Stations of the Cross 1 and 2

Our family is doing Stations of the Cross through Holy Week, starting with Palm Sunday.  We are doing 2 stations per night.  Start time is 6:30pm MST and PDT (7:30pm in MDT).

STABAT MATER

At the cross her station keeping,
Stood the mournful Mother weeping,
Close to Jesus to the last.

Station 1: Jesus is Condemned to Death

V: We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You. (Genuflect)

R: Because, by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world. (Rise)

V: Consider how Jesus Christ, after being scourged and crowned with thorns, was unjustly condemned by Pilate to die on the cross. (Kneel)

R: My adorable Jesus,
it was not Pilate;
no, it was my sins that condemned You to die.
I beseech You, by the merits of this sorrowful journey, to assist my soul on its journey to eternity.
I love You, beloved Jesus;
I love You more than I love myself.
With all my heart I repent of ever having offended You.
Grant that I may love You always; and then do with me as You will.

OUR FATHER

Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed by Thy name, Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. Amen.

HAIL MARY

Hail, Mary, full of grace; the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

GLORY BE

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Lord Jesus, crucified,

Have mercy on us!

STABAT MATER
Through her heart, His sorrow sharing
All His bitter anguish bearing
Now at length the sword has passed


Station 2 - Jesus is Made to Carry His Cross

V: We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You. (Genuflect)

R: Because, by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world. (Rise)

V: Consider Jesus as He walked this road with the cross on His shoulders, thinking of us, and offering to His Father in our behalf, the death He was about to suffer. (Kneel)

R: My most beloved Jesus,
I embrace all the sufferings You have destined for me until death.
I beg You, by all You suffered in carrying Your cross,
to help me carry mine with Your perfect peace and resignation.
I love You, Jesus, my love;
I repent of ever having offended You.
Never let me separate myself from You again.
Grant that I may love You always; and then do with me as You will.

OUR FATHER

Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed by Thy name, Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. Amen.

HAIL MARY

Hail, Mary, full of grace; the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

GLORY BE

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Lord Jesus, crucified,
Have mercy on us!
STABAT MATER

O, how sad and sore depressed
Was that Mother highly blessed
Of the sole Begotten One

Palm Sunday - What Color Are the Vestments?

What Color are the Vestments for Palm Sunday?

The answer is:   
For the Ordinary Rite - Red – for the Passion of Christ. 
For the Extra-Ordinary Rite - Purple - For Lent

See below for the vestments for the other seasons of the liturgical year.

Vestments for the Rest of the Liturgical Year:

White

Light, innocence, purity, joy, triumph, glory

Season of Christmas
Season of Easter
Feasts of the Lord, other than of His passion
Feasts of Mary, the angels, and saints who were not martyrs
All Saints (1 November)
Feasts of the Apostles
Nuptial Masses
Masses for the dead (Requiem Masses) when the deceased is a baptized child who died before the age of reason

---

Red

The Passion, blood, fire, God's Love, martyrdom

Feasts of the Lord's passion, Blood, and Cross
Feasts of the martyrs
Palm Sunday (Except in the Extra-Ordinary Rite)
Pentecost

---

Green

The Holy Ghost, life eternal, hope

Time After Epiphany
Time After Pentecost

---

Violet

Penance, humility, melancholy

Season of Advent
Season of Septuagesima
Season of Lent
Rogation Days
Ember Days (except for Pentecost Ember Days)
Vigils except for Ascension and Pentecost
Good Friday

---

Black

Mourning, sorrow

All Souls Day
Masses for the dead (Requiem Masses), except for baptized children who've died before the age of reason

---

Rose (not Pink!)

Joy

Gaudete Sunday (Third Sunday of Advent)
Laetare Sunday (Fourth Sunday of Lent)

Why The Purple Shrouds of Passiontide?

"In some places images and statues are actually removed from the church and not simply veiled, especially after Holy Thursday.

Crosses are unveiled after the Good Friday ceremonies. All other images are unveiled shortly before the Mass of the Easter Vigil.

Neither the Stations of the Cross nor stained glass windows are ever veiled." (1)

"It reminds us that Jesus hid his glory during his Passion, so too we hide away our religious items in order to prepare ourselves to focus on and honor his Passion." (2)

Passiontide begins on the Fifth Sunday of Lent and lasts through the remainder of the Lenten season.  It is traditionally called Passiontide because on Passion Sunday (under the new lectionary, "The Fifth Sunday of Lent") the reading of the Passion of Christ is read during at least one of the Masses on this Sunday.

So Why Do We Cover Statues and Images?
During this period our focus is drawn to the Passion of the Christ.  Thoughts and meditations on other saints are put aside for these two weeks.

"As with any liturgical practice, there is never a single reason why something is done. Liturgical signs are meaningful as liturgical signs because they draw forms from the best of nature and culture(s) combined with divine inspiration (if not outright institution) and religious Tradition. Christian symbolism is better considered as a system of signs each with a synthesis of overlapping meanings based on the growth of religious practice...  One shift of focus of this season is an emphasis on Christ's humanity: the sacrifice inherent in the Incarnation and the sacrifice that is the Passion. Of course the constant totality of the liturgical celebration never allows us to lose sight of Christ's divinity, without which the Incarnation would not be a sacrifice and the Passion would lose its efficacy. So veiling images of Christ's glorified body, Christ victorious, and Christ risen, along with images of those who are now in his presence, helps enact that shift." (3)

During the Easter Vigil, as the statues, etc. are unveiled, not only is it a time of joy in the Resurrection, but all the splendor and glory is returned to the sanctuary too.

In some jurisdictions the veiling of images and statues does not happen until Holy Thursday (Maundy Thursday).  As quoted above, the images and crosses of the Stations of the Cross are not veiled, nor are stained glass windows.  Then, on Good Friday, attention turns to the Crucifixion, and images of the Crucifix are uncovered.  All images and statues are unveiled just before the Mass of the Easter Vigil begins (about half-way through the Easter Vigil).



Sources:

(1) https://www.ewtn.com/library/Liturgy/zlitur72.htm

(2) https://www.catholiccompany.com/getfed/a-lenten-tradition-veiling-the-cross/

(3) https://www.locusiste.org/blog/2015/03/veiling-images-in-lent

Einstein on the Church

Did you know...

Yes, he did not say "the Catholic Church," but he did say "the Church."  When speaking specifically to "the Church" the reference is to the Catholic Church.  Also, in Einstein's upbringing, he was raised a Jew, but went to a Catholic school.

Did Einstein say that?  Well, I have confirmed the quote from the December 23, 1940 Time Magazine Vault, and it does indeed quote Albert Einstein as saying: 

"Only the Church stood squarely across the path of Hitler's campaign for suppressing truth. I never had any special interest in the Church before, but now I feel a great affection and admiration because the Church alone has had the courage and persistence to stand for intellectual truth and moral freedom. I am forced thus to confess that what I once despised I now praise unreservedly."

Want More?

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”My position concerning God is that of an agnostic. I am convinced that a vivid consciousness of the primary importance of moral principles for the betterment and ennoblement of life does not need the idea of a law-giver, especially a law-giver who works on the basis of reward and punishment.” (Albert Einstein in a letter to M. Berkowitz, October 25, 1950; Einstein Archive 59–215; from Alice Calaprice, ed., The New Quotable Einstein, Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2005, p. 206. )

OK, one more for now...  the classic:

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I wish to thank "Short Little Rebel" from where I gleaned most of the above quotes.




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Why Lent?

Why do Catholics, and others, observe the Season of Lent? 

It is for multiple reasons, here are a few:
1) Jesus spent 40 days and 40 nights in fasting and prayer in the desert before he began His public ministry.
2) It is a time for us to call into remembrance what Jesus did for us, especially His Passion, Death and Resurrection.
3) For many, it is a time of spiritual renewal - a "recharge" every year to help us keep Jesus Christ in the forefront of our thoughts and actions throughout the year - not just during Lent.

Why do we "give up something" for Lent?

In some small way, what we "give up" is a small sacrifice by which we unite ourselves to the Sacrifice of Christ on the Cross. Whenever we would have partaken in that which we have "given up" we draw our thoughts to Christ. Therefore what we "give up" should be something we would have partaken in every day, or even multiple times per day. For example, giving up eggs for Lent (this is part of what the Orthodox traditionally do), when you would have had eggs for breakfast - while you're partaking in the alternative, you recall WHY you're not eating eggs. One could offer up coffee, or soda, or chocolate, fast-food, red meat or even all meat - whatever it is you have "given up," if you remain faithful to it - becomes another realization of celebration at the end of Lent.

Easter Eggs?

Again, still practiced by the Orthodox, giving up eggs was part of the Lenten penance, however - chickens don't stop laying eggs for Lent! So, rather than waste the eggs - boil them!  They last a bit longer when boiled. Coloring the eggs too made them "special" and then on Easter Sunday, you got a special treat of eating eggs again!

Pope Francis on Better to be an Atheist

Recently it has been widely reported that Pope Francis said, "it is better to be an atheist than a hypocritical Catholic." The actual quote, while similar, is not that - AND - he's actually stating that OTHER PEOPLE say that when confronted with hypocritical or fake Catholics!  Here's the actual quote, in context:

"But what is scandal? Scandal is saying one thing and doing another; it is a double life, a double life. A totally double life: "I am very Catholic, I always go to Mass, I belong to this association and that one; but my life is not Christian, I don't pay my workers a just wage, I exploit people, I am dirty in my business, I launder money...' A double life. And so many Christians are like this, and these people scandalize others.

"How many times have we heard - all of us, around the neighborhood and elsewhere - 'but to be a Catholic like that, it's better to be an atheist.' It is that, scandal. You destroy. You beat down. And this happens every day, it's enough to see the news on TV, or to read the papers. In the papers there are so many scandals, and there is also the great publicity of the scandals. And with the scandals, there is destruction." (Vatican Radio, qtd on churchpop.com)

So, while he does not disagree with the sentiment, he didn't say those words as from himself - but that is what others think and/or say when they see hypocritical / fake Catholics. He is also saying that those hypocritical Catholics are causing scandal. So while not saying those words himself - he is highly critical of those who profess the Catholic Faith but don't LIVE the Catholic Faith.

2 Peter 2:21 says: For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them.

Jesus also said, in Matthew 7:21 - "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter."

Note, just SAYING you're a Catholic is not enough!  You must DO the will of the Father to enter into Heaven.


Source:
churchpop.com, retrieved 2/28/2016 from: https://churchpop.com/2017/02/23/no-pope-francis-did-not-say-its-better-to-be-an-atheist-than-a-bad-catholic/

Pope on Super Bowl LI

Well, some are critical of Pope Francis' address to Super Bowl LI and while some of their reasoning is justified, and while I don't agree with the manner in which this pope speaks some of the time - I find it a bit scandalous for "faithful Catholics" to be making their dissatisfaction public over what he didn't say or could have said.

Could he have addressed sex trafficking which allegedly hits a high on the night of the Super Bowl? Could he have specifically mentioned "Jesus" in his talk? Could he have talked about the dubia or other matters of concern for the faithful? Sure, but in this 50 second vlog he chose to focus upon the symbolism of coming together in solidarity and peace. He spoke of sacrifices to be made. He spoke of putting others before ourselves. Could I find fault with Pope Francis' message? If I chose to, yes. Could I find positives with his message? Yes, and that is what I chose to do.

The Super Bowl is an opportunity for us to come together and discuss things civilly and perhaps discuss the morality - or lack thereof - in the commercials and the halftime show.