ALLELUIA, ALLELUIA, ALLELUIA
We are already in Holy Week for which by the spiritual exercises of alms giving, fasting and prayer we have endeavoured to prepare ourselves carefully to enter into the sacred mystery of the Passion ,Death and Resurrection (the Paschal Mystery) of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. The Holy Week begins with the events of Palm Sunday when Jesus descended from the Mount of Olives, mounted on a donkey and flanked by His Apostles. Before and behind Him was a host of people who carried palms and cried
“Hosanna !Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” Mk.11.9.
He entered Jerusalem in triumph and then proceeded to the Temple where He taught for the succeeding 3 days.
This brings us to the 3 most solemn days of Holy Week ( the Sacred Triduum ) in which our salvation is accomplished. On Good Friday we witness the profound mystery in which the Lord Jesus having assumed our human nature in order to be able to die for us,is crucified and in so doing redeems us. Well did St.Paul write of his
” faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself up for me ”. Gal 2.20,
The realisation of this at a deep personal level is the very essence of the spiritual life of christians. . However, the death of the Lord Jesus on Calvary is not an isolated event in history. In the evening before (Maundy Thursday) ,at the Last Supper the Lord Jesus instituted the Blessed Eucharist and in so doing left us the living memorial of the Paschal Mystery..Each time we go to Mass we recall His death and are nourished by His Body and Blood as we continue our daily pilgrimage from here to eternity.
The third day of the Sacred Triduum is Holy Saturday and that liturgy is celebrated in the evening..It is centred on the the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus which is the main event in His life and of all christians As St.Paul reminds us.
” For if the dead are not raised,neither is Christ,and if Christ has not been raised your faith is pointless and you have not,after all,
been released from your sins ”. 1 Cor.:12-20
In suceeding weeks of the Easter liturgy there follows from the gospels. accounts of appearances of the Lord Jesus to Mary Magdalen,the holy women,His Apostles and disciples.He spoke and ate with them and invited to touch Him to prove that he was not a ghost .Although not recorded in the gospels we believe that the first person to whom he appeared after His resurrection was His Blessed Mother, Mary.
One word which typifies the Easter liturgy is the word ” alleluia ”It is a Hebrew word which means ”Praise the Lord ”. It is heard frquently at Mass and is like an Easter anthem.
ALLELUIA ALLELUIA ALLELUIA
Father Michael , St Joseph Cathedral , Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
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