BIG C CATHOLICS

Fr. René J. Butler, M.S. La Salette Missionaries of North America Hartford, Connecticut ( Click here for today's readings ) On March 27, 2021, at sunset, millions of families the world over gathered around their table to hear a famous question: “Why is this night different from all other nights?” It was the beginning of the Jewish feast of Passover. The answer to that question starts with four specific details about the meal itself. Then comes this: “We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt, and God brought us out with a strong hand and an outstretched arm. And if God had not brought our ancestors out of Egypt, we and our children and our children’s children would still be subjugated to Pharaoh in Egypt. Even if we were all old and wise and learned in Torah, we would still be commanded to tell the story of the Exodus from Egypt. And the more we talk about the Exodus from Egypt, the more praiseworthy we are.” At the Easter Vigil we could ask the same question: “Why is this...

Father Lance Harlow There is one word to describe the impact that the resurrection of Jesus from the dead has had on those who believe. That one word is joy. In the Gospel of Matthew (Mt 28:1-10), Mary Magdalene and the other women who go to the tomb on Easter Sunday are “overjoyed” at the news from the angels that Jesus has been raised from the dead. The angels tell the women to go quickly to inform the apostles and to go to Galilee where they will see Jesus with their very own eyes. This sequence of events might remind you of what happened 33 years earlier to some shepherds who were tending their flocks at night, when angels appeared to them and told them to go to Bethlehem to see the newborn King of the Jews. Joy, then, is the proper human response to contact with the realm of angels and the glory of God. It is the disposition of a heavenly life — a Christian life. Joy breaks forth into our human experience like the sunshine breaking through the clouds after a downpour. The joy...

March 28, 2021 Therefore, with all faith and devotion, let us commemorate the Lord’s entry into the city of our salvation, following in His footsteps, so that, being made by His grace partakers of the Cross, we may share in His Resurrection and in His life. Jesus' Entry into Jerusalem When Jesus and the disciples drew near Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find an ass tethered, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them here to me. And if anyone should say anything to you, reply, 'The master has need of them.' Then he will send them at once."  This happened so that what had been spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled: Say to daughter Zion, "Behold, your king comes to you, meek and riding on an ass, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden."  The disciples went and did as Jesus had ordered them. They ...

In the first centuries of the Church, the week preceding the solemnity of Easter was called the “Great Week.” Then as now, Holy Week is the commemoration of the successful conclusion of the work of salvation accomplished by our Lord, starting with Christ’s triumphant entrance into Jerusalem, and culminating with His glorious Resurrection on Easter Sunday. Below is a brief summation of events. Palm Sunday Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion recalls Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem where He was hailed as the Son of David; who comes in the name of the Lord. The liturgy begins with the blessing of palms and the reading of the Gospel of the Passion. The Church offers an apt instruction at the beginning of the procession on Palm Sunday that is applicable throughout Holy Week: “Therefore, with all faith and devotion, let us commemorate the Lord’s entry into the city of our salvation, following in his footsteps, so that, being made by his grace partakers of the Cross, we may have a share also ...

Fr. René J. Butler, M.S. La Salette Missionaries of North America Hartford, Connecticut ( Click here for today’s readings ) There, you said it. You all said it. You all repeated it, six times, in the Responsorial Psalm. “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” In the Passion, Jesus’ words are translated, “Why have you forsaken me?” It’s the same. Maybe some of you even thought: “I’ve been there, I know what it’s like.” It is really hard to take this in. Did Jesus, of all people, really despair on the cross? We know he is quoting Psalm 22, composed when a distressed psalmist was desperately begging for God’s help. In Luke’s Gospel, the crucified Jesus quotes a different Psalm, number 31, also composed in a time of trial and persecution, but the verse he recites is of a totally different kind: “Into your hands I commend my spirit.” But today’s Passion is Mark’s; and he and Matthew have none of the other “Seven Last Words,” just the one we have heard and recited, the blea...

Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord, March 28, 2021 Msgr. Bernard Bourgeois 'Therefore, with all faith and devotion, let us commemorate the Lord’s entry into the city of our salvation, following in his footsteps, so that, being made by his grace partakers of the Cross, we may have a share also in his Resurrection and in his life.' These words come from the opening prayer of the Liturgy of Palm Sunday, which is the solemn entrance into Holy Week. Throughout Lent, the faithful have been preparing for the great mystery of Easter. Today they stand at its doorstep, ready to enter the most sacred moment of Jesus’ life. The Church wants its people to do more than “celebrate” these sacred days. Rather, the faithful “follow” in his footsteps, “partake” of the Cross, and “share” in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, as the prayer above states. Holy Week, which begins with Palm Sunday and includes Holy Thursday and Good Friday, concluding with Easter Sunday, is more than just ...

[This prayer may be recited individually or as a family before an image of Christ crucified on Palm Sunday and throughout Holy Week. It is taken from the words of Pope Pius XII On the Sacred Liturgy .] "Dearly beloved, in Holy Week, when the most bitter sufferings of Jesus Christ are put before us by the liturgy, the Church invites us to come to Calvary and follow in the blood-stained footsteps of the Divine Redeemer, to carry the Cross willingly with Him, to reproduce in our hearts His spirit of expiation and atonement, and to die together with Him." V/ We ought to glory in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ R/ in whom is our salvation, life and resurrection. V/ Let us pray. All-powerful, eternal God, You have chosen to give mankind a model of humility; our Savior took on our flesh, and subjected Himself to the Cross. Grant us the grace to preserve faithfully the lessons He has given us in his Passion and to have a share in His Resurrection. This we ask of You...