BarbTherese Posted March 25, 2023 Author Share Posted March 25, 2023 From Divine Office (General Calendar) Monday 27th March 2023 - 5th Week LENT Morning Prayer - Lauds MORNING PRAYER Evening Prayer - EVENING PRAYER Night Prayer - NIGHT PRAYER (Compline) Second Reading Office of Readings Monday 27th March 2023 Second Reading From the commentary on the penitential psalms (1555) by St John Fisher, bishop and martyr If anyone should sin, we have an advocate before the Father Christ Jesu is our bishop, his most precious body is our sacrifice, which he offered upon a cross for the redemption of all the world. The blood shed for our redemption was not the blood of goats or calves as in the old law, it was the very blood most innocent of our saviour Jesus Christ. The temple wherein our bishop did sacrifice was not made by man’s hand but only by the power of God, he shed his precious blood for our redemption in the face of all the world, which is the temple made only by the hand of God. This temple has two divers parts, one is the earth whereon we inhabit, the other is not yet known to us mortal creatures. First he did sacrifice in the earth when he suffered his passion. After, in a new clothing or garment, the vesture of immortality, and with his own precious blood he entered into sanctum sanctorum [the Holy of Holies] that is to say into heaven when he shewed his said most precious blood before the throne of his father which he shed for all sinners 7 times. By this holy sacrifice almighty God must needs have pity and execute his mercy to all true penitents and this sacrifice shall continue not only year by year as the manner was of Jews, but also it is daily offered for our comfort, and every hour and moment for our most strong succour, wherefore saint Paul says Having obtained eternal redemption. By it we are redeemed for ever. Every contrite and true penitent person not willing to fall again but with a full purpose to continue in virtuous living is partaker of this holy sacrifice. As saint John shews in his first epistle: My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin; but if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And he is the expiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. EUCHARISTIC ADORATION - LIVE ONLINE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbTherese Posted March 25, 2023 Author Share Posted March 25, 2023 (edited) I do find cappie's homilies HERE in Open Mic excellent for forming a resolution for the coming week. I always look forward to reading his homilies. cappie is a Catholic priest and, in my book, a sort of spiritual formator for the Community of Phatmass..............then all of a sudden, it seems, cappie is talking to me specifically in a homily posted - a special charism/gift of The Holy Spirit I think to our priesthood in The Sacrament of Holy Orders. As I said in a previous post, The Holy Spirit can crop up very unexpectedly, unanticipated (at times in unexpected, unanticipated places as well) with something to say to me (or anyone for that matter) quite personally and specifically. Sort of a little epiphany or pentecost (communication of The Holy Spirit) in the life of any person at all. But in my experience, rather often through a Catholic priest. As I start to read one of cappie's homilies, I am not aware it will have something to say to me quite personally (until it leaps at me off the page), and cappie would be unaware in writing a homily of it too! The Holy Spirit can also be a hidden and humble worker. The two greatest figures in The Bible after Jesus are Mary and Joseph. Mary is the Mother of Jesus who is God, while St Joseph cared for and protected them through two particularly dangerous stages in their journeys when Jesus is just a baby (escaping the murder of the innocents and then the flight into Egypt). They were and are hidden workers in my book, filled as they were with The Holy Spirit. Mary and Joseph tend to continue in that vein............or rather, they have been in my journey to date. o0o "No one comes to The Father except through Me" .............(and come to Jesus through the Power of The Holy Spirit). Thank you, Father, for the gratuitous Gift of Faith. My brother died at 29 years of age in 'vehicle accident'. These selections from Catholic African music was one of his favourite recordings. After he had died, we found it with his record collection. It did not intrinsically mean much to my other brothers, I don't think, but it meant the world to me. About a week or two before Bob died, he asked me to his home for dinner. I had no inkling Bob would leave this earth in a week or two (as did Bob) . In Bob I see another hidden and humble worker, confirmed by my Carmelite prioress. She in fact pointed this out to me - i.e. that he had had a special mission here. His wife had left him at this point. When I arrived there was another couple there, man and wife. They didn't say much really in the course of the evening, which was mainly sort of small talk. Then Bob suddenly turned to me and quite out of context said: The subject of religion had not come up, not even in a general sense: "Sis, what IS God, who is He?" "Bob, have you ever loved someone?" "Yeah, I have" "Well, God IS THAT LOVE" I went on, or was about to: "No, Sis. Don't say any more, that is enough". What does the word Soolaimon mean? "Soolaimon" (African) can mean "hello," "welcome," "good-bye" and "peace be with you." Edited March 25, 2023 by BarbTherese Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbTherese Posted March 25, 2023 Author Share Posted March 25, 2023 ..............and mea maxima culpa: ____________________________________o0o____________________________________ __________________________________o0o_____________________________________ Fun Facts: Can You Match These Saints To Their Weird Patronages? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbTherese Posted March 25, 2023 Author Share Posted March 25, 2023 Neil Diamond "A Man of God" (4mins 20secs) Article on Neil's Journey - Getting Home Neil (at 77 years) announced he has Parkinson's Disease and will no longer perform on stage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbTherese Posted March 26, 2023 Author Share Posted March 26, 2023 From Divine Office (General Calendar) Tuesday 28th March 2023 - 5th Week LENT Morning Prayer - Lauds https://universalis.com/20230328/lauds.htm Evening Prayer - EVENING PRAYER https://universalis.com/20230328/vespers.htm Night Prayer - NIGHT PRAYER (Compline) https://universalis.com/20230328/compline.htm Second Reading Office of Readings Tuesday 28th March 2023 Second Reading From a sermon of Saint Leo the Great, pope The Cross of Christ is the source of all blessings, the cause of all graces Our understanding, which is enlightened by the Spirit of truth, should receive with purity and freedom of heart the glory of the cross as it shines in heaven and on earth. It should see with inner vision the meaning of the Lord’s words when he spoke of the imminence of his passion: The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Afterwards he said: Now my soul is troubled, and what am I to say? Father, save me from this hour. But it was for this that I came to this hour. Father, glorify your Son. When the voice of the Father came from heaven, saying, I have glorified him, and will glorify him again, Jesus said in reply to those around him: It was not for me that this voice spoke, but for you. Now is the judgement of the world, now will the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to myself. How marvellous the power of the cross; how great beyond all telling the glory of the passion: here is the judgement-seat of the Lord, the condemnation of the world, the supremacy of Christ crucified. Lord, you drew all things to yourself so that the devotion of all peoples everywhere might celebrate, in a sacrament made perfect and visible, what was carried out in the one temple of Judaea under obscure foreshadowings. Now there is a more distinguished order of Levites, a greater dignity for the rank of elders, a more sacred anointing for the priesthood, because your cross is the source of all blessings, the cause of all graces. Through the cross the faithful receive strength from weakness, glory from dishonour, life from death. The different sacrifices of animals are no more: the one offering of your body and blood is the fulfilment of all the different sacrificial offerings, for you are the true Lamb of God: you take away the sins of the world. In yourself you bring to perfection all mysteries, so that, as there is one sacrifice in place of all other sacrificial offerings, there is also one kingdom gathered from all peoples. Dearly beloved, let us then acknowledge what Saint Paul, the teacher of the nations, acknowledged so exultantly: This is a saying worthy of trust, worthy of complete acceptance: Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners. God’s compassion for us is all the more wonderful because Christ died, not for the righteous or the holy but for the wicked and the sinful, and, though the divine nature could not be touched by the sting of death, he took to himself, through his birth as one of us, something he could offer on our behalf. The power of his death once confronted our death. In the words of Hosea the prophet: Death, I shall be your death; grave, I shall swallow you up. By dying he submitted to the laws of the underworld; by rising again he destroyed them. He did away with the everlasting character of death so as to make death a thing of time, not of eternity. As all die in Adam, so all will be brought to life in Christ. EUCHARISTIC ADORATION LIVE ONLINE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbTherese Posted March 28, 2023 Author Share Posted March 28, 2023 From Divine Office (General Calendar) Wednesday 29th March 2023 - 5th Week LENT Morning Prayer - Lauds https://universalis.com/20230329/lauds.htm Evening Prayer - https://universalis.com/20230329/vespers.htm Night Prayer - https://universalis.com/20230329/compline.htm Second Reading Office of Readings Wednesday 29th March 2023 A commentary of St Augustine on Psalm 85 Jesus Christ prays for us and in us and is the object of our prayers God could give no greater gift to men than to make his Word, through whom he created all things, their head and to join them to him as his members, so that the Word might be both Son of God and son of man, one God with the Father, and one man with all men. The result is that when we speak with God in prayer we do not separate the Son from him, and when the body of the Son prays it does not separate its head from itself: it is the one Saviour of his body, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who prays for us and in us and is himself the object of our prayers. He prays for us as our priest, he prays in us as our head, he is the object of our prayers as our God. Let us then recognise both our voice in his, and his voice in ours. When something is said, especially in prophecy, about the Lord Jesus Christ that seems to belong to a condition of lowliness unworthy of God, we must not hesitate to ascribe this condition to one who did not hesitate to unite himself with us. Every creature is his servant, for it was through him that every creature came to be. We contemplate his glory and divinity when we listen to these words: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him nothing was made. Here we gaze on the divinity of the Son of God, something supremely great and surpassing all the greatness of his creatures. Yet in other parts of Scripture we hear him as one sighing, praying, giving praise and thanks. We hesitate to attribute these words to him because our minds are slow to come down to his humble level when we have just been contemplating him in his divinity. It is as though we were doing him an injustice in acknowledging in a man the words of one with whom we spoke when we prayed to God. We are usually at a loss and try to change the meaning. Yet our minds find nothing in Scripture that does not go back to him, nothing that will allow us to stray from him. Our thoughts must then be awakened to keep their vigil of faith. We must realise that the one whom we were contemplating a short time before in his nature as God took to himself the nature of a servant; he was made in the likeness of men and found to be a man like others; he humbled himself by being obedient even to accepting death; as he hung on the cross he made the psalmist’s words his own: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? We pray to him as God, he prays for us as a servant. In the first case he is the Creator, in the second a creature. Himself unchanged, he took to himself our created nature in order to change it, and made us one man with himself, head and body. We pray then to him, through him, in him, and we speak along with him and he along with us. EUCHARISTIC ADORATION LIVE ONLINE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbTherese Posted March 28, 2023 Author Share Posted March 28, 2023 ST JOSEPH, PATRON OF THE UNIVERSAL CHURCH Our Patron St Joseph Our Patron is St. Joseph, the Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Guardian of Jesus Christ. What better patron can a Church have? In fact on December 8, 1870, Blessed Pope Pius IX declared Joseph to be the Patron or Protector of the Universal Church. So we take him as our protector. As He protected Jesus Christ with his life so he protects us with his powerful prayers since we are the Body of Christ. After Mary, he is the holiest of Saints and he was given special graces to be the earthly father of Jesus. Imagine. This man got to be an image of the Father to Jesus. Jesus saw in Him the face of His Father. He taught Jesus to work. Imagine the beautiful moments he shared with Jesus in the workshop and in the home. He and Jesus must have found joy in their times with Mary. Joseph worked to make sure He and Mary had food on the table. He was a man who loved God above all things. He was pure of heart and his heart loved Mary and got to be the chaste spouse and guardian of the Virgin. Imagine how excited Joseph was that He in Mary would get to care for and nourish the Messiah, the longed for of Israel! Joseph truly protected Jesus and Mary taking them to Egypt when Herod sought to kill the Christ child. Not one word of Joseph is recorded in the Gospels. But he acted. He did what the Angel Gabriel commanded him. He was obedient. This prayer to Saint Joseph was composed by Pope Leo XIII in his 1889 encyclical, Quamquam pluries. He asked that it be added to the end of the Rosary. The prayer is enriched with a partial indulgence (Handbook of Indulgences, conc. 19) PRAYER To you, O blessed Joseph, do we come in our tribulation, and having implored the help of your most holy Spouse, we confidently invoke your patronage also. Through that charity which bound you to the Immaculate Virgin Mother of God and through the paternal love with which you embraced the Child Jesus, we humbly beg you graciously to regard the inheritance which Jesus Christ has purchased by his Blood, and with your power and strength to aid us in our necessities. O most watchful guardian of the Holy Family, defend the chosen children of Jesus Christ; O most loving father, ward off from us every contagion of error and corrupting influence; O our most mighty protector, be kind to us and from heaven assist us in our struggle with the power of darkness. As once you rescued the Child Jesus from deadly peril, so now protect God's Holy Church from the snares of the enemy and from all adversity; shield, too, each one of us by your constant protection, so that, supported by your example and your aid, we may be able to live piously, to die in holiness, and to obtain eternal happiness in heaven. Amen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbTherese Posted March 28, 2023 Author Share Posted March 28, 2023 CONFUSION I am also User Name: BarbaraTherese............. The following is where my first Post when I initially made Private Vows back in 2014 appears here: https://www.phatmass.com/phorum/topic/132845-private-vows-in-the-laityspirituality/ Hence, all my statistics on this Profile, BarbTherese, are wrong. Quite some time back now, Phatmass went down for a lengthy period. Prior to that, my Profile was BarbaraTherese. When the site came back up again, for some unknown reason, my Profile was BarbTherese. This must have caused almost endless confusion with people I know wanting to read my Profile activity. I dont seem to be able to get it fixed up - i.e. with both Profiles merged into the one Profile of BarbTherese, since this is what I am now using. ______________________________________________________________________ Goodness! Next year, I am privately vowed 10 Years !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbTherese Posted March 29, 2023 Author Share Posted March 29, 2023 These two actors did bear a resemblance to Popes Benedict and Francis. Above image is the pair of them watching the world cup. There is an interesting movie on Netflix "The Two Popes". I had not seen nor heard of it before- it was nominated in 2020 for an Academy Award. It is about Popes Benedict XVI and Pope Francis. It is stated as "Based on true events", and that could mean perhaps only two generally known events around which a whole movie could be made. "Based on" leaves plenty of room for artistic creativity, imagination. It needs to be remembered, therefore, as a largely fictional movie; nevertheless, "The Two Popes" does present an interesting perspective on these two Popes as priests and Popes - and as quite ordinary men. The movie is respectful of the Catholic Church at all levels. The one scene re the child abuse scandals was not lengthy, but it was very powerful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbTherese Posted March 29, 2023 Author Share Posted March 29, 2023 From Divine Office (General Calendar) Thursday 30th March 2023 - 5th Week LENT Morning Prayer https://universalis.com/20230330/lauds.htm Evening Prayer https://universalis.com/20230330/vespers.htm Night Prayer https://universalis.com/20230330/compline.htm Second Reading Office of Readings Thursday 30th March 2023 - 5th Week Lent From "Lumen gentium", the Second Vatican Council's dogmatic constitution on the Church The Church as sacrament of unity and salvation See, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah… I will plant my law within them and inscribe it in their hearts. I will be their God and they shall be my people… All shall know me, from the least to the greatest, says the Lord. It was Christ who established this new covenant, the new testament in his blood, calling into being, from Jews and Gentiles, a people that was to form a unity, not in human fashion but in the Spirit, as the new people of God. Those who believe in Christ, reborn not of corruptible but of incorruptible seed through the word of the living God, not from the flesh but from water and the Holy Spirit, are constituted in the fullness of time as a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people God has made his own…, once no people but now the people of God. This messianic people has Christ as its head: Christ who was given up for our sins and rose again for our justification; bearing now the name that is above every name, he reigns in glory in heaven. His people enjoy the dignity and freedom of the children of God, in whose hearts the Holy Spirit dwells as in a temple. They have as their law the new commandment of loving as Christ himself has loved us. They have as their goal the kingdom of God, begun on earth by God himself and destined to grow until it is also brought to perfection by him at the end of time, when Christ, our life, will appear, and creation itself will be freed from slavery to corruption and take on the freedom of the glory of God’s children. This messianic people, then, though it does not in fact embrace all mankind and often seems to be a tiny flock, is yet the enduring source of unity, hope and salvation for the whole human race. It is established by Christ as a communion of life, of love and of truth; it is also used by him as an instrument for the redemption of all, and is sent out into the whole world as the light of the world and the salt of the earth. The Israel of old was already called the Church of God while it was on pilgrimage through the desert. So the new Israel, as it makes its way in this present age, seeking a city that is to come, a city that will remain, is also known as the Church of Christ, for he acquired it by his own blood, filled it with his Spirit, and equipped it with appropriate means to be a visible and social unity. God has called together the assembly of those who in faith look on Jesus, the author of salvation and the principle of unity and peace, and so has established the Church to be for each and all the visible sacrament of this unity which brings with it salvation. EUCHARISTIC ADORATION - LIVE ONLINE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbTherese Posted March 29, 2023 Author Share Posted March 29, 2023 I had the MRI today. I don't think I have written about it before. While I was in the psychiatric ward months back, a neuropsychologist was called in to examine me on a few scores. One of those 'scores' was that it seems at a stage (diagnosed as genius intelligence I could not control) back in my early twenties, I was highly - genius - intelligent, then it suddenly drops right off. The MRI today was to ensure I still have a brain ☺️ - I will start again, "was to" diagnose if I had some sort of brain problem that caused the "drop right off" of intelligence levels.' Thy Will be done - please join me 🙏 . Results should be in, hopefully, by the time I see my psychiatrist on the 6th April next week. Personally, I don't think it can be anything overly serious or I would have symptoms of some kind. The MRI should tell me exactly what it is if anything at all. My edit feature timed out. Previous post should read "physical symptoms of some kind". I dont regard a drop off in intelligence levels as a physical symptom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbTherese Posted March 29, 2023 Author Share Posted March 29, 2023 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbTherese Posted March 31, 2023 Author Share Posted March 31, 2023 Palm Sunday 2nd April 2023 The Physical Death of Jesus: https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?id=252 This article is not for the faint of heart - it has been compiled by experts in their various fields: William D. Edwards, MD, Wesley J. Gabel, Mdiv, Floyd E. Hosmer, MS, AMI (From the Departments of Pathology (Dr. Edwards) and Medical Graphics (Mr. Hosmer), Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.; and the Homestead United Methodist Church, Rochester, Minn., and the West Bethel United Methodist Church, Bethel, Minn. (Pastor Gabel). Quote ................"Accordingly, it is our intent to present not a theological treatise but rather a medically and historically accurate account of the physical death of the one called Jesus Christ.".............. Archeological Evidence For The Crucifixion Of Jesus Christ https://evidence-for-the-bible.com/archeological-evidence-for-the-bible/archeological-evidence-for-the-crucifixion-of-jesus-christ/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbTherese Posted March 31, 2023 Author Share Posted March 31, 2023 (edited) A HOLY HOUR If one takes what appears below slowly, pausing reflectively where something might strike one, with pauses for silent prayer, this entire Post will take up more than an hour. What one gives emphasis to will continue; hence, with distractions don't try to fight them or ignore them, don't give any attention/focus to them at all and they just pass. Virtual Sorrowful Mysteries of The Rosary (One can pray the prayers with the video, simply listen quietly contemplating or meditating on the particular mystery........or simply attend or listen in Peaceful Quiet.) Office of Readings for 31.3.23 Universalis: https://universalis.com/readings.htm SIGN OF THE CROSS:............. O God, come to our aid. O Lord, make haste to help us. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. Hymn Lord, who throughout these forty days for us didst fast and pray, teach us with thee to mourn our sins, and close by thee to stay. As thou with Satan didst contend and didst the victory win, O give us strength in thee to fight, in thee to conquer sin. As thou didst hunger bear, and thirst, so teach us, gracious Lord, to die to self, and chiefly live by thy most holy word. And through these days of penitence, and through thy Passiontide, yea, evermore in life and death, Jesus, with us abide. Abide with us, that so, this life of suffering overpast, an Easter of unending joy we may attain at last. Psalm 34 (35) The Lord, a saviour in time of persecution O Lord, arise to help me. Judge, Lord, those who are judging me: attack those who are attacking me. Take up your shield and come out to defend me. Brandish your spear and hold back my pursuers. Say to my soul, “I am your deliverance.” My soul will exult in the Lord and rejoice in his aid. My bones themselves will say “Lord, who is your equal?” You snatch the poor man from the hand of the strong, the needy and weak from those who would destroy them. Lying witnesses rose up against me; they asked me questions I could not answer. They paid me back evil for the good I did, my soul is desolation. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. O Lord, arise to help me. Psalm 34 (35) Lord, plead my cause; defend me with your strength. – when they were ill, I put on sackcloth, I mortified my soul with fasting, I prayed for them from the depths of my heart. I walked in sadness as for a close friend, for a brother; I was bowed down with grief as if mourning my own mother. But they – when I was unsteady, they rejoiced and gathered together. They gathered and beat me: I did not know why. They were tearing me to pieces, there was no end to it: they teased me, heaped derision on me, they ground their teeth at me. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. Lord, plead my cause; defend me with your strength. Psalm 34 (35) My tongue shall speak of your justice, all day long. Lord, how long will you wait? Rescue my life from their attacks, my only life from the lions. I will proclaim you in the great assembly, in the throng of people I will praise you. Let not my lying enemies triumph over me, those who hate me for no reason, who conspire against me by secret signs. You see them, Lord, do not stay silent: Lord, do not leave me. Rise up and keep watch at my trial: my God and my Lord, watch over my case. Let those who support my cause rejoice, let them say always “How great is the Lord, who takes care of his servant’s welfare.” And my tongue too will ponder your justice, and praise you all day long. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. My tongue shall speak of your justice, all day long. ℣. Return to the Lord, your God. ℟. For he is gracious and merciful. First Reading Hebrews 7:11-28 © Christ’s eternal priesthood If perfection had been reached through the levitical priesthood because the Law given to the nation rests on it, why was it still necessary for a new priesthood to arise, one of the same order as Melchizedek not counted as being ‘of the same order as’ Aaron? But any change in the priesthood must mean a change in the Law as well. So our Lord, of whom these things were said, belonged to a different tribe, the members of which have never done service at the altar; everyone knows he came from Judah, a tribe which Moses did not even mention when dealing with priests. This becomes even more clearly evident when there appears a second Melchizedek, who is a priest not by virtue of a law about physical descent, but by the power of an indestructible life. For it was about him that the prophecy was made: You are a priest of the order of Melchizedek, and for ever. The earlier commandment is thus abolished, because it was neither effective nor useful, since the Law could not make anyone perfect; but now this commandment is replaced by something better – the hope that brings us nearer to God. What is more, this was not done without the taking of an oath. The others, indeed, were made priests without any oath; but he with an oath sworn by the one who declared to him: The Lord has sworn an oath which he will never retract: you are a priest, and for ever. And it follows that it is a greater covenant for which Jesus has become our guarantee. Then there used to be a great number of those other priests, because death put an end to each one of them; but this one, because he remains for ever, can never lose his priesthood. It follows, then, that his power to save is utterly certain, since he is living for ever to intercede for all who come to God through him. To suit us, the ideal high priest would have to be holy, innocent and uncontaminated, beyond the influence of sinners, and raised up above the heavens; one who would not need to offer sacrifices every day, as the other high priests do for their own sins and then for those of the people, because he has done this once and for all by offering himself. The Law appoints high priests who are men subject to weakness; but the promise on oath, which came after the Law, appointed the Son who is made perfect for ever. ResponsoryHeb 5:5-6, 7:21 ℟. Christ did not give himself the glory of becoming high priest: he had it from the one who said to him,* ‘You are a priest for ever, a priest like Melchizedek of old.’ ℣. Others were made priests without any oath, but Jesus with an oath by the one who declared to him,* ‘You are a priest for ever, a priest like Melchizedek of old.’ Second Reading From a treatise on faith addressed to Peter by Saint Fulgentius of Ruspe, bishop Christ offered himself for us The sacrifices of animal victims which our forefathers were commanded to offer to God by the holy Trinity itself, the one God of the old and the new testaments, foreshadowed the most acceptable gift of all. This was the offering which in his compassion the only Son of God would make of himself in his human nature for our sake. The Apostle teaches that Christ offered himself for us to God as a fragrant offering and sacrifice. He is the true God and the true high priest who for our sake entered once for all into the holy of holies, taking with him not the blood of bulls and goats but his own blood. This was foreshadowed by the high priest of old when each year he took blood and entered the holy of holies. Christ is therefore the one who in himself alone embodied all that he knew to be necessary to achieve our redemption. He is at once priest and sacrifice, God and temple. He is the priest through whom we have been reconciled, the sacrifice by which we have been reconciled, the temple in which we have been reconciled, the God with whom we have been reconciled. He alone is priest, sacrifice and temple because he is all these things as God in the form of a servant; but he is not alone as God, for he is this with the Father and the Holy Spirit in the form of God. Hold fast to this and never doubt it: the only-begotten Son, God the Word, becoming man offered himself for us to God as a fragrant offering and sacrifice. In the time of the old testament, patriarchs, prophets and priests sacrificed animals in his honour, and in honour of the Father and the Holy Spirit as well. Now in the time of the new testament the holy catholic Church throughout the world never ceases to offer the sacrifice of bread and wine, in faith and love, to him and to the Father and the Holy Spirit, with whom he shares one godhead. Those animal sacrifices foreshadowed the flesh of Christ which he would offer for our sins, though himself without sin, and the blood which he would pour out for the forgiveness of our sins. In this sacrifice there is thanksgiving for, and commemoration of, the flesh of Christ that he offered for us, and the blood that the same God poured out for us. On this Saint Paul says in the Acts of the Apostles: Keep watch over yourselves and over the whole flock, in which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as bishops to rule the Church of God, which he won for himself by his blood. Those sacrifices of old pointed in sign to what was to be given to us. In this sacrifice we see plainly what has already been given to us. Those sacrifices foretold the death of the Son of God for sinners. In this sacrifice he is proclaimed as already slain for sinners, as the Apostle testifies: Christ died for the wicked at a time when we were still powerless, and when we were enemies we were reconciled with God through the death of his Son. Responsory ℟. When you were estranged from God, your minds alienated from him by a life of sin, he used Christ’s natural body to win you back through his death,* so that he might bring you into his presence holy, pure and blameless. ℣. God offered him so that by his death he should become the means by which men’s sins are forgiven, through their faith in him,* so that he might bring you into his presence holy, pure and blameless. Let us pray. Lord, break the bonds of sin which our weaknesses have forged to enchain us, and in your loving mercy forgive your people’s guilt. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen. Let us praise the Lord. Thanks be to God. SIGN OF THE CROSS Edited March 31, 2023 by BarbTherese Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbTherese Posted March 31, 2023 Author Share Posted March 31, 2023 (edited) I will be trying to Post a Holy Hour all this Holy Week but all I probably will be altering is the Office of Readings, posting the Office of Readings for each day. I could change the virtual Holy Rosary and Stations of The Cross too to other sites but it will depend on my time factor. Keeping the same sites for every posting is much less time consuming for me as if a site's article or video etc. is new to me, I like to try to listen or read it through before posting. Edited March 31, 2023 by BarbTherese Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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