2021 Easter Card

May our Risen Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ grant you abundant blessings. May the Lamb of God Who once was slain bestow upon you mercy and peace. May He Who is the Resurrection and the Life endow you with love, light, and joy.

Happy Easter, Everybody!

He Is Risen! He Is Risen, Indeed! 

Haec Igitur Nox Est

In the crown which is the Church's liturgical rites, tonight and tomorrow are the shiniest jewels in it. Only rivaled by Christmas and Corpus Christi processions in its pageantry and splendor, this weekend is the apex of how the source and summit of our Faith is majestically presented. This is especially true of the Easter Vigil, with the added emphasis of initiating new members into the Mystical Body of Christ.

Truly, "this is the night". Like Christmas, we acknowledge and welcome our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in all His Divinity and Humanity coming into the world . However, He is "veiled in flesh" in a different way and comes forth from a different place. The "glory" in which He manifests Himself, partially revealed at the Transfiguration, is now on full display in the Resurrection. And while the eternal interjected itself in the temporal at the Nativity, it has now "overcome the world" on this third day.

Such an event should be a cause for the greatest celebration we can execute. And the tone is set when the great hymn of praise, the Exsultet, is proclaimed after the lighting and presentation of the Paschal Candle. We are exhorted to exult, be glad, and rejoice as we recall the events of salvation history, not only in this hymn, but the entirety of this Mass.

"This is the night." Listen carefully when you hear this phrase, repeated time and again throughout its proclamation. Marvel in awe and wonder of what Jesus Christ has done for us.

Both the Latin and English texts are provided for your meditation.

Haec igitur nox est.

A Call For Mercy

Today marks the beginning of the Divine Mercy Novena. A devotion which has gained popularity over the last two decades, it recitation over the next nine days earns those who pray it a plenary indulgence (subject to the usual conditions).

I have sporadically posted about this, mostly as a reminder about the start of the novena. For further information, go here.

"Jesus, I trust in You."

Night Shadows Falling

"Tenebrae factae sunt super universam terram."

"There was darkness over the whole earth."

This fragment from the Gospel of St. Matthew (cf. 27:45) sets the mood for the next three liturgical days.

The Light of the World is preparing to be extinguished.

Up to this point He had never shone brighter. His entrance into Jerusalem showed that. The crowds were at fever pitch. Sacred and secular authorities wondered what would happen now.

Satan was ready to strike. He had prepared someone to aid in his bidding. It only cost 30 pieces of silver.

But there was still much to be done. His last Passover meal on earth, merged with the eternal Wedding Feast. The "first" Tenebrae service in Olivet. The two trials. All the tribulations. The "Via Dolorosa".

The somberness underlying Holy Thursday morphs into the utter desolation of Good Friday and the grieving of Holy Saturday. The Church dutifully notes this in Her rites and rituals.

There is still much to be done. While "Do this in remembrance of Me" specifically refers to the institution of the Mass, could it not be said in a general way about the whole of the liturgical calendar and even more so the Sacred Triduum? It is these next three days, our High Holy Days, with all of their ceremonies, that our Lord and Saviour will shine the brightest.

Take part as best as you are able. “The light will be among you only a little while. Walk while you have the light, so that darkness may not overcome you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of the light.” (John 12:35-36)

The darkness comes soon enough.

Lent is over.

Tenebrae factae sunt super universam terram.

April 2021 Morning Offering Prayer Intention

Here is the intention for this month when prayer the Morning Offering:

Fundamental rights. We pray for those who risk their lives while fighting for fundamental rights under dictatorships, authoritarian regimes and even in democracies in crisis.

A reflection for this intention is found here.