The Donkey

GK Chesterton

When fishes flew and forests walked

And figs grew upon thorn,

Some moment when the moon was blood

Then surely I was born.

With monstrous head and sickening cry

And ears like errant wings,

The devil’s walking parody

On all four-footed things.

The tattered outlaw of the earth,

Of ancient crooked will;

Starve, scourge, deride me: I am dumb,

I keep my secret still.

Fools! For I also had my hour;

One far fierce hour and sweet:

There was a shout about my ears,

And palms before my feet.

We call this food Eucharist, and no one else is permitted to partake of it, except one who believes our teaching to be true and who has been washed in the washing that is for the remission of sins and for regeneration and is thereby living as Christ enjoined. For not as common bread nor common drink do we receive these; but since Jesus Christ our Savior was made incarnate by the word of God and had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so too, as we have been taught, the food that has been made into the Eucharist by the eucharistic prayer set down by him, and by the change of which our blood and flesh is nurtured, is both the flesh and the blood of that incarnated Jesus.

First Apology, 66

St. Justin Martyr

During Holy Week bishops bless sacred oils in the diocesan cathedral at a special liturgy known as the Chrism Mass. The oil of chrism is used during baptisms, confirmation, ordination and the consecration of altars. The oil of catechumens is used at the Easter Vigil. The oil of the sick is used to anoint people during the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. The oils are then distributed to the parishes for sacramental celebrations throughout the year. As part of the liturgical reforms of Vatican II, the renewal of priestly promises was incorporated into the Chrism Mass. The Chrism Mass is an ancient celebration that traditionally takes place on Holy Thursday morning. But in recent years, many dioceses celebrate the Chrism Mass on an evening earlier in Holy Week so that more people can attend.

This year, the Chrism Mass for our archdiocese will take place on Thursday, April 6, at 10:00 AM at the Cathedral of St. Paul.

“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."

Jesus Christ

John 12:26

Before we can begin to see the cross as something done for us, we have to see it as something done by us.

John R.W. Stott

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only Light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The fasts are done; the Aves said;

The moon has filled her horn

And in the solemn night I watch

Before the Easter morn.

So pure, so still the starry heaven,

So hushed the brooding air,

I could hear the sweep of an angel's wings

If one should earthward fare.

Edna Dean Proctor

Easter Morning

During the Easter Vigil we welcome into the church our newest member, Rachel Ernst. Welcome!

Divine Mercy Sunday is April 7th

What is Divine Mercy Sunday?

Jesus told St. Faustina that he wanted to designate the Sunday after Easter as a feast during which those who participate would receive a plenary indulgence without the normal requirment of perfect contrition.

What is perfect contrition?

We all are familiar with the Act of Contrition we pray as part of Confession:

O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins because of thy just punishments, but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, who art all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve with the help of Thy grace to sin no more and to avoid the near occasion of sin. Amen.

We express contrition with the words:

O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, I detest all my sins

concern for how it affects us is and expression of imperfect contrition

because of thy just punishments

but when primary concern for how it affects God is the basis of our contrition, that raises it to the level of perfect contrition

but most of all because they offend Thee, my God

Perfect contrition is a high bar few ever reach in this life. The Extraordinary Graces of the Feast of Divine Mercy lower this bar for a day.

The Extraordinary Graces of the Feast of Divine Mercy

In her Diary, St. Faustina recorded this message from Jesus regarding the Feast of Divine Mercy.

"Yes, the first Sunday after Easter is the Feast of Mercy, but there must also be acts of mercy (742) . . . .

I want to grant a complete pardon to the souls that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion on the Feast of My mercy (1109) . . . .

Whoever approaches the Fountain of Life on this day will be granted complete forgiveness of sins and punishment (300) . . . .

The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion will obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment (699) . . . .

The graces of My mercy are drawn by means of one vessel only, and that is trust. The more a soul trusts, the more it will receive (1578)."

These extraordinary graces restore us to our baptismal state.

How to obtain the extraordinary graces of the feast

Receive Holy Communion worthily on the feast or its vigil having made a good confession beforehand and remaining in a state of grace and trusting in Jesus' Divine Mercy

How to observe the feast

• Go to Mass on the feast or its vigil

• Receive Holy Communion on the feast or its vigil

• Make a sincere confession before or on the day of the feast

• Place your complete trust in Jesus

• Venerate the image of the Divine Mercy

• Show mercy to others in word, deed, and prayer for them

A plenary indulgence is also available

In ADDITION to the Extraordinary Graces of the feast, Pope St. John Paul also institututed A SECOND "plenary indulgence, granted under the usual conditions (sacramental confession, Eucharistic communion and prayer for the intentions of Supreme Pontiff) to the faithful who, on the Second Sunday of Easter or Divine Mercy Sunday, in any church or chapel, in a spirit that is completely detached from the affection for a sin, even a venial sin, take part in the prayers and devotions held in honour of Divine Mercy, or who, in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament exposed or reserved in the tabernacle, recite the Our Father and the Creed, adding a devout prayer to the merciful Lord Jesus (e.g. Merciful Jesus, I trust in You!)..."

What is a plenary indulgence?

Indulgences lessen or even totally eliminate the need to be purged from our attachment to sin through purgatory. A plenary indulgence can be obtained on behalf of others.

Even after the obstacle to heaven is removed in a good confession, we are still left with the prospect of needing to be purged of our attachment to sin, thus a period in purgatory. If our sorrow for our sins reaches the level of perfect contrition we are able to obtain plenary indulgences, allowing us or others to bypass purgatory. Imperfect contrition will subtract from but not completely remove the necessity of purgatory. This is called a partial indulgence.

I vow and consecrate to God all that is in me: My memory and my actions to God the Father; My understanding and my words to God the Son; My will and my thoughts to God the Holy Spirit.

St. Francis de Sales

He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he himself might be preeminent.

Colossians 1:18

If this mission may sometimes seem difficult, call to mind the words of the Risen Lord: ‘I am with you always, to the close of the age’ (Matthew 28:20). Certain of his presence, you shall fear no difficulty and no obstacle. His word will enlighten you; his Body and his Blood will nourish you and sustain you on your daily journey to eternity.

St. John Paul II, 2004

Through the Holy Spirit comes our restoration to paradise, our ascension into the kingdom of heaven, our return to the adoption of sons, our liberty to call God our Father, our being made partakers of the grace of Christ, our being called children of light, our sharing in eternal glory, and, in a word, our being brought into a state of all "fulness of blessing," both in this world and in the world to come, of all the good gifts that are in store for us, by promise hereof, through faith, beholding the reflection of their grace as though they were already present, we await the full enjoyment.

Saint Basil

"I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”

The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.... For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.

Then many of his disciples who were listening said, “This saying is hard; who can accept it?”

As a result of this, many [of] his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him.

Jesus then said to the Twelve, “Do you also want to leave?”

Simon Peter answered him, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."

The Gospel of John, Chapter 6

Spending time in prayer and reflection, in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, is a great help to our supernatural faith. At its most basic level, Eucharistic Adoration is simply spending time with Our Beloved Lord. We can acknowledge that how we spend our time is a significant indicator of what we value in life. Spending time with Jesus’s Eucharistic Face indicates that we seek to know Him and follow Him.

Bishop Joseph Strickland