Today’s Gospel, told by St. John, is a powerful telling of the appearing of the risen Jesus after the cruelty of His death on the cross. The person who appears is real. The disciples see the wounds that were made on His body; then they listen to the command that He gives to them sending […]
Low Sunday – April 15, 2012 Read More »
Were we to stand on Main Street and ask passers-by, “What do you think is the greatest festival in the Christian calendar?,” the majority would probably say, “Christmas.†Few, if any, would answer, “Easter.†It is like living in two worlds: the world of Main Street and the world of our Christian faith. Coming into
Resurrection of the Lord – April 8, 2012 Read More »
“It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.†This, people say, is an ancient Chinese proverb. Wherever there is oppression, we will light a candle and scatter the works of darkness. In the darkness of this night, we light a fire, and from that fire, a candle; and we proclaim the
Holy Saturday – April 7, 2012 Read More »
In St. John’s Gospel, the meeting of Jesus with Pilate takes centre stage. We hear their conversation at some length, as well as Pilate’s negotiations with the crowd outside. To our minds, the trial of Jesus seems quite clearly unfair and unjust, but life is not so simple. To the Jewish elders this man was
Good Friday – April 6, 2012 Read More »
The drama of the Last Supper is full of unforgettable action, none more so than when Jesus washes His disciples’ feet. Many artists through the years, have painted scenes from the Last Supper, and many have taken the episode of the washing of feet as their subject. This action of Jesus is a complete role
Holy Thursday – April 5, 2012 Read More »
Today, as we listen to St. Mark’s grim Passion story, we can appreciate how loneliness must have been a bitter ingredient in our Lord’s sufferings. Even when enemies surrounded Him, He had that searing feeling of being alone in a crowd. It all began in the Garden Gethsemane, where Jesus – His closest friends fast
Palm Sunday – Cycle “Bâ€, April 1, 2012 Read More »
Today’s Gospel marks a turning point in the life of Jesus. He acknowledges this Himself with the words, “Now the hour has come.†It is as if everything in His life has been building up to this moment. Jesus says that the lives He and the disciples have lived and loved up to now will
Passion (Fifth) Sunday of Lent – Cycle “Bâ€, March 25, 2012 Read More »
The Gospel passage describes the way in which God’s total unselfishness, God’s total self-giving, is worked out by Jesus coming into the world. He came not to wreak Divine vengeance on sinners but simply to offer life. It is in freedom that we accept or reject that life. There is no coercion. If we “prefer
Fourth Sunday of Lent – Cycle “Bâ€, March 18, 2012 Read More »
On the 2nd Sunday in March we commemorate the organizing of the PNCC, that moment when the Holy Spirit called this branch of the Holy Catholic Church into existence. It is a time for all Polish National Catholics to express their thanks to God for the guidance, grace, and protection which He has bestowed upon
The Transfiguration of Jesus is a transformation but of a kind we cannot fully comprehend. The scene is set with a high mountain, the appearance of Elijah and Moses and the overshadowing cloud, and is a reminder of the way God’s awesome presence was revealed in the Old Testament. At Caesarea Philippi, Peter had been
Second Sunday of Lent – Cycle “Bâ€, March 4, 2012 Read More »