercy, and are thus already suited to the request of Our Lord. This Feast, which had already been granted to the nation of Poland and been celebrated within Vatican City, was granted to the Universal Church by Pope John Paul II on the occasion of the canonization of Sr. Faustina on 30 April 2000.”
