Last Sunday we celebrated the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord and the Purification of Mary - Jesus Who is the Light revealed to the nations, and Our Lady who is the pure reflection of this light. But now, as Septuagesima begins, we follow Christ, "the Light of men" into the darkness.
Septuagesima is now but nine days away, and so in the month of February, the Church turns our attention toward the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ - that we may begin to prepare our hearts for the holy season of Lent.
“…All the mysteries were lived by Jesus for us, in order to grant us to be, some day, with him where He is by right – in the glory of His Father. Yes, each of us can say with St. Paul: Christ ‘loved me and have Himself up for me.’ And His immolation on the cross was not only the crowning point of the mysteries of His earthly life. It was for me, because He loved me, that He accomplished everything.” - Blessed Columba Marmion
The Son of God has come down upon the earth, in order to restore man to Life; and yet, here we have this creature of death daring to summon his Divine Benefactor before a human tribunal, and condemning him to Death! And Jesus is silent! - Dom Gueranger
This past Thursday, we gathered with a full Cathedral of faithful to join our Bishop and priests for the annual Chrism Mass.
At the gateway of Holy Week stands Palm Sunday. Holy Mother Church celebrates with triumphant joy Christ's Kingship, and simultaneously calls to mind the mystery of His reign on the Cross. From her we receive the blessed palms, carrying them in procession as a proclamation of our readiness to die and for Christ, that dying with Him we may also rise with Him. Concerning this mystery, Fr. Pius Parsch writes: "We cannot separate the Cross from the resurrection; they belong together. They belong together, too, in the life of the Christian, a life of grace which consists in conforming to “the likeness of Christ’s death and resurrection”.
Our Lady standing under the Cross from the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows in September Friday in Passiontide is dedicated to remembering the suffering endured by our Blessed Mother for our Redemption. Concerning her role in Redemption, Dom Gueranger writes,
Everything around us urges us to mourn. The images of the saints, the very crucifix on our altar, are veiled from our sight. The Church is oppressed with grief. During the first four weeks of Lent, she compassionated her Jesus fasting in the desert; His coming sufferings and crucifixion and death are what now fill her with anguish. We read in to-day’s Gospel, that the Jews threaten to stone the Son of God as a blasphemer: but His hour is not yet come. He is obliged to flee and hide Himself.
“Live joyfully; our Lord looks down upon you, and looks upon you with love...” - St. Francis de Sales
According to the calendar, today is officially the first day of spring. Be that as it may be, it has felt like spring in Santa Rosa for a while and we have treated it as such.
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