And We Have a Winner in the Book Giveaway!

Well, this morning I literally drew a name out of a hat from among those who made comments on my review of Pope Francis' new book, The Church of Mercy - and we have a winner!  


Michael Jacobs - congratulations!  Please contact me so I can get your address to Loyola Press, who kindly provided this giveaway.  As for the rest of you, thanks for visiting here and commenting on the post - I hope you will consider following this humble blog in the future.

Discovering Pope Francis' Message of Hope: "The Church of Mercy" (And a Giveaway!)

Hot off the press from Loyola Press, The Church of Mercy: A Vision for the Church by Pope Francis is a beautiful book, full of joy, hope and confidence in the unfailing love of God.  It's a message sorely needed in our times. It's a message, however, that comes with a challenge to give up our own personal agendas and take ownership of the agenda that Christ has given each of us at our baptism.

Consisting of excerpts from his homilies, addresses and official teaching documents, this collection, authorized by the Vatican and compiled by Giuliano Vigini, professor at the Catholic University of Milan, offers the reader comfort, refreshment and challenge, as well as an occasional healthy dose of papal humor.

Pope Francis' pastoral message is that there is hope - for everyone, most especially sinners - in Jesus Christ, and because God is patient, loving and merciful to us, we should be so with one another - especially to the poor and the stranger. We are called to come out of ourselves, abandon our will to that of Christ and simply serve - telling others about Jesus in word and deed - never afraid to show our hope and joy in the process.

We are asked to be an antidote to the evils of the culture by bringing that message out of the walls of churches to the very margins of life, in solidarity with those who have been pushed there - "to the outskirts of existence."  We are called to sensitize the world to the poor and the "uprooted" - refugees - "those who are obliged to flee their own country and exist between rootlessness and integration."

Francis' vision of a "Church of Mercy" is in tune with the social justice teachings of the Church - one that reaches out in love to the poor, the unwanted and those who suffer, in Jesus' name.  Our motivation for that, he says comes from our confident trust that God has already reached out in love to us. When we are able to abandon ourselves to Jesus, we will become a Church that fills the world with his love, one that is not afraid to testify to the message that God loves us all.

But, Francis tells us, before we do any of  this we have to let go of our cultural idols - power, violence, money, and yes, clergy careerism - to be "free from personal projects" and ambition. The Church must "divest herself of the danger of worldliness."  It is that, he says that kills the Church - and the person.  Once we let go, we will be free to choose the good and to become, like Mary, people of "listening, decision and action."


This is quite simply a "must read" book for every Catholic, lay and clergy alike. It proposes a reformed Church much closer to Jesus's intentions and asks us to steer away from worldly trappings - inner and outer - that prevent us from abandoning ourselves to Jesus's call to embrace the love of God and spend ourselves for the sake of others, sharing that love. This is how Francis explains why he himself has chosen not to wear full papal regalia, but to don simpler garb and go out into the world as often as he can, seeking the lost and the broken.  This is the Pope Francis who washed the feet of the disabled on Holy Thursday - Christian and Muslim, men and women - serving as an example, he is the very model of what he calls the Church to become.

Make no mistake. This is not just a "feel-good" book about the warm fuzziness of God's love. It is a real challenge to abandon ourselves to that love.
________

OK -  Here is The BIG Giveaway! 
You can win a FREE copy of this marvelous book from Loyola Press.  Make a comment here on the blog between now and Tuesday, April 29th and I will pick one out of a hat.  Be sure to include your name and an obvious way to find you when you "choose your identity" for the comment box. I will announce the winner on the blog on April 30th. Thanks for reading!

Tonight: Jesus is BAA-AACK!

During Holy Saturday, we prepare and we wait. Jesus has gone into the grave. Knowing what we know, that this is not the end of the story, unlike the disciples, who are readying themselves for the end of the Sabbath, when they can anoint the body and complete the burial, we spend the day readying for Christ's return.  

Many of us will be at our parish churches later this morning decking the altar with our most splendid altar cloths, masses of beautiful flowers and candles which will be fully revealed tonight when out of the darkness of the Vigil, the light returns at the lighting of the candles and the church as we sing the Glory to God on this "truly blessed night," when we see Christ rising from the dead.

But before that can happen, we will go, with Christ, into the darkness. After the sun sets, we light the Easter fire and stand around it as we bless the Paschal Candle. Moving into the church, we each receive a lighted taper and stand together to hear the great proclamation of the Exsultet, a hymn about the candle itself, which explains the connections between the candle and God - who appeared to our ancestors in faith as a pillar of fire and who now appears as the Morning Star.

To prepare for tonight, read through this magnificent text. There is absolutely no better way to get ready.

The Easter Proclamation (Exsultet)
Exult, let them exult, the hosts of heaven,
exult, let Angel ministers of God exult,
let the trumpet of salvation
sound aloud our mighty King’s triumph!
Be glad, let earth be glad, as glory floods her,
ablaze with light from her eternal King,
let all corners of the earth be glad,
knowing an end to gloom and darkness.
Rejoice, let Mother Church also rejoice,
arrayed with the lightning of his glory,
let this holy building shake with joy,
filled with the mighty voices of the peoples.

(Therefore, dearest friends,
standing in the awesome glory of this holy light,
invoke with me, I ask you,
the mercy of God almighty,
that he, who has been pleased to number me,
though unworthy, among the Levites,
may pour into me his light unshadowed,
that I may sing this candle’s perfect praises).

(V. The Lord be with you.
R. And with your spirit.)
V. Lift up your hearts.
R. We lift them up to the Lord.
V. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
R. It is right and just.

It is truly right and just,
with ardent love of mind and heart
and with devoted service of our voice,
to acclaim our God invisible, the almighty Father,
and Jesus Christ, our Lord, his Son, his Only Begotten.

Who for our sake paid Adam’s debt to the eternal Father,
and, pouring out his own dear Blood,
wiped clean the record of our ancient sinfulness.

These, then, are the feasts of Passover,
in which is slain the Lamb, the one true Lamb,
whose Blood anoints the doorposts of believers.

This is the night,
when once you led our forebears, Israel’s children,
from slavery in Egypt
and made them pass dry-shod through the Red Sea.

This is the night
that with a pillar of fire
banished the darkness of sin.

This is the night
that even now, throughout the world,
sets Christian believers apart from worldly vices
and from the gloom of sin,
leading them to grace
and joining them to his holy ones. 

This is the night,
when Christ broke the prison-bars of death
and rose victorious from the underworld.

Our birth would have been no gain,
had we not been redeemed.
O wonder of your humble care for us!
O love, O charity beyond all telling,
to ransom a slave you gave away your Son!

O truly necessary sin of Adam,
destroyed completely by the Death of Christ!

O happy fault
that earned so great, so glorious a Redeemer! 

O truly blessed night,
worthy alone to know the time and hour
when Christ rose from the underworld!

This is the night
of which it is written:
The night shall be as bright as day,
dazzling is the night for me,
and full of gladness. 

The sanctifying power of this night
dispels wickedness, washes faults away,
restores innocence to the fallen, and joy to mourners,
drives out hatred, fosters concord, and brings down the mighty. 

On this, your night of grace, O holy Father,
accept this candle, a solemn offering,
the work of bees and of your servants’ hands,
an evening sacrifice of praise,
this gift from your most holy Church. 

But now we know the praises of this pillar,
which glowing fire ignites for God’s honor,
a fire into many flames divided,
yet never dimmed by sharing of its light,
for it is fed by melting wax,
drawn out by mother bees
to build a torch so precious.

O truly blessed night,
when things of heaven are wed to those of earth,
and divine to the human.

Therefore, O Lord,
we pray you that this candle,
hallowed to the honor of your name,
may persevere undimmed,
to overcome the darkness of this night.
Receive it as a pleasing fragrance,
and let it mingle with the lights of heaven.
May this flame be found still burning
by the Morning Star:
the one Morning Star who never sets,
Christ your Son,
who, coming back from death’s domain,
has shed his peaceful light on humanity,
and lives and reigns for ever and ever.
R. Amen.

The Cross - Sign of Wondrous Love

Today, as millions around the world venerate the wood of the Cross, we remember the great love that God showed us -  in spite of ourselves - that he gave his only Son to suffer and die for our sins.  St. Paul got it exactly right:

For Christ, while we were still helpless, yet died at the appointed time for the ungodly.Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person, though perhaps for a good person one might even find courage to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. How much more then, since we are now justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath. Indeed, if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more, once reconciled, will we be saved by his life. (Romans 5:6-10)

We acknowledge our unworthiness, but claim that love when we venerate the Cross - but we also accept that the Cross has a place in our own lives at the times we are called to our own suffering - and to the sure knowledge that not only do we not bear those sufferings alone, but we, too, can be transformed by our suffering because of Christ's Paschal Mystery. His death and resurrection prove that God has the power to create good and set us free from evil and assures us that is possible in our lives if we believe.

Love, lifted on the cross for me

My Lord, my God, my salvation

Love, lifted high to set me free

My Lord, my God, my salvation...

Coming Soon: The Most Important 3 Days of the Church Year

As we move into the final days of Lent, it's not too early to start planning one's activities around the events of Holy Week, particularly Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday. These three days, called the Easter Triduum, are simply the most important in the entire Church year, as we follow Christ through his last supper with his disciples, his arrest, condemnation, suffering, death on the cross and resurrection, i.e., the Paschal Mystery.

I always tell people who only show up on Easter Sunday that they actually missed the main event:  Jesus has already risen. Sure, it's great to celebrate that, but if we are present at the Easter Vigil on Saturday, we witness Christ's rising among us as we pass from darkness into light. I have written before about the importance of the Triduum, but I simply cannot say it enough.

Triduum (pronounced TRID-YOO-UM, not TRID-EE-UM, as many people say it) means 3 days. Since Pius XII restored the Easter Vigil in 1955 (based on ancient practice), the Church has celebrated these three days as a time apart - an experience of Paschal Mystery for the entire community. It is meant to be on every Catholic's calendar as a time to set other concerns aside.  Even though it is less common for employers to suspend work during the period between noon and 3 p.m. on Friday, Catholics should still be able to find ways to participate in all three days, as many parishes provide an evening service.

Jesus loved you enough to go through his suffering and death, so the least you can do is acknowledge that with your presence at the important liturgies of the Triduum. Thursday night is beautiful as we commemorate the institution of the Eucharist and wash feet as he did.  On Friday, we remember the great the love of a God who gave his only Son to suffering and death for our sake. On Saturday night, we witness the lighting of the fire of renewed life and hear about God's great plan for our salvation as we wait for the proclamation of Christ's Resurrection.

Maybe it's just me, but I have never once missed a day of the Triduum since I became Catholic. I cannot imagine not being there, and I certainly cannot understand why anyone would stay home or carry on with normal life activities while something this important is happening. Humor me, please, if you are one who has not typically attended the celebrations of the Triduum. Mark your calendar now - or as soon as the times for the liturgies of the Three Days are announced at your parish.  I guarantee you will not regret it.