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Beloved in the Lord, the Great Temple of Jerusalem at the time of Christ, had many important gates for entry. The grandest of these, was the Eastern Gate which can still be seen today.[i] In Jesus’ time it was called the Beautiful Gate. It was at this gate that Anne and Joachim, the parents of Mary, famously met each other.
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Now according to ancient Jewish tradition, the Cloud of God’s Presence, used to appear through this gate and will appear again when the Messiah comes. The Prophet Ezekiel: ‘Then he led me to the gate and … the glory of the Lord entered the temple, by way of the gate which faces east.[ii] And so the ancients believed that when the Messiah comes, he would pass through this, the ‘Beautiful Gate.’ This belief was so strong, that in an affront to Jews, the Moslems sealed the Eastern Gate, to dash their hopes of a coming Messiah. But as we know, this was too late, because the Messiah has already come.
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Today is Palm Sunday; we remember Jesus riding into Jerusalem, and it is for sure, that he entered by the Eastern Gate, the Beautiful Gate, causing the people to rejoice and wave palms. As we will see this Holy Week, the rejoicing was short-lived, because the Messiah had come to suffer and die; this is how he will free us from the chains of hell and Satan. This Week we walk with the Lord in his Passion. Thursday, the Mass of the Lord’s Supper commemorates when Christ gave us the Holy Mass and the ordained Priesthood. Then the Blessed Sacrament will be carried through the church to a place decorated with flowers, like a garden. Jesus goes to the Garden of Gethsemane where he prays. The disciples fell asleep that night, but we will stay awake, and pray with him.
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Then, Good Friday. It is ‘Good’ because it is the day of love; it is the day when the Lord lays down his life for his friends.
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Holy Saturday, Jesus’ body is in the tomb, and where goes his soul? To the land of the dead; to those waiting for the gates of heaven to be opened. Waiting, are Abraham, and Moses and Sarah and David, and especially two others, who have been waiting a very long time: Adam and Eve.
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Then on Easter, we will see the Good News. We will see that with Christ, we can be resurrected; we will have the hope of being resurrected in the New World to come.
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Fr. Luke Winkelmann
[i] constructed over the older one in the 6th century
Beloved in Jesus Christ, At Holy Mass, the priest always effects the ‘double-consecration.’ That is, the Sacred Host and the Precious Blood are consecrated separately, in two separate actions, and this follows the words of Institution given by our Lord. Continue Reading →
In the 4th century, there lived a young woman named Paesia[i] whose parents had died, leaving her their large home. For a while she made her home available for the local priests as a place for them to pray and live, but in the course of time her resources were exhausted. Continue Reading →
At the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday, as the priest puts ashes on your forehead, he traditionally says, ‘Remember that you are dust, and unto dust you shall return.’ This is a reminder of our own mortality; that this body will eventually disintegrate to dust. Speaking about this phrase, Pope Benedict said a few years ago: “this is not only an invitation to humility, but also an announcement of the path to salvation. When God said to the human race, ‘You are dust and to dust you shall return!’ he is not referring only to our death, but he announces a path of salvation which will travel through the earth.’ Continue Reading →
Beloved in Jesus Christ, We are presented in the gospel today with this scene of Jesus being tempted by none other than Satan. Our Lord of course resists the Devil, he shows us what victory over temptation looks like. Continue Reading →
Beloved in Jesus Christ, today Our Lord gives us the parable of the sower. The sower goes out to sow the seed, he spreads it all about. Unlike the flat fields of Illinois, fields of Palestine are uneven, hilly, rocky here and there, paths winding through them – the sower throws the seed, but whether a seed will thrive depends on a lot of things. Continue Reading →
Beloved in Jesus Christ, we enter now the period of Septuagesima – a time to get ready for Lent. St. Paul reminds us today that we must work hard, even chastise our bodies – we must run the race so as to win. – Even the gospel speaks about workers in the vineyard: some come early, some late – but they have to work. Lent will be a time to get to work on Christian living, and so it seems good today, to review the Guide that we have for Christian living: the 10 commandments. Continue Reading →
Back in the 1930’s, St. Josemaria Escriva visited the city of Burgos[ii] in Spain with a group of young men that he knew. One day, exploring that historic town, they went up inside the great Cathedral, built in 1221. Reaching the very high towers, St. Josemaria pointed out to those young people, the beautiful, detailed lattice-work of stone that could be seen, high up there. ‘This, he said, was evidently the result of patient and laborious craftsmanship; but the workers did this, knowing that none of this beauty could be seen by the people down below. Continue Reading →
Today we celebrate the Purification of the Blessed Virgin, also called Candlemass. At the time of Our Lord, a mother who had given birth was to go to the temple for the Purification ceremony 40 days after childbirth, and so this feast brings us to 40 days after Christmas. This is also called Candlemass, because we bless candles and have our procession ….. more
We see in the gospel today, that Our Lord encounters this man with leprosy. In those days, leprosy was a horrible disease, the worst. E. G. Masterman writes: ‘No other disease reduces a human being to so hideous a wreck,’ as leprosy. It might begin with little nodules which go on to ulcerate; the eyebrows fall out; the eyes become staring ….. more
