Holy Week 2017: Painting using only a rag: Ronald Raab, CSC

GospelJN 13:21-33, 36-38

Reclining at table with his disciples, Jesus was deeply troubled and testified,
“Amen, amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.”
The disciples looked at one another, at a loss as to whom he meant.
One of his disciples, the one whom Jesus loved,
was reclining at Jesus’ side.
So Simon Peter nodded to him to find out whom he meant.
He leaned back against Jesus’ chest and said to him,
“Master, who is it?”
Jesus answered,
“It is the one to whom I hand the morsel after I have dipped it.”
So he dipped the morsel and took it and handed it to Judas,
son of Simon the Iscariot.
After Judas took the morsel, Satan entered him.
So Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.”
Now none of those reclining at table realized why he said this to him.
Some thought that since Judas kept the money bag, Jesus had told him,
“Buy what we need for the feast,”
or to give something to the poor.
So Judas took the morsel and left at once. And it was night.

When he had left, Jesus said,
“Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself,
and he will glorify him at once.
My children, I will be with you only a little while longer.
You will look for me, and as I told the Jews,
‘Where I go you cannot come,’ so now I say it to you.”

Simon Peter said to him, “Master, where are you going?”
Jesus answered him,
“Where I am going, you cannot follow me now,
though you will follow later.”
Peter said to him,
“Master, why can I not follow you now?
I will lay down my life for you.”
Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me?
Amen, amen, I say to you, the cock will not crow
before you deny me three times.”

“The anointer” Painting: Ronald Raab, CSC 2017

Gospel JN 12:1-11

Six days before Passover Jesus came to Bethany,
where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.
They gave a dinner for him there, and Martha served,
while Lazarus was one of those reclining at table with him.
Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil
made from genuine aromatic nard
and anointed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair;
the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.
Then Judas the Iscariot, one of his disciples,
and the one who would betray him, said,
“Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days’ wages
and given to the poor?”
He said this not because he cared about the poor
but because he was a thief and held the money bag
and used to steal the contributions.
So Jesus said, “Leave her alone.
Let her keep this for the day of my burial.
You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”

The large crowd of the Jews found out that he was there and came,
not only because of him, but also to see Lazarus,
whom he had raised from the dead.
And the chief priests plotted to kill Lazarus too,
because many of the Jews were turning away
and believing in Jesus because of him.

Palm Sunday and Holy Week: Painting: Ronald Raab, CSC

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Dear Believers in the Christ,

Today begins “Holy Week”, the most important week in our Church calendar. We enter into the formal rituals that provide the foundation of our faith in the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Savior.

I invite you with all my heart to pray with us this week. The grace of these rituals, prayers, scriptures and liturgies change us as people by showing us how to follow Jesus. We have been preparing all of Lent to better enter into the mystery of our baptism and to more closely follow the suffering and joy of Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Our faith is not a private devotion. Our faith builds us up as the Church, as the People of God. Community heals us. When we pray together with these ancient practices, our lives are formed into love and we learn to serve others based on the love God has for us. Pray with integrity this week. Pray as if you have never prayed before. Pray with your doubt. Pray with your anger about your family. Pray with all the divisions in our country and world. Pray and trust that God can offer you what you need. Pray.

The “Triduum” liturgies express the core of our faith. We begin on Holy Thursday. The Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper gives us a glimpse into Jesus’ love and service. This is the night in which we received the Eucharist itself. On the night before he died, Jesus gave us his continuing Real Presence. Jesus’ presence, however, does not stop at the Church door. Jesus also showed us how to wash feet, a ritual that remains within the liturgy on this holy night. He shows us how to heal people with love, acceptance and hospitality. He shows us that humility must be at the core of our service as the Church. I invite you to reflect on how Jesus washes your feet and your own call to wash the feet of other people in need.

Good Friday or Friday of the Passion of the Lord invites us to enter the mystery of Jesus’ passion and death. Jesus took on himself the sacrifice for our lives and sins. This day is a solemn experience of death but calls us deeply into hope. We know as Christians that death does not have the last word. However, suffering in our world is real and tangible. People starve for food and housing. People experience the brutality of war and violence, shootings and addictions, slander and hopelessness. All suffering is brought to the Cross of Christ. The Cross is our Only Hope.

Holy Saturday, the Easter Vigil in the Night of Easter is a glorious night! On this night we bless the new fire and bless the Easter Candle used for the entire year. We welcome those who have been preparing for Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist to the Church! This is the night of Resurrection. This is our faith!

Blessings to you as enter the magnificence and mystery of this Holy Week.

Fr. Ron

On the Margins: Palm Sunday, April 9, 2017

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We begin Holy Week. I invite you into the celebrations of our deepest longings in Jesus Christ.

“In my distress I called upon the Lord,…” Painting: Ronald Raab, CSC

Responsorial Psalm Ps 18:2-3a, 3bc-4, 5-6, 7

R. (see 7) In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.
I love you, O LORD, my strength,
O LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer.
R. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.
My God, my rock of refuge,
my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold!
Praised be the LORD, I exclaim,
and I am safe from my enemies.
R. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.
The breakers of death surged round about me,
the destroying floods overwhelmed me;
The cords of the nether world enmeshed me,
the snares of death overtook me.
R. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.
In my distress I called upon the LORD
and cried out to my God;
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.
R. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.

“Christ is mediator…” Painting: Ronald Raab, CSC

Entrance Antiphon:

Christ is mediator of a New Covenant, so that by means of his death, those who are called may receive the promise of an eternal inheritance. (Heb 9:15)

“O Lord, hear my prayer” Ink sketch: Ronald Raab, CSC

Responsorial Psalm Ps 102:2-3, 16-18, 19-21

R. (2) O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.
O LORD, hear my prayer,
and let my cry come to you.
Hide not your face from me
in the day of my distress.
Incline your ear to me;
in the day when I call, answer me speedily.
R. O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.
The nations shall revere your name, O LORD,
and all the kings of the earth your glory,
When the LORD has rebuilt Zion
and appeared in his glory;
When he has regarded the prayer of the destitute,
and not despised their prayer.
R. O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.
Let this be written for the generation to come,
and let his future creatures praise the LORD:
“The LORD looked down from his holy height,
from heaven he beheld the earth,
To hear the groaning of the prisoners,
to release those doomed to die.”
R. O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.

“The Freed Sinner” Painting: Ronald Raab, CSC 2017

Gospel JN 8:1-11

Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
But early in the morning he arrived again in the temple area,
and all the people started coming to him,
and he sat down and taught them.
Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman
who had been caught in adultery
and made her stand in the middle.
They said to him,
“Teacher, this woman was caught
in the very act of committing adultery.
Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women.
So what do you say?”
They said this to test him,
so that they could have some charge to bring against him.
Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger.
But when they continued asking him,
he straightened up and said to them,
“Let the one among you who is without sin
be the first to throw a stone at her.”
Again he bent down and wrote on the ground.
And in response, they went away one by one,
beginning with the elders.
So he was left alone with the woman before him.
Then Jesus straightened up and said to her,
“Woman, where are they?
Has no one condemned you?”
She replied, “No one, sir.”
Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you.
Go, and from now on do not sin any more.”

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“Lazarus, Come Out” Drawing: Ronald Raab, CSC 2017

Dear Believers in the Christ,

Today’s gospel (John 11: 1-45) reveals new life for Lazarus. However, Mary and Martha are first disappointed that Jesus did not come earlier to help Lazarus. This encounter with death shows them all the miracle and compassion that Jesus holds for us as his followers.

The raising of Lazarus from the dead is an image of what is to come in Jesus’ resurrection. New life will abound for us during this Lenten season if we have the courage to wait, just as Mary and Martha did. New life springs up in places where we least expect if we remain faithful to our lives of prayer and the practice of discipleship. We can grow weary in our waiting; we can think that Jesus will never show up; we can doubt the gifts we have; and we can distrust that God will guide us to use our gifts for the right purpose. In these Lenten days, faith becomes alive when we trust in the goodness of God and wait patiently for Jesus to show us how to use the gifts that He has given us.

This gospel leads us faithfully toward Easter. Our baptism becomes the way Christ brings us back to life. Our second birth in baptism is a rising from the grave of our human concerns. Being born again in baptism raises us up to new life. We shed our old ways and are guided by the gift of the Holy Spirit. New life emerges in ways we do not expect. New life opens the graves of our despair, anger and depression. Our baptism helps us to see that new life means affirming all life and respecting the lives of people who are different from ourselves. Baptism wakes us up to the immigrant longing to have food, shelter and safety. Baptism shows us that new life happens when we educate people, house those who need shelter and feed people who are hungry. Baptism shows us that people matter and that all life has meaning.

Here are some things to help you reflect on the gospel this week:

Lazarus was raised from the tomb. What are the things in your life that need to be changed? How is Jesus offering you new life? What does this gospel say to you about what is dead within your heart and life? How do you view Lazarus and how does he speak to your life?

Jesus told Martha and Mary to take away the stone from Lazarus’ grave. The image of stone in the story leads us to Jesus’ resurrection when the stone will be rolled away without the disciples understanding how it happened. What stone needs to be rolled away from your heart?

Lazarus was freed of his burial bands and the cloth that covered his face. Jesus said to them, “Untie him and let him go.” What do you need to be free of as you face Jesus this Lent? What about your life and freedom matters to Jesus? How does Jesus want you to live differently? How is Jesus offering you new life?

Blessings in your new freedom in faith,

Fr. Ron

On the Margins from Mater Dei Radio, Portland, OR

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Fifth Sunday of Lent, April 2, 2017

This is the third gospel celebrating the scrutinies for the Elect, those who will be baptized at the Easter Vigil. We are confronted with many things that have died within us. Baptism will be a second birth, a new hope for people’s lives. Death gives way to new life, a hope for us all.