PARISH OF THE RESURRECTION
PASCHAL SEASON 2012:  Lent – Triduum – Easter Time

February 22 through May 27, 2011

 

From mid-winter to the end of springtime, the Church keeps the great Paschal Season. The days of the Paschal season are celebrated in three parts—Lent, Triduum and the Easter season:

 

40 The Forty Days are not literally forty; this number evokes all the other uses of “forty” in the scriptures. These are the days of Lent, from Ash Wednesday to Holy Thursday. They are days of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. In these ways we try to become as fully as possible the baptized people we are, living by the Gospel—and so we prepare to baptize the elect…[and to renew our own baptismal promises].

 

3 The Three Days are between the Forty and the Fifty. The Triduum (Latin for “three days”) begins Holy Thursday night and continues through Good Friday and Holy Saturday. The climax of the Church’s whole year is in darkness between Saturday night and Sunday morning. The Church keeps vigil, baptizes the elect, and celebrates the Eucharist. The Three Days conclude on Sunday afternoon.

 

50 The Fifty Days are the days of the Easter season, from Easter Sunday to Pentecost Sunday. They are the time of birth, marriage, festival, and feasting. They are like the wedding of earth and heaven, Christ and the Church. The early Church allowed no kneeling and no fasting and sang “alleluia” constantly.

 

Excerpt from The Three Days To Save–What We Do From Holy Thursday to Easter Sunday

© 1991, 2010 Archdiocese of Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications, www.ltp.org

Used with permission

 

EASTER TIME:  The Third Part of the PASCHAL SEASON

Easter Time 2012 – Year B (Mark)

April 8 through May 27, 2012

 

The Season

 

The fifty days from Easter Sunday to Pentecost are celebrated in joyful exultation as one feast day, or better as one “great Sunday.” 

These, above all others, are the days for the singing of the Alleluia.

The first eight days of the Easter season make up the octave of Easter and are celebrated as solemnities of the Lord.

On the fortieth day after Easter the Ascension is celebrated, except in places where, not being a holy day of obligation, it has been transferred to the Seventh Sunday of Easter.

The weekdays after the Ascension until the Saturday before Pentecost inclusive are a preparation for the coming of the Holy Spirit.

General Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar
paragraphs 22, 24, 25, 26

 

 
The third step of Christian initiation, the celebration of the sacraments, is followed by the final period, the period of postbaptismal catechesis or mystagogy.  This is a time for the community and the neophytes together to grow in deepening their grasp of the paschal mystery and in making it part of their lives through meditation on the Gospel, sharing in the eucharist, and doing the works of charity…Just as their new participation in the sacraments enlightens the neophytes’ understanding of the Scriptures, so too it increases their contact with the rest of the faithful and has an impact on the experience of the community…The period of postbaptismal catechesis is of great significance for both the neophytes and the rest of the faithful….”

–Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, #244, 246

 

The Meaning of the Season

 

Lent began with ashes.  Easter begins with fire:  the new fire, lit and blessed in the darkness and spread from a single candle to the whole assembly.  The light is the symbol of Christ’s light, hidden, for a moment, in the darkness of the tomb but never extinguished.  Light is where it all began:  “God said ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light”.  Easter is the new creation and by our Baptism, we have become part of God’s new creation:  “whoever is in Christ is a new creation:  the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come” (2 Cor 5:17).

 

Easter is a season for rejoicing in the new creation God has brought about in the Resurrection of Christ.  But that does not mean that we pretend that there is no darkness in the world.  Easter is not about leaving suffering behind, forgetting where we have been.   In Easter we learn to find hope and joy not by forgetting the sufferings of our daily lives, but by recognizing that Christ is with us in those very sufferings. 

 

                                                         Reflections from Sourcebook 2011,  pages 179-180

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sense of the Readings

 

Faith begins with personal encounter with the risen Christ and leads to membership in a community of faith that witnesses the presence of Christ through our actions.

In Eucharist we encounter the risen Jesus, share in his meal and become ourselves the risen presence for others.  What we see in others – their deep faith, their caring  – are all recognizable signs that “the Lord has truly been raised”.  Jesus is our shepherd and guide – He knows exactly where he is leading us.  If we come familiar enough with his “voice”, we will know and be able to follow him.   Jesus is the way, the truth and the light.  Believing in Jesus and doing his works is the way to the Father.  We are the light of Christ because the Holy Spirit dwells within us, enabling us to be the presence of the risen Lord to those in our daily lives.  We are to witnesses to God’s spirit both with conviction, gentleness and reverence.  Jesus gave us the power to continue his work—His power is not a power “over” but the power to make disciples, teach, baptize -  to be the presence of Christ through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

 

Jesus became one like us and left us his Spirit, which resides in us now through baptism, It is the Church’s birthday because it was on this day that the disciples received the power of the Holy Spirit to go out and to boldly proclaim the story of Jesus to the entire world

“Come, Holy Spirit and fill the hearts of your people, so that together we might renew the face of the earth.” 

Reflections on the Sundays — 2nd Sunday of Easter to Pentecost 2012

 

2nd Sunday of Easter, April 15 [44]

Acts 4:32–35
Ps 118:2–4, 13–15, 22–24
1 Jn 5:1–6
Jn 20:19–31

In Acts, Luke paints an idealized picture of what life is like inside the Christian community being led by the Holy Spirit. Being of “one heart and mind” (v 32), they lived their faith in a way that gave witness to others that Christ was in their midst. We, as Christians marked by the same Spirit, are called to follow their example. May we strive to live so that the needs of the poor are met.

The author of the First Letter of John writes of our obligation to live as God’s children by keeping God’s commandments. Our life in God allows us to live lives that are sometimes countercultural. While we live in the world, our hearts are fixed on the world to come, and so we are commanded to love each other in word and deed.

Jesus’s resurrection was a unique event in human history; even his disciples at first doubted. In appearing to the disciples, the risen Lord counters their lack of belief by showing them the wounds in his hands and feet so that they know he is the crucified one who lives again. Thomas’s original doubt leads to a statement of deep faith. In calling Jesus “my Lord and my God” (Jn 20:28), he not only acknowledges Jesus’s divinity but professes Jesus to be his personal Lord. As Lord, Jesus has power over us, and we pledge our loyalty and love to him who died for us.

For Reflection: How does my belief in the resurrection make a difference in my life? Do I strive to live like one whose sins have been forgiven and who has been promised eternal life? Is the Holy Spirit the guiding force of my life?

 

3rd Sunday of Easter, April 22 [47]

Acts 3:13–15, 17–19
Ps 4:2, 4, 7–8, 9
1 Jn 2:1–5
Lk 24:35–48

Peter’s speech links God’s promises to the patriarchs with the paschal mystery. Through Jesus’s death and resurrection, foretold by the prophets of Israel, the whole world comes to know the blessings of God promised to Abraham and his descendants.

The author of the First Letter of John reminds us that Christ died for our sins and “those of the whole world” (v 2). Because of this we share in the life and love of God. He writes of the “antichrists (who) went out from us” (vv 18–19); these are members of his own faith community who corrupted the truth of the gospel. The gospel is given for our good, but some would corrupt the message of the gospel because it does not agree with their own views. We are called to conform ourselves to God.

Jesus’s appearance to the disciples in Jerusalem on Easter night confirms the witness of the disciples from Emmaus: he is alive! Yet they still doubt. So he invites them to look at his wounds and to touch his risen body. Then he asks them for something to eat to dispel any further doubt: a ghost does not eat. That the early church remembers stories of doubt associated with Jesus’s closest followers indicates that even those who knew Jesus best had a hard time accepting the resurrection at first. Doubt is part of the faith journey.

For reflection: Is my faith based on what makes me comfortable, or is it based on God’s truths? What happens when there is a conflict between God’s words and my own thoughts, beliefs, and values?

 

4th Sunday of Easter, April 29 [50]

Acts 4:8–12
Ps 118:1, 8–9, 21–23, 26, 21, 29
1 Jn 3:1–2
Jn 10:11–18

Peter testifies before the religious court of Jerusalem, the Sanhedrin. Luke tells us that Peter’s words are inspired by the Holy Spirit; these are not merely the apostle’s words, they are God’s words. The ability of the apostles to heal the sick is based in the fact that they are empowered by that same Spirit, the one given to us in baptism.

It was by the will of God that we became God’s children, the writer of the First Letter of John tells us. This adoption was a consequence of God’s love for us. We share in God’s life because we share in God’s love. And yet, the writer tells us, there is more in store for us, as “what we shall be has not yet been revealed” (v 2).

As the good shepherd, Jesus has been entrusted with the care of his flock. Because we belong to him, he gave his life for us. As the good shepherd, Jesus knows us and cares for us. By willingly laying down his life for us, he shows that he is in command.

For Reflection: As a child of God, how do I witness to God’s love by the life I live? How can I keep myself open to the voice of the good shepherd?

 

5th Sunday of Easter, May 6 [53]

Acts 9:26–31
Ps 22:26–27, 28, 30, 31–32
1 Jn 3:18–24
Jn 15:1–8

The fact that the early disciples refused to admit Saul of Tarsus to their group is understandable in light of the fact that he had been persecuting members of “the way,” the earliest designation for the church. Barnabas serves as a character witness and convinces them to accept Saul into their group. As a member of the nascent church, Saul/Paul is part of the means by which the Lord built up their numbers. His story reminds us that God’s grace can work through even the greatest sinners.

The writer of the Johannine letter encourages us to love in word and deed. Sometimes it is easier to love in the abstract than in the concrete, but following the example of Jesus, we must strive to love all people. This was a challenge for the early church, as evidenced by the divisions seen in the Johannine writings, and it continues to be a challenge for Christians today.

At the Last Supper, Jesus tells his disciples that he is the “true vine” (Jn 15:1), sharing life with the Father. Those who remain attached to the vine produce abundant fruit, as we see in the reading from Acts. Jesus invites us to draw our strength from him and to produce an abundant harvest for God.

For reflection: Am I willing to see others in a new light, with God’s eyes, or do I refuse to allow that people can “change their spots” as Paul did? What can I do to remain attached to Jesus, the true vine, and so bear abundant fruit? Are there things in my life that need to be pruned away so that I will bear better fruit?

 

6th Sunday of Easter, May 13 [56]

Acts 10:25–26, 34–35, 44–48
Ps 98:1, 2–3, 3–4
1 Jn 4:7–10
Jn 15:9–17

Peter’s visit to Cornelius’s house in Acts is significant because Cornelius will be the first to join the community of believers. Their paths crossed as a result of divine intervention so that Cornelius might become a follower of Jesus. Peter’s role in baptizing Cornelius lends credibility to the act, in that Peter is seen as the leader of the apostolic band. That the Holy Spirit descended on Cornelius and his household (v 44) confirms that this shift in the missionary activity of the church is sanctioned by God.

The writer of the First Letter of John reinforces Jesus’s message at the Last Supper by encouraging his audience to “love one another” (v 7). Our love for God is in response to the fact that God first loved us and sent Jesus to die for our sins. God redeemed a broken world by allowing his Son to be broken for us.

Jesus’s command of love is one he has been teaching by example through his ministry. His upcoming death is the ultimate example of what it means to love another, but before he departs he issues the command of love to his disciples. Because God loves us, we are called to love each other. This is Jesus’s message. Jesus’s command to “remain in my love” is an invitation to an ongoing relationship between us and God. Like the branches and vine in last week’s readings, we are called to remain connected to Jesus and draw our life from him.

For reflection: Many people say they would come to church if they were invited by a friend. Is there someone in my life who can be brought closer to God by my invitation? How have I experienced God’s love in my life? How does God’s love for me enable me to love others? u

 

Ascension, Sunday, May 28 [58]

Acts 1:1–11
Ps 47:2–3, 6–7, 8–9
Eph 1:17–23
Mk 16:15–20

Acts, Luke’s second volume, begins where his Gospel concluded: with the account of Jesus’s ascension. After the resurrection, Luke tells us, Jesus spent some time instructing the disciples. Certainly things looked different for them in light of their experience of the risen Lord. But before he left them, he promised to send them the Holy Spirit, a key figure in Acts, to strengthen and guide them in continuing the work of Jesus.

In Ephesians, thought by many to have been written after Paul’s death, we have an example of an early Christian prayer asking God the Father to enlighten the believer. God, who raised Christ from the dead, has given all Christians a reason to hope. The church as the body of Christ, a key theme in Ephesians, shares in his life.

In Mark’s Gospel we have a short commissioning along with the narration of the ascension. Jesus sends his disciples out to “proclaim the gospel to every creature” (v 15). The oldest, most reliable manuscripts do not contain these verses, an indication that Mark’s text may have originally existed without them. But their presence in the canonical text serves to remind us that the story of Jesus continues with the work of the church on earth. As the text says, “they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them” (v 20).

For reflection: How do I see myself as fitting into God’s plan to preach the word to all the world? What difference does it make in my life that Jesus rose from the dead? St. Augustine said in an Easter homily, “We are an Easter people and Alleluia is our song.” Can I say this about myself?

 

Pentecost, May 27 [63]

Acts 2:1–11
Ps 104:1, 24, 29–30, 31, 34
1 Cor 12:3–7, 12–13
Jn 20:19–23

In Judaism, Pentecost commemorates the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai. It is in a sense the founding feast of Israel as a people. Jesus’s apostles, who were in Jerusalem to celebrate this feast, were given the gift of the Holy Spirit. Thus the feast becomes a foundational feast of the church. As humanity was divided at the Tower of Babel, now God unites them, allowing all those in Jerusalem to hear the preaching of the apostles in their own languages. It is a new beginning for humanity.

Paul tells the Corinthians that it is only with the power of the Holy Spirit that we can acclaim Jesus as Lord. The diverse members of the church all share the same Spirit and are called to work together for the common good. As the one body of Christ, we share in a common baptism uniting us in Christ to each other.

Jesus’s first words to his apostles after the resurrection are “Peace be with you.” They are words of blessing, asking for God’s blessings on them. Peace is not just the absence of war or violence; it indicates God’s blessings and an overall sense of well-being. As is the case with heavenly visits in the Old Testament, the human reaction of fear is countered by words of comfort. God’s presence in our lives is meant as a blessing. We need not fear; Jesus has conquered death and comes to offer us eternal life.

For reflection: What specific gifts have I been given by the Spirit, and how can I use them for the good of others? The risen Christ still has the wounds of his crucifixion, but now they are signs of victory, not defeat. How is my own woundedness transformed by my relationship with the risen one?

 

© 2011 Ministry & Liturgy Magazine.  Reprinted with permission under Resource Publications Reprint License #79072.  Bruce Janiga, a priest of the Archdiocese of Newark, N.J., teaches Scripture studies at Seton Hall Prep in West Orange, N.J.

The Liturgical Environment

 

When those entering the church are welcomed by a splendid environment, they are invited to enter in to the wonders God reveals in scripture and ritual:  Christ is risen!  So also may we rise.

 

The primary liturgical symbols of Easter are the baptismal font and the blessed water, the Paschal candle and the altar.  Everything else that is brought into the church is secondary.  All flowers, banners, wreaths, cuttings are secondary, though not unimportant or superfluous. 

 

Baptismal Font:  The womb of the new lives birthed into the world and the Church through Baptism.  Keep it looking fresh and festive, as it will receive focus each week during the Sprinkling Rite.

 

The Paschal candle:  The image of Christ, alive in our midst!  Let it brightly mark every gathering that takes place in the church.  Some parishes decorate the candle stand and keep it festive throughout the season.

 

The Altar:  The place of sacrifice, the place of nourishment and Communion.  Be sure it is not obscured by any of the liturgical enhancements.  Remember that the revised GIRM prohibits any floral pieces from being placed on the the mensa (the top) of the altar.

 

“The use of living flowers and plants, rather than artificial greens, serves as a reminder of the gift of life God has given to the human community.”  (Built of Living Stones, #129)

 

Remember that the Easter environment can evolve over the course of seven weeks.  All liturgical enhancements need not be put out for Easter Sunday.  As the season progresses and evolves (from empty tomb to joy to proclamation of Resurrection to the mission of Pentecost), so might the liturgical environment.

 

Consider, too, that the liturgical environment includes spaces outside the Worship Space—the area outside the Worship Space doors and perhaps outside the building.  Hangings outside the Worship Space help alert people to the festive celebration that awaits them.  Banners, wreaths, streamers placed outside the church building proclaim to the entire community the joy of the parish during this Easter Time.

 

 

The Liturgical Music

 

Remember, we sing the liturgy.  We do not just sing at the liturgy.  Well chosen liturgical music emphasizes the actual texts of the liturgy before considering other songs.  Perhaps more than any other element of the liturgy, music evokes the spirit of the liturgical season, helping to draw us in to memories, images and emotions of the season and opening us to the mystery that is made present in the liturgy.

 

The Easter word is Alleluia.   In great contrast to the fasting, sparseness of Lent, the entire Easter season should be festive, resounding with Alleluias, with glorious harmonies and the sounds of a variety of voices and instruments in joyful praise and gratitude.

 

As the people enter the church, let them be greeted by festive music.  Easter Time is a season for instrumentalists to shine.  Preludes can set a festive participatory tone as people gather, and strong postludes sends the assembly forth to carry out its mission to bring the gospel to the world. 

 

Pastoral musicians contribute to the mystagogy of the neophytes and the entire community by choosing musical texts shaped by the Word that is proclaimed in our midst during the season.  Hymns for the first three weeks can simply exult over Christ’s resurrection.  Songs for the Fourth Sunday, Good Shepherd Sunday, can speak of Christ’s ongoing presence, his tender care and active support as we live out our discipleship.  Texts for the final weeks can challenge us to participate actively in bringing risen life to all people.  The music for Pentecost should be especially festive and, ideally, could use several languages to echo the coming together of many peoples and nations.

 

The month of May is traditionally devoted in a special way to the Blessed Mother.  Consider including Marian hymns as appropriate, especially as preludes.

 

The seasonal psalms are Psalm 118, “This is the Day” and Psalm 66, “Let All the Earth Cry Out in Joy to the Lord.”  A musical setting of either of these two psalms could be used throughout the Easter season.  Bear in mind that during the Easter season any responsorial psalm may take “Alleluia” as its refrain. 

 

Paragraph 147 of Sing to the Lord reiterates the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 114, on the beautiful option of using the Rite of Sprinkling with Holy Water in the Easter Time liturgies.  Sing to the Lord notes that the “song accompanying the sprinkling with blessed water should have an explicitly baptismal character” and also reminds us that the “Gloria may not be moved to a different part of the Mass than the one assigned by the Roman Missal.  It may not, for example, be used in place of the entrance chant or song, or during the sprinkling with blessed water” (150).  

 

 

The Home

 

Encourage prayer in the home in simple ways:

.  Begin and end every family prayer (grace, prayers before bed, etc.) with a sung or recited “Alleluia.”

.  Take some blessed water at Easter for use at home.

.  Establish an “Easter candle” that might be lighted whenever the family prays together during the season. 
.  Prepare materials to foster reflection on the scriptures of the season, through lectio divina, for instance.

.  Include blessings of the season from Catholic Household Blessings and Prayers in the bulletin.

.  The month of May has for centuries been devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary.  Some possible devotions include praying of the rosary and litanies of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  Crowning an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary is another possibility.

.  Pray the Pentecost Novena during the nine days leading up to Pentecost.  

.  Include notes in the bulletin about the ancient sacred roots of seemingly secular traditions.  Dying of Easter eggs, for instance is related to the legend of Mary Magdalene bearing a basket of of boiled eggs that turned red when she witnessed firsthand the resurrected Lord.

.  Make note of the website www.catholicmom.com as a good resource for parents searching for Catholic activities for their children.  The site includes seasonal family activities as well as coloring pages that can be printed for free.