Christ is risen, he is risen indeed!!! Alleluia!!!
Happy Easter!
HOLY WEEK
Palm Sunday
The Lord is risen, and father dies... Its been a long, tiring, yet spiritually uplifting week. My first Easter as a priest went off without a hitch. Holy Week began with Palm Sunday. The Passion of the Lord according to St. Mark was read and palms were blessed.
Holy Monday: Diocesan Day of Reconciliation
On Monday we heard confessions for more than 5 hours; from 11:00 - 1:00, and again from 5:30 - 8:30 and IT WAS AMAZING!!! Fr. Marc, Fr. Peter and I heard some very profound confessions and witnessed great healing. There were many people who came who had not been to confession in 20 years of more. What an incredible gift it was to dispense God's grace to so many wounded people. Hearing confessions is incredibly humbling for a priest, and we want nothing more than to be instruments of God's mercy. What was really cool about this day was the knowledge that as I was sitting in the confessional so were all of my brother priests in the diocese. It was a great experience of spiritual fraternity and unity.
Holy Tuesday: The Chrism Mass
On Tuesday the priests of the diocese, along with many of the faithful gathered at St. Joseph Cathedral with bishop Libasci for the Chrism Mass. At this Mass the Bishop blesses the Oil of the Sick, used to anoint the sick; the Oil of Catechumens, used to anoint those preparing to enter the Church, and the Oil of Chrism used for Baptisms, Confirmations and Ordinations. The focus of this Mass is on the the Priesthood. The Bishop gave a rousing homily, and all of the priests present renewed their priestly promises made at ordination. It was a beautiful celebration.
THE TRIDUUM
Holy Thursday
On Holy Thursday the Church celebrates the Institution of the Eucharist and of the Priesthood. The day began with the celebration of Tenebrae, a combination of the Office of Readings and Morning Prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours. The Church is kept in darkness with only the light of 15 candles. After each Psalm or reading a candle is extinguished, until only the center candle, the Christ candle, remains. The Christ candle is then taken away and a "great noise" (the Strepitus) is made representing the earthquake that happened at the death of Jesus.
For Lunch the priests of the Lakes Region Deanery came together at St. Joseph's Rectory for a delicious meal prepared by our very own Pastor, Dean, and "Chef Extrodinaire," Fr. Marc. It was a great celebration of the priesthood. We talked about the many graces we had experienced throughout Lent, the joys of the priesthood, and especially the many powerful confessions we had heard (of course we spoke of confessions very generally without breaking the seal).
Thursday night Fr. Marc and I concelebrated the Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper. We had an army of servers, it was awesome. Fr. Marc washed feet and we processed with the Blessed Sacrament to the altar of reposition in the Parish Hall.
For Lunch the priests of the Lakes Region Deanery came together at St. Joseph's Rectory for a delicious meal prepared by our very own Pastor, Dean, and "Chef Extrodinaire," Fr. Marc. It was a great celebration of the priesthood. We talked about the many graces we had experienced throughout Lent, the joys of the priesthood, and especially the many powerful confessions we had heard (of course we spoke of confessions very generally without breaking the seal).
Thursday night Fr. Marc and I concelebrated the Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper. We had an army of servers, it was awesome. Fr. Marc washed feet and we processed with the Blessed Sacrament to the altar of reposition in the Parish Hall.
Good Friday
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Good Friday was a beautiful day. It reached 67 degrees in Laconia. We again began the day with Tenebrae, then at 3:00 and 7:00 PM we commemorated the Passion of Christ with the reading of the Passion according to St. John, solemn intercessions for the Church and the world, Adoration of the Holy Cross, and the reception of Holy Communion. Check out my homily below.
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"We adore you O Christ, and we praise you. Because by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world." |
Easter Vigil
Between our final rehearsal for the liturgy and the Easter Vigil we had about an hour to kill. So the altar servers and I had a little fun up in the youth lounge.
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The great Vigil of Easter began as usual with the blessing of the Easter fire, followed by the blessing of the Paschal Candle and the procession into the Church with the Light of Christ. I then sang the Exultet (Easter Proclamation), one of my favorite parts of the liturgy. You can listen to it below. Here is the text. It is long, but totally worth reading.
Easter Proclamation
Exult, let them exult, the hosts of heaven,
exult, let Angel ministers of God exult,
let the trumpet of salvation
sound aloud our mighty King's triumph!
Be glad, let earth be glad, as glory floods her,
ablaze with light from her eternal King,
let all corners of the earth be glad,
knowing an end to gloom and darkness.
Rejoice, let Mother Church also rejoice,
arrayed with the lightning of his glory,
let this holy building shake with joy,
filled with the mighty voices of the peoples.
(Therefore, dearest friends,
standing in the awesome glory of this holy light,
invoke with me, I ask you,
the mercy of God almighty,
that he, who has been pleased to number me,
though unworthy, among the Levites,
may pour into me his light unshadowed,
that I may sing this candle's perfect praises).
(Deacon: The Lord be with you.
People: And with your spirit.)
Deacon: Lift up your hearts.
People: We lift them up to the Lord.
Deacon: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
People: It is right and just.
It is truly right and just,
with ardent love of mind and heart
and with devoted service of our voice,
to acclaim our God invisible, the almighty Father,
and Jesus Christ, our Lord, his Son, his Only Begotten.
Who for our sake paid Adam's debt to the eternal Father,
and, pouring out his own dear Blood,
wiped clean the record of our ancient sinfulness.
These, then, are the feasts of Passover,
in which is slain the Lamb, the one true Lamb,
whose Blood anoints the doorposts of believers.
This is the night,
when once you led our forebears, Israel's children,
from slavery in Egypt
and made them pass dry-shod through the Red Sea.
This is the night
that with a pillar of fire
banished the darkness of sin.
This is the night
that even now throughout the world,
sets Christian believers apart from worldly vices
and from the gloom of sin,
leading them to grace
and joining them to his holy ones.
This is the night
when Christ broke the prison-bars of death
and rose victorious from the underworld.
Our birth would have been no gain,
had we not been redeemed.
O wonder of your humble care for us!
O love, O charity beyond all telling,
to ransom a slave you gave away your Son!
O truly necessary sin of Adam,
destroyed completely by the Death of Christ!
O happy fault
that earned for us so great, so glorious a Redeemer!
O truly blessed night,
worthy alone to know the time and hour
when Christ rose from the underworld!
This is the night
of which it is written:
The night shall be as bright as day,
dazzling is the night for me, and full of gladness.
The sanctifying power of this night
dispels wickedness, washes faults away,
restores innocence to the fallen, and joy to mourners,
drives out hatred, fosters concord, and brings down the mighty.
On this, your night of grace, O holy Father,
accept this candle, a solemn offering,
the work of bees and of your servants' hands,
an evening sacrifice of praise,
this gift from your most holy Church.
But now we know the praises of this pillar,
a flame divided but undimmed,
which glowing fire ignites for God's honour,
a fire into many flames divided,
yet never dimmed by sharing of its light,
for it is fed by melting wax,
drawn out by mother bees
to build a torch so precious.
O truly blessed night,
when things of heaven are wed to those of earth,
and divine to the human.
Therefore, O Lord,
we pray you that this candle,
hallowed to the honour of your name,
may persevere undimmed,
to overcome the darkness of this night.
Receive it as a pleasing fragrance,
and let it mingle with the lights of heaven.
May this flame be found still burning
by the Morning Star:
the one Morning Star who never sets,
Christ your Son,
who, coming back from death's domain,
has shed his peaceful light on humanity,
and lives and reigns for ever and ever.
Amen.
Exult, let them exult, the hosts of heaven,
exult, let Angel ministers of God exult,
let the trumpet of salvation
sound aloud our mighty King's triumph!
Be glad, let earth be glad, as glory floods her,
ablaze with light from her eternal King,
let all corners of the earth be glad,
knowing an end to gloom and darkness.
Rejoice, let Mother Church also rejoice,
arrayed with the lightning of his glory,
let this holy building shake with joy,
filled with the mighty voices of the peoples.
(Therefore, dearest friends,
standing in the awesome glory of this holy light,
invoke with me, I ask you,
the mercy of God almighty,
that he, who has been pleased to number me,
though unworthy, among the Levites,
may pour into me his light unshadowed,
that I may sing this candle's perfect praises).
(Deacon: The Lord be with you.
People: And with your spirit.)
Deacon: Lift up your hearts.
People: We lift them up to the Lord.
Deacon: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
People: It is right and just.
It is truly right and just,
with ardent love of mind and heart
and with devoted service of our voice,
to acclaim our God invisible, the almighty Father,
and Jesus Christ, our Lord, his Son, his Only Begotten.
Who for our sake paid Adam's debt to the eternal Father,
and, pouring out his own dear Blood,
wiped clean the record of our ancient sinfulness.
These, then, are the feasts of Passover,
in which is slain the Lamb, the one true Lamb,
whose Blood anoints the doorposts of believers.
This is the night,
when once you led our forebears, Israel's children,
from slavery in Egypt
and made them pass dry-shod through the Red Sea.
This is the night
that with a pillar of fire
banished the darkness of sin.
This is the night
that even now throughout the world,
sets Christian believers apart from worldly vices
and from the gloom of sin,
leading them to grace
and joining them to his holy ones.
This is the night
when Christ broke the prison-bars of death
and rose victorious from the underworld.
Our birth would have been no gain,
had we not been redeemed.
O wonder of your humble care for us!
O love, O charity beyond all telling,
to ransom a slave you gave away your Son!
O truly necessary sin of Adam,
destroyed completely by the Death of Christ!
O happy fault
that earned for us so great, so glorious a Redeemer!
O truly blessed night,
worthy alone to know the time and hour
when Christ rose from the underworld!
This is the night
of which it is written:
The night shall be as bright as day,
dazzling is the night for me, and full of gladness.
The sanctifying power of this night
dispels wickedness, washes faults away,
restores innocence to the fallen, and joy to mourners,
drives out hatred, fosters concord, and brings down the mighty.
On this, your night of grace, O holy Father,
accept this candle, a solemn offering,
the work of bees and of your servants' hands,
an evening sacrifice of praise,
this gift from your most holy Church.
But now we know the praises of this pillar,
a flame divided but undimmed,
which glowing fire ignites for God's honour,
a fire into many flames divided,
yet never dimmed by sharing of its light,
for it is fed by melting wax,
drawn out by mother bees
to build a torch so precious.
O truly blessed night,
when things of heaven are wed to those of earth,
and divine to the human.
Therefore, O Lord,
we pray you that this candle,
hallowed to the honour of your name,
may persevere undimmed,
to overcome the darkness of this night.
Receive it as a pleasing fragrance,
and let it mingle with the lights of heaven.
May this flame be found still burning
by the Morning Star:
the one Morning Star who never sets,
Christ your Son,
who, coming back from death's domain,
has shed his peaceful light on humanity,
and lives and reigns for ever and ever.
Amen.
After the Exultet comes the extended Liturgy of the Word in total darkness save the light of the Paschal Candle. Beautiful! Then the Gloria is sung, bells are rung, and the Church Rejoices at the Resurrection of her savior Jesus Christ. After Fr. Marc's homily we welcomed five women into the Church. Elizabeth, Stacie, and Amber were Baptized, Confirmed and received their First Holy Communion, and Caroline and Caitlin were Confirmed and received into full communion with the Church. What a joyful celebration!
Easter Sunday
CHRIST IS RISEN, HE IS RISEN INDEED!!!
Easter Sunday was wonderful. Lots of beautiful music, bells, alleluias and of course incense! Well maybe a little too much incense... somehow the fire alarm at Sacred Heart went off at the end of the 8:00 Mass. I have a bit of a reputation for using lots of incense, but I wasn't even there, I swear I didn't do it! I was at St. Joseph for Easter. Oh well these things happen. The building had to be evacuated and the people waiting for the 9:30 Mass had to wait until the building was cleared. We opened up the Parish Center so that they didn't have to wait in the clod. The Fire Department was wonderful and thorough, found nothing wrong and so they cleared the building and Mass went on a usual.
Easter Sunday was wonderful. Lots of beautiful music, bells, alleluias and of course incense! Well maybe a little too much incense... somehow the fire alarm at Sacred Heart went off at the end of the 8:00 Mass. I have a bit of a reputation for using lots of incense, but I wasn't even there, I swear I didn't do it! I was at St. Joseph for Easter. Oh well these things happen. The building had to be evacuated and the people waiting for the 9:30 Mass had to wait until the building was cleared. We opened up the Parish Center so that they didn't have to wait in the clod. The Fire Department was wonderful and thorough, found nothing wrong and so they cleared the building and Mass went on a usual.
Thanks be to God there was no fire and the Churches were both packed (standing room only). Here is my homily for Easter Sunday if you want to listen.
Well after such a long and Spiritually exhausting week it was good to spend a little time with family and friends Sunday afternoon, and it was really nice to see my pillow Sunday night. What a week! But the good news is that Christ is Risen! Jesus has won victory over sin and death. The Cross, an instrument of torture and death has become the very instrument of our salvation and a symbol of life. May God Bless you all, and don't forget that Easter isn't over, it has just begun. We get to celebrate Easter Sunday for another week, and the Easter season for 48 more days! ALLELUIA!!!
- Fr. Jeff
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