Easter Sunday: Not just another day (Pt.5)

‘Today, Easter Sunday, is not just another Sunday,’ said Rev. Father Tony Majiwat in his homily this morning at Stella Maris Church, Tg. Aru, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. He said, ‘today is the most significant day in the Christian calendar in that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. He is alive and all Christians celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.’

‘Today is more important feast day than Christmas because it is celebrated on Jesus' resurrection,’ he added in his homily this morning.

Christians around the country celebrated Easter Sunday by attending church services held to mark the solemn occasion.

In Sabah and Sarawak, where both Good Friday and Easter Sunday are celebrated on a large scale, thousands of Christians thronged the churches in these two states.

In some churches, worshippers came as early as 5am in the morning for their services.

Churches (throughout Malaysia) were also filled to the brim.

Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ three days after his crucifixion on Good Friday.

For the Catholics, Easter also marks the end of Lent (and the beginning of Easter Season for the next 50 days until Pentecost Sunday day).

In Vatican City, the Pope is expected to conduct the traditional mass for Easter and address the crowds gathered at the St Peter's Square. (As I am writing, I am watching a direct telecast of our our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, celebrating the Easter Sunday Solemn Mass at the Vatican Square under heavy rain).

"The greatest sign of Jesus being the Son of God is that He rose from the dead," Father Nigli of St. Patrick Church in O'Neill, Nebraska said. "Everybody's born, but rising from the dead - that's the part where we are certain that Jesus Christ has power over life and death."

"If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain…your faith is futile and you are still in your sins…If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied" (1 Cor 15:14,17, 19).

READ MORE HERE:

And because of its importance, Easter is more than just a day. It's a seven-week season of the church year. The 50 days begin at sundown the evening before Easter Sunday and last until Pentecost Sunday, which is considered the birthday of the church.

Father Nigli said the Easter season is the time for new Catholics - those who came into the church at the Easter Vigil - to experience mystagogia, which is "the unraveling or unpacking of the church's mysteries and sacraments."

All other Catholics, Father Nigli said, are called to celebrate at the same time a renewal of their own faith.

"That is why we have the baptismal water sprinkling rite ... that we are renewed in our own baptismal promises and take a new vigor in our faith," he said.

The colours used during the Easter season are white or gold, which are symbolic of Jesus' transfigured body when he showed his glory, Father Nigli said.

"We also understand that at the time of the resurrection, He had a glorified body that came through and so symbolic of that, we use white or gold to reflect the glory that God attached to the human body," he said.

Jesus, the Risen Lord, gives us hope!

The Holy Week: Holy Saturday (Easter Vigil) (Pt.4)

Celebrating the Easter Vigil last year at the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI spoke of the difficulties in understanding Jesus’ resurrection. He explained that the Church assists the faithful in understanding this mysterious event through three symbols in the Easter Vigil: Light, Water and the “Alleluia.”

The Easter Vigil is celebrated on Saturday evening with the lighting of the Easter Candle in the Church. This is followed by a procession, as do the Liturgy of the Word and the baptism of catechumens.

First of all, there is light. God’s creation – which has just been proclaimed to us in the Biblical narrative – begins with the command: "Let there be light!" (Gen 1:3). Where there is light, life is born, chaos can be transformed into cosmos. In the Biblical message, light is the most immediate image of God: He is total Radiance, Life, Truth, Light.

At the Easter Vigil, the Church represents the mystery of the light of Christ in the sign of the Paschal candle, whose flame is both light and heat. The symbolism of light is connected with that of fire: radiance and heat, radiance and the transforming energy contained in the fire – truth and love go together. The Paschal candle burns, and is thereby consumed: Cross and resurrection are inseparable. From the Cross, from the Son’s self-giving, light is born, true radiance comes into the world. From the Paschal candle we all light our own candles, especially the newly baptized, for whom the light of Christ enters deeply into their hearts in this Sacrament.

The second symbol of the Easter Vigil – the night of Baptism – is water. It appears in Sacred Scripture, and hence also in the inner structure of the Sacrament of Baptism, with two opposed meanings. On the one hand there is the sea, which appears as a force antagonistic to life on earth, continually threatening it; yet God has placed a limit upon it. Hence the book of Revelation says that in God’s new world, the sea will be no more (cf. 21:1). It is the element of death. And so it becomes the symbolic representation of Jesus’ death on the Cross: Christ descended into the sea, into the waters of death, as Israel did into the Red Sea. Having risen from death, he gives us life. This means that Baptism is not only a cleansing, but a new birth: with Christ we, as it were, descend into the sea of death, so as to rise up again as new creatures.

The third great symbol of the Easter Vigil is something rather different; it has to do with man himself. It is the singing of the new song – the alleluia. When a person experiences great joy, he cannot keep it to himself. He has to express it, to pass it on. But what happens when a person is touched by the light of the resurrection, and thus comes into contact with Life itself, with Truth and Love? He cannot merely speak about it. Speech is no longer adequate. He has to sing.

This year, the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI reminded that Christians, like Christ, do not “conquer” through the sword, but through the Cross.

It is at this Mass that the church welcomes new Catholics.

For those of us who have been baptized, let us remember St. Paul’s words in the second reading for this Sunday:

"If you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory" (Col 3:1-4).

Update: In Part 1 of this series, I mentioned that, “Families are encouraged to attend all three liturgies to experience the whole thing like a three-part movie.”

‘The third-part movie’ consists of two sub-parts, i.e., Easter Vigil (Holy Saturday) and Easter Sunday liturgies.

Contrary to the belief of some Christians that, if one has already attended the Easter Vigil on Saturday, there is no longer need to attend the following Easter Sunday Mass, or vice versa. Easter Vigil is NOT considered as the usual sunset mass. It is therefore equally important to attend both Saturday (Easter Vigil) and Easter Sunday Mass, otherwise The Sacred Easter Triduum is rendered incomplete. Source: Stella Maris Church announcement during last Holy Thursday Mass.

“The Lord is Risen, Alleluia”. Happy Easter to all my readers.

Tomorrow’s Posting: Easter Sunday: Not just another day (Pt. 5)

The Holy Week: The significance of Good Friday (Pt.3)

Good Friday

“When Jesus took the wine, He said, ‘Now, it is finished.’ Then He bowed His head, and delivered over his spirit.” (John 19:30)

On Good Friday, the entire Church fixes her gaze on the Cross at Calvary. Each member of the Church tries to understand at what cost Christ has won our redemption. In the solemn ceremonies of Good Friday, in the Adoration of the Cross, in the chanting of the 'Reproaches', in the reading of the Passion, and in receiving the pre-consecrated* Host, we unite ourselves to our Savior, and we contemplate our own death to sin in the Death of our Lord.

* On Good Friday, there is no Mass anywhere in the world. All churches are made bare the previous night at the conclusion of the Holy Thursday Church service whence the Holy Eucharist and consecrated Hosts are transferred to the Chapel.

The Veneration of the Cross

In Christianity, the "Veneration of the Cross" is a ceremony during which a person pays respect to the cross on which Jesus was crucified. Normally this is done during Good Friday services; either everyone performs the veneration in unison by kneeling in place when the cross is brought into the church or some people perform the veneration of the cross individually by coming forward and, while kneeling, kiss the foot of the cross.

In the seventh century, the Church in Rome adopted the practice of Adoration of the Cross from the Church in Jerusalem, where a fragment of wood believed to be the Lord's cross had been venerated every year on Good Friday since the fourth century. According to tradition, a part of the Holy Cross was discovered by the mother of the emperor Constantine, St. Helen, on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 326. A fifth century account describes this service in Jerusalem. A coffer of gold-plated silver containing the wood of the cross was brought forward. The bishop placed the relic on a table in the chapel of the Crucifixion and the faithful approached it, touching brow and eyes and lips to the wood as the priest said (as every priest has done ever since): 'Behold, the Wood of the Cross.'

Adoration or veneration of an image or representation of Christ's cross does not mean that we actually adore the material image, of course, but rather what it represents. In kneeling before the crucifix and kissing it we are paying the highest honor to our Lord's cross as the instrument of our salvation. Because the Cross is inseparable from His sacrifice, in reverencing His Cross we, in effect, adore Christ. Thus we affirm: 'We adore Thee, O Christ, and we bless Thee because by Thy Holy Cross Thou has Redeemed the World.'

Stations of the Cross.

In some Churches, the Stations of the Cross is celebrated on Good Friday morning. It is a Catholic custom of Lent that commemorates the passion of Jesus on Good Friday.

The Stations of the Cross, also called The Way of the Cross, is a devotion to the Passion of Christ consisting of prayers and meditations on fourteen occurrences that were experienced by Christ on His way to Mt. Calvary where He was was crucified, and culminating on the fifteenth Station to meditate His glorious resurrection on the third day (Easter Sunday).

It is a popular devotion used by individuals or groups who wish through prayer and reflection to follow Jesus Christ on His way to Calvary. Many Christians practice the devotion, but the Stations hold a special significance among Roman Catholics. It is one of the most important devotions honoring the passion of Jesus.

What matters most in the Stations of the Cross is to follow Jesus Christ in His passion and to see ourselves mirrored in him. To face life's dark side in ourselves and in our world, we need images of hope, and Jesus offers images of hope in His passion. By accompanying Him on the Way of the Cross, we gain His courageous patience and learn to trust in God who delivers us from evil.

The devotion originated in the late 4th century when pilgrims flocked to the Holy Land from all parts of the world to visit the land of Jesus. Heading the list of places they visited was the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which had been built by the Emperor Constantine in 335 AD atop Calvary and the tomb of Jesus

There following are 15 Stations of the Cross

The First Station: Jesus is Condemned to Die

The Second Station: Jesus is Made to Bear His Cross

The Third Station: Jesus Falls the First Time

The Fourth Station: Jesus Meets His Mother

The Fifth Station: Simon Helps Jesus Carry His Cross

The Sixth Station: Veronica Wipes Jesus' Face

The Seventh Station: Jesus Falls the Second Time

The Eighth Station: Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem

The Ninth Station: Jesus Falls the Third Time

The Tenth Station: Jesus is Stripped of His garment

The Eleventh Station: Jesus is Nailed to the Cross

The Twelfth Station: Jesus Dies on the Cross

The Thirteenth Station: Jesus is Taken Down from the Cross

The Fourteenth Station: Jesus is Laid in the Tomb

The Fifteenth Station: Jesus is Risen from the dead

The Holy Week: The significance of Holy Thursday (Pt.2)

Holy Week: Holy Thursday

Except for the resurrection on Easter, Holy Thursday is possibly one of the most important, complex, and profound days of celebration in the Catholic Church. Holy Thursday celebrates the institution of the Eucharist as the true body and blood of Jesus Christ and the institution of the sacrament of the priesthood.

During the Last Supper, Jesus offers himself as the Passover sacrifice, the sacrificial lamb, and teaches that every ordained priest is to follow the same sacrifice in the exact same way. Christ also bids farewell to his followers and prophesizes that one of them will betray him and hand him over to the Roman soldiers.

Later that night, after sundown – because Passover began at sundown- the Holy Thursday Liturgy takes place, marking the end of Lent and the beginning of the sacred "Triduum,” or three, of Holy Week. These days are the three holiest days in the Catholic Church.

Washing of the feet.

I am privileged this year to have been selected as one of the 12 disciples for the washing of the feet ceremony during this Holy Thursday (tonight) in my Parish Church, Stella Maris, Tg. Aru, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. The washing of the feet done by a priest who humbled himself, is the amazing act we share in continuity with the wonderful, sacred scene we find in John 13.

I reckon that from the priest’s point of view, it is a humble gesture to wash feet, but hardly so in the highly stylized setting of Holy Thursday where, after all, the priest – or bishop or cardinal or pope – stands in for Jesus and thus ironically still secures for himself the place of honor, as if the servant of the servants was really better than the servants themselves. (And I will make sure that I will have me feet scrubbed properly in advance, lest any dirt might fall into the bowl in Father’s presence.)

The washing of the feet ceremony is not to be confused with the sinful and repentant woman in the other Gospels, Mary washes the feet of Jesus, and lavishes costly perfume on them. Jesus accepts this ministry, and only Judas condemns it as overdramatic and wasteful. One can only imagine that when the Last Supper came, Jesus was still been reflecting on the tender intimacy and care of that scene, and realized that even on this most solemn night He might share the experience with his friends at table: as my feet have been washed, I wash yours; and you too, care for one another in this way.

On Holy Thursday 2010, we need to take all this to heart. The Church is still a place of holiness, love, and service, yet it is also a Church that is partly dirty, partly in need of cleansing. There is no longer a Church in which anyone can imagine himself only the washer of feet, and not one in need of washing as well. It is no longer a Church in which cleansing comes only from above. Perhaps the priests — and bishops and cardinals and the pope — can rethink how they commemorate Jesus’ humble, cleaning, tender action this Holy Thursday?

Even today, the priests may indeed be a lot like Peter the first Pope — who did not want his feet to be washed — but like that same Peter, even today they (the priests) might learn to be like Jesus, who let His feet be washed by a woman who was His friend, and then shared the experience with His other friends by doing the same for them.

Source: Abridged from the National Catholic Weekly by Francis X. Clooney, S.J.

Sacred Triduum of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday.

As Christians prepare to celebrate Christ's resurrection at Easter, they must first remember His suffering and death. Several liturgies during Holy Week, considered the most important week in the church's liturgical year, provide the opportunity to do so.

HOLY WEEK

Holy Week is the week which precedes the great festival of the Resurrection on Easter Sunday, and which consequently is used to commemorate the Passion of Christ, and the event which immediately led up to it. It is also known as the “week of lamentation’ during the interval between Palm Sunday and Easter Day , and is known par excellence as Holy Week.

Palm Sunday

The sixth and last Sunday of Lent and beginning of Holy Week, a Sunday of the highest rank, not even a commemoration of any kind being permitted in the Mass. In common law it fixes the commencement of Easter duty.

Holy Week, the last week of Lent, includes the religious holidays of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday referred to as the Triduum – the three separate days celebrated as one feast.

Holy Thursday Mass recalls Christ's Last Supper and the institution of the Eucharist. It also includes the washing of the feet ceremony.

On Good Friday, there is no Mass anywhere in the world, and churches are bare. The Stations of the Cross often are prayed that day and liturgies are held to commemorate Christ's Passion.

Jesus offered His life as a sacrifice for the remission of the sins of humankind, choosing the most cruel and humiliating death: crucifixion.

The Holy Father in his general audience this morning (March 31) explained that, “There exists an indissoluble link between the Last Supper and the death of Jesus", explaining how in the Upper Room "Jesus offered His Body and Blood (that is, his earthly existence, Himself), anticipating His own death and transforming it into an act of love. And so death, which by its nature is the end, the destruction of all relations, is made by Him an act of communication of Self, an instrument of salvation and a proclamation of the victory of love".

Holy Saturday is considered a day of silence and prayer. This is the time of expectation and hope, believers are invited to prayer, reflection and conversion, also through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, so that, intimately renewed, they may participate in the celebration of Easter.

No Mass is celebrated until that evening at the Easter Vigil, which takes place after sundown. That silence will be broken by the cry of Alleluia, announcing the resurrection of Christ and proclaims the victory of light over darkness, of life over death. The Church starts its joyous occasion in the meeting with her Lord, entering the day of Easter which the Lord inaugurated by rising from the dead.

It is at that Mass that the church welcomes new Catholics.

Families are encouraged to attend all three liturgies to experience the whole thing like a three-part movie.

Entering the Holiest Time in the Church

9-April-2009 -- Catholic News Agency

By Lisa Maxson

Omaha, Neb., Apr 8, 2009 (CNA).- As Christians prepare to celebrate Christ's resurrection at Easter, they must first remember his suffering and death, said Father Francis Nigli, pastor at St. Patrick Church in O'Neill, Nebraska. Several liturgies during Holy Week, considered the most important week in the church's liturgical year, provide the opportunity to do so, he said.

Holy Week, the last week of Lent, includes the religious holidays of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday.

Father Nigli said those three days leading up to Easter are the "greatest days" in the church. Referred to as the Triduum, Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday are three separate days celebrated as one feast, he said.

Holy Thursday Mass recalls Christ's Last Supper and the institution of the Eucharist. It also includes the washing of the feet ceremony.

On Good Friday, there is no Mass anywhere in the world, and churches are bare. The Stations of the Cross often are prayed that day and liturgies are held to commemorate Christ's Passion.

Holy Saturday is considered a day of silence and prayer. No Mass is celebrated until that evening at the Easter Vigil, which takes place after sundown. It is at that Mass that the church welcomes new Catholics.

Father Nigli encourages families to attend all three liturgies.

"People don't see the importance of the Triduum. We have such poor numbers at church," he said. "I really encourage families, especially those with younger people at home, to go experience the whole thing like a three-part movie."

Not just a day

In the Catholic Church, Easter is the most important feast day, even more so than Christmas, because it celebrates Jesus' resurrection.

"The greatest sign of Jesus being the Son of God is that he rose from the dead," Father Nigli said. "Everybody's born, but rising from the dead - that's the part where we are certain that Jesus Christ has power over life and death."

And because of its importance, Easter is more than just a day. It's a seven-week season of the church year. The 50 days begin at sundown the evening before Easter Sunday and last until Pentecost Sunday, which is considered the birthday of the church.

Father Nigli said the Easter season is the time for new Catholics - those who came into the church at the Easter Vigil - to experience mystagogia, which is "the unraveling or unpacking of the church's mysteries and sacraments."

All other Catholics, Father Nigli said, are called to celebrate at the same time a renewal of their own faith.

"That is why we have the baptismal water sprinkling rite ... that we are renewed in our own baptismal promises and take a new vigor in our faith," he said.

The colors used during the Easter season are white or gold, which are symbolic of Jesus' transfigured body when he showed his glory, Father Nigli said.

"We also understand that at the time of the resurrection, he had a glorified body that came through and so symbolic of that, we use white or gold to reflect the glory that God attached to the human body," he said.

Divine Mercy

In 2000, at the canonization of St. Faustina Kowalska, Pope John Paul II designated the Sunday after Easter - this year April 19 - as Divine Mercy Sunday. It is dedicated to the devotion of the Divine Mercy promoted by St. Faustina, and based on the saint's entries in her diary of conversations with Jesus.

The church teaches that Jesus promised to give a special gift to those who go to confession with contrition and receive Holy Communion that day. Jesus said all of their sins and the punishment for those sins would be wiped away.

"It's like a second baptism," Father Nigli said. "The graces offered in this promise by Christ to St. Faustina give us a brand new awakening of the soul. It's like being reborn again."

In preparation for Divine Mercy Sunday, Catholics must practice showing mercy to others. They also can pray the Divine Mercy Novena.

On Divine Mercy Sunday, Catholics are encouraged to pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy and also venerate the image of the Divine Mercy. 

History of Easter Prayers

Easter, the principal festival of the Christian church year, celebrates the Resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day after his Crucifixion. The origins of Easter date to the beginnings of Christianity, and it is probably the oldest Christian observance after the Sabbath (originally observed on Saturday, later on Sunday). Later, the Sabbath subsequently came to be regarded as the weekly celebration of the Resurrection. Meanwhile, many of the cultural historians find, in the celebration of Easter, a convergence of the three traditions - Pagan, Hebrew and Christian.

READ MORE HERE ... This and its related articles on this page, are worth reading to know more about Christian Faith. - LINUNDUS

Holy Week is most important week of the year, Pope says

Vatican City, April 8 - Thousands of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square today to attend Pope Benedict XVI's weekly General Audience and catechesis. The Holy Father discussed Holy Week, describing the period as "the most important week of the year, offering us the chance to immerse ourselves in the central events of Redemption, to relive the Easter Mystery, the great Mystery of the faith."

FULL STORY

He is Risen by Anilnetto

As in 2008, Pope focuses Good Friday meditations on persecuted Christians

Vatican City, Apr 7, 2009 / 10:33 am - For the 

second year in a row, Pope Benedict XVI has asked that the meditations for the Good 

Friday Way of the Cross (Via Crucis) ceremony be focused 

on the plight of persecuted Christians 

around the world.

Last year's Via Crucis, written by the Archbishop of Hong Kong, Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, featured the reflections that were relevant to the Church in China. Cardinal Zen called on the Church to remember the persecuted, as they experience "in their bodies the Passion of Jesus."

This Good Friday, Archbishop Thomas Menamparampil of Guwahati, India, will offer the meditations for the Via Crucis reflect on the question of evil in the world, on pain and on the various forms of suffering which are, he writes, a "symbol of the presence of the cross of Christ in our lives."

Archbishop Menamparampil will also mention the plight of persecuted Christians in India and the oppressed peoples of Sudan and the Congo. In these places, he says, we see a type of violence that "destroys ethnic and religious groups" and conflicts that are "fueled by economic interests."

The Way of the Cross will be presided over by Pope Benedict on the evening of Good Friday, April 10 at the Colosseum in Rome.

EWTN will feature coverage of all the major papal events during Holy Week as well as the papal nuncio to the U.S., Archbishop Pietro Sambi, celebrating the Solemn Mass of the Lord's Supper live from The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C.