Easter Jubilation: Victimae Paschali Laudes       The Easter Season is my favorite time of year. The joyful exuberance of praise for Christ’s majestic glory in his resurrection is mirrored in the beauty and joy of Earth’s Spring. Our souls are renewed in hope once again. The music of the season (sadly missed in public worship in these Covid-19 times) both expresses and enhances our joy and jubilation.       Speaking of jubilation, the exuberant charismatic gift of tongues the Apostles experienced on Pentecost has continued throughout Church history in various forms, most especially a well-known form of spontaneous prayer called “jubilation.” In the Middle Ages the prayer of jubilation was incorporated into the Liturgy of the Mass after the “Alleluia” and before the reading of the Gospel. The people would extend the singing of the “Alleluia” through spontaneous jubilation, even shouting loudly, and the jubilation could last for 20 minutes. In some ...

The "Gospel of the Forty Days"       This Sunday is Pentecost Sunday which remembers the descent of the Holy Spirit as told in chapter 2 of the Acts of the Apostles. Last Sunday we celebrated the Ascension of Jesus which remembers Christ’s ascent into Heaven as told in chapter 1 of Acts.       The Gospel of Mark also mentions the Ascension: “So then the Lord Jesus ... was taken up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.” (Mk 16:19.) Mark might have been there to see Jesus ascend – as he may have been at Jesus' arrest (Mk 14:51-52), and the Apostles and disciples regularly met at his mother's house (Ac 12:12) – but how did he know Jesus “sat down at the right hand of God?” That wasn’t anything anyone could have seen.       In Peter’s Pentecost sermon he says Jesus was “exalted at the right hand of God” (Ac 2:33; cf., 1 Pet 3:22). How did he know that? Where did he get this? When?    ...

Sermon on Our Lord       The Deacon St. Ephrem the Syrian (306-373) has a wonderful (and lengthy) sermon simply called Sermon on Our Lord . In St. Ephrem's poetic and imaginative language, he describes the Easter victory of Christ Jesus over death, which he personifies as a contest between the Lord and Death. Note that "Sheol" is the Biblical term for the place of the dead.       "Our Lord was trampled on by Death; and in His turn trod out a way over Death.       "This is He Who made Himself subject to and endured death of His own will, that He might cast down death against its will.       "For our Lord bare His cross and went forth according to the will of Death: but He with a loud cry upon the cross [Mt 27:50] brought forth the dead from within Sheol [Mt 27:53] against the will of Death.       "In that very body by which Death had slain Him, in that as a weapon,...

Skeptical about Resurrection Proof?       Was Jesus’ appearances after His resurrection any kind of proof of who He said He was? That He is God incarnate? That He had indeed risen from the dead – not resuscitated but with an entirely new human body, resurrected with new qualities and nature?       Skeptics say no. No proof at all. Jesus only appeared to people who believed in Him. What proof is that? They already believed.       Well, let’s take another look at the historical account.       Early that Easter Sunday morning Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and other women (including Salome, Mk 16:1) came to Jesus’ tomb and found it empty. Two men “in dazzling apparel” appeared and said Jesus had risen. The women returned to the “eleven and to all the rest” and “the apostles” and relayed what had happened – “but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not beli...

The Centrality of the Resurrection       In Jaroslav Pelikan, Ph.D.’s book, Acts , part of the Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible series, he pulls together all the numerous references to the resurrection of Christ throughout the Biblical book of the “Acts of the Apostles," and makes several general observations, as follows.       Pelikan, who was a Yale historian of Christian doctrine, notes that Luke, the author of both the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles, ties together his Gospel and the Acts “preeminently by the resonances of the Easter narrative.” Luke 24 ends with the women, and then Peter and John, at the empty tomb; with Jesus meeting up with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, followed by His appearance to the apostles, and ending with His ascension. Acts, then, begins with Jesus’ “presenting Himself alive” “by many proofs,” followed by a more detailed account of His ascension. Luke is writing both as a historia...

Easter is Not Over!       Well, Easter is over.  Back to normal.  Half-priced chocolate bunnies and eggs in the store.        No, no, no! Easter is not over!  The Easter season continues until Pentecost, this year on May 31st, 50 days after Easter.  Easter is the most important celebration for a Christian, and we need a lot of time to absorb the richness, and the grace.  We need to journey with the apostles (Peter, John, James, Thomas), men and women disciples, Mary Magdalene, Jesus’ mother, the two disciples on the way to Emmaus (Mk. 16:12-13; Lk. 24:13-35), the centurion converted at the foot of the cross (Mt. 27:54).  Or how about the people of Jerusalem who saw the resuscitated dead who had come out from their tombs after the earthquake when Jesus died on Good Friday (Mt. 27:53)?  They must have stayed around for some time as it says they were still appearing after Easter Sunday when Jesus was resurr...

Easter Homily of St. Jerome Last Sunday was Easter, and this coming Sunday is Divine Mercy Sunday. With the ongoing "stay at home" orders, Catholics and most Christians had to miss church for Easter, so we thought we would share an Easter homily from about 400 AD by St. Jerome: If any be a devout lover of God, let him partake with gladness from this fair and radiant feast. If any be a faithful servant, let him enter rejoicing into the joy of his Lord. If any have wearied himself with fasting, let him now enjoy his reward. If any have labored from the first hour, let him receive today his rightful due. If any have come after the third hour, let him celebrate the feast with thankfulness. If any have come after the sixth hour, let him not be in doubt, for he will suffer no loss. If any have delayed until the ninth hour, let him not hesitate but draw near. If any have arrived only at the eleventh hour, let him not be afraid because he comes so late. For the ...

Sacred Paschal Triduum       Thursday April 9th, begins the Sacred Paschal Triduum (Thursday, Friday, Saturday). “Paschal” refers to the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Hebrew word “ pesach ” (Passover) is rendered “ pascha ” in Greek, from which we get the English word “paschal,” an adjective.       “Christ redeemed us all and gave perfect glory to God principally through His paschal mystery: dying He destroyed our death and rising He restored our life. Therefore the Easter triduum of the Passion and Resurrection of the Lord is the culmination of the entire liturgical year.... Let the paschal feast be kept sacred. Let it be celebrated everywhere on Good Friday and, wherever possible, prolonged throughout Holy Saturday, as a way of coming to the joys of the Sunday of the resurrection with uplifted and welcoming heart. These days are therefore unique in the liturgical year and their celebration is of the utmost importance...