Et qui a mortuis Surrexit!
Surrexit Christus spes mea!
Christ, my hope is arisen!
Blessed Easter To You All!
This painting of "Christ the Comforter" by Carl Bloch hangs on the east wall of our dining room. On Holy Saturday evening I move it from the wall to the top of the bookcase by the front door so anyone who enters meets the loving and longing eyes of Jesus. I am the man clinging to Jesus' robe on His left side as I come down slowly from the emotional reeling of these past few days. The days of the Tritium are emotional as the events of the surrendering of Our Lord to the Holy Will of the Father are relived. As we walked the way of last moments of Jesus, our hearts are broken beyond measure and then come soaring back to life as we know the beauty and the glory and the triumph at the end of this epic saga. It's so much to think about and ponder and wonder on. There are so many beautiful reflections shared especially written about this time of year.
Below I have selected just a few thoughts to "Schole" over with a friend or two or a spouse or a group. Just choose one and read it slowly letting the words move deeply. There is much to gain from these readings. So eat slowly and deliberately and let these words digest before you move on.
This dead body is our handiwork. This is what we are capable of doing. And now, after everything we have done, we ask forgiveness. Who do we think we are?! we are those for whom Jesus died. He died so that when we repent and seek forgiveness, the well of his mercy will always be open and full. So often we are afraid that reestablishing a relationship with someone we have wronged is hypocritical; but Christians call this reconciliation. How many friendships have ended because the one who has betrayed will not forgive himself, and so will not allow the other to forgive him? This is the story of Judas. Let us rather follow Peter. he is absent from the Way of the Cross, but he leads the Church in the way of repentance. Peter's life and preaching feed us by witnessing to Christ's infinite mercy.
~Father Richard Veras
“If man had his way, the plan of redemption would be an endless and bloody conflict. In reality, salvation was bought not by Jesus' fist, but by His nail-pierced hands; not by muscle but by love; not by vengeance but by forgiveness; not by force but by sacrifice. Jesus Christ our Lord surrendered in order that He might win; He destroyed His enemies by dying for them and conquered death by allowing death to conquer Him.”
This is the peak of Good Friday's liturgy. The cross is set up, no longer on the hill of Calvary before the gates of ancient Jerusalem; it is no longer surrounded by the cursing of heathen soldiers, but by the reverent Church which receives as consolation, at this moment of deepest sorrow, a faint taste of joy at Resurrection to come. "Your cross, O Lord, do we adore and your sacred rising we praise and glorify; look, through it joy has entered the entire world." Easter is anticipated only for a moment. The Church sings of Resurrection and of joy. We are to hold on to that: the unforgettable impression of this suppressed and melancholy, yet still at its deepest, happy song of Good Friday. "Through the cross joy has entered the entire world." The Church's life is a life of the cross, a continual dying. Yet her speech is joyful; her liturgy is the festival of life. She suffers death, but she already lives the Resurrection, for her food is the meat of immortality; she has part in the risen Christ, and cannot perish.
~ St. Aemiliana
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