From his column this Sunday, Fr. Perrone, in his own words, below. If you are looking for Holy Week and Easter Sunday info, you can find it here, along with photos from past years.
This is always the most difficult week of the Church year.
Difficult for us, traumatic for our Lord. I therefore ought not to complain.
The modern trend in the Church has been to emphasize the Lord’s Resurrection
and to downplay His Passion. This is considered an enlightened view over the
medieval and cheerless concentration on the Lord’s sufferings and death.
Perhaps as tensions continue to build in the world, as the persecution of
Christians increases, as all viewpoints except those which represent Catholic
moral teaching are welcome, as evils of all kinds are making rapid advances
into our once comfortable Catholic lives, then–maybe just then–we will have
second thoughts on our dismissal of the suffering Christ, of His cross, of the
Church members as sharers in the Passion.
The spiritual tradition of the great writers on the
spiritual life favors meditation on the sacred Passion of Christ for making
progress in holiness. This comes by way of thinking about the various moments
in the story, from the Last Supper through the Lord’s burial; but it also
includes participation through the liturgy in the annual reenactment of the
original Holy Week through the sacred ceremonies that take place this week–this
by way of mystery rather than by theatrical dramatics. The Church does not
pretend to redo the sacred events of Holy Week as if going through a Passion play.
There is rather a re-activation (pardon the jargon word) of the essential words
and actions which took place back then for the benefit of the Church here and
now. In other words, there is grace which is imparted to those who devoutly
follow Christ in the days of this week, graces not obtained otherwise. The
ideal would be for every Christian to become so one in mind and in affections
with Christ throughout these days of Holy Week as to take on a likeness to Him
that is incomparable by any other means. For this reason I strongly encourage
you to make every reasonable effort to come to the church this week for Mass
and the other sacred liturgical ceremonies, not only to derive benefits from
participation in them, but also to insert yourselves into the mystery itself.
Holy Week is a relived experience for the Church, a renewing of its inner life
by engaging the whole mystical body of Christ in a real union with Him, the
principal Agent of the events.
The week begins today with Palm Sunday, with its strange dual
character of triumph in our Lord’s entrance into Jerusalem as Messiah, and of
His ‘defeat’ in the solemn reading of His Passion and death. Palm Sunday leaves
us with an ambiguous feeling. The palms, the procession, the Hosannas dominate
the earlier part of the ceremonies with exhilaration until the liturgical shift
is made to the scriptures which refer to the sufferings and death of Christ.
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of Holy Week have an eerie
passive-aggressive (again, pardon the expression) feeling. All is exteriorly
calm while the forces of evil lurk in the background, conspiring against Jesus,
ready to erupt with the violence on Thursday and Friday.
There ought not to be a single person in this parish who
would rather stay at home Thursday night this week or on Good Friday afternoon,
or prefer to do anything other than participate in the divine services. I
realize that some may be impeded from attending these days from work or other
responsibilities, but this absence ought to be with great regret. One would be
missing out of the very soul of Holy Week to be wilfully absent from the
liturgical ceremonies.
Easter Vigil is the most extraordinary Mass of the whole
year in which the movement from Christ’s inert body to His rising from the dead
is expressed in liturgical signs, chants and ceremonies. If all goes well, new
Catholics will be born here Saturday night in baptism, confirmation and the
reception of the Lord’s Body and Blood.
Please keep the inserted page of Holy Week services and
confessions so as to reduce calls to the rectory for a schedule of the week’s
events. One may also consult our parish website. [See also my post with Holy Week info including pictures from recent years to get a glimpse of what it is like at Assumption Grotto, and there is secured parking].
All the forces of our parish league together in Holy Week,
making a huge effort of standing with the Lord in His Passion and Resurrection.
Don’t miss out. Come to be enriched; come to lend yourselves to the Lord and
allow His saving grace to embrace you.
Fr. Perrone
For interesting news items I don't have time to blog on, check out my Twitter Feed: @TeDeumBlog. You can also click the "Follow" button on Facebook, as well. Friending is not necessary to see my posts.
Te Deum Laudamus! Home
The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church;
it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!
- Diane M. Korzeniewski
it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!
- Diane M. Korzeniewski
Note: The recommended links below are automatically generated by the tool, so they are not necessarily related content.
