Year IV, Number 15

“Behold the wood of the Cross, on which hung the salvation of the world: come, let us worship!” Yesterday the Church chanted these words, lifting up the wood of the Cross, “on which hung Christ, the Saviour of the world.” “He was crucified, died and was buried,” as we say in the Creed.

The tomb! Behold the place where they buried him (cf. Mk 16:6). There the community of the Church throughout the world is spiritually present. We too are there with the three women going to the tomb before dawn to anoint the lifeless body of Jesus (cf. Mk 16:1). Their loving concern is our concern too. With them we discover that the large tombstone has been rolled away and that the body is no longer there. “He is not here,” the angel proclaims, pointing to the empty tomb and the winding cloth on the ground. Death no longer has power over him (cf. Rom 6:9).

Christ is risen! So the Church proclaims, at the end of this Easter night, even as yesterday she proclaimed Christ’s death on the Cross. It is a proclamation of truth and life.

“Christ is risen from the tomb, who for our sakes hung upon the Cross. Alleluia!” The Lord, who for us was nailed to the Cross, is risen from the tomb!

Yes, Christ is truly risen and we are witnesses of this.

We proclaim this witness to the world, so that the joy which is ours will reach countless other hearts, kindling in them the light of the hope which does not disappoint.

Christ is risen, alleluia!

Q. Dear Fr Anthony,

Hi. I am discerning a call to the priesthood. I am not sure if this is my vocation, but I have strongly felt it at times, even to the point of tears. I have also had people tell me that I may have a religious vocation. I have ended up at very strangely “coincidental” discussions about vocations, and even had a seminarian ask me out of the blue, because he had been lying prostrate in front of the Blessed Sacrament in adoration and said that God had told him that the three or four other people lying there with him were called to be priests. I am not exactly sure if I was there at that instant because I had been lying prostrate there several times that day and never paid too much attention to who was around me... I felt that God told me to look at both marriage and priesthood for the next two years (I am a junior in high school) and not close my mind to either one. I was really having a hard time with this because I had met this girl whom I really liked, and it almost made me feel that it was pointless to talk to her; then I read a scripture passage (1 Corinthians 7, especially verse 6) which lead me to believe that I should really put my heart into discerning priesthood and not worry about marriage, because I could get married if I decide that priesthood isn’t for me. I have asked several people the following question and always got short, confusing answers: “If God calls me to the priesthood do I have to become an ordained priest? Would it be wrong for me to get married? Would I be less blessed as a married man?” I know that it is better to be single for the sake of the kingdom and not be pulled in two directions, and even now I really find a kind of freedom in not having any established “relationships” with women, but part of me really wants to have a family, to pray family rosaries with a wife and kids, to work through the difficulties of marriage, and to share every part of my life and myself with someone else, but I want to serve God and minister also. I long to share the Good News with people and feel that I would make a good priest, yet I long for marriage as well. Sometimes I have gotten the impression that priesthood is an invitation and that it’s up to me how I respond to it and that God will bless me either way, and sometimes I have gotten the impression that priesthood is a calling that I must respond to by discerning and becoming a priest. I really need some clarification here. I love God with all that I am, and will subject myself to his will even if it hurts, but do I have to become a priest if that is my calling? Please help me with this. (I do, however, feel that I am bound to discern this, and find whether I have this vocation or not, but does any of this discernment go beyond “Does God want me to be a priest?” and into “Do I want to be a priest?” Marriage is beautiful, and I know that my admiration for marriage would make becoming a priest an even more beautiful sacrifice and that marriage is only temporary but I really long for it.) Am I running from God? Is my attraction to marriage merely a natural feeling outside of God’s will for me? Thank you for reading this long and repetitive letter, I really need some clarification, though I don’t expect you to be able to answer all my questions perfectly, please help me out. Thanks and may God bless us all.

- Brad

A. Dear Brad,

You ask a very important question that goes to the heart of what a vocation is, what our freedom is, and how God treats us. If you have a chance to read George Weigel’s book on Pope John Paul II called “Witness to Hope” you will find on pages 68-70 a brief description of how the Pope as a young man came to understand he had a vocation, what his thoughts were, and how he answered and overcame the initial objections that some people who loved him dearly had. I think you will find these pages helpful.

The word “vocation” comes from the Latin “to call”. It is God who calls. When we discover a vocation, it means we discover that God seems to be inviting us to a closer relationship and service, as St Paul explains in the letter you mention. Since original sin has weakened our will and clouded our understanding, we find it very hard to understand God, for his call always seems to ask us to do something more difficult, almost impossible. You get baptized, and you cannot live like everybody else - just read the Sermon on the Mount (Chapter 5-7 of Matthew), although at times it might feel like too much.

Now, some things God wants us to do are right in themselves, and not to do them would always be wrong - like forgiving: it is right to forgive, wrong not to, and that applies to everyone. Other things God would like us to do, but not to do them would not in itself be something wrong - for example, being a priest. It is not wrong not to be a priest - if it were, very few men could be saved, and no women at all! It is only wrong for someone who is called to be a priest not to become one. But it is a different kind of wrong than the “wrongness” of not forgiving. I hope you can follow what I am saying. The outcome is this: a man who does not forgive has to reverse course if he wants God to forgive him, but if a man who is called to be a priest says no, and gets married, he has disappointed God because he has said no to him. However, if he is sorry, asks God for forgiveness, God will surely do so, not withhold his blessings, and offer him all the means to live a holy and fruitful life as a married man.

When we perceive a vocation we may feel “forced” but it is not the overpowering force of a God who says, “If you don’t do what I say, I’ll condemn you for it.” It is, rather, the force of love. If God has chosen us out of many to bring us closer to him in a special way, making us servants of his people to take away their sins and make Jesus present in a real way in their lives through the Eucharist, it is a great privilege and dignity, but also a great responsibility, for God has placed much hope and many lives in our hands. When you look at it with eyes of faith, there is really only one answer to give, no matter what the cost. When you look at it with eyes of hope, there is only one answer, despite our weakness. When you look on it with eyes of love, there is only one answer, despite everything else that attracts us.

The greatest gift God gave us is the ability to love. Freedom is a gift that God gave us so we could love. Understanding and faith are gifts he gave us so we could spend our love on something worthy of it, something that will take us beyond this life and make us happy for all eternity. Reason and faith free us from appearances and our limitations so that we can give ourselves fully to God, the greatest good there is, and in that way use the gift of these years of life he has given us here on earth in the most fruitful and beautiful way possible - doing what he would like us to do.

God bless.

- Fr Anthony

Q. Dear Fr Anthony,

I have been thinking about a religious vocation for quite some time now. In fact, it has been three years. I have been praying, and I began talking about this with friends and some of the sisters at my parish. However, I still do not know what is the best thing for me to do. I am currently in my first year of college. I go to a community college so I am not far from family, friends, and my parish, but I will be transferring after my second year, though. But, after speaking with all of these people, I am still not sure if I am doing the right thing. My parents want to support me, but it is very hard for them. I am the only child. I feel guilty at times, but I feel drawn to give my life to God. How will I know that this is, without a doubt, the best thing to do? Thanks.

- Valerie

A. Dear Valerie,

It seems to me that some very important elements are already in place as regards your vocation. You feel drawn to religious life; it is not a passing fad, for it has lasted three years; you have been praying and inquiring, your parents are extremely generous, even though you are an only child and it is hard on them; and they want to support you. I would imagine you have been trying to develop your relationship with God.

There is another question you need to ask and answer yourself: of the different ways of giving yourself to God (religious orders, consecrated life in a Movement...), is there any that has caught your attention or attracted you? Is there any person you have seen and thought, “Maybe God wants me to be like that”? If there is, I would think you now need to visit them and start talking to them about their particular life and charism, their requirements for entrance, etc. This will give you much more of an answer as to what to do now than your own speculation.

One note of caution, though. You seem to be looking for mathematical evidence, an absolute sign of what is best to do. You won’t get one. The most you will get is that you use your head, your faith and your heart, and when you put it all together it isn’t as crazy as it seems, but it still takes faith.

God bless.

- Fr Anthony

I wish so much that Christ’s love were real for you, that you wouldn’t shrink him to a lovely idea, a common belief, or a pious reflection. If only you truly experienced him and came to feel his strength, attraction and sweetness to the point that you could face the world and in all conviction shout out: “Who can separate me from the love of Christ?” (see Rom 8:35).

You may be mistaken, you may not be as intelligent or as gifted as some, all your human support might fail you one day, but Christ will always be there, calling you by name, as he stood by Mary Magdalene on Easter Sunday (see John 20:16), the despairing disciples of Emmaus (see Luke 24:13 and following), and the sad apostles who whiled their time away in the upper room (see Luke 24:36 and following). Christ ever present to make hope, security and joy surge again in our hearts, and to restore meaning to our lives. What good would life be to us if we had not been ransomed?

9 May 1981

Cuánto quisiera que el amor de Cristo fuese una realidad para usted; que no lo redujese a una idea bella, a un lugar común, a una reflexión piadosa, sino que de verdad lo experimentase, que de verdad llegase a sentir su fuerza, su atractivo, su dulzura, hasta poder encararse al mundo y gritarle convencido: ¿Quién me podrá separar del amor de Cristo?" (cf. Rom 8, 35).

Puede estar equivocado, puede ser que no sea tan listo o tan dotado como otros, puede ser que le fallen todos los apoyos humanos, Cristo siempre estará ahí, llamándole por su nombre, como lo estuvo el Domingo de Resurrección al lado de María Magdalena (cf. Jn 20, 16), de los desesperanzados discípulos de Emaús (cf. Lc 24, 13 ss.), de los tristes apóstoles que pasaban las horas en el cenáculo (cf. Lc 24, 36 ss.). Cristo siempre presente para hacer renacer en nuestros corazones la esperanza, la seguridad, la alegría; para volver a dar sentido a la vida. ¿De qué nos hubiera servido haber nacido, si no hubiésemos sido rescatados?

Gospel: Jn 13:1-15

Before the festival of the Passover, Jesus, knowing that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father, having loved those who were his own in the world, loved them to the end. They were at supper, and the devil had already put it into the mind of Judas Iscariot son of Simon, to betray him. Jesus knew that the Father had put everything into his hands, and that he had come from God and was returning to God, and he got up from table, removed his outer garments and, taking a towel, wrapped it round his waist; he then poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel he was wearing. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus answered, “At the moment you do not know what I am doing, but later you will understand.” “Never!” said Peter. “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus replied, “If I do not wash you, you can have no share with me.” Simon Peter said, “Well then, Lord, not only my feet, but my hands and my head as well!” Jesus said, “No one who has had a bath needs washing, such a person is clean all over. You too are clean, but not all of you are.” He knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said, “Though not all of you are.” When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments again he went back to the table. “Do you understand,” he said, “what I have done to you? You call me master and Lord, and rightly; so I am. If I, then, the Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you must wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example so that you may copy what I have done to you.”

Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus, show me what it means to be united to you, what it means to truly live our Catholic Faith. Help me to enlighten others about what it means to be a true friend of yours in these difficult times that you are about to undergo as you begin to suffer for us.

Petition: Make my heart more like yours, Lord Jesus.

1. “Having loved those who were his in the world, loved them to the end.”

Our Lord has wanted us to be with him forever. Here he is, about to endure the most brutal punishment given to anyone of his time, and yet his heart goes out to us as he looks upon us. He does not want to leave without sharing his love with us. Love is the only thing that lasts, and it is the ingredient that enables us to be united to Our Lord.

2. “The charity of Christ is the source in us of all our merits before God” (CCC 2011).

The Lord wants to leave us an example of what it means to be with him. He goes ahead and “began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel he was wearing” (v. 5). He is love, and he leaves us with the example of what it means to love. Union with Christ seeks the Lord and the things that are his, as he wants them, as he would do them. Here we love the Lord, for love is committing, inviting us to leave ourselves so as to be with God. Being with Christ is not to seek great things, but the will of the Father, just as he will seek it tonight, loving the Father by carrying out his will. Being with our Lord will sometimes bring us to the “stony place” just as it does for our Lord tonight, but it is in those places where we find him.

3. “If I then, the Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you must wash each other’s feet.”

Lord, you set the pace for us once again. Love calls us to serve our neighbor, to be unafraid of humiliation, even to the point of washing the feet of our neighbor. Being united to you calls for me to do as you would do, and not to be afraid of what lies ahead. When all else is gone, only the love of Christ remains. “Everything, everything else turns into smoke, mist, nothing,” says Fr Maciel. This is what Our Lord wants us to learn and live: the Gospel message of charity.

Dialogue: Lord Jesus, thank you for coming on this earth to redeem me and to show me the way. I want to be with you forever, imitating you in your actions here on earth by what I can do for others. Apart from you, life means nothing, and in these hours of pain and suffering that you are about to undergo, help me to be close to you and learn from your example of charity.

Questionnaire:

1. How shall I imitate Christ in his example of service so as to be more like him?

2. Do my actions show that I am a friend of Christ? Do they show that I consider myself one of his followers? How would Jesus respond if asked if I am one of his followers?

Gospel Jn 18:1 - 19:42

After he had said all this, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron valley where there was a garden into which he went with his disciples. Judas the traitor knew the place also, since Jesus had often met his disciples there, so Judas brought the cohort to this place together with guards sent by the chief priests and the Pharisees, all with lanterns and torches and weapons. Knowing everything that was to happen to him, Jesus came forward and said, “Who are you looking for?” They answered, “Jesus the Nazarene.” He said, “I am he.” Now Judas the traitor was standing among them. When Jesus said to them, “I am he,” they moved back and fell on the ground. He asked them a second time, “Who are you looking for?” They said, “Jesus the Nazarene.” Jesus replied, “I have told you that I am he. If I am the one you want, let these others go.” This was to fulfill the words he had spoken, “Not one of those you gave me have I lost.” Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus. Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword back in its scabbard; am I not to drink the cup that the Father has given me?” The cohort and the tribune and the Jewish guards seized Jesus and bound him. They took him first to Annas, because Annas was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. It was Caiaphas who had counseled the Jews, “It is better for one man to die for the people.” Simon Peter, with another disciple, followed Jesus. This disciple, who was known to the high priest, went with Jesus into the high priest’s palace, but Peter stayed outside the door. So the other disciple, the one known to the high priest, went out, spoke to the door-keeper, and brought Peter in. The girl on duty at the door said to Peter, “Aren’t you another of that man’s disciples?” He answered, “I am not.” Now it was cold, and the servants and guards had lit a charcoal fire and were standing there warming themselves, so Peter stood there too, warming himself with the others. The high priests questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching. Jesus answered, “I have spoken openly for all the world to hear; I have always taught in the synagogue and in the Temple where all the Jews meet together; I have said nothing in secret. Why ask me? Ask my hearers what I taught, they know what I said.” At these words, one of the guards standing by gave Jesus a slap in the face, saying, “Is that the way you answer the high priest?” Jesus replied, “If there is some offense in what I said, point it out; but if not, why do you strike me?” Then Annas sent him, bound, to Caiaphas the high priest. As Simon Peter stood there warming himself, someone said to him, “Aren’t you another of his disciples?” He denied it saying, “I am not.” One of the high priest’s servants, a relation of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, said, “Didn’t I see you in the garden with him?” Again Peter denied it, and at once a cock crowed.

They then led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the Praetorium. It was now morning. They did not go into the Praetorium themselves to avoid being defiled and unable to eat the Passover. So Pilate came outside to them and said, “What charge do you bring against this man?” They replied, “If he were not a criminal, we should not have handed him over to you.” Pilate said, “Take him yourselves and try him by your own Law.” The Jews answered, “We are not allowed to put anyone to death.” This was to fulfill the words Jesus had spoken indicating the way he was going to die. So Pilate went back into the Praetorium and called Jesus to him and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus replied, “Do you ask this of your own accord, or have others said it to you about me?” Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? It is your own people and the chief priests who have handed you over to me: what have you done?” Jesus replied, “Mine is not a kingdom of this world; if my kingdom were of this world, my men would have fought to prevent my being surrendered to the Jews. As it is, my kingdom does not belong here.” Pilate said, “So then you are a king?” Jesus answered, “It is you who say I am a king. I was born for this, I came into the world for this, to bear witness to the truth; and all who are on the side of truth listen to my voice.” “Truth?” said Pilate. “What is that?” And so saying he went out again to the Jews and said, “I find no case against him. But according to a custom of yours, I should release one prisoner at the Passover; would you like me, then, to release to you the king of the Jews?” At this they shouted, “Not this man,” they said, “but Barabbas.” Barabbas was a bandit. Pilate then had Jesus taken away and scourged; and after this, the soldiers twisted some thorns into a crown and put it on his head and dressed him in a purple robe. They kept coming up to him and saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” and slapping him in the face. Pilate came outside again and said to them, “Look, I am going to bring him out to you to let you see that I find no case against him.” Jesus then came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said, “Here is the man.” When they saw him, the chief priests and the guards shouted, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” Pilate said, “Take him yourselves and crucify him: I find no case against him.” The Jews replied, “We have a Law, and according to that Law he ought to be put to death, because he claimed to be Son of God.” When Pilate heard them say this, his fears increased. Reentering the Praetorium, he said to Jesus, “Where do you come from?” But Jesus made no answer. Pilate then said to him, “Are you refusing to speak to me? Surely you know I have the power to release you and I have power to crucify you!” Jesus replied, “You would have no power over me if it had not been given you from above; that is why the man who handed me over to you has the greater guilt.” From that moment Pilate was anxious to set him free, but the Jews shouted, “If you set him free you are no friend of Caesar’s; anyone who makes himself king is defying Caesar.” Hearing these words, Pilate had Jesus brought out, and seated him on the chair of judgment at a place called the Pavement, in Hebrew, Gabbatha. It was the Day of Preparation, about the sixth hour. “Here is your king,” said Pilate to the Jews. But they shouted, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him.” Pilate said, “Shall I crucify your king?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” So at that Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. They then took charge of Jesus, and carrying his own cross he went out to the Place of the Skull or, as it is called in Hebrew, Golgotha, where they crucified him with two others, one on either side, Jesus being in the middle. Pilate wrote out a notice and had it fixed to the cross; it ran: “Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews.” This notice was read by many of the Jews, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the writing was in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. So the Jewish chief priests said to Pilate, “You should not write ‘King of the Jews,’ but that the man said, ‘I am King of the Jews.’” Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.” When the soldiers had finished crucifying Jesus they took his clothing and divided it into four shares, one for each soldier. His undergarment was seamless, woven in one piece from neck to hem; so they said to one another, “Instead of tearing it, let’s throw dice to decide who is to have it.” In this way the words of scripture were fulfilled: “They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothes.” Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. Seeing his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing near her, Jesus said to his mother, “Woman, this is your son.” Then to the disciple he said, “This is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home. After this, Jesus knew that everything had now been completed and, so that the scripture should be completely fulfilled, he said, “I am thirsty.” A jar full of sour wine stood there; so putting a sponge soaked in the wine on a hyssop stick, they held it up to his mouth. After Jesus had taken the wine, he said, “It is finished,” and bowing his head, he gave up his spirit. It was the Day of Preparation, and to avoid the bodies’ remaining on the cross during the Sabbath - since that Sabbath was a day of special solemnity - the Jews asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken away. Consequently the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with him and then of the other. When they came to Jesus, they saw he was already dead, and so instead of breaking his legs, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a lance; and immediately there came out blood and water. This is the evidence of one who saw it – true evidence, and he knows that what he says is true – and he gives it so that you may believe as well. Because all this happened to fulfill the words of scripture: “Not one bone of his will be broken”; and again, in another place scripture says: “They will look to the one whom they have pierced.” After this, Joseph of Arimathaea, who was a disciple of Jesus – though a secret one because he was afraid of the Jews – asked Pilate to let him remove the body of Jesus. Pilate gave permission, so they came and took it away. Nicodemus came as well – the same one who had first come to Jesus at nighttime – and he brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about one hundred pounds. They took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, following the Jewish burial custom. At the place where he had been crucified there was a garden, and in this garden there was a new tomb in which no one had yet been buried. Since it was the Jewish Day of Preparation and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

Introductory Prayer: Lord, you willed to die for me so that I may be with you forever. Grant me the grace to remain with you at the foot of the cross with Mary and John, suffering with you as you undergo the crucifixion for my salvation.

Petition: Lord, never permit be to be separated from you.

1. “Simon Peter, with another disciple, followed Jesus.”

Only two disciples are with our Lord once Jesus is arrested. The other nine have fled, for they were afraid. Peter and the other disciple can only watch from a distance. They cannot physically be with our Lord. They follow with curiosity, but not with the passion and conviction as on that first day he called them, when they left their boats - their security. But this is a moment in which Our Lord is almost too human. He needs us to be with him now more than ever. How lonely he must feel in this moment of trial! How much anguish he is enduring, and how much harder for him having no one to turn to...

2. “Woman, this is your son.… This is your mother.”

Lord, you are about to leave us, but you refuse to abandon us forever. You want us to be with you through Mary, our mother who will care for us and keep us close to you, protecting us under her mantle and showing us the way to you. Who is there to turn to in this moment but our Blessed Mother? Anyone who wants to be close to you, Lord, needs to be a faithful child of Mary, following the example of faith, obedience and simplicity that she gives us.

3. “ ‘It is finished’; and bowing his head, he gave up his spirit.”

The Lord gives the greatest example ever of heroism, persevering until death on the cross to glorify the Father and save us. Someone who is united to the Lord goes to the end; he can say as St Paul says: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Tim 4, 7). What awaits anyone united to Christ who finishes the race is the “crown of uprightness which the Lord will give on that day” (2 Tim 4, 8). Going to the end means going to the cross, a cross that will save us.

Dialogue: Lord Jesus, you have willed to unite me to you, to the cross, a cause of scandal to some and folly to others. I know that there are few who follow you all the way to Calvary, but I promise that I shall never leave you. I want to be with you until the end, and I pray that you will grant me the grace to be one like Mary who remains there, even when all may seem lost and hopeless, there at the foot of the cross.

Questionnaire:

1. Where do I tend to sin and thereby leave Christ alone?

2. Where or when do I succumb to fear?

3. What can I do to be a “faithful child of Mary”? In what virtue can I imitate her better so as to be more united to Christ?

Gospel: Jn 19

Pilate then had Jesus taken away and scourged; and after this, the soldiers twisted some thorns into a crown and put it on his head and dressed him in a purple robe. They kept coming up to him and saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” and slapping him in the face. Pilate came outside again and said to them, “Look, I am going to bring him out to you to let you see that I find no case against him.” Jesus then came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said, “Here is the man.” When they saw him, the chief priests and the guards shouted, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” Pilate said, “Take him yourselves and crucify him: I find no case against him.” The Jews replied, “We have a Law, and according to that Law he ought to be put to death, because he claimed to be Son of God.” When Pilate heard them say this, his fears increased. Reentering the Praetorium, he said to Jesus, “Where do you come from?” But Jesus made no answer. Pilate then said to him, “Are you refusing to speak to me? Surely you know I have the power to release you and I have power to crucify you!” Jesus replied, “You would have no power over me if it had not been given you from above; that is why the man who handed me over to you has the greater guilt.” From that moment Pilate was anxious to set him free, but the Jews shouted, “If you set him free you are no friend of Caesar’s; anyone who makes himself king is defying Caesar.” Hearing these words, Pilate had Jesus brought out, and seated him on the chair of judgment at a place called the Pavement, in Hebrew Gabbatha. It was the Day of Preparation, about the sixth hour. “Here is your king,” said Pilate to the Jews. But they shouted, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him.” Pilate said, “Shall I crucify your king?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” So at that Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. They then took charge of Jesus, and carrying his own cross he went out to the Place of the Skull or, as it is called in Hebrew, Golgotha, where they crucified him with two others, one on either side, Jesus being in the middle. Pilate wrote out a notice and had it fixed to the cross; it ran: “Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews.” This notice was read by many of the Jews, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the writing was in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. So the Jewish chief priests said to Pilate, “You should not write ‘King of the Jews,’ but that the man said, ‘I am King of the Jews.’” Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.” When the soldiers had finished crucifying Jesus they took his clothing and divided it into four shares, one for each soldier. His undergarment was seamless, woven in one piece from neck to hem; so they said to one another, “Instead of tearing it, let’s throw dice to decide who is to have it.” In this way the words of scripture were fulfilled: “They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothes.” Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. Seeing his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing near her, Jesus said to his mother, “Woman, this is your son.” Then to the disciple he said, “This is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home. After this, Jesus knew that everything had now been completed and, so that the scripture should be completely fulfilled, he said, “I am thirsty.” A jar full of sour wine stood there; so putting a sponge soaked in the wine on a hyssop stick, they held it up to his mouth. After Jesus had taken the wine, he said, “It is finished,” and bowing his head, he gave up his spirit. It was the Day of Preparation, and to avoid the bodies’ remaining on the cross during the Sabbath - since that Sabbath was a day of special solemnity - the Jews asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken away. Consequently the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with him and then of the other. When they came to Jesus, they saw he was already dead, and so instead of breaking his legs, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a lance; and immediately there came out blood and water. This is the evidence of one who saw it – true evidence, and he knows that what he says is true – and he gives it so that you may believe as well. Because all this happened to fulfill the words of scripture: “Not one bone of his will be broken”; and again, in another place scripture says: “They will look to the one whom they have pierced.” After this, Joseph of Arimathaea, who was a disciple of Jesus – though a secret one because he was afraid of the Jews – asked Pilate to let him remove the body of Jesus. Pilate gave permission, so they came and took it away. Nicodemus came as well – the same one who had first come to Jesus at nighttime – and he brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about one hundred pounds. They took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, following the Jewish burial custom. At the place where he had been crucified there was a garden, and in this garden there was a new tomb in which no one had yet been buried. Since it was the Jewish Day of Preparation and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

On Holy Saturday the Church waits at the Lord’s tomb, meditating on his suffering and death. The altar is left bare, and the sacrifice of the Mass is not celebrated. Only after the solemn vigil during the night, held in anticipation of the Resurrection, does the Easter celebration begin, with a spirit of joy that overflows into the following period for fifty days.

Introductory Prayer: Mary, teach me what it means to be close to your Son. Help me to come to the tomb and prepare myself for the Resurrection as you prepared yourself.

Petition: Lord, increase my faith in the power of the Resurrection.

1. “Blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.”

Mary never doubted. She never lost hope in her Son. True, she did not understand some things - the words of Gabriel and Simeon’s praise of the Child, for instance - but she never turned from God. Gabriel spoke to her once, and she believed. She trusted in God, a God who never turns on a promise that he makes. Since the Lord said he would rise up on the third day, then that enables us to be confident in our ultimate and definitive union with Our Lord.

2. Mary took her faith to the cross.

Mary brings all that she is and all that she has to the cross. Everything that makes her who she is, she brings to be with her Son. Her faith moves her to self-donation, one where she gives herself to the service of Christ. After taking Our Lord down from the cross, wrapping him in a linen shroud, and laying him in the tomb, she left the tomb believing in the Resurrection, even though how and when it would come about remained a mystery. She knew the words of her son “will not pass away.”

3. “Mary kept all these things in her heart.”

Mary left the tomb on Good Friday with confidence that the Lord wanted this. Somehow, Redemption had to come through the cross. Reflecting on the words of Isaiah: “Like a poor man led to the slaughter, or the sheep before the shearers, he was silent and uttered no cry.”

Dialogue: Mary, thank you for your example of faith. Thank you for being there for us, there at the cross, unafraid of what may befall me.

Questionnaire:

1. How will I imitate Mary in her example of faith so as to rise with Christ this Easter? What can I do to develop a faith like hers? How often and how seriously do I ask for this gift?

2. How can I put my faith into action so as to be like Mary there at the foot of the cross? What is my attitude in the face of difficulties and obstacles? Do I run from them, or do I confront them with faith and persevere in faith, like Mary?

Gospel: Jn 20:1-9

It was very early in the first day if the week, and still dark, when Mary of Magdala came to the tomb. She saw that the stone had been moved from the tomb and came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb,” she said, “and we don’t know where they have put him.” So Peter set out with the other disciple to go to the tomb. They ran together, but the other disciple, running faster than Peter, reached the tomb first; he bent down and saw the linens lying on the ground, but did not go in. Simon Peter, following him, also came up, went into the tomb, and saw the linen cloths lying on the ground, together with the cloth that had been over his head; this was not with the linen cloths but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in; he saw and he believed. Till this moment they still had not understood the scripture, that he must rise from the dead.

Introductory Prayer: Lord, you rose from the dead for me, so that I may be with you forever. Help me to experience the reality and joy of the Resurrection - to see the stone rolled away from the empty tomb - so that I may live the Resurrection united to you, believing that with you I can do all things.

Petition: Lord, change my life through the power of the Resurrection.

1. “The stone had been moved away from the tomb.”

Christ is alive. “If God is with us, who is against us?” St Paul asked. Christ is alive for me; he died so that we may live. The cross is not the end. “To see the cross without the Resurrection is like living without hope” (Fr Marcial Maciel, LC). Christ came to give us hope, and it is this hope that we experience when we see the stone rolled away from the tomb, knowing that he conquered even death.

2. "Death, where is your sting?"

“If we have been joined to him by dying a death like his, so we shall be by a resurrection like his; realizing that our former self was crucified with him, so that the self which belonged to sin should be destroyed and we should be freed from the slavery of sin” (Rom 6:5-6). Christ rose from the dead so as to roll the stone away from our tomb, to erase our sin, to usher in grace and virtue. He rose from the dead so that we may have the grace to conquer our pride and vanity, our sloth and laziness, so as to be forever with him. Now all things are new. With Christ we have conquered death. “Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting?” (Rom 15:55)

3. “He saw, and he believed.”

Christ’s Resurrection is more than a fact that we celebrate, but something we believe in deeply. It’s a belief in which we commend our entire selves to God - mind, heart, will, and soul, submitting all of our faculties to him (cf. Dei Verbum, 5). John’s encounter with the linens in the tomb changed his life from within, and the Resurrection has the power to do the same in our own lives. To believe in the Resurrection is more than just to accept that Christ rose from the dead; I have to make an effort in my own life to believe in what it can do for me, that I too can be transformed, that I too can be recognizable to others as one now living a life of virtue and not of sin, so that like St Paul I too can say, "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me" (Gal 2:20).

Dialogue: Lord Jesus, you rose from the dead, and I want to rise with you. I want this celebration of your Resurrection to be one where I change, where I roll the stone back from the tomb of my life so as to change and be more like you, living as I ought. With you I can do all things, and I believe that this Easter can make a difference in my life.

Questionnaire:

1. What in my life keeps the stone from being moved: Pride? Fear? Laziness?

2. What must I change in my life so as to rise with the Lord?

3. What can I do to live as one who believes in the Resurrection?

When I was going to school, the favorite mode of transport was a bicycle, and of course there were clips that you put on your pants so that you wouldn’t get tangled in the chain. And I remember we were halfway through the first class one morning and a kid comes into the classroom, approaches the teacher, and tells him that the bus was late; that was the excuse for getting in late to class. And the teacher says, “Come again? I didn’t hear you.” And he explains that the bus was late, and the teacher makes him say it three or four times. And the kid is getting a little nervous; he can’t figure out what’s wrong. And some of the boys up front were beginning to giggle as well, they saw what was wrong: he still had the clips on his pants from riding the bicycle.

When we pray to God, sometimes we can imagine a guy praying and say, “Well, why doesn’t he answer our prayer the first time? Why doesn’t he say, ‘Okay, go to your place,’ because there’s something wrong.” And he wants us to say it again and realize things don’t fit. And then we say it a third time, and a fourth time, and a fifth time, and suddenly it begins to dawn on us. “I love you above all things and I will give my life for you,” St Peter said to Jesus. “I’ll give my life for you.” And Jesus says, “Will you?” Peter doesn’t hesitate, “Yes, all the others will run away, I won’t run away.” And he didn’t take the hint, and then it happened to him afterwards.

Then look at the difference in Peter after the Resurrection. I think it’s beautiful when you look at it. Our Lord says, “Peter, do you love me?” “Yes, I love you.” And Our Lord says, “Peter, do you love me?” And Peter says, “Yes, I love you.” And Jesus says a third time, “Peter do you love me?” and the Gospel says, “Peter grew sad.” Peter has started understanding himself and asking, “I wonder why he’s saying this.” Then Peter said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” I think what happened to Peter was that mind he made a connection in his mind to what happened before - when he denied his Lord - and when Christ said a third time, “Do you love me,” Peter probably said, “Maybe he knows something that I don’t know.” And that’s why Peter got sad, because maybe he would let to him down. And that’s when he put his total trust in God.

Upcoming Events & Retreats

(( Listed here are retreats directed by the Legionaries of Christ and Regnum Christi members. For a listing of diocesan activities and other events, click here to go to the vocation.com website ))

LEGIONARIES OF CHRIST

Cornwall, ONT, April 16-20, 2003, Test Your Call Retreat. Ages 16-30. Contact Fr William Slattery at wslattery@legionaries.org or (613) 931-1920. Price: none.

Cheshire, CT, April 16-20, 2003, Test Your Call Retreat. Ages 16-30. Contact Br Branigan Sherman at vocation@legionaries.org or (800) 420-5409. Price: none.

Pasadena, CA, April 27, 2003, Test Your Call Retreat. Ages 16-27. Contact Fr Thomas Maher at tmaher@legionaries.org or (626) 792-0447.

Sacramento, CA, May 13-14, 2003, Young Men's Retreat. Ages 16-30. Contact Br Robert DeCesare at sgomez@legionaries.org or (916) 716-5506. Price: $15.

Rome, Italy, May 23-30, 2003. Pilgrimage for college-aged men and high school seniors. Contact Karolee Stauduhar at kstauduhar@msn.com or (407) 869-8263.

REGNUM CHRISTI consecrated women

Atlanta, GA, May 5, 2003, Young Women's Spiritual Growth Retreat. Ages 17-30. Contact Dorrie Donahue at ddonahue@inteducators.org or (770) 417-1045.

Los Angeles, CA, May 18, 2003, Young Women's Spiritual Growth Retreat. Ages 16-30. Contact Magdalena Faine at mfaine@inteducators.org or (562) 597-6352.

Washington DC, May 19, 2003, Young Women's Spiritual Growth Retreat. Ages 17-30. Contact Lucy Honnor at lhonnor@inteducators.org or (301) 536-6931.

REGNUM CHRISTI consecrated men

Call Tony McDonnell for more information, (301) 365-3205. amacdonnell@arcol.org.

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