'A fire with many flames divided, yet never dimmed by sharing of its light.' Sunday Reflections, Easter Sunday

 

The Resurrection of Christ

Rembrandt [Web Gallery of Art]

The Easter Vigil in the Holy Night

Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa)

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)

At the Mass during the Day

Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland)

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)

Gospel John 20:1-9  (English Standard Version, Anglicised)

Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going towards the tomb. Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 

Léachtaí i nGaeilge

John 20:1-9 in Filipino Sign Language

Be glad, let earth be glad as glory floods her,

ablaze with light from her eternal King,

let all corners of the earth be glad,

knowing an end to gloom and darkness . . .

Therefore, dearest friends,

standing in the awesome glory of this holy light . . .

that he, who has been pleased to number me,

though unworthy, among the Levites,

and pour into me his light unshadowed . . .

This is the night

that with a pillar of fire

banished the darkness of sin . . .

This is the night 

that even now, throughout the world,

sets Christian believers apart from worldly vices

and from the gloom of sin . . .

This is the night

of which it is written:

The night shall be as bright as day,

dazzling is the night for me,

and full of gladness . . .

But know we know the praises of this pillar,

which glowing fire ignites for God's honour,

a fire with many flames divided,

yet never dimmed by sharing of its light . . .

Therefore, O Lord,

we pray you that this candle,

hallowed to the honour of your name,

may persevere undimmed,

to overcome the darkness of this night.

Receive it as a pleasing fragrance,

and let it mingle with the lights of heaven.

May this flame be found still burning

by the Morning Star:

the one Morning Star who never sets,

Christ your Son,

who, coming back from death's domain,

has shed his peaceful light on humanity,

and lives and reigns for ever and ever.

Above are extracts from the Exsultet, the Easter Proclamation, sung at the beginning of the Easter Vigil after the newly-lit Paschal Candle is brought into the church. I have highlighted the passages dealing with light, the great symbol of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Rembrandt's painting at the top, The Resurrection of Christ, captures the light breaking through the darkness. And his painting below, Christ on the Cross, shows our Saviour on the Cross to be The Light that conquers the darkness. Rembrandt was a master in his play of light with darkness.

Christ on the Cross

Rembrandt [Web Gallery of Art]

Fr Pádraig Ó Croiligh is a priest of the Diocese of Derry. Some years ago he published a book of religious poetry in Irish with the title Brúitíní Creidimh, which could be translated as 'Mashed Potatoes of Faith'. In his short poems he helps the reader digest aspects of our faith and religious practices. 

His poem Fód na Cásca (The Sod of Easter) refers to what seems to have been a custom in parts of rural Ireland where the hearth was the heart of the home, with a fire made from turf (peat) 24/7 as we say now, for cooking and for heat in the winter. The family and visitors gathered around it for the family rosary, for telling stories and singing. In many parts of Ireland people would cut their own turf in local bogland during the summer.

The poem for me is a reflection of these lines in the Exsultet: glowing fire ignites for God's honour, a fire with many flames divided, yet never dimmed by sharing of its light. One of the most beautiful moments in the Easter Vigil is when the light of the Paschal Candle is shared, those who have lit their candles from it passing on the light to others until the whole church is ablaze with the light of Easter. Not only is the light never dimmed but it is multiplied by sharing. 

The newly-lit fire in the hearth on Holy Saturday is to be shared with those who live in the house and with those who visit, giving heat and light and nourishment through the food cooked and baked over it. And it recognises our need for constant renewal and forgiveness in the last line: go cionn bliana eile ar a laghad (at least for another year).

Turf (peat) fire

[Wikipedia, photographer]

Fód na Cásca / The Easter Sod

Le / by Pádraig Ó Croiligh 

Ghlanaidís an simléir fadó

Aoine an Chéasta,

Agus d’fhágaidís gan tine é

Go dtí an lá dár gcionn

Go bhfuair siad aibhleog bheannaithe

Ó thine na Cásca

Ar an Sathairn Naofa.

Aiséírí an Tiarna

a thugann lasadh don tine teallaigh

go cionn bliana eile ar a laghad.

 

They would clean the chimney long ago

On Good Friday,

And would leave it without a fire

Till the following day

When they would be able to light a sod

Blessed by the Easter fire

On Holy Saturday.

The Resurrection of the Lord

Is what lights the fire in the hearth

At least for another year.

Deacon proclaiming the Exsultet at Paschal Candle

[Wikipedia, photographer]

Just before preparing this I read an article in the April 2021 issue of Pioneer magazine by James Shevlin, whom I know, about a wake and funeral in rural Ireland during the Covid winter when neighbours could not visit the home of the deceased or attend the funeral Mass. The remains were brought home at night. But as the family of the deceased came within a few miles of their village, the glow could be seen in the night sky. In the cold and frost, people stood outside their houses, along the roadway, at the end of roads, at crossroads holding all sorts of lighted candles and making makeshift altars and shrines to guide them all the way back home. 

The family later said that there were no words to explain the uplifting of spirits they experienced with the show or support they received . . . What was done was done with real love and kndness and support for them by people closest and dearest to them.

This truly was a Christian community expressing the truth of the words of the Easter Proclamation: a fire with many flames divided, yet never dimmed by sharing of its  light. 

An Easter Song from Beirut, Lebanon, 2011

I don't know of a more joyful expression of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ than this Easter song in Arabic.

May the people of Lebanon, who are undergoing times of difficulty and uncertainty, experience the consolation of the Risen Lord and find support from the international community in their vocation to be a land of encounter, coexistence and pluralism (Pope Francis, Urbi et Orbi, Easter Sunday 2021).

Extraordinary Form of the Mass

Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) 

Easter Vigil

The complete celebration in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 04-03-2021 if necessary).

Easter Sunday Mass 

The Complet Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 04-04-2021 if necessary).

Epistle: 1 Corinthians 5:7-8.  Gospel: Mark 16:1-7.

 

Authentic Beauty

Authentic beauty, however, unlocks the yearning of the human heart, the profound desire to know, to love, to go towards the Other, to reach for the Beyond.

Pope Benedict XVI meeting with artists in the Sistine Chapel, 21 November 2009.

Regina Caeli

Sung at a Vigil for Life in Notre-Dame de Paris, 22 May 2012

Regina Caeli is one of four seasonal Marian anthems sung or recited at the end of Compline (Night Prayer) in the Divine Office (Liturgy of the Hours, Breviary). It is sung from the Easter Vigil through Pentecost Sunday.

Regina caeli, laetare, alleluia; 
quia quem meruisti portare, alleluia; 
resurrexit sicut dixit, alleluia; 
ora pro nobis Deum, alleluia.

Queen of Heaven, rejoice. Alleluia.
For He, whom thou wast worthy to bear. Alleluia.
Has risen as He said. Alleluia.
Pray for us to God. Alleluia.

[Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, alleluia,

For the Lord has truly risen, alleluia.

Let us pray.

God of life, you have given joy to the world

by the resurrection of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Through the prayers of his mother, the Virgin Mary,

bring us to the happiness of eternal life.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.]

The Regina Caeli replaces the Angelus during the Easter season, with the prayer in square brackets above added.

For me, the beauty of the traditional Gregorian chant in Notre-Dame de Paris above is that the Regina Caeli is sung by a congregation of believers praying that all of us will respect every human life, especially life in the womb. 

The setting below by Tomás Luis de Victoria is surely an expression of the beauty of the Risen Lord and of his - and our - Blessed Mother, the Queen of Heaven and Earth.

Regina Caeli

Setting for eight voices by Tomás Luis de Victoria

Sung by The Sixteen / Harry Christopher

The Sacred Paschal Triduum - Tréan Naofa na Cásca

 The Sacred Paschal Triduum

Tréan Naofa na Cásca

 

Thursday of the Lord's Supper

Déardaoin Shéire an Tiarna

Christ Washing the Feet of His Disciples (detail)

Tintoretto [Web Gallery of Art]

Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it round his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped round him (John 13:3-5, ESVUK). 

Ó bhí a fhios ag Íosa go raibh gach uile ní tugtha isteach ina lámha dó, ag an Athair, agus gur ó Dhia a ghabh sé amach, agus gur ar Dhia a bhí a thriall, d'éirigh sé ón suipéar, agus leag sé uaidh a chuid éadaigh, agus cheangail sé tuáille faoina choim. Ansin chuir sé uisce sa bháisín agus thosaigh ag ní cosa na ndeisceabal agus á dtiormú leis an tuáille a bhí faoina choim (Eoin 13:3-5, ABN).

The Last Supper

El Greco [Web Gallery of Art]

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes (1 Corinthians 11:23-26, ESVUK).

Is é fios a fuair mé féin ón Tiarna agus a thug mé daoibhse: mar atá, an oíche a bhí an Tiarna Íosa le tabhairt ar láimh, thóg sé arán agus, ar altú dó, bhris agus dúirt: “Is é seo mo chorp atá le tabhairt suas ar bhur son; déanaigí é seo mar chuimhne orm.” Mar an gcéanna tar éis na proinne thóg sé an cupa ag rá: “Is é an cupa seo an nuachonradh i mo chuid fola. Déanaigí é seo mar chuimhne orm a mhinice a ólfaidh sibh é.” A mhinice, más ea, a itheann sibh an t‑arán seo agus a ólann sibh an cupa, bíonn sibh ag fógairt bhás an Tiarna nó go dtiocfaidh sé (1 Coraintigh 11:23-26, ABN).

Antiphona ad Communionen  Communion Antiphon

Evening Mass ( 1 Corinthians 11:24-25

Hoc Corpus, quod pro vobis tradetur:

This is the Body that will be given up for you;

hic calix novi testamenti est in meo Sanguine, dicit Dominus;

this is the Chalice of the new covenant in my Blood, says the Lord;

hoc facite, quotiescumque sumitis, in meam commemorationem.

do this, wherever you receive it, in memory of me.

Friday of the Passion of the Lord

Aoine Pháis an Tiarna

Crucifixion with the Virgin, John the Evangelist, and Mary Magdelene

Blessed Fra Angelico [Web Gallery of Art]

After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfil the Scripture), “I thirst.” A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished”, and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit (John 19:28-30, ESVUK).

Tar éis an méid sin, ó bhí a fhios ag Íosa go raibh gach ní déanta feasta, chun go gcomhlíonfaí an scrioptúr, dúirt sé: “Tá tart orm.” Bhí soitheach ansiúd lán d'fhínéagar. Thum siad spúinse as an bhfínéagar agus chuir siad ar bharr chraobh iosóipe é, agus chuir siad chun a bhéil é. Tar éis dó an fínéagar a ghlacadh dúirt Íosa. “Tá sé curtha i gcrích.” Chrom sé a cheann agus thug uaidh a spiorad (Eoin 19:28-30, ABN).

Oh Sacred Head Surrounded

Sung by Ateneo Chamber Ministry (Manila)

Words ascribed to St Bernard of Clairvaux.

Translated by Henry Baker. Music by Hans Leo Hassler.

Arrangement by Johann Sebastian Bach.

Deposition from the Cross

Blessed Fra Angelico [Web Gallery of Art]

After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body. Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight. So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there (John 19:38-42, ESVUK).

Ina dhiaidh sin d'iarr Iósaef ó Airiomatáia cead ar Phioláit - ba dheisceabal d'Íosa é; os íseal, áfach, ar eagla na nGiúdach - corp Íosa a bhreith leis, agus thug Pioláit an cead. Tháinig sé mar sin agus thóg sé an corp. Níocodaemas freisin - é siúd a tháinig san oíche chuige ar dtús - tháinig sé agus meascán miorra agus aló aige, timpeall céad punt meáchain. Thóg siad corp Íosa dá bhrí sin agus rinne siad é a chuachadh i línéadaí maille le spíosraí, de réir nós adhlactha na nGiúdach. San áit inar céasadh Íosa bhí gairdín, agus sa ghairdín sin bhí tuama nua nár cuireadh aon duine ann riamh roimhe. Is ansiúd a chuir siad Íosa, de bhrí gurbh é lá ullmhaithe na nGiúdach é, agus ó bhí an tuama in aice láimhe (Eoin 19:38-42, ABN).

The Entombment of Christ

Rembrandt [Web Gallery of Art]

Holy Saturday

An Satharn Naofa

His cross stands empty

Sung by the Choir of Ely Cathedral, England

His cross stands empty in a world grown silent
Through hours of anguish and of dread;
In stillness, earth awaits the resurrection,
While Christ goes down to wake the dead

He summons Adam and his generations,
Brings light where darkness endless seemed;
He frees and claims His own, so long held captive,
Who, with the living, are redeemed.

With God the Father and the Holy Spirit,

Give praise to Christ the crucified,

Who, through the ages, seeks to save his lost ones:

The sinful men for whom he died.

This hymn, from The Stanbrook Abbey Hymnal, is used in The Office of Readings for Holy Saturday in The Divine Office approved by the Episcopal Conferences of Australia, England and Wales, Ireland, Scotland.

'They think faith is a big electric blanket, when of course it is the cross.' Sunday Reflections, Palm Sunday, Year B

 

From The Gospel of John (2003) directed by Philip Saville

[John 12:12-16 runs from 0:00 to 0:56]

The Commemoration of the Lord’s Entrance into Jerusalem

Mark 11:1-10 (English Standard Version, Anglicised)

Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’” And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it. And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go. And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!”

or

John 12:12-16 (English Standard Version, Anglicised)

The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written,

“Fear not, daughter of Zion;
behold, your king is coming,
    sitting on a donkey's colt!”

His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him.

Readings for Mass

Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland)

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)

Léachtaí i nGaeilge

Chalice

Unknown Hungarian goldsmith [Web Gallery of Art]

And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many” (Mark 14:23-24).

Christ on the Mount of Olives

Goya [Web Gallery of Art]

Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will (Mark 14:36).

Flannery O'Connor [Wikipedia]

(25 March 1929 - 3 August 1964)

Mary Flannery O'Connor, who was born on the feast of the Annunciation in 1925, grew up as a devout Catholic in Georgia, in the 'Bible Belt' of the USA. At the time fewer than one per cent of the population of Georgian were Catholics. In 1951 she was diagnosed with lupus, from which her father had died when she was 15. She said of her writings, The stories are hard but they are hard because there is nothing harder or less sentimental than Christian realism. She also wrote, Grace changes us and change is painful. The following quotation reflects this [emphasis added]:

I think there is no suffering greater than what is caused by the doubts of those who want to believe. I know what torment this is, but I can only see it, in myself anyway, as the process by which faith is deepened. A faith that just accepts is a child’s faith and all right for children, but eventually you have to grow religiously as every other way, though some never do. What people don’t realize is how much religion costs. They think faith is a big electric blanket, when of course it is the cross. It is much harder to believe than not to believe. If you feel you can’t believe, you must at least do this: keep an open mind. Keep it open toward faith, keep wanting it, keep asking for it, and leave the rest to God.

Source: The Habit of Being: Letters of Flannery O’Connor [Thanks to Plough]

May Holy Week be a time when each of us can embrace whatever share in the Cross God has in mind for us and may it prepare us to celebrate the Joy and Hope of Easter once again.

Extraordinary Form of the Mass

Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) 

Palm  Sunday

The complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 3-28-2021 if necessary).

The Blessing of Palms

Gospel: Matthew 21:1-9.

Mass

Epistle: Philippians 2:5-11.  Gospel: Matthew 26:36-27:66.

 

Authentic Beauty

Authentic beauty, however, unlocks the yearning of the human heart, the profound desire to know, to love, to go towards the Other, to reach for the Beyond.

Pope Benedict XVI meeting with artists in the Sistine Chapel, 21 November 2009.

Annunciation

Alessandro Allori [Wikipedia]

Thursday, 25 March, is the Solemnity of the Annunciation.

Ave Maria (Angelus Domini)

A setting of the Angelus in Latin by German composer Franz Biebl (1906 - 2001)

Sung by a virtual choir in Indonesia

Conducted by Agustinus Bambang Jusana

The Angelus

Jean-François Millet [Web Gallery of Art]