“Good Friday” 2016

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God, we bring our suffering to you because there is no other place to rest. We bring wars, violence, mass shootings, disease and despair to the wood of the cross. Today, we kiss the place of salvation, today we embrace the transition from death to life. Father of Mercy, offer your healing love to all whose cannot bear their crosses today, those who cannot carry their burdens any further. Help us rest in you. We ask Mary, the Mother of Jesus to show us how to rest in our pain, in the uncertain and unknown futures of our lives. We ask this in the name of Jesus, our Savior and Lord. Amen

“Mary and her dead Son” Painting: Ronald Raab, CSC 2016

CLICK HERE to read, “Pouring out on concrete,” an article from Ministry and Liturgy Magazine originally published in 2011.

CLICK HERE to listen to today’s gospel, reflection from 2015.

O God of Mercy, receive our longing in your ancient fidelity. Help us receive the stranger. Open a door to people wearied by pain, self-loathing and inner struggle. Give us a towel to wash the blistering feet of people who journey through addictions, homelessness and domestic violence. Help us bend down to kiss the feet of people who come home to you, who bring us reconciliation and hope. Give us a hunger this day for your saving presence in the Eucharist we celebrate this evening. As we begin the Triduum, open our hearts to you in love and give us peace in our violent hearts. Amen

“Abandon” Painting by Ronald Raab, CSC 2014

Today’s Gospel: Matthew:26:14-25

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“Among us, death” Painting Ronald Raab, CSC 2016 

Today’s Gospel: John 13:21-33,36-38

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Holy Week 2016

Today’s Gospel

John 12:1-11

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“Crucifixion” by Ronald Raab, CSC 2015

I beg you to bend your knee to the dying and rising of Jesus Christ. This is the week when we tell the story of our faith. There is no other story that will satisfy our hearts or offer us the consolation we are looking for. Rouse your faith this week even if you are weighed down by life.  Stand up for what you believe even if your conscience is weak. Be present to the prayers and liturgies of this week. Be present to the emptiness and pain of your own hearts.

If you find yourself ensnared with hopelessness or if your life does not measure up to your own dreams, walk the redemptive journey to Christ this week. If you are addicted to pornography and power, then walk the way of powerlessness this week in our faith. If you do not get along with your children or have grown tired and angry taking care of your elderly parents, rest in the healing power of Jesus as he washed the disciples’ feet.

If you cannot bear the suffering of young girls and boys caught in human trafficking, then adore the cross of Christ where all suffering finds a home. If you are tired of violence and constant weariness, if you are angry about your spouse coming home from war, crippled and uncertain, then find your home under the shelter of Christ Crucified. If you want another chance with your estranged son, then pray to the Father of heaven and earth. If you have lost your way in your relationships, follow the path of this ancient story.

If you hesitate to believe then listen to Peter and Judas who turned away from Jesus. If your children are burdened by disease, depression and despair, then turn to Mary, the Mother of Jesus, who held the body of her dead son. Wipe the tears from your eyes this week if you are tied to the bedside of your sick child or your spouse with terminal disease. Believe in the story of Jesus and do not think that the story is stuck between the pages of the Bible or hidden in the silence of the pious.

I beg you to walk with Jesus this week. There is no other place to go, no other story that makes sense, no other story that will console the heart. Bend your knee toward heaven. Offer your heart to God again. Enter into the mystery of your suffering and for heaven’s sake be honest about your life and your need for mercy, consolation and peace. Tell the truth about the turmoil of your life and live openly toward God. This is our faith. This is place where new life can happen. This is the story of our conversion, toward the heart of Christ Jesus, in this week we call “Holy”.

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

In this Year of Mercy, we begin the most solemn and sacred celebrations of our Church year this week. The central point of our faith is Christ’s passion, death and resurrection. These liturgies are viewed as one liturgy reminding us how to live our faith in the world, to live as people of hope. These liturgies express the consoling mercy of God through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. There is no other point of our yearly celebrations of Eucharist. In Christ’s resurrection we find our home here on earth.

The Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper:

We begin the Sacred Triduum on Holy Thursday at Sacred Heart at 7:00pm. There is only one liturgy celebrated on Holy Thursday in every parish. In the Tri-Community, we unite on this night to celebrate the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper. During this Mass, twelve members of our community will offer their feet to be washed as Jesus washed the feet of the disciples, helping us pray the connection of prayer and service.

Washing feet is an act of justice that we live in our world. We care for the dignity of every human person from this simple action. Take to heart how you wash feet of your loved ones and serve people in every act of consolation and mercy.

The Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper concludes by processing with the Eucharist out of the church and to an altar of repose. This gesture reveals the presence of Christ from the Last Supper and into the garden of Gethsemane before his death. The alter area is stripped of all non-essentials and the Real Presence of Christ is taken away. In our community, we will process to the parish center where there will be time for Adoration until 9:45pm, followed by Night Prayer.

Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion:

The second Triduum liturgy takes place at Sacred Heart Church at 3:00pm on Good Friday. This is the traditional time for this Holy Week liturgy. During this sacred prayer we proclaim Christ’s death from the Gospel of John. This is the only day of our entire year that Mass is not celebrated. Eucharist is distributed from the consecrated hosts from Holy Thursday. We also pray the longest intercessory prayers of the year. This liturgy recalls our need for God amid the violence, heartache, and loss of our lives. We hold up to Christ the wars, the torture and issues of our world that seem to bring us to despair. We kiss the cross after our Lenten journey, remembering how the Church reached out and marked our lives with the cross of ashes. We pray for the weak and vulnerable. We leave this liturgy in silence as we wait together for new life and resurrection.

The Easter Vigil in the Holy Night of Easter:

We begin the Easter Vigil at 8:00pm on Holy Saturday evening. This Mass is highlight of all of our yearlong liturgies. We begin in darkness and bless the new fire. We bless the Paschal Candle that will be used throughout the year. We proclaim our salvation history with scriptures, sung palms and prayer. We proclaim Christ’s Resurrection from the dead with words from the holy and ancient Gospel. We bless water and welcome those adults who have been preparing all year for baptism. We anoint these holy men and women with the Chrism oil in the Sacrament of Confirmation. We welcome them to the Table of Eucharist for the first time. This is the night! This is the meaning of our Church in Christ’s Resurrection! We belong together in Christ’s love, resurrection and hope for all God’s people.

Morning Prayer of the Sacred Triduum:

I also want to invite you to Morning Prayer on Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday at 8:00am. NO MORNING MASS is celebrated on these holy days. Members of our staff will preach during our Morning Prayer. Holy Thursday: Rob Plush Good Friday: Sister Mary, Holy Saturday: Fr. Ron. Please join us for this simple sung liturgy.

Pope Francis invites us into the heart of Jesus’ love and mercy. Please pray for the needs of the world this week. The Church is depending on you to receive the love God has for you this week. Ask for what you need. Pray for reconciliation and peace. Make our faith mean something new for you. Invoke the Holy Spirit. Get involved in prayer. The mercy of God is for the most stubborn of heart, the gravest sins and the most profound misunderstandings.

Let us collect our prayer together in a holy longing during this week. Pray for those who have given up on faith. Pray for all who carry burdens that are too heavy for the human heart. Pray for all who are marginalized and who carry their secret burdens. Pray for our families who may be separated by the lack of forgiveness and stubbornness. Pray for our elderly who may live in fear. Pray for our children who look to God and us for inspiration and hope for the future. Pray for our parish community, for our future, that we may use our rich talents and daily prayer to continue to invigorate God’s Kingdom on earth.

Blessings and peace during this sacred week,

Fr. Ron

On the Margins: Mater Dei Radio, Portland, OR

Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord: Luke 19:28-40

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Welcome to Holy Week. Are you prepared to enter into the mystery of our faith, a week long journey into the passion, death and resurrection of Christ Jesus? Bring everything in your heart to this holy time; the misery and hardships; the love and healing in your lives to the mercy of the Lord. We celebrate today the entry of the Lord to Jerusalem. Ready your lives and hearts.

Fr. Virgilio Elizondo, one of San Antonio’s most accomplished and beloved Catholic priests whose work brought him recognition in Latin America and Europe and an esteemed faculty position at the University of Notre Dame, died of a self-inflicted gunshot at his home Monday afternoon...CLICK HERE FOR FULL STORY

Today’s gospel says… Jesus said to the Jews:
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever keeps my word will never see death.”

Fr. Virgilio taught at the University of Notre Dame. He was a champion for people on the margins of society. He had an accusation against him of sexual misconduct. At 80, his suicide crushes many people in our Church and the news leads us to the consolation of Jesus, the only place we can go.

CLICK HERE FOR AN ARTICLE ON SUICIDE AND THE ELDERLY

“through perseverance” finger painting: Ronald Raab, CSC

Gospel Acclamation: Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart and yield a harvest through perseverance. (Luke8:15)

Today’s gospel (John 8:31-42) invites us to examine to live the truth of Jesus and that truth will set us free. I invite you as we approach Palm Sunday to pray through the truth of your own life. So often we pretend to be something we are not. We pretend to live in self-sufficiency when our hearts are breaking to reach out to Jesus in faith and to the lives of other believers. We pretend to have all the answers in life when we know we are lost and afraid. We hide from our lack of faith and we struggle to admit our real need for help in our lives in so many ways. The Lenten season invites us to empty our hearts in the truth and abundance of Jesus’ life within us.

I invite you to the core of your faith and need for God. Let us be aware that we can not grow with abundance unless we face the truth of our lives and the truth of our God. We will live the Word in life from the depths of truth, justice and hope.

1. How can you discover the Word of God today, the word that harvests love in you?
2. Can you sit today with all of the ways in which you do not face the truth in your life?
3. How does the Word of God bring you truth and freedom?
4. How does the death and resurrection of Jesus enable you to grow, change, persevere and bear witness to love and truth in our world?