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At times it seems easier to believe in the power of death and inescapable impasse.
And yet…and yet…resurrection, stones rolled away, new insights on the road, food prepared in friendship, reconciliation and forgiveness are also amazingly present.
Easter Blessings, with love,
The Sisters of St. Joseph
Header Image: Unsplash/Thanti Riess
My enduring memory of Holy Saturday evokes a sense of a strange emptiness and endless waiting in a dark void. This final day of lent follows the dramatic liturgy of Good Friday. At the end of the Friday service, altar coverings are removed leaving a bare altar and an empty tabernacle. We are left to meditate on the suffering and death of Jesus in a liturgical vacuum. Saturday’s bewildering atmosphere is one of restless waiting. We are part of a suffering universe longing for the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise of resurrection and redemption. This day we dwell in hope.
Crown Of Thorns With Royal Shadow Watercolor Digital Art by Allan Swart
This state of emptiness throughout Holy Saturday prepares us for the Easter Vigil which traditionally begins on the same evening. The strange atmosphere of Holy Saturday increases our longing to celebrate the Easter drama which renews and strengthens our faith. We are ready to rejoice in professing that we and all that exists have been created by a God who loves, forgives, and redeems us.
Our world is full of suffering caused by hate, wars, greed, and the destruction of our planet. Yet, amid this chaos, there is much love to be found in the work done by so many ordinary people to care for persons and the earth. Love, not force, violence, or punishment brings about change. Easter is the most important feast in the liturgical calendar. It is a celebration of our faith in God who will not abandon what He has created. The victory of Jesus’ resurrection is a celebration of great joy, a promise of redemption, and a call to renew our faith. We participate in a loving union with God who invites and empowers each of us to share in this work of healing our world and bringing about unity among all peoples and with all of creation.
- Sister Patricia McKeon
I was reflecting on what to write for a Good Friday blog and this image by William Blake kept coming to my mind. I have recently been reading Meister Eckhart’s Book of the Heart and his poem, Become Empty, also spoke to me in relation to Good Friday. I share both of these inspiring works as you, too, contemplate Good Friday and what it means for you.
Sister Ann MacDonald, CSJ
“BECOME EMPTY
So you want to find God?
Empty yourself of everything -
your worries and your hopes,
your wishes and your fears.
For when you are finally
empty, God will find you,
because God cannot tolerate
emptiness and will come
to fill you with himself.”
Header Image: Unsplash/Wim van 't Einde
Today Christians of many faith traditions gather to begin the solemn celebrations of Holy Week – sometimes referred to as the Triduum. It is the celebration of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Many of us who take part in this extended sacred feast, have parts we like and other parts we find difficult to move through - and even that may change for us from year to year.
Of course, the liturgies of these days focus on the Scriptural texts which are both historical and theological and spiritual. We probably all know the flow of the historical events as recounted in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. But these days are more than an historical remembering. They have application and meaning today for each of us who try to understand how God is acting in us and in our world today. We need to understand that God’s action is still with us as we seek to respond to the woes and agonies of today.
“We need to understand that God’s action is still with us as we seek to respond to the woes and agonies of today.”
Today on Maundy Thursday many begin with a special supper, as Jesus and disciples did around the Seder supper. I know that in my mind it is easy to slip into an “audience mentality” and watch the story unfold. But much more is happening here. I am being invited to see this story unfold with God’s eyes in my life and in our world today. I am being invited to borrow God’s senses. Therefore, this is not a forced experience, but a grace that is offered. So God may offer us in some way, the capacity to see with God’s eyes, hear with God’s ears, and speak with God’s mouth, and love with God’s heart.
As we look around the world, and see the pain and suffering of so many, the deeper meaning is not to despair because of the pain and suffering and loss of so much, but to see it all with the eyes of love – the eyes of God. This is a radical stance. It is for me a grace and the invitation is to discover how God is inviting us to learn the meaning of hope. As we remember together and ask to see this time with God’s eyes.
Sister Joan Atkinson, CSJ
Looking for a creative culinary activity that will teach children and others about the true meaning of EASTER?
THE EMPTY TOMB ROLLS (also known as “Resurrection Rolls”) will not only dazzle and excite little hands but will make a lasting impact, and they taste good, too! The experience of creating these little delectables will more than fulfill your expectations.
All you will need is:
1 (10 ounce) package jumbo refrigerated crescent rolls
¼ cup sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
8 large marshmallows
¼ cup butter (melted)
INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare a jumbo muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray.
Separate crescent rolls into 8 triangles and set aside. Combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
Dip each marshmallow into butter, then roll in cinnamon sugar and place on a triangle dough. Pinch dough around marshmallow, sealing all edges. MAKE SURE TO SEAL WELL OR THE MARSHMALLOW WILL ESCAPE.
Dip tops of dough into the remaining butter and then into the cinnamon-sugar. Place roll with the sugar side up into the muffin cups.
Bake at 375 degrees for 13 – 15 minutes. Eat warm.
Open to reveal the empty tomb!
Read the Easter story from the Bible found in Matthew 27-28, Mark 15-16, Luke 23-24 or in John 19-20.
If you are not familiar with the Bible the same story is recounted by these four men, Matthew, Mark, Luke or John. The story is virtually the same but is found in these four places in the Bible. How the rolls represent the Easter Story:
Jesus —marshmallow
After Jesus died on the cross he was wrapped in linen— roll in butter and cinnamon
Jesus put into tomb — crescent roll dough
3rd day Jesus has risen & no longer in tomb — open cooked roll to find NO marshmallow/“empty tomb”
Christ has risen. He has risen indeed!
-Sister Maureen Meloche, CSJ
