Corpus Christi Blog

from www.loyolapress.com/our-catholic-faith/liturgical-year/sunday-connection/palm-sunday-of-the-lords-passion-cycle-b

This Sunday, called Palm or Passion Sunday, is the first day of Holy Week. Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday are called the Triduum—three days that are the highlight of the Church year. There are two Gospels proclaimed at today’s Mass. The first Gospel, proclaimed before the procession with palms, tells of Jesus’ triumphant entrance into Jerusalem. Riding on a borrowed colt, Jesus was hailed by the crowds as they blessed God and shouted “Hosanna!” This event is reported in each of the four Gospels.

During the Recessional a couple of weeks ago, we sang one my favorite songs: Jesus, My Everything, by Matt Maher. As the servers and I left the Sanctuary and headed to the back of the church, I noticed only a handful of people had their books open. Even though I was singing/praying, I was able to make a lot of eye contact. However, I didn’t see many other people’s mouths moving, let alone hear many others singing. To be frank, that saddened me. Even though I appreciate the eye contact, if I had to choose, I would prefer everyone looking at the words and singing/praying along. Here are the lyrics to Jesus, My Everything, which I hope everyone will be able to honestly pray and strive towards:

During these final weeks of Lent before Holy Week, you may be at one of the Sunday Masses in which the scrutinies are celebrated with the elect—those preparing for Baptism at the Easter vigil. The scrutinies are three rites celebrated during the period of purification and enlightenment of the RCIA process to help prepare the elect for Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Eucharist. So what is the purpose of the scrutinies?

“Because of the increase of iniquity, the love of many will grow cold” (Mt 24: 12)

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Once again, the Pasch of the Lord draws near! In our preparation for Easter, God in His providence offers us each year the season of Lent as a “sacramental sign of our conversion” Lent summons us, and enables us, to come back to the Lord wholeheartedly and in every aspect of our life.

With this message, I would like again this year to help the entire Church experience this time of grace anew, with joy and in truth. I will take my cue from the words of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew: “Because of the increase of iniquity, the love of many will grow cold” (24:12).

I have noticed that there are some parishioners who leave Mass right after Communion or get up and leave right before the announcements. Now I understand some people might have another important obligation that they must get to on occasion, but this should not be a regular occurrence. Attending the entire Liturgy is very important. First, Holy Communion is about communion, about unity. We are one family. When we have just received our Lord in the Body and Blood, it is important that we allow time for reflection and for God to speak. We should do this together "in communion" with our parish family.

Our 1st reading and Gospel today are such important and impactful events in salvation history, hopefully you know these stories well. Today I want to try and reveal how these 2 important events are tests and a preparation for us in this season of Lent. So, let me jump right into it.

Our Gospel today is Mark’s version of the temptation of Jesus in the desert. You undoubtedly noticed how short Mark’s version is, and in case you zoned out- it’s already over. Unlike Matthew and Luke, Mark doesn’t explain each particular temptation and how Jesus overcomes them; instead, Mark simply and succinctly states: The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert, and he remained in the desert for 40 days, tempted by Satan. He was among the wild beasts, and the angels administered to him”. So, it is this 1 verse I will preach on, with short tie-ins from the other readings. But before you start getting excited, thinking that because it’s only covering 1 verse then it’ll be a shorter homily- Sorry to get your hopes up, but you have to know me by now, right? This is a short, but such a jam-packed verse, that although I could, I won’t have time to explain the fullness of its meaning in this one homily. But I promise you that I will apply my homily to Lent and our spiritual lives, so hopefully it’ll be well worth your attention and reflection.

from www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/who-we-teach/rite-of-christian-initiation-of-adults/index.cfm

Each year on Holy Saturday during the Easter Vigil, thousands are baptized into the Catholic Church in the United States. Parishes welcome these new Catholics through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA). Listed below are some questions and answers about RCIA.

from www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgical-year/lent/journey-to-the-foot-of-the-cross-10-things-to-remember-for-lent.cfm

1. Remember the formula. The Church does a good job capturing certain truths with easy-to-remember lists and formulas: 10 Commandments, 7 sacraments, 3 persons in the Trinity. For Lent, the Church gives us almost a slogan— Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving—as the three things we need to work on during the season.

I grew up on a farm in northeast Kansas, where riding horseback to our one-room schoolhouse, taking care of the pigs and cattle, working in fields and spending time with the family came as naturally as breathing. Thanks to my parents’ spiritual leadership, so did prayer. Without the availability of weekday Mass, and only on Sundays when good weather allowed for travel by our pastor and us parishioners, Mom and Dad still deeply impressed upon their six children the importance of the Eucharist, regular Confession, and a daily connection to the source of life, our loving God. We had a simple school of prayer, that is a domestic church, that is, an “intentionally” Catholic home.