Alleluia!  Christ Is Risen!  Alleluia!

The Empty Tomb

Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb, while it was still dark, and saw the stone already taken away from the tomb. So she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.” So Peter and the other disciple went forth, and they were going to the tomb. The two were running together; and the other disciple ran ahead faster than Peter and came to the tomb first; and stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings lying there; but he did not go in. And so Simon Peter also *came, following him, and entered the tomb; and he saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the face-cloth which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself. So the other disciple who had first come to the tomb then also entered, and he saw and believed. For as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead.

Rejoice, O Earth, In Shining Splendor!

Easter Proclamation of Creation’s Joy

Rejoice, heavenly powers! Sing, choirs of angels!

Jesus Christ, our light, risen! Sound the trumpet of salvation!

Rejoice, O earth, in shining splendor,

Radiant in the brightness of your Sovereign!

Christ has conquered! Glory fills you! Night vanishes forever!

 

Rejoice, O servant church! Exult in glory!

The risen Savior shines upon you! Let this place resound with joy,

Echoing the mighty song of all God’s people!

This is the night when Jesus Christ broke the chains of death

and rose triumphant from the grave.

Therefore, gracious Creator, In the joy of this night,

Receive our evening sacrifice of praise, Your church’s solemn  offering.

Accept this Easter candle,

A flame divided but undimmed,

A pillar of fire that glows to your honor, O God.

For it is fed by the melting wax, which  he mother bee brought  forth

to make this precious candle.

Let it mingle with the lights of heaven and continue bravely burning

To dispel the shadows of this night!

May the Morning Star which never sets find this flame still burning:

Christ, that Morning Star, who came back from the dead

And shed your peaceful light on all creation,

Your only begotten one who lives and reigns forever.               AMEN.

Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny

Wish You A

Blessed and Joyous Easter

Silent  Waiting

Tomb of Jesus Christ

In this in-between-time of waiting let us spend this day in quiet reflection and pray with the Catechumens awaiting the Easter Vigil and reception of the Sacraments of Initiation into the Church, the Body of Christ.  

The Burial of Jesus  Luke 23: 50 -56

Now there was a virtuous and righteous man named Joseph who, though he was a member of the council, had not consented to their plan of action. He came from the Jewish town of Arimathea and was awaiting the kingdom of God. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. After he had taken the body down, he wrapped it in a linen cloth and laid him in a rock-hewn tomb in which no one had yet been buried. It was the day of preparation, and the sabbath was about to begin. The women who had come from Galilee with him followed behind, and when they had seen the tomb and the way in which his body was laid in it, they returned and prepared spices and perfumed oils. Then they rested on the sabbath according to the commandment. 

Intercessions and closing prayer from the Church’s Evening Liturgy of the Hours for Holy Saturday. 

We Pray…

Jesus, son of God, come to set us free, lies bound in the earth. All who hoped in him await a new day, and so we pray:

O Christ, deliver us.

Jesus, you died to set us free;

- give true freedom to those bound because of race, sex, creed, or way of life.

You died that we might have life to the full;

- inspire and encourage women in their quest for equality.

You died revealing God's love for us;

- enlighten those who have no love for themselves; befriend and heal them.

You died leaving your mother in the care of another;

- bless those who leave all to serve you in their respective ways of life; encourage and comfort their families.

Death released you from the agony of the cross;

- be present to all who are ill; have pity on the elderly and the dying.

 

(add your own personal intercessions)  

Concluding Prayer

O God, by his life and his death on the cross, Jesus has revealed the depth of your love for us.  One in our flesh, he became one in our dying and burial.  Have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and once again call us to life that we may be one with him in his resurrection.  This we ask through Jesus, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever.  AMEN.

Reflect with these Resources

Song At The Empty Tomb

Marty Haugen

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rJc8eJuKJQ

Sacred Triduum Days Good Friday

Passion and Death of  Jesus Christ

“Into your hands I commend my spirit”

Reading of the Passion

Judas Betrays Jesus

When Jesus had spoken these words, He went forth with His disciples over the ravine of the Kidron, where there was a garden, in which He entered with His disciples. Now Judas also, who was betraying Him, knew the place, for Jesus had often met there with His disciples. Judas then, having received the Roman cohort and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, came there with lanterns and torches and weapons. 

Jesus before the Priests

So the Roman cohort and the commander and the officers of the Jews, arrested Jesus and bound Him, and led Him to Annas first; for he was father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. Now Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it was expedient for one man to die on behalf of the people.

Peter’s Denial of Jesus

Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, “You are not also one of His disciples, are you?” He denied it, and said, “I am not.” One of the slaves of the high priest, being a relative of the one whose ear Peter cut off, *said, “Did I not see you in the garden with Him?” Peter then denied it again, and immediately a rooster crowed.

Jesus before Pilate

Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas into the Praetorium, and it was early; and they themselves did not enter into the Praetorium so that they would not be defiled, but might eat the Passover. Therefore Pilate went out to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this Man?” They answered and said to him, “If this Man were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him to you.” So Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves, and judge Him according to your law.” The Jews said to him, “We are not permitted to put anyone to death,” to fulfill the word of Jesus which He spoke, signifying by what kind of death He was about to die.

The Crown of Thorns

Pilate then took Jesus and scourged Him. And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and put a purple robe on Him; and they began to come up to Him and say, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and to give Him slaps in the face. Pilate came out again and  said to them, “Behold, I am bringing Him out to you so that you may know that I find no guilt in Him.” Jesus then came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold, the Man!”

The Crucifixion

So he then handed Him over to them to be crucified.

They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha. There they crucified Him, and with Him two other men, one on either side, and Jesus in between. Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It was written, “JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS.” 

Care of the Body of Jesus

After these things Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate granted permission. So he came and took away His body. Nicodemus, who had first come to Him by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight. So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen wrappings 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. Therefore because of the Jewish day of preparation, since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

At The Cross Her Station Keeping

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gC8scbOGsHo

Holy Week Triduum - Holy Thursday

O God, who have called us to participate

In the most sacred Supper, 

In which your Only Begotten Son, 

When about to hand himself over to death,

Entrusted to the Church a sacrifice new for all eternity,

The banquet of his love,

Grant we pray,

That we may draw from so great a mystery,

The fullness of charity and of live.

Washing of The Feet

So, during supper, fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power and that he had come from God and was returning to God, he rose from supper and took off his outer garments.  He took a towel and tied it around his waist.  Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel around his waist.  Her came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Master, are you going to wash my feet?”  Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing, you do not understand now, but you will understand later.”

Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.”  Jesus answered him, “unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me.” 

So when he has washed their fee and put his garments back on and reclined at table again, he said to them, “Do you realize what I have done for you?  You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master’, and rightly so, for indeed I am.  If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet.  I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.”       -John13 1-15

The First Eucharist

And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying,

“This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”

In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying,

“This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.”

-Luke 22:19-20

The Last Supper Liturgy ends with a Process of the Blessed Sacrament and the singing of the ‘Pange Lingua’.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXOnbSMAZz8

Lent Week 6

 

Use the power of your imagination to pray 

with this scene of Jesus’ Entry Into Jerusalem.

Walk along beside Jesus. Walk along in the crowd.

Gaze at the people surrounding you and welcoming Jesus.

Savor the experience of being with Jesus at this moment 

on his journey to Jerusalem.

Return often to this Gospel scene.

Jesus Enters Jerusalem

The Disciples GO … they did as Jesus had ordered them.

An ass and colt were brought to him

and they laid their cloaks over them,

and he sat upon them.

A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road; 

The crowds precede him and follow him.

They cry out saying:

 “Hosanna to the Son of David;

blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; 

Hosanna in the highest.”

The whole city, all of Jerusalem, was shaken and asked,

“Who is this?”

The people replied, You reply,

“This is Jesus the prophet, from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Encounter Jesus

Where are you in the crowd?

Who and What do you See?   Hear?   Touch?

Mantra Prayer

Father, if this chalice cannot pass without my drinking it,

Your will be done!

The Lord’s Entrance into Jerusalem

Passiontide Begins

March 19th Feast of St. Joseph

 Protector and Patron of The Universal Church

Congratulations and Happy Feast Day 

Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny

As Pope Francis wrote in his Apostolic Letter, ‘Patris Corde’, St. Joseph is described as having a ‘Father’s Heart’. 

“Each of us can discover in Joseph – the man who goes unnoticed, 

a daily, discreet and hidden presence – an intercessor, a support and a guide in times of trouble. Saint Joseph reminds us that those who appear hidden or in the shadows can play an incomparable role in the history of salvation. A word of recognition and of gratitude is due to them all.”

On this feast of St. Joseph, Protector and Patron of the Universal Church and Patron of our Missionary Congregation, we pray that we too may ‘go to Joseph’ in our need and that like him we may live the qualities of this man …

  

St. Joseph, pray for us

 May we be like you…

Attentive

Accepting

Creative

Courageous 

Protector

Compassionate

Dreamer

Obedient

Faithful

Worker

Just

Hidden

At God’s Service

Beloved Father

Tender and Loving          AMEN.

Blessing

  

May the blessings of Joseph be among us 

attuning us to God’s will each day

attuning us with humility to those around us

attuning us to God’s transformative dream for us.

May the blessings of Joseph be among us

living as obedient daughters

living love for one another in communities

living God’s Will and hospitality even in difficult circumstances.

May the blessings of Joseph be among us

still opening us to the future

still cooperating in discerning ministries for mission

still keeping us alive with love from daybreak to daybreak

May the blessings of Joseph steep our souls and give us great joy! 

Amen.

Join Us In Praying

Memorare Prayer of St. Joseph

  

Remember, O most pure Spouse of the Virgin Mary, my kind

and powerful Protector, Saint Joseph, that no one ever had recourse to Your protection or implored your aid, without obtaining relief.  Confiding therefore in your goodness, we come to you, and humbly implore you.  Despise not our petitions, O Foster-Father of the Redeemer, but graciously hear and grant them.  Amen.

  

St. Joseph, our Protector, Pray For Us

Learn more about the Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny

Cluny Sisters Congregational Website

www.sj-cluny.org

Province of USA & Canada Website

www.clunyUSandCanada.org

Lent Week V

 Death  to  Resurrection

“Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, 

it remains just a grain of wheat;

 but if it dies, it produces much fruit.”

- John 12:20-33

 

As you take a stroll through the fields of your life during this fifth week of lent, take stock of your Lenten practices of prayer, fasting and goods works.  God molds the grains of these actions to produce a rich harvest and bring salvation to the world.

  

Listen      To today’s Gospel from Saint John

“Whoever serves me must follow me, 

and where I am, there also will my servant be.   

-John 12:20-33

Practice       Letting go of myself to reveal God’s Presence in the world.

Follow Jesus 

Follow your Lenten Practices: Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving

Make Bread

Pray             Psalm 51   The Miserere Prayer of Repentance

  

Have mercy on me, God, in accord with your merciful love;

in your abundant compassion blot out my transgressions.

Thoroughly wash away my guilt; and from my sin cleanse me.

For I know my transgressions; my sin is always before me. 

Against you, you alone have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your eyes

So that you are just in your word, and without reproach in your judgment. 

Behold, I was born in guilt, in sin my mother conceived me. 

Behold, you desire true sincerity; and secretly you teach me wisdom.

Cleanse me with hyssop, that I may be pure; 

wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 

You will let me hear gladness and joy; the bones you have crushed will rejoice.

Turn away your face from my sins; blot out all my iniquities.

A clean heart create for me, God; renew within me a steadfast spirit. 

Do not drive me from before your face, nor take from me your holy spirit. 

Restore to me the gladness of your salvation; uphold me with a willing spirit.

I will teach the wicked your ways, that sinners may return to you.

Rescue me from violent bloodshed, God, my saving God,

and my tongue will sing joyfully of your justice. 

Lord, you will open my lips; and my mouth will proclaim your praise.

For you do not desire sacrifice or I would give it;

a burnt offering you would not accept. 

My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;

a contrite, humbled heart, O God, you will not scorn.

Treat Zion kindly according to your good will;

build up the walls of Jerusalem. 

Then you will desire the sacrifices of the just,

burnt offering and whole offerings;

then they will offer up young bulls on your altar

Psalm 51  Create In Me a Clean Heart

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7gaPcP9sz4

March, the Month of St. Joseph

 Honoring  St. Joseph

 With a Father's Heart

The Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny celebrate and honor St. Joseph during this month of March, the month designated as the month honoring St. Joseph, the Universal Patron of the Church.  Pope Francis in his December 8, 2020, Apostolic Letter, ‘Patris Corde’ (with a Father’s Heart), on the occasion of the 150th Anniversary of the proclamation of Saint Joseph as Patron of the Universal Church declared a ‘Year of St. Joseph’ from December 8, 2020 - December 8, 2021.

The Holy Father wrote Patris corde against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic, which, he says, has helped us see more clearly the importance of “ordinary” people who, though far from the limelight, exercise patience and offer hope every day. In this, they resemble Saint Joseph, “the man who goes unnoticed, a daily, discreet and hidden presence,” who nonetheless played “an incomparable role in the history of salvation.”

Welcoming the Will of God

Motto of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny

St. Joseph’s spiritual path “is not one that explains, but accepts” — which does not mean that he is “resigned.” Instead, he is “courageously and firmly proactive,” because with “Holy Spirit’s gift of fortitude,” and full of hope, he is able “to accept life as it is, with all its contradictions, frustrations and disappointments.” In practice, through St. Joseph, it is as if God were to repeat to us: “Do not be afraid!” because “faith gives meaning to every event, however happy or sad,” and makes us aware that “God can make flowers spring up from stony ground.” Joseph “did not look for shortcuts but confronted reality with open eyes and accepted personal responsibility for it.” For this reason, “he encourages us to accept and welcome others as they are, without exception, and to show special concern for the weak” (Patris Corde, 4).

Join Us In Praying

Memorare Prayer of St. Joseph

Remember, O most pure Spouse of the Virgin Mary, my kind

and powerful Protector, Saint Joseph, that no one ever had 

recourse to Your protection or implored your aid, without obtaining relief.  Confiding therefore in your goodness, we come to you, and humbly implore you.  Despise not my petitions, O Foster-Father of the Redeemer, but graciously hear and grant them.  Amen.

 

St. Joseph, our Protector, Pray For Us

Laetare Sunday Lent Week IV

 

“Rejoice, Jerusalem, and all who love her.”

Isaiah 66:10-11

On this Fourth Sunday of Lent, the Church expresses joy and hope in the midst of our preparation for Easter. The name Laetare comes from the first words of this Sunday’s Entrance Antiphon from the Book of Isaiah: “Rejoice, Jerusalem, and all who love her.” Laetare is the Latin word for “rejoice.”

The joy of Easter, which is just around the corner, is symbolized by the priest wearing rose-colored vestments. Just before we enter into the solemn days of remembrance of Jesus’ last days, we pause our penitential practices so we can have a glimpse of the joy that waits for us as we celebrate our Lord’s Resurrection at Easter.

Through the Desert God Leads us to Freedom

Pope Francis’ Message for Lent 2024

Where are you?

Where is your brother and sister?

Our Lenten Journey will be concrete if, by listening once more to those two questions, we realize that even today we remain under the rule of Pharaoh.

A rule that makes us weary and indifferent.  A model of growth that divides and robs us of a future.  Earth, air and water are polluted but so are our souls.  True Baptism has begun our process of liberation, yet there remains in us an inexplicable longing for slavery.  A kind of attraction to the security of familiar things, to the detriment of freedom.

It is time to act, and in Lent, to act also means to pause.  To pause in prayer, in order to receive the Word of God, to pause like the Samaritan in the presence of a wounded brother or sister.  Love of God and love of neighbor are one love.  Not to have other gods is to pause in the presence of God beside the flesh of your neighbor.  For this reason, prayer almsgiving and fasting are not three unrelated acts, but a single movement of openness and self-emptying, in which we cast out the idols that weigh down, the attachments that imprison us.  Slow down, then, and pause!  The contemplative dimension of life that Lent helps us to rediscover will release new energies.  In the presence of God, we become brothers and sisters, sensitive to one another:  in place of threats and enemies we discover companions and fellow travelers.  This is God’s dream, the promised land to which we journey once we have left our slavery behind.

Pentetential Litany:  Hold Us In Your Mercy

- Rory Cooney

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6FF0R9jopA

March Stop Trafficking Newsletter

 

March Stop Trafficking Issue

https://alliancetoendhumantrafficking.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/2024_3-Stop-Trafficking-EN.pdf

Read More About…  

Fishing Identified as One of the Worst Forms of Child Labor

Illegal Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing

Poor Regulations

Import Bans

Blood Seafood: Human Trafficking and Slavery at Sea

Lent Week III

 “Zeal for your house consumes me”

Jesus made a point of calling out the abuses of power in his day, including by the sellers and money changers at the temple.  Today we are called to recognize and act on the abuses we see whether our own or those of others.  

Some of those abuses are our failings in our care for creation. 

Most of us are not accustomed to thinking of environmental or ecological  sin, but Pope Francis in Laudato Si’ made it clear that we also need to weigh our treatment of non-human creation.

People in the rural parish in El Salvador  where I work as a Maryknoll lay missioner were stunned  the first time our pastor said in a Sunday homily that those spraying  chemical herbicide on  their  land  needed to go to confession  for their sin against the Earth. Those  I work  with  raising environmental awareness and promoting sustainable food production were, of course, thrilled with his affirmation of our efforts.

The ten commandments are a good starting point for an examination of conscience, including our care of creation. “You shall have no other gods besides me.” How about the god of the market and consumerism? Are we driven by the notion that bigger is better, that production and profit must continually increase, that we need the latest model of car, technological device or even apparel?

“You shall not kill” the forests, the coral reefs, the insects that pollinate. “You shall not steal” the minerals of the Earth to stockpile as gold bars, the pure waters of springs to sell in bottles, the endangered species to claim as hunting trophies. “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house”: the mangrove coastline  to build  resorts, the wetlands to build more factories or theme parks, the indigenous people’s land to build roads or to dump toxic waste.

Pope Francis, while pleading for structural change and multilateral cooperation among governments, also insists that “efforts by households to reduce pollution and waste, and to consume with prudence, are creating a new culture. The mere fact that personal, family and community habits  are changing is contributing  to greater concern  about the unfulfilled responsibilities of the political sectors and indignation at the lack of interest shown by the powerful.” (Laudate Deum, 71) Like  our  efforts in El Salvador  to reduce,  reuse and recycle, to work  together as a community  to manage  our  watersheds,  and to recover sustainable production practices, individual lifestyle changes and communities working together all across the globe can confront the climate crisis.  

If only we could follow Pope Francis’ example and could all earnestly say, “Zeal for our common home consumes us.”

   - by Peg Vamosy

Fast Consider making a fast from  plastic. Plastics are made from fossil fuels – four percent of the world’s annual petroleum production is converted  directly into making plastics, and another  four percent gets burned to fuel the process. Only approximately seven percent of plastics are recycled. Many municipalities in the United States have stopped recycling plastic bags because they are difficult to process and have little to no resale value. Plastic disposable  bags clog our shorelines and suffocate birds and marine life.

Action Learn  about  the  benefits  of  agroecology  and other farming methods  that prioritize sustainability and the needs of communities over scale and profit: http://bit.ly/agroecologyCIDSE

Canticle of the Sun

Praised be You my Lord with all Your creatures, 

specially Sir Brother Sun,

Who is the day through whom You give us light.

And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendor, 

of you Most High, he bears the likeness.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars,

In the heavens you have made them bright, precious and fair.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Brothers Wind and Air, 

and fair and stormy, all weather’s moods,

by which You cherish all that You have made. 

Praised be You my Lord through Sister Water, 

So useful, humble, precious and pure.

Praised be You my Lord through our Sister, Mother Earth who sustains and

  governs us, producing varied fruits with colored flowers and herbs.

Praise be You my Lord through those who grant pardon for love of You 

and bear sickness and trial.

Blessed are those who endure in peace,  

By You, Most High, they will be crowned.

- St. Francis of Assisi