Fun Lenten and Easter crafts

 I wanted to share two links from Holy Heroes for fun Lenten and Easter Triptych crafts.   They are very well drawn and are free downloads too.  I hope to have my three youngest children make them.

I pray you all have a blessed Holy Week!

God bless!

+JMJ+

Meditation for Easter

The Mystery of Paschal Time

Taken from The Liturgical Year
by Abbot Guéranger
From Volume VII: Paschal Time, Book 1

"Of all the Seasons of the Liturgical Year, Eastertide is by far the richest in mystery. We might even say that Easter is the summit of the Mystery of the sacred Liturgy. The Christian who is happy enough to enter, with his whole mind and heart, into the knowledge and the love of the Paschal Mystery, has reached the very center of the supernatural life. Hence it is, that the Church uses every effort in order to effect this: what she has hitherto done, was all intended as a preparation for Easter. The holy longings of Advent, the sweet joys of Christmas, the severe truths of Septuagesima, the contrition and penance of Lent, the heart-rending sight of the Passion-----all were given us as preliminaries, as paths, to the sublime and glorious Pasch which is now ours...

Eternity in Heaven is the true Pasch: hence, our Pasch, here on earth, is the Feast of feasts, the Solemnity of solemnities. The human race was dead; it was the victim of that sentence, whereby it was condemned to lie mere dust in the tomb; the gates of life were shut against it. But see! the Son of God rises from His grave and takes possession of eternal life. Nor is He the only one that is to die no more, for, as the Apostle teaches us, 'He is the first-born from the dead.' [Coloss. i. 18] The Church would, therefore, have us consider ourselves as having already risen with our Jesus, and as having already taken possession of eternal life. The holy Fathers bid us look on these fifty days of Easter, as the image of our eternal happiness. They are days devoted exclusively to joy; every sort of sadness is forbidden; and the Church cannot speak to her Divine Spouse without joining to her words that glorious cry of Heaven, the Alleluia, wherewith, as the holy Liturgy says, the streets and squares of the heavenly Jerusalem resound without ceasing. We have been forbidden the use of this joyous word during the past nine weeks; it behooved us to die with Christ-----but now that we have risen together with Him, from the tomb, and that we are resolved to die no more that death, which kills the soul, and caused our Redeemer to die on the Cross, we have a right to our Alleluia.

The Providence of God, who has established harmony between the visible world and the supernatural work of grace, willed that the Resurrection of our Lord should take place at that particular season of the year, when even nature herself seems to rise from the grave. The meadows give forth their verdure, the trees resume their foliage, the birds fill the air with their songs, and the sun, the type of our triumphant Jesus, pours out his floods of light on our earth made new by lovely Spring... Speaking, in the Canticle, to the faithful soul, and inviting her to take her part in this new life which He is now imparting to every creature, our Lord Himself says: 'Arise, my dove, and come! Winter is now past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers have appeared in our land. The voice of the turtle is heard. The fig tree hath put forth her green figs. The vines, in flower, yield their sweet smell. Arise thou, and come!' [Cant. ii. 10, 13]"

God bless!

+JMJ+

Easter Prayer for Holy Communion

In The Liturgical Year Abbot Gueranger writes,
"Our Savior Himself teaches us . . . He that eateth My Flesh, and drinketh My Blood, hath everlasting life, and I will raise him up in the last day.' [St. John vi 49, 5O, 55]

We shall all resume these bodies of ours on the Last Day, either for glory or punishment eternal; but he that worthily unites himself by holy Communion with the glorious and risen Body of the Man-God contracts an alliance and intimacy with Him which forbid this Divine Guest to leave in corruption these members made His own by the sublime Mystery.

We must, therefore, approach the holy Table during Eastertide with an ardent ambition for our resurrection, knowing as we do that we then receive into our bodies an element which is to preserve them even when turned into dust; and which, moreover, confers on them a right to the qualities or glorified bodies, whose beauty and happiness will be like those of our Jesus, after he had risen from the grave.

Now, if our Redeemer does all this for our bodies by means of holy Communion-----giving them, by it, the pledge of immortality-----what must he not do for our souls, in order to strengthen and increase within them that new life, that Resurrection-----life, which is the fruit of Easter, the object of all our past efforts, the reward of all the victories we have gained over ourselves during the campaign of Lent? Nay, unless this new life be fostered by frequent Communion, it is in danger of growing weak, perhaps even of becoming extinct within us. The Apostle tells us that 'Christ, having risen from the dead, dieth now no more;' [Rom. vi 9] we, then, must die no more, for we are risen with Him. To this end, we must hunger after the Bread of Heaven, of which our Jesus says: 'If any man eat of this Bread, he shall live for ever.' [St. John vi. 52]"

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During this holy Easter season may we humble ourselves before our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, thanking Him and adoring Him especially after receiving Him in Holy Communion.  The following prayer is an Easter prayer to be recited after receiving Holy Communion.

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Act of Adoration after Holy Communion

O infinite majesty! Thou art in me, and I am in Thee. The earth shook when Thou didst rise from the tomb; and now, at this blissful moment, feeling Thee within me, my whole being thrills with delight. Thou art here in my heart; Thou the great God, Whose will alone created the light and Whose almighty power reunited Thy Soul and Body for a glorious Resurrection. I most profoundly adore Thine omnipotence, which is now united to my poor nature. No, my Almighty Father! Thou shalt find no resistance here; Thou art my Sovereign Lord, and I delightedly confess it. Thou hast come down from Heaven to this lowly dwelling of my misery, my nothingness, in order to receive my adoration; Thou shalt have it, dear Lord! the humblest and best I can give: for my soul is overpowered by the wondrous honor Thou art now conferring upon me! Thou art the infinite Being, the Creator and Preserver of all things! I adore Thee as my King and Lord and Master: my happiness and glory is in my total dependence upon Thee; the one ambition of my heart is to serve Thee.  Amen.
Taken from The Liturgical Year by Abbot Guéranger

God bless!

+JMJ+

Blessed Easter!!!

"This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad. Alleluia!"

I pray you had a blessed Easter Sunday and that the joy of the Risen Christ extends throughout your Easter season!  

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It is said that each year on Easter Sunday St. Thomas Aquinas counselled his hearers to congratulate the Holy Mother of God on the Resurrection of her Son.  We imitate this honor when we recite the "Regina Coeli" throughout Eastertide (in place of the Angelus).  You can find the "Regina Coeli" and other Easter prayers here.

"Queen of Heaven, Rejoice.  Alleluia!  For he whom you did merit to bear, alleluia! Has risen as He said, alleluia!..."

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Rejoice.  Eastertide truly is a season to rejoice, for, as St. Paul relates, our Faith would be in vain had not Christ risen and conquered death, once more opening the gates of heaven for us.  The true joy of Christ's resurrection dwells fully in the Blessed Virgin Mary.  Her heart, so recently stabbed with the sorrows of her Son's Passion and Death, now leaps with joy at the sight of Him risen.  It is ancient tradition of the Church that Christ appeared first to His Mother in solitude.

I ponder the meeting between the Blessed Mother and Her Son, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity.  The grief of the Mother and the sufferings of the Son, while significant and always a part of Mary and Jesus, now become intertwined with this joyous moment when once again they are reunited.  While I know I cannot begin to grasp the immensity of love and joy experienced and shared in that moment, I am overwhelmed at the mere image I can ponder.

Mary is described beautifully by Fr. Luis de Granada in Book of Prayer and Meditation.  "The star of the morning shines not so lovely as the Mother's eyes shone in that gracious face of hers, the unblemished mirror of divine splendour.  She sees the body of her Son risen and glorious, the disfigurement of His Passion gone, the grace of those divine eyes returned, His previous loveliness restored and increased.  The openings of the wounds which had been sword-thrusts of pain for the Mother-- to see them now as fountains of love; to see the One who had suffered between thieves, attended now by angels and saints...  Then, stricken with anguish, she had not known what to say; now, mute with  joy, she cannot speak."

This joy that Mary experiences is not because her sorrows have been removed; instead her joy stems from the Presence of her risen Son, God.  She is once again with the One she loves, to Whom her entire life has been devoted.  May we strive to imitate Mary this Easter season and throughout our lives.  May we work diligently to hold tight to that joy of our Blessed Mother.  Throughout Lent we experienced various penances and added prayers to improve our spiritual lives and make ourselves ready for Easter, for our Risen Lord.  Yet, now that Lent has ended and the blessed Easter season has begun, we should not abandon these practices.  We should continue to strive to grow in our spiritual lives, to grow daily closer to our Lord; it is in our Lord's presence that we, like our Blessed Mother, find true joy.  No material possession, no success or absence of difficulties provide us with this joy.  Only by remaining continually in the presence of our Blessed Lord will we find and hold fast to the joy of the Easter season.  Let us look to our Lady, let us imitate her devotion and love for God, let us remain at her side, so she can guide us to her Son.  Jesus suffered, died, and rose for us---not for one penitential Lent or one happy Eastertide, but for eternity---that we may gain the everlasting joy found only in union with Him.

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The following ancient sequence is sung or prayed every day from Easter Sunday through the Easter Octave.

Victimae Paschali laudes immolent Christiani. Agnus redemit oves: Christus innocens Patri reconciliavit peccatores. Mors et vita duello conflixere mirando: dux vitae mortuus, regnat vivus. Dic nobis Maria, Quid vidisti in via? Sepulcrum Christi viventis, et gloriam vidi resurgentis: Angelicos testes, sudarium et vestes. Surrexit Christus spes mea: praecedet suos in Galilaeam. Scimus Christum surrexisse a mortuis vere: Tu nobis, victor Rex miserere. Amen. Alleluia.

Christians, to the Paschal Victim offer sacrifice and praise. The sheep are ransomed by the Lamb; and Christ, the undefiled, hath sinners to his Father reconciled. Death with life contended: combat strangely ended! Life's own Champion, slain, yet lives to reign. Tell us, Mary: say what thou didst see upon the way. The tomb the Living did enclose; I saw Christ's glory as He rose! The angels there attesting; shroud with grave-clothes resting. Christ, my hope, has risen: He goes before you into Galilee. That Christ is truly risen from the dead we know. Victorious King, Thy mercy show! Amen. Alleluia.

God bless!

+JMJ+

An Easter Homily

Yesterday in my post I included a brief part of the Easter Homily of St. John Chrysostom, but I thought it was so beautifully composed that I decided to include the homily in its entirety today.  Reading this Easter homily, one can clearly hear why St. John was given the name Chrysostom, which means "golden-mouthed."

The Easter Homily of St. John Chrysostom

If any man be devout and loveth God,
Let him enjoy this fair and radiant triumphal feast!
If any man be a wise servant,
Let him rejoicing enter into the joy of his Lord.
If any have laboured long in fasting,
Let him now receive his recompense.
If any have wrought from the first hour,
Let him today receive his just reward.
If any have come at the third hour,
Let him with thankfulness keep the feast.
If any have arrived at the sixth hour,
Let him have no misgivings;
Because he shall in nowise be deprived therefore.
If any have delayed until the ninth hour,
Let him draw near, fearing nothing.
And if any have tarried even until the eleventh hour,
Let him, also, be not alarmed at his tardiness.
For the Lord, who is jealous of his honour,
Will accept the last even as the first.

He giveth rest unto him who cometh at the eleventh hour,
Even as unto him who hath wrought from the first hour.
And He showeth mercy upon the last,
And careth for the first;
And to the one He giveth,
And upon the other He bestoweth gifts.
And He both accepteth the deeds,
And welcometh the intention,
And honoureth the acts and praises the offering.
Wherefore, enter ye all into the joy of your Lord;
Receive your reward,

Both the first, and likewise the second.
You rich and poor together, hold high festival!
You sober and you heedless, honour the day!
Rejoice today, both you who have fasted
And you who have disregarded the fast.
The table is full-laden; feast ye all sumptuously.
The calf is fatted; let no one go hungry away.
Enjoy ye all the feast of faith:
Receive ye all the riches of loving-kindness.

Let no one bewail his poverty,
For the universal Kingdom has been revealed.
Let no one weep for his iniquities,
For pardon has shown forth from the grave.
Let no one fear death,
For the Saviour's death has set us free.

He that was held prisoner of it has annihilated it.
By descending into Hell, He made Hell captive.
He embittered it when it tasted of His flesh.
And Isaiah, foretelling this, did cry:
Hell, said he, was embittered
When it encountered Thee in the lower regions.
It was embittered, for it was abolished.
It was embittered, for it was mocked.
It was embittered, for it was slain.
It was embittered, for it was overthrown.
It was embittered, for it was fettered in chains.
It took a body, and met God face to face.
It took earth, and encountered Heaven.
It took that which was seen, and fell upon the unseen.

O Death, where is thy sting?
O Hell, where is thy victory?
Christ is risen, and thou art overthrown!
Christ is risen, and the demons are fallen!
Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice!
Christ is risen, and life reigns!
Christ is risen, and not one dead remains in the grave.
For Christ, being risen from the dead,
Is become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep.
To Him be glory and dominion
Unto ages of ages.  Amen.

God bless!

+JMJ+

An Easter Prayer

  Blessed Easter!!!!  

Easter is upon us! May we rejoice this day and throughout the entire Easter season, which does not last just one day, but fifty days to Pentecost Sunday. With the joy of the Risen Lord fresh in our hearts and minds, may we remember to praise God, thanking Him for the great gift of our salvation. Like the Apostles, we should be filled with joy, for when Jesus conquered death, He opened the gates of heaven for us, so we might share Eternal Life with Him. 

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As St. John Chrysostom spoke, “O Death, where is thy sting? O Hell, where is thy victory? Christ is risen, and thou art overthrown! Christ is risen, and the demons are fallen! Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice! Christ is risen, and life reigns! Christ is risen, and not one dead remains in the grave. For Christ, being risen from the dead, is become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep. To Him be glory and dominion unto ages of ages.”

Saint Gregory the Great's Easter Prayer

It is only right, with all the powers of our heart and mind, to praise You Father and Your Only-begotten Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. Dear Father, by Your wondrous condescension of loving-kindness toward us, Your servants, You gave up Your Son. Dear Jesus, You paid the debt of Adam for us to the Eternal Father by Your Blood poured fourth in loving-kindness. You cleared away the darkness of sin by Your magnificent and radiant Resurrection. You broke the bonds of death and rose from the grave as a Conqueror. You reconciled heaven and earth. Our life had no hope of eternal happiness before You redeemed us. Your Resurrection has washed away our sins, restored our innocence and brought us joy. How inestimable is the tenderness of Your love!

God bless!  I pray you have a happy Easter season!

+JMJ+

A Giveaway at Shower of Roses

Jessica at Shower of Roses is hosting a giveaway for the newest album from the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles.  This order is from Kansas City-St. Joseph in Missouri and are amazing!  

Our family has one of their previous albums and love it.  The nuns sing so beautifully and peacefully--great music to listen to during school time.  Their newest album is called Easter at Ephesus, which, besides being available in Jessica's giveaway, can also be purchased from the nuns directly from their website or from Amazon.  It will be released on March 3, but pre-ordering a copy is a great way to help support this wonderful group of sisters!

God bless!

+JMJ+