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Pray within the framework of Jesus …..

Let your face shine upon your servant;

save me in your steadfast love.

Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord. (Ps. 31, 24)

LENT 2016N e w s l e t t e r

Pray with Jesus (Ps. 31)

In you, O Lord, I seek refuge;

do not me ever be put to shame

(Ps 31, 1)

Pray with Jesus (Ps. 31)

Into your hand I commit my

spirit; you have redeemed me, O

Lord, faithful God. (Ps 31, 5)

Pray with Jesus (Ps. 31)

I have become like a broken

vessel. (Ps. 31, 12)

Pray with Jesus (Ps. 31)

But I trust in you, O Lord; I

say, You are my God. My times

are in your hand. (Ps 31,15)

GOOD FRIDAY IN FOUR STEPSWhat we do in the liturgy is an expression of how we are to live in our daily

lives. There should be no separation between how we pray and how we live. This bulletin seeks to lead us to make the link between our prayer and our daily lives.

Good Friday is part two of the three days of Easter (the tridium – the Latin word which means the three days).

There is no introduction to this liturgy. It is but a continuation of the liturgy that was begun last evening on Holy Thursday. The priest and servers will enter the church building in silence and lay down, flat, on the floor. This is an ancient sign of humility. We are not worthy to be in God’s presence. We begin in silent prayer. This first gesture speaks loudly of our behavior with God. We are only creatures. We bend our bodies in service before the great mystery of

God.Then we begin with the Song of the Suffering Servant (Is. 52,13-53,12). The first Christians interpreted the death of Jesus (shameful and that of an outcast) in light of the Suffering Servant who would take on his shoulders the sin and evil within the people and lead them to God. His sacrifice would be the redemption of the human race with God.

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LENT 2016

Christ became obedient for us to death, even death

on a cross.Therefore God

exalted him, and gave him the name above every name.

The Passion of Jesus: the Gospel according to John

Each Good Friday we read the Passion of Jesus in a dramatic format. There are different parts to this reading. We ask that the congregation never be passive but enter into the reading with their imagination, heart and mind. There are times when you are listening to a piece of music and you catch yourself becoming a part of the music. You may be directed the musicians while you sit comfortably in your chair or you may be doing dishes and find your body swaying to the beat of the music. You have become a part of the music not a passive listener. This is the frame of mind that you must receive the passion of Jesus on Good Friday, 2016.

The Gospel of John is different from the other three gospels. John has shaped his Gospel to a church that struggled with the divinity of Jesus. He clearly leads his Church to see that Jesus is the Son of God. When we listen to the Passion of Jesus today we will hear that Jesus is in charge all the way. He will go to his death, not defeated, but in power. He speaks of being ‘lifted up’ which is a play on images from the bronze serpent that Moses lifted up the desert to protect the Hebrew people from dying of the snake bites. Jesus’ lifting up is on the cross. This action will bring the people salvation (that is, they will be brought to freedom in God).

When you listen to the Passion you must use an active imagination

and place yourself right in the scene. Hear the arguments, the shouting, the determined response of Jesus. Be the hostile crowd when Jesus challenges them. What do you hear in the voice of Jesus?

Stand with the crowd at the trial of Jesus before Pilate. Look at the confusion in the eyes of Pilate and finally how he capitulates toward the crowd. What are you feeling standing with the hostile people and the Jewish priests?

Then stand with the women at the foot of the cross. The site of the execution was a very public place where all the passer-bys could read the offense that this criminal was being executed here. What do you see in the faces of the women and of his Mother?

Place yourself firmly in the reading. It must speak to you and you must speak to it.

How is the Passion coming alive for you? for your parish community?

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Pray for people in pain ….

In your daily prayer bring to God all the

people you know who are suffering and in pain. It may be serious heart issues, cancer,

addictions or the diminishment of old age.

Pray for the people who

struggle ...

Bring those who struggle with mental illness, who suffer rejection and social exclusion. Bring to God the people other people who not consider to be important.

Bring the people you try to

avoid ...

Everyone has difficult people they have to deal with. People we misunderstand; people who are hard to get along with. Bring these tough people to God.

LENT 2016

Part three: the ten solemn prayers

The liturgy sets the standard of how we are to pray. The ten prayer (i.e, universal) lays before the Church the correct way to pray.

One of the correct criticism that is being made of our incessant practice of texting and being in contact with people is that we are always in contact with our own ‘kind.’ We are not listening and being in dialogue with people who are different from ourselves. We may be in minute by minute contact with others but too often it is very narrow and very self-interested.

Pray can be stifled by the same attitude and practice.

There will always be a danger that people will become very

narrow in how they pray. It would be incorrect to limit ourselves to pray for our own church, family and country. Prayer must be like the four corners of the cross. It must stretch to the four corners of the world and embrace all human beings. Listen to each of the ten prayers and allow yourself to be stretched to pray with the very heart of Jesus Christ.

We begin by praying for the church universal, the reigning pope, our local bishop, priests, deacons, religious and all of the faithful. We pray that each of the baptized serves God faithfully.

Then we move the cathecumens, that is, the people who are preparing to be baptized into the mystery of Jesus Christ. These are the people who want to live the Christian life. As they are seeking new life in Christ, bring

your parish community to have the same hunger for Christ.

Then we move to pray for unity among all Christians. This is pressing on our hearts.

Then follow that we pray for the Jewish people, and those who do accept Jesus Christ and then we pray for those who do not believe in God. Each time we may be praying for one of your relatives or one of your co-workers.

Our prayer extends to all peoples, everywhere.

Make your own prayers• Is there someone that we

have not included in these prayers. Bring them in your heart this Good Friday. Hold them before God.

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LENT 2016

The cross has consequences:Almighty ever-living God, who have restored us to life by the blessed death and resurrection of your Christ; preserve in us the work of your mercy that we may live a live devoted to your service.

Part four: the wood of the cross

The wood of the cross is the center of our symbols. Only if you have the soul of a poet will you be able to grasp what the meaning of this part of the liturgy is. If you are all a practical get-it-done-type of guy and do not have any inkling of a poet you will miss this crucial moment.

There is a play on images here. The first image (and memory) is the fall of Adam and Eve at the tree. Human beings were placed in this fertile garden. All belonged to them but God commanded that they were not to eat of the tree of ‘good and evil.’ We know that they wanted to be their own god and followed the temptation of the devil. They sinned! And for their punishment they were banished from the fertile garden.

Now the image of the tree as downfall (arrogant self-assertion

and disobedience) will become the tree of salvation.

Jesus offers his life in faithfulness to God on the ‘tree.’ The cross is our tree of life. Jesus’ sacrifice makes the wood the new instrument of salvation. It will only be by joining ourselves to the sacrifice of Jesus that we will be able to brought to God. What was the wood of curse and damnation, now becomes the tree of life with God.

When we come forward to touch (and reverence) the wood of the cross, hold both images in your heart.

PRAY GOOD FRIDAY IN FOUR PARTSPRAY GOOD FRIDAY IN FOUR PARTSPRAY GOOD FRIDAY IN FOUR PARTSPRAY GOOD FRIDAY IN FOUR PARTS

Part one: pray with the early

church as they discovered that the pains of the cross are the liberation brought about by

the Suffering Servant.

Part two: actively enter into the drama, the struggles

and the power of Jesus. Stand beside

each of the characters of this story.

Part three: be stretched by each of the ten prayers for the church,

for the world, for all religious people and for unbelievers. The prayers are like the four ends of the cross: they stretch

to the four corners of the world.

Stage four: when you touch the wood of the cross bring all the

sin/evil of the human race and the power of God to redeem us to your prayer.

This is a very cosmic act that embraces all humanity and the gift of God to redeem every human from all evil

and selfishness.