THE EASTER TRIDUUM – Don’t Miss it!

 

   The greatest mysteries of the Redemption are celebrated yearly by the Church beginning with the evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday until Evening Prayer (vespers) on Easter Sunday.  This time is called the triduum of the crucified, buried and risen Christ; it is also called the “Easter Triduum” because during it is celebrated the Paschal mystery, that is, the passing of the Lord from this world to His Father.

 

MASS OF THE LORD’S SUPPER

Holy Thursday Evening - 7:00pm

   The Church recalls the Last Supper, in which the Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, gave His body and blood, under the species of bread and wine, offering them to His Father and giving them to the Apostles so that they might partake of them, and he commanded them and their successors in the priesthood to perpetuate this offering.

 

CELEBRATION OF THE LORD’S PASSION

Good Friday Evening - 7:00pm

   On this day, when “Christ our Passover was sacrificed”, the Church meditates on the Passion of her Lord and Spouse, venerated the Cross, and intercedes for the salvation of the whole world.

 

EASTER SUNDAY OF THE LORD’S RESURRECTION

The Easter Vigil:  Holy Saturday Night - 7:00pm

   This night is “one of vigil for the Lord”, and the Vigil celebrated during it, to commemorate the Holy night when the Lord rose from the dead, is regarded as the “mother of all Holy Vigils”.  For on that night the Church keeps vigil, waiting for the resurrection of the Lord, and celebrates the sacraments of Christian initiation with those who are joining the Church.

 

EASTER DAY:  Easter Sunday
Masses at 8:00am & 11:00am only

   The Easter Vigil was the first Mass of Easter.  On Sunday morning the celebration of the Lord’s resurrection continues with Masses Easter Sunday morning.  The Easter Triduum ends with Evening Prayer (vespers) on Easter Sunday evening.  The Easter season continues for 50 days until Pentecost Sunday.  The Paschal/Easter candle stands in a prominent place in the sanctuary and is used during celebrations in the Easter season.

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 Rules of fast and abstinence: 

“Fasting” : eating only one full meal, with the 2 others, added together, being smaller than the one full meal for the day (with no snacks between meals).  Days of fasting are ASH WEDNESDAY AND GOOD FRIDAY.  Unless your doctor says otherwise, those are bound to “fast” who are between the ages of 18 and 59. 

“Abstinence” : NO MEAT.  Unless your doctor says otherwise, those are bound to “abstain from meat” who are 14 YEARS OLD AND OLDER.  Days of Abstinence are Ash Wednesday and all Fridays. 

   All members of the Christian faithful in their own way, are bound to do penance in virtue of divine law; in order that all may be joined in a common observance of penance, penitential days are prescribed in which the Christian faith in a special way pray, exercise works of piety and charity, and deny themselves by fulfilling their responsibilities more faithfully and especially by observing fast and abstinence according to the norm of the church law (above).

   Let us pray for each other, so that this Lenten season will be a time of growing in the likeness of Jesus, who sacrificed his life for our salvation.

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What is Operation Rice Bowl?

 Operation Rice Bowl is the official Lenten program of the Catholic Relief Services.  ORB has called Catholics in the United States to promote human dignity and foster global solidarity with the poor around the world through prayer, fasting, learning, and giving during the Lenten season.  2005 marks the 30^th anniversary of the ORB program.

 Prayer – Using the ORB materials, participants pray and reflect upon the realities, challenges, and gifts of the poor around the world.

Fasting – ORB recipes for simple meals & fasting suggestions help participants use this traditional Lenten practice to express solidarity with their brothers & sisters overseas.

Learning – Through activities & educational resources about Catholic Relief Services’ work around the world, ORB participants learn about the lives of people they may never meet.

Giving – Participants put faith into action by giving of their time and resources in a thoughtful manner.

 Where Does the Money Go?

75% of proceeds from ORB come to Catholic Relief Services and help fund programs which positively affect tens of thousands of lives around the world through CRS’ development programs.  Projects include agriculture, water, microfinance, mother & child health and education.

25% of contributions to ORB support local hunger & poverty alleviation programs in our diocese.

 Who is Catholic Relief Services?

The official overseas relief & development agency of the Catholic Community in the United States.  The fundamental motivating force of CRS is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  That motivation compels the agency to alleviate human suffering, to foster justice & charity, and to enhance the development of peoples around the world.  CRS provides assistance on the basis of need, not creed, race, or ethnicity.

 

 Fr. Charles Troncale

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Twenty-fifth Anniversary Celebratory Mass Homily

9 June 2002

Fr. David Fitz-Patrick

 

Philosophers say we are what we choose.  If you want to know what kind of a person you are, they say, check your choices, the decisions you’ve made –about work and play, friends and enemies, values and possessions, your spiritual life, the times you’ve said “Yes” to this, “No” to that.  Theologians say the same thing, using different language –“We are what we love,” according to Augustine, and “The way to be is to do,” says Aquinas.

And so, today, 25 years after its foundation, by the choices you all have made, we can tell much about the Church of the Holy Spirit.  St. Paul wrote to the earliest Christians, in fact he writes to us, “You are God’s building, you are God’s temple.” Here in the city of Montgomery the Church of the Holy Spirit is not simply this building, built so beautifully on the sacrifices of many. These bricks we call the house of God will not work miracles of the mind or the soul. Somewhat like the Jerusalem temple, that could not protect the Jewish people, this building of itself will not fill your minds with knowledge, your hearts with goodness, your lives with morality. This building will not create, make out of nothing, women and men in service to others.

          Each of us who calls ourselves part of the Church of the Holy Spirit has to realize that this impressive structure will be empty, empty of meaning, unless those of you who occupy space here each week live a very great vision.  You yourselves must be Holy Spirit’s symbol to the little world that sees you, to the women and men who come in contact with you, because you are the living Church of the Holy Spirit, you make the building of brick come alive.

          Not too long ago in a city in the Midwest there was a little boy who was dying of a serious disease.  His doctors knew he was dying, the nurses knew he was dying, his parents knew he was dying, in fact, very probably the little boy himself knew he was dying.  He had but one wish –he’d always wanted to ride on a fire truck.  But now the sands of time had virtually run out.  One of the nurses made the boy’s wish known to the local fire department. And the next night the relative calm and quiet of that city was shattered by the piercing sound of sirens –not one or two, four or six, but seven fire trucks made their way to the hospital with sirens screaming.  Before long the firemen came into the room, scooped up the little boy, and with permission of his parents, put him in the hook and ladder truck.  Then, with sirens blazing they raced, not to an actual fire, but to something even better: the race for the dream of that little boy.  The boy was delighted, fulfilled and happy. A few days later, back in the hospital, he died.

          Although it’s sad, when I first heard that story I wondered about the concept of duty that existed that night for the firemen.  They didn’t have to do what they did; it wasn’t after all a part of their job as firemen. And yet they felt the compulsion to do what they did. 

          When St Paul tells us that we are God’s temple, it’s not simply pretty poetry, it’s Christian realism.  You and me, we are the stones that make up God’s house. To us has been entrusted a duty, a sacred duty.  The Spirit of God, Paul says, has made his home in you.  And two characteristics of this Spirit within you are light and power.  In the power of the spirit, light helps you understand what escapes normal comprehension, helps you see beneath the surface of things, see beyond the obvious, and grasp what this Church of the Holy Spirit really is. And the spirit is fire. That’s why we pray, “Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, & kindle in us the fire of your love.” That fire should change you and me, and give you a sense of your duty to God and God’s people, and where you walk in the world every day, to do more than what the job description for a Catholic Christian spells out.  Feel the fire, sometimes it needs to be fanned, but it is there inside of you.

          Normally, as most of you know, my homily should end about now. Seven to nine minutes, no more than three pages double-spaced!  Today is an exception, it’s a special occasion.  Thirty-seven years ago, before many of you were born, Pope Paul VI in the last session of the Second Vatican Council spoke of the mission of the Church --building a bridge to the contemporary world.  I’d like to paraphrase his words, which I believe are addressed to you and me today. He said,

“From the window of the council, opened wide on the world, we must look with particular concern towards the poor, the needy, the afflicted, the hungry, the suffering and sorrowing. We must look towards people of culture and learning, scientists and artists to receive the fruit of their experience, and provide a space for their troubled spirits to expand within the sphere of divine word and grace; We must look towards all workers, the dignity of their person and their labors, the legitimacy of their hopes, working with them to create a new world; we must look to the leaders of nations and offer them a word of encouragement and confidence, working together in justice and love to create peace; we must to look to the innumerable men and women who feel isolated in a troubled society that has no message for their spirit. To them we must proclaim the good news of salvation and hope.”

The world Pope Paul described is your world, the world of the Church of the Holy Spirit.  And you, above all, are the Church’s presence there. 

My brothers and sisters in Christ, this anniversary is one of those blessed opportunities God gives us to celebrate the past and look forward to the future.  None of us gets to choose the times in which we live, but we do get the chance to determine how we respond to those times.  You, the Church of the Holy, for your first twenty-five years you have excelled in your efforts at reflecting God in whose image and likeness we are created.  I pray continued success in the years to come.

 

 

     Joke Time  

 

Jesus and Satan were having an ongoing argument about who was better on his computer. They had been going at it for days, and God was tired of hearing all the bickering.
Finally, God said, "Cool it. I am going to set up a test which will take two hours and I will judge who does the better job."
So Satan and Jesus sat down at the keyboards and typed away.
They moused.
They did spreadsheets.
They wrote reports.
They sent faxes.
They sent e-mail.
They sent out e-mail with attachments.
They downloaded.
They did some genealogy reports.
They made cards.
They did every known job.
But, ten minutes before the time was up, lightning suddenly flashed across the sky, thunder rolled, the rain poured, and, of course, the electricity went off.
Satan stared at his blank screen and screamed in every curse word known in the underworld.
Jesus just sighed.
The electricity finally flickered back on, and each of them restarted their computers.
Satan started searching frantically screaming, "It's gone! It's all gone! I lost everything when the power went out!"
Meanwhile, Jesus quietly started printing out all his files from the past two hours.
Satan observed this and became even more irate. "Wait! He cheated! How did he do it??!!"
(You'll love the punch line....)
God shrugged and said,

"Jesus Saves."

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT BUSH
AT DEDICATION OF
THE POPE JOHN PAUL II CULTURAL CENTER

Catholic University
Washington, D.C.

 

THE PRESIDENT: Your Excellency, thank you very much. You will be pleased to hear, my mother is still telling me what to do. (Laughter.) And I'm listening most of the time.

Cardinal Maida, thank you for your vision, and thank you for your smile.  What a great smile. (Applause.) Cardinal Szocha, thank you very much for your hospitality and, Cardinal McCarrick, let me congratulate you on becoming a cardinal last month. Though we're both new to our jobs, I'm the only one who is term-limited. (Laughter and applause.)

I may be just passing through and I may not be a parishioner, but I'm proud to live in your archdiocese. (Applause.) I'm pleased to join with all the church leaders and special guests here today to dedicate the cultural center. It is my high honor to be here.

When Cardinal Wojtyla spoke here at Catholic University in 1976, few imagined the course his life would take, or the history his life would shape. In 1978, most of the world knew him only as the Polish Pope.  There were signs of something different and deeper.

One journalist, after hearing the new Pope's first blessing in St. Peter's Square wired back to his editors: "This is not a pope from Poland, this is a pope from Galilee." From that day to this, the Pope's life has written one of the great inspiring stories of our time.

We remember the Pope's first visit to Poland in 1979 when faith turned into resistance and began the swift collapse of imperial communism. The gentle, young priests, once ordered into forced labor by Nazis, became the foe of tyranny and a witness to hope.

The last leader of the Soviet Union would call him "the highest moral authority on earth." We remember his visit to a prison, comforting the man who shot him. By answering violence with forgiveness, the Pope became a symbol of reconciliation.

We remember the Pope's visit to Manila in 1995, speaking to one of the largest crowds in history, more than 5 million men and women and children. We remember that as a priest 50 years ago, he traveled by horse-cart to teach the children of small villages. Now he's kissed the ground of 123 countries and leads a flock of 1 billion into the Third Millennium.

We remember the Pope's visit to Israel and his mission of reconciliation and mutual respect between Christians and Jews. He is the first modern Pope to enter a synagogue or visit an Islamic country. He has always combined the practice of tolerance with a passion for truth.

John Paul, himself, has often said, "In the designs of Providence, there are no mere coincidences." And maybe the reason this man became Pope is that he bears the message our world needs to hear. To the poor, sick and dying he carries a message of dignity and solidarity with their suffering. Even when they are forgotten by men, he reminds them they are never forgotten by God.

"Do not give in to despair," he said, "in the South Bronx. God has your lives and His care, goes with you, calls you to better things, calls you to overcome."

To the wealthy, this Pope carries the message that wealth alone is a false comfort. The goods of the world, he teaches, are nothing without goodness. We are called, each and every one of us, not only to make our own way, but to ease the path of others.

To those with power, the Pope carries a message of justice and human rights. And that message has caused dictators to fear and to fall. His is not the power of armies or technology or wealth. It is the unexpected power of a baby in a stable, of a man on a cross, of a simple fisherman who carried a message of hope to Rome.

Pope John Paul II brings that message of liberation to every corner of the world. When he arrived in Cuba in 1998, he was greeted by signs that read, "Fidel is the Revolution!". But as the Pope's biographer put it, "In the next four days Cuba belonged to another revolutionary." We are confident that the revolution of hope the Pope began in that nation will bear fruit in our time.

And we're responsible to stand for human dignity and religious freedom wherever they are denied, from Cuba to China to Southern Sudan.  (Applause.) And we, in our country, must not ignore the words the Pope addresses to us. On his four pilgrimages to America, he has spoken with wisdom and feeling about our strengths and our flaws, our successes and our needs.

The Pope reminds us that while freedom defines our nation, responsibility must define our lives. He challenges us to live up to our aspirations, to be a fair and just society where all are welcomed, all are valued, and all are protected. And he is never more eloquent than when he speaks for a culture of life. (Applause.) The culture of life is a welcoming culture, never excluding, never dividing, never despairing and always affirming the goodness of life in all its seasons.

In the culture of life we must make room for the stranger. We must comfort the sick. We must care for the aged. We must welcome the immigrant. We must teach our children to be gentle with one another. We must defend in love the innocent child waiting to be born. (Applause.)

The center we dedicate today celebrates the Pope's message, its comfort and its challenge. This place stands for the dignity of the human person, the value of every life and the splendor of truth. And, above all, it stands, in the Pope's words, for the "joy of faith in a troubled world."

I'm grateful that Pope John Paul II chose Washington as the site of this center. It brings honor and it fills a need. We are thankful for the message. We are also thankful for the messenger, for his personal warmth and prophetic strength; for his good humor and his bracing honesty; for his spiritual and intellectual gifts; for his moral courage, tested against tyranny and against our own complacency.

Always, the Pope points us to the things that last and the love that saves. We thank God for this rare man, a servant of God and a hero of history. And I thank all of you for building this center of conscience and reflection in our Nation's Capital.

God bless. (Applause.)

The Bible in 50 Words
God made
  Adam bit
    Noah arked
      Abraham split
        Joseph ruled
          Jacob fooled
            bush talked
              Moses balked
                Pharoah plagued
                  people walked
                    sea divided
                      tablets guided
                        Promise landed
                          Saul freaked
                            David peaked
                              prophets warned

                             Jesus born

                               God walked
                               love talked
                           anger crucified
                         hope died

                          Love rose

                              Spirit flamed
                                  Word Spread
                                      God remained.

Wisdom to "Learn" by. Forwarded message:

I've learned - that you cannot make someone love you. All you can do is be someone who can be loved. The rest is up to them.
I've learned - that no matter how much I care, some people just don't care back.
I've learned - that it takes years to build up trust, and only seconds to destroy it.
I've learned - that it's not what you have in your life but who you have in your life that counts.
I've learned - that you can get by on charm for about 15 minutes. After that, you'd better know something.
I've learned - that you shouldn't compare yourself to the best others can do.
I've learned - that you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for life.
I've learned - that it's taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.
I've learned - that you should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them.
I've learned - that you can keep going long after you think you can't.
I've learned - that we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.
I've learned - that either you control your attitude or it controls you.
I've learned - that regardless of how hot and steamy a relationship is at first, the passion fades and there had better be something else to take its place.
I've learned - that heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.
I've learned - that money is a lousy way of keeping score.
I've learned - that my best friend and I can do anything or nothing and have the best time.
I've learned - that sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you're down will be the ones to help you get back up.
I've learned - that sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.
I've learned - that true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance. Same goes for true love.
I've learned - that just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have.
I've learned - that maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had and what you've learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated.
I've learned - that you should never tell a child their dreams are unlikely or outlandish. Few things are more humiliating, and what a tragedy it
would be if they believed it.
I've learned - that your family won't always be there for you. It may seem funny, but people you aren't related to can take care of you and love you and teach you to trust people again. Families aren't biological.
I've learned - that no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.
I've learned - that it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others. Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself.
I've learned - that no matter how bad your heart is broken the world doesn't stop for your grief.
I've learned - that our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.
I've learned - that just because two people argue, it doesn't mean they don't love each other. And just because they don't argue, it doesn't mean they do.
I've learned - that we don't have to change friends if we understand that friends change.
I've learned - that you shouldn't be so eager to find out a secret. It could change your life forever.
I've learned - that two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different.
I've learned - that no matter how you try to protect your children, they will eventually get hurt and you will hurt in the process.
I've learned - that your life can be changed in a matter of hours by people who don t even know you.
I've learned - that even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out to you, you will find the strength to help.
I've learned - that credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.
I've learned - that the people you care most about in life are taken from you too soon.
I've learned - that it's hard to determine where to draw the line between being nice and not hurting people's feelings and standing up for what you believe

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going.  I do not see the road ahead of me.  I cannot know for certain where it will end.  Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.  But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.  And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.  I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.  And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it.  Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.  I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

Thomas Merton

--Thoughts in Solitude

H    U   G    S
No moving parts, no batteries.
No monthly payments and no fees;
Inflation proof, non-taxable,
In fact, it's quite relaxable;
It can't be stolen, won't pollute,
One size fits all, do not dilute.
It uses little energy,
But yields results enormously.
Relieves your tension and your stress,
Invigorate your happiness;
Combats depression, makes you beam,
 And elevates your self esteem!
Your circulation it corrects
Without unpleasant side effects
It is, I think, the perfect drug:
May I prescribe, my friend,... the hug!
(and, of course, fully returnable!)
Hope your day is good for you.

Written by Danny Dutton, age 8, from Chula Vista, California, for his third grade homework assignment to "Explain God."

 "One of God's main jobs is making people.  He makes them to replace the ones that die so there will be enough people to take care of things on earth.
   He doesn't make grown-ups, just babies.  I think because they are
smaller and easier to make.  That way, He doesn't have to take up His valuable time teaching them to talk and walk.  He can just leave that to mothers and fathers.
   God's second most important job is listening to prayers.  An awful lot of this goes on, since some people, like preachers and things, pray at times besides bedtime.
   God doesn't have time to listen to the radio or TV because of this.
Because He hears everything there must be a terrible lot of noise in His ears, unless He has thought of a way to turn it off.
   God sees everything and hears everything and is everywhere, which keeps Him pretty busy.  So you shouldn't go wasting His time by going over your mom and dad's head asking for something that they said you couldn't have.
   Atheists are people who don't believe in God.  I don't think there are any in Chula Vista.  At least there aren't any that come to our church.
   Jesus is God's Son.  He used to do all the hard work like walking on
water and performing miracles and trying to teach the people who didn't want to learn about God.  They finally got tired of Him preaching to them and they crucified Him.
   But He was good and kind like His Father and He told His Father that
they didn't know what they were doing and to forgive them and God said OK.
   His Dad (God) appreciated everything that He had done and all His hard work on earth so He told Him He didn't have to go out on the road anymore, He could stay in heaven.  So He did.
   And now He helps His Dad out by listening to prayers and seeing things which are important for God to take care of and which ones He can take care of Himself without having to bother God.  Like a secretary only more important.
   You can pray anytime you want and they are sure to hear you because they got it worked out so one of them is on duty all the times.
   You should always go to Church on Sunday because it makes God happy, and if there's anybody you want to make happy, it's God.
   Don't skip church to do something you think will be more fun like going to the beach.  This is wrong!  And, besides, the sun doesn't come out at the beach until noon anyway.
   If you don't believe in God, besides being an atheist, you will be very lonely, because your parents can't go everywhere with you, like to camp, but God can.
   It is good to know He's around you when you're scared in the dark or when you can't swim very good and you get thrown into real deep water by big kids.
   But you shouldn't just always think of what God can do for you.  I
figure God put me here and He can take me back anytime He pleases.
   And that's why I believe in God!