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Friday, April 15, 2022

† "They Took The Body ... "

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†Saint Quote
"I earnestly admonish you, therefore, my brothers, to look after your spiritual well-being with judicious concern. Death is certain; life is short and vanishes like smoke. Fix your minds, then, on the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. Inflamed with love for us, he came down from heaven to redeem us. For our sake he endured every torment of body and soul and shrank from no bodily pain. He himself gave us an example of perfect patience and love. We, then, are to be patient in adversity."
–St. Francis of Paola

†Today's Meditation
"Jesus Christ did not think the sovereign beatitude and glory of Heaven too dearly purchased at the price of unspeakable tortures, and by suffering His sacred flesh to be mangled by nails, thorns, and scourges. Great indeed must be the value of that which cost the Son of God so dear! And yet we esteem it so little, as to be even ready to renounce our claim to it, as, in fact, so many of us do, for the sake of some wretched pleasure or despicable interest! Ye blind and deluded children of men, contemplate the Wounds of your Crucified God, and see in what manner the gates of the kingdom of glory have been opened to you! See what it has cost Him to place you in possession of it, and understand, if possible, how infinite a benefit was bestowed upon you by the Son of God when He purchased for you Heaven, which you had lost by sin! … Enter in spirit into these sacred Wounds, and you will comprehend the value and sublimity of that eternal felicity which they have acquired for you, and you will learn to detach your heart from the earth and from creatures, so as to place all your affections and desires upon Heaven."
—Fr. Ignatius of the Side of Christ, p. 226-227

An Excerpt From
The School of Jesus Crucified

†Daily Verse
"Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty; for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come from thee, and thou rulest over all. In thy hand are power and might; and in thy hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. And now we thank thee, our God, and praise thy glorious name."
–1 Chronicles 29:11-13

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St. Hunna

St. Hunna (d. 679 A.D.) was born in Alsace, France. She was the virtuous daughter of a duke, and she married a similarly virtuous nobleman. Hunna and her husband did not indulge in unnecessary luxuries according to their high state in life, and instead detached themselves from their riches by opening their home to the poor and assisting them in their need. St. Deodatus, a bishop who resigned from his See, came to live with the holy couple for a time. St. Hunna and her husband greatly profited from his religious instruction and grew in sanctity as a result. When Hunna bore a son, she named him after St. Deodatus. This child, raised by such holy parents, later joined a monastery and also became a saint. After her husband's death Hunna continued to spend her life serving the poor, especially women. No task was too menial for her. She tended to the poor and the sick and regularly, including their laundry and mending, even to the point of exhaustion. For this she was nicknamed the "Holy Washerwoman." She also gave away her wealth and property to build churches and monasteries. So many miracles were attributed to her that Pope Leo X canonized her in 1520. St. Hunna is the patron saint of laundresses and her feast day is April 15.

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Good Friday of the Lord's Passion

Lectionary: 40
Reading I

Is 52:13—53:12

See, my servant shall prosper,

he shall be raised high and greatly exalted.
Even as many were amazed at him--

so marred was his look beyond human semblance

and his appearance beyond that of the sons of man--
so shall he startle many nations,

because of him kings shall stand speechless;
for those who have not been told shall see,

those who have not heard shall ponder it.

Who would believe what we have heard?

To whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
He grew up like a sapling before him,

like a shoot from the parched earth;
there was in him no stately bearing to make us look at him,

nor appearance that would attract us to him.
He was spurned and avoided by people,

a man of suffering, accustomed to infirmity,
one of those from whom people hide their faces,

spurned, and we held him in no esteem.

Yet it was our infirmities that he bore,

our sufferings that he endured,
while we thought of him as stricken,

as one smitten by God and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our offenses,

crushed for our sins;
upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole,

by his stripes we were healed.
We had all gone astray like sheep,

each following his own way;
but the LORD laid upon him

the guilt of us all.

Though he was harshly treated, he submitted

and opened not his mouth;
like a lamb led to the slaughter

or a sheep before the shearers,

he was silent and opened not his mouth.
Oppressed and condemned, he was taken away,

and who would have thought any more of his destiny?
When he was cut off from the land of the living,

and smitten for the sin of his people,
a grave was assigned him among the wicked

and a burial place with evildoers,
though he had done no wrong

nor spoken any falsehood.
But the LORD was pleased

to crush him in infirmity.

If he gives his life as an offering for sin,

he shall see his descendants in a long life,

and the will of the LORD shall be accomplished through him.

Because of his affliction

he shall see the light in fullness of days;
through his suffering, my servant shall justify many,

and their guilt he shall bear.
Therefore I will give him his portion among the great,

and he shall divide the spoils with the mighty,
because he surrendered himself to death

and was counted among the wicked;
and he shall take away the sins of many,

and win pardon for their offenses.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 31:2, 6, 12-13, 15-16, 17, 25

R (Lk 23:46) Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.
In you, O LORD, I take refuge;

let me never be put to shame.
In your justice rescue me.

Into your hands I commend my spirit;
you will redeem me, O LORD, O faithful God.
R Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.
For all my foes I am an object of reproach,

a laughingstock to my neighbors, and a dread to my friends;
they who see me abroad flee from me.

I am forgotten like the unremembered dead;
I am like a dish that is broken.
R Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.
But my trust is in you, O LORD;

I say, "You are my God.
In your hands is my destiny; rescue me

from the clutches of my enemies and my persecutors."
R Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.
Let your face shine upon your servant;

save me in your kindness.
Take courage and be stouthearted,

all you who hope in the LORD.
R Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.

Reading II

Heb 4:14-16; 5:7-9

Brothers and sisters:
Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens,
Jesus, the Son of God,
let us hold fast to our confession.
For we do not have a high priest
who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses,
but one who has similarly been tested in every way,
yet without sin.
So let us confidently approach the throne of grace
to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.

In the days when Christ was in the flesh,
he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears
to the one who was able to save him from death,
and he was heard because of his reverence.
Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered;
and when he was made perfect,
he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.

Verse Before the Gospel

Phil 2:8-9

Christ became obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name which is above every other name.

Gospel

Jn 18:1—19:42

Jesus went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley
to where there was a garden,
into which he and his disciples entered.
Judas his betrayer also knew the place,
because Jesus had often met there with his disciples.
So Judas got a band of soldiers and guards
from the chief priests and the Pharisees
and went there with lanterns, torches, and weapons.
Jesus, knowing everything that was going to happen to him,
went out and said to them, "Whom are you looking for?"
They answered him, "Jesus the Nazorean."
He said to them, "I AM."
Judas his betrayer was also with them.
When he said to them, "I AM, "
they turned away and fell to the ground.
So he again asked them,
"Whom are you looking for?"
They said, "Jesus the Nazorean."
Jesus answered,
"I told you that I AM.
So if you are looking for me, let these men go."
This was to fulfill what he had said,
"I have not lost any of those you gave me."
Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it,
struck the high priest's slave, and cut off his right ear.
The slave's name was Malchus.
Jesus said to Peter,
"Put your sword into its scabbard.
Shall I not drink the cup that the Father gave me?"

So the band of soldiers, the tribune, and the Jewish guards seized Jesus,
bound him, and brought him to Annas first.
He was the father-in-law of Caiaphas,
who was high priest that year.
It was Caiaphas who had counseled the Jews
that it was better that one man should die rather than the people.

Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus.
Now the other disciple was known to the high priest,
and he entered the courtyard of the high priest with Jesus.
But Peter stood at the gate outside.
So the other disciple, the acquaintance of the high priest,
went out and spoke to the gatekeeper and brought Peter in.
Then the maid who was the gatekeeper said to Peter,
"You are not one of this man's disciples, are you?"
He said, "I am not."
Now the slaves and the guards were standing around a charcoal fire
that they had made, because it was cold,
and were warming themselves.
Peter was also standing there keeping warm.

The high priest questioned Jesus
about his disciples and about his doctrine.
Jesus answered him,
"I have spoken publicly to the world.
I have always taught in a synagogue
or in the temple area where all the Jews gather,
and in secret I have said nothing. Why ask me?
Ask those who heard me what I said to them.
They know what I said."
When he had said this,
one of the temple guards standing there struck Jesus and said,
"Is this the way you answer the high priest?"
Jesus answered him,
"If I have spoken wrongly, testify to the wrong;
but if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?"
Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.

Now Simon Peter was standing there keeping warm.
And they said to him,
"You are not one of his disciples, are you?"
He denied it and said,
"I am not."
One of the slaves of the high priest,
a relative of the one whose ear Peter had cut off, said,
"Didn't I see you in the garden with him?"
Again Peter denied it.
And immediately the cock crowed.

Then they brought Jesus from Caiaphas to the praetorium.
It was morning.
And they themselves did not enter the praetorium,
in order not to be defiled so that they could eat the Passover.
So Pilate came out to them and said,
"What charge do you bring against this man?"
They answered and said to him,
"If he were not a criminal,
we would not have handed him over to you."
At this, Pilate said to them,
"Take him yourselves, and judge him according to your law."
The Jews answered him,
"We do not have the right to execute anyone, "
in order that the word of Jesus might be fulfilled
that he said indicating the kind of death he would die.
So Pilate went back into the praetorium
and summoned Jesus and said to him,
"Are you the King of the Jews?"
Jesus answered,
"Do you say this on your own
or have others told you about me?"
Pilate answered,
"I am not a Jew, am I?
Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me.
What have you done?"
Jesus answered,
"My kingdom does not belong to this world.
If my kingdom did belong to this world,
my attendants would be fighting
to keep me from being handed over to the Jews.
But as it is, my kingdom is not here."
So Pilate said to him,
"Then you are a king?"
Jesus answered,
"You say I am a king.
For this I was born and for this I came into the world,
to testify to the truth.
Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice."
Pilate said to him, "What is truth?"

When he had said this,
he again went out to the Jews and said to them,
"I find no guilt in him.
But you have a custom that I release one prisoner to you at Passover.
Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?"
They cried out again,
"Not this one but Barabbas!"
Now Barabbas was a revolutionary.

Then Pilate took Jesus and had him scourged.
And the soldiers wove a crown out of thorns and placed it on his head,
and clothed him in a purple cloak,
and they came to him and said,
"Hail, King of the Jews!"
And they struck him repeatedly.
Once more Pilate went out and said to them,
"Look, I am bringing him out to you,
so that you may know that I find no guilt in him."
So Jesus came out,
wearing the crown of thorns and the purple cloak.
And he said to them, "Behold, the man!"
When the chief priests and the guards saw him they cried out,
"Crucify him, crucify him!"
Pilate said to them,
"Take him yourselves and crucify him.
I find no guilt in him."
The Jews answered,
"We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die,
because he made himself the Son of God."
Now when Pilate heard this statement,
he became even more afraid,
and went back into the praetorium and said to Jesus,
"Where are you from?"
Jesus did not answer him.
So Pilate said to him,
"Do you not speak to me?
Do you not know that I have power to release you
and I have power to crucify you?"
Jesus answered him,
"You would have no power over me
if it had not been given to you from above.
For this reason the one who handed me over to you
has the greater sin."
Consequently, Pilate tried to release him; but the Jews cried out,
"If you release him, you are not a Friend of Caesar.
Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar."

When Pilate heard these words he brought Jesus out
and seated him on the judge's bench
in the place called Stone Pavement, in Hebrew, Gabbatha.
It was preparation day for Passover, and it was about noon.
And he said to the Jews,
"Behold, your king!"
They cried out,
"Take him away, take him away! Crucify him!"
Pilate said to them,
"Shall I crucify your king?"
The chief priests answered,
"We have no king but Caesar."
Then he handed him over to them to be crucified.

So they took Jesus, and, carrying the cross himself,
he went out to what is called the Place of the Skull,
in Hebrew, Golgotha.
There they crucified him, and with him two others,
one on either side, with Jesus in the middle.
Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross.
It read,
"Jesus the Nazorean, the King of the Jews."
Now many of the Jews read this inscription,
because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city;
and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek.
So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate,

"Do not write 'The King of the Jews,'
but that he said, 'I am the King of the Jews'."
Pilate answered,
"What I have written, I have written."

When the soldiers had crucified Jesus,
they took his clothes and divided them into four shares,
a share for each soldier.
They also took his tunic, but the tunic was seamless,
woven in one piece from the top down.
So they said to one another,
"Let's not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it will be, "
in order that the passage of Scripture might be fulfilled that says:

They divided my garments among them,

and for my vesture they cast lots.
This is what the soldiers did.
Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother
and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas,
and Mary of Magdala.
When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved
he said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son."
Then he said to the disciple,
"Behold, your mother."
And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.

After this, aware that everything was now finished,
in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled,
Jesus said, "I thirst."
There was a vessel filled with common wine.
So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop
and put it up to his mouth.
When Jesus had taken the wine, he said,
"It is finished."
And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.

Here all kneel and pause for a short time.

Now since it was preparation day,
in order that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath,
for the sabbath day of that week was a solemn one,
the Jews asked Pilate that their legs be broken
and that they be taken down.
So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first
and then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus.
But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead,
they did not break his legs,
but one soldier thrust his lance into his side,
and immediately blood and water flowed out.
An eyewitness has testified, and his testimony is true;
he knows that he is speaking the truth,
so that you also may come to believe.
For this happened so that the Scripture passage might be fulfilled:

Not a bone of it will be broken.
And again another passage says:

They will look upon him whom they have pierced.

After this, Joseph of Arimathea,
secretly a disciple of Jesus for fear of the Jews,
asked Pilate if he could remove the body of Jesus.
And Pilate permitted it.
So he came and took his body.
Nicodemus, the one who had first come to him at night,
also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes
weighing about one hundred pounds.
They took the body of Jesus
and bound it with burial cloths along with the spices,
according to the Jewish burial custom.
Now in the place where he had been crucified there was a garden,
and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had yet been buried.
So they laid Jesus there because of the Jewish preparation day;
for the tomb was close by.

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Daily Meditation: John 18:1–19:42

Bowing his head, he handed over the spirit. (John 19:30)

"Jesus, as I contemplate your tortuous journey to the cross, I am overwhelmed with sadness. And yet I know what your crucifixion will mean for me and for the whole world. As I reflect on these Gospel verses today, help me to comprehend the enormity of your sacrifice as well as the abundant, never-ending love and mercy that continue to flow from your side.

"I find no guilt in him (John 18:38). Lord, you were an innocent man unjustly condemned and put to death, but you took on my guilt and the guilt of us all. Now even my most grievous sin can be forgiven and forgotten. Because of your sacrifice, you will always welcome me back.

"Behold, your king! (John 19:14). You were not just the king of one nation but of all the nations on the earth—and of the entire universe! As King, you could have called out an army of angels to save yourself, but you knew that the only way to save me was to sacrifice yourself out of love for me. Jesus, I am so incredibly grateful!

"I thirst (John 19:28). Jesus, I can't imagine how parched you must have felt as you hung on the cross. But it was more than physical thirst; you also thirsted for me—and for every person who was far from you! Jesus, I thirst for you too: for your love, for your mercy, and for your presence in my life. Help me to remember that only you can quench the deepest desires of my heart.

"It is finished (John 19:30). You have completed your mission: you preached, you healed, and then you willingly drank the 'cup' that led to your death (18:11). Now your beaten and marred body will be anointed and laid in a tomb. Jesus, on this solemn day, I grieve for you. With the whole Church, I keep vigil, knowing that in just three days, you will burst from the grave and conquer death forever. And on that glorious day, just as you promised your disciples, my grief will turn to joy (16:20)!"

"Jesus, may your cross always remind me of your great love for me."

Isaiah 52:13–53:12
Psalm 31:2, 6, 12-13, 15-17, 25
Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9

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From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"Though he was harshly treated, he submitted and opened not his mouth; like a lamb led to the slaughter"

Why wouldn't a lamb make a sound when it is being slaughtered? To not raise scandal? To not scare the flock? Why wouldn't it call out and make a commotion?

Yet, they say our Lord is the Lamb of God. Humble. He did make an utterance, when He said to His Father, "Daddy, why have you abandoned Me?".

Yet, we are called to humility...and to faith. Just like our Lord who gave us His all on this day.

psalms

We pray in Psalms:
"Let your face shine upon your servant; save me in your kindness.Take courage and be stouthearted,
all you who hope in the LORD. Father, into your hands I commend my spirit."

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In today's Gospel we heard:
"Pilate said to them, "Shall I crucify your king?"

And what did the people respond? "We have NO KING but....". What a scary reply. The King, God of the Universe is right before them and they wish AGAIN to not be ruled over...the people desired to be in charge. What does this mean?
It means that you rather not live by faith. It means you rather not be the servant, but to be served. It means you flip the tables, a betrayal too. It is the kiss of Judas to sin against God. Shall we say we are not like Judas?

I see in the world, a lack of humility. A failure to acknowledge sin. And even worse, some acknowledge and fail to do anything about it. For this, we need this God that is about to be handed over in neutrality. Think about it next time you remain silent, or wash your hands of Him when asked to make a firm decision for Christ or against Christ. Like when? You may ask.
It happens every time you decide to not pray. To not go to Church. To not go into conversations about faith so you do not rock the boat, nor even vote. It happens when we choose ourselves before God. It's not very different than the day they betrayed God Himself and hung Him on a cross.

"Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother." And from that hour the disciple took her into his home."
It's interesting that even while dying, He's still giving. He is giving everything, even His own Mother! And to who? To the whole world.

They say that the way to restore the world this time around will be through Mary. No wonder He gave her to us 2,000 years ago, knowing full well we would need her to accompany to us. And we do, and maybe this time we can Make CHRIST King of our whole world, beginning with your life and my life.
And so, we are leading to the cross, the crux of the matter.
What does the cross mean to you my child?
To be honest, for most of my life I have been at a great disconnect with the message of the cross. What is the disconnect from Jesus and the cross?
There are churches that don't want to see Jesus on the cross. They scoff at Catholics "you still have Him nailed to cross and dead". But the message of the cross is not about death, but a message of love. That's what we are to see, John 3:16, For HE so LOVES the world, that HE GIVES HIS Only SON to You, every day, on the Altar in the forever Sacrifice.
God Loves You more than 100% every day.
What does that mean to you?
Let's speak romance stuff. Let's say, or maybe you've had someone that liked you, or crushed on you, or said they even loved you, but you didn't feel the same way about them. Is that what God is offering?

Not necessarily. That is another love called eros that in its innocence really aims to be one with you intimately, but it can be thwarted by human affections and twisted into eroticism often confused with "romance".

Let's speak of friends love. Some say they would die for friends, even Christ said to die for one's friend: "This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 14You are My friends if you do what I command you.…" Is that what Christ did on the cross? He died for His friends? If so, how can that be for a living person with a long ago dead person? Protestants, perk up here now. Our Lord is NOT dead, and we know this. He is ALIVE, more alive than we are, and calls us to be HIS. What is your relationship with Him?

Now let's go into another dimension of love that is believed to exist: Agape, the love that exists regardless of changing circumstances. This is huge. Why? Because, only God can love like this. Nothing can change His love for You. This is where Divine Mercy must be understood. This is where we say "God is good" and often misunderstood as we look into the mirror of the soul. God can only Give in His true essence. He never took away things from our ancestors that betrayed Him. No. He just let us have our way and shows us how we truly are without Him. We are takers. This is why mankind is considered the bride in the Holy Scripture. We are designed to take. Think Holy Eucharist. Ever notice how many of your prayers are mostly about asking for stuff? All taking and no giving. I can say this safely because I believe I have never met a soul that does not need prayer.

It is "GOOD" Friday. And we remember His dying on the cross. How can this be good? Love is good. Jesus pours Himself out as He is draped on the wood, the throne we have fashioned for Him in our misery. Just think how much you actually give to God, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, and how about hourly? If what I see is a microcosm of the world, I see scraps given to Church and thus to God. Yet everyone says they believe in God. But words are not enough. Actions must prove the words. And the message of Christ is sealed with HIS BLOOD AND BODY. As if to say "My Bride, I Give Myself entirely to You, I am completely Yours, I am truly faithfully YOURS both now and FOREVER!"

Maybe stop wearing a heart around your neck.
Maybe start wearing a blessed crucifix.
Maybe your heart inside will feel the love.
Maybe you will then give all your Heart too...
to True Love

from your brother in Christ,
Adrian

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Random bible verse generator:
Matthew 6:24
24 "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.1

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God Bless You! Peace

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