Happy Easter 2011!

May the miracle of the tomb invade your heart and burst forth with Resurrection gladness!

Good Friday Blessing 2011

http://browse.deviantart.com/?qh=&section=&q=good+friday#/d1y2pv7

I have this blessing to share on this Good Friday 2011 ...

God the loving One, strengthen us

God the suffering One, speak to us

God the dying One, shock and humble us

God the resurrected One, surprise us

God the Spirit One, smile on us

God the living One, journey with us

today and always.

Amen.

Annette Reed

Christ is Risen!

This is considered the most celebrated Easter sermon which I would like to share on this beautiful Easter morning!

Is there anyone who is a devout lover of God?
Let them enjoy this beautiful bright festival!
Is there anyone who is a grateful servant?
Let them rejoice and enter into the joy of their Lord!

Are there any weary with fasting?
Let them now receive their wages!
If any have toiled from the first hour,
let them receive their due reward;

If any have come after the third hour,
let him with gratitude join in the Feast!
And he that arrived after the sixth hour,
let him not doubt; for he too shall sustain no loss.

And if any delayed until the ninth hour,
let him not hesitate; but let him come too.
And he who arrived only at the eleventh hour,
let him not be afraid by reason of his delay.

For the Lord is gracious and receives the last even as the first.
He gives rest to him that comes at the eleventh hour,
as well as to him that toiled from the first.
To this one He gives, and upon another He bestows.

He accepts the works as He greets the endeavor.
The deed He honors and the intention He commends.
Let us all enter into the joy of the Lord!

First and last alike receive your reward;
rich and poor, rejoice together!
Sober and slothful, celebrate the day!

You that have kept the fast, and you that have not,
rejoice today for the Table is richly laden!
Feast royally on it, the calf is a fatted one.

Let no one go away hungry. Partake, all, of the cup of faith.
Enjoy all the riches of His goodness!

Let no one grieve at his poverty,
for the universal kingdom has been revealed.

Let no one mourn that he has fallen again and again;
for forgiveness has risen from the grave.

Let no one fear death, for the Death of our Savior has set us free.

He has destroyed it by enduring it.
He destroyed Hades when He descended into it.
He put it into an uproar even as it tasted of His flesh.

Isaiah foretold this when he said,
“You, O Hell, have been troubled by encountering Him below.”
Hell was in an uproar because it was done away with.

It was in an uproar because it is mocked.

It was in an uproar, for it is destroyed.

It is in an uproar, for it is annihilated.

It is in an uproar, for it is now made captive.

Hell took a body, and discovered God.
It took earth, and encountered Heaven.
It took what it saw, and was overcome by what it did not see.
O death, where is thy sting?
O Hades, where is thy victory?

Christ is Risen, and you, o death, are annihilated!
Christ is Risen, and the evil ones are cast down!
Christ is Risen, and the angels rejoice!
Christ is Risen, and life is liberated!
Christ is Risen, and the tomb is emptied of its dead;
for Christ having risen from the dead,
is become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

To Him be Glory and Power forever and ever. Amen!

~JOHN CHRYSOSTOM ((349-407), archbishop of Constantinople

"Good" Friday?

Calling the day of the Crucifixion ‘Good’ Friday is a designation that is peculiar to the English language. For example in German, it is called Karfreitag. The Kar part is an obsolete word, the ancestor of the English word care in the sense of cares and woes, and it meant mourning. So in German, it is Mourning Friday. And that is what the disciples did on that day—they mourned.

They thought all was lost.

I’ve read that the word good used to have a secondary meaning of holy, but I can’t trace that back. There are a number of cases in set phrases where the words God and good got switched around because of their similarity. One case was the phrase God be with you, which today is just good-bye. So perhaps Good Friday was originally God’s Friday. But I think we call it Good Friday because, in pious retrospect, all that tragedy brought about the greatest good there could be.

I can see virtue in either terminology. If we call it Mourning Friday, as in German, we are facing reality head on, taking up the cross if you will, fully conscious that the Christian walk is seldom a walk in the park as most all of us know. But if we call it Good Friday, as in English, we are confessing the Christian hope that no tragedy—not even death—can overwhelm God’s providence, love, and grace. Either way seems to work for me!

Make Me A Channel of Your Peace

It is shortly after 6am, and the alarm just blared waking me from my slumber on this Resurrection Day. As I laid in bed for a few minutes, praying and mentally preparing for this day, a song popped into my head. “Make Me a Channel of Your Peace,” an adaptation of the Prayer of St. Francis.

Here is a link to the video of this song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRvtkZs7oNg&feature=related

One might wonder why this particular song came into my head today instead of the usual Easter classics – but it was the contrast of the phrase “where there is darkness, only light” that brought it to mind on this Easter morning. Today we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus the Christ – God’s light overcoming darkness, God’s hope overcoming despair, God’s forgiveness overcoming wrong.

I don't want to infringe on copyright laws so I won't share the lyrics of “Make Me a Channel of Your Peace” on this site. However, here is the Prayer of St. Francis from which it originated …

Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;

where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,

grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;

to be understood, as to understand;

to be loved, as to love;

for it is in giving that we receive,

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Amen.
As we go forth proclaiming and celebrating the resurrection today, may it be done with this prayer in mind.

OK, better roll here ... Have a most blessed Easter everyone!

Prayer of Clement XI

Pope Clement XI is probably best known for reforming the religious calendar and established a set method to determine the date for Easter. Of course this "set method" continues to defy me and I think Easter comes at a strange day every year. Be that as it may ... Here I offer a prayer attributed to him that I think is wonderful and I can only give a hearty Amen to!

A Universal Prayer

(attributed to Clement XI)

Lord, I believe in you — increase my faith.

I trust in you — strengthen my trust.

I love you — let me love you more and more.

I am sorry for my sins — deepen my sorrow.

I worship you as my first beginning,

I long for you as my last end,

I praise you as my constant helper,

and call on you as my loving protector.

Guide me by your wisdom,

correct me with your justice,

comfort me with your mercy,

protect me with your power.

I offer you, Lord, my thoughts — to be fixed on you;

my words — to have you for their theme;

my actions — to reflect my love for you;

my sufferings — to be endured for your greater glory.

I want to do what you ask of me

— in the way you ask,

— for as long as you ask,

— because you ask it.

Lord, enlighten my understanding,

strengthen my will,

purify my heart,

and make me holy.

Help me to repent of my past sins

and to resist temptation in the future.

Help me rise above my human weaknesses

and to grow stronger as a Christian.

Let me love you,

my Lord and my God, a

nd see myself as I really am — a pilgrim in this world,

a Christian called to respect and to love all whose lives I touch,

those in authority over me or those under my authority,

my friends and my enemies.

Help me to conquer anger with gentleness,

greed with generosity,

apathy by fervor.

Help me to forget myself

and reach out to others.

Make me prudent in planning,

courageous in taking risks.

Make me patient in suffering,

unassuming in prosperity.

Keep me, Lord, attentive at prayer,

temperate in food and drink,

diligent in my work,

firm in my good intentions.

Let my conscience be clear,

my conduct without fault,

my speech blameless,

and my life well-ordered.

Teach me to realize that this world is passing,

that my true future is the happiness of heaven,

that life on earth is short,

and the life to come eternal.

Help me prepare for death with a proper fear of judgment,

and a greater trust in your goodness.

Lead me safely through death to the endless joy of heaven.

Grant this through Christ our Lord.

Amen

Have a blessed day everyone!

A Mary Magdalene Story

Although we are not anywhere close to the Easter season, here is an interesting story I came across ...

"Easter eggs are not just a tradition of the western church; they are found in Orthodox traditions as well. While eggs can be dyed any color, red is by far the most common, and the reason has to do with a legend told about Saint Mary Magdalene.

To the Orthodox, Mary Magdalene was not the "reformed prostitute" portrayed in the west. Rather, she was an educated noblewoman who helped finance the ministry of Jesus and who, after the resurrection, used her social standing to teach the gospel to upper class people who would never have listened to a mere fisherman. She has the title "Equal of the Apostles" because of her importance to the early church.

The egg story tells of her travelling to Rome after the Ascension and being admitted to the court of Tiberius Caesar. At a dinner party, she told the emperor of the miscarriage of justice done by Pilate, and then about how Jesus rose from the dead. Mary picked up an egg from the dinner table to illustrate the idea of resurrection. Tiberius scoffed at the story, saying that a man could no more rise from the dead than the egg in her hand turn red. The egg immediately turned a bright scarlet."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Magdalene

What a cool story!