Winter Wonderland and Preparing for Holy Week

Outside right now.

Dear Friends and Family,

I feel like I just stepped through the wardrobe into Narnia! When I drove into Plymouth for Mass this morning it was a sunny, cool morning. When I returned to the sacristy and gave the altar boys their blessing, they were grinning ear to ear and pointing out the window: "Look at the snow!" Indeed, an inch or two had accumulated on the rooftops and cars. As I drove home this afternoon everything was covered in white. Since it snows about once every 7 years here, it felt a bit like stepping into some shimmering, magical land. Quite beautiful.

I'm also a bit sick and trying to shake off this bug before Holy Week. Hence, I will share with you below today's sermon, giving some tips for entering into these blessed next two weeks.

May Jesus and Mary watch over each of you.

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Pillari

Srm Passion Sunday 2018

Sermon Notes

John 8:46-59.
At that time, Jesus said to the crowds of the Jews: Which of you can convict Me of sin? If I speak the truth, why do you not believe Me? He who is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear is that you are not of God. The Jews therefore in answer said to Him, Are we not right in saying that You are a Samaritan, and have a devil? Jesus answered, I have not a devil, but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. Yet, I do not seek My own glory; there is One Who seeks and Who judges. Amen, amen, I say to you, if anyone keep My word, he will never see death. The Jews therefore said, Now we know that You have a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets, and You say, ‘If anyone keep My word he will never taste death.’ Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? And the prophets are dead. Whom do You make Yourself? Jesus answered, If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing. It is My Father Who glorifies Me, of Whom you say that He is your God. And you do not know Him, but I know Him. And if I say that I do not know Him, I shall be like you, a liar. But I know Him, and I keep His word. Abraham your father rejoiced that he was to see My day. He saw it and was glad. The Jews therefore said to Him, You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham? Jesus said to them, Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I am. They therefore took up stones to cast at Him; but Jesus hid Himself, and went out from the temple.

In today’s sermon I want to help you prepare for the most grace-filled time of the entire Church year: Holy Week. It is a week during which nothing will be impossible for God. Just as the good thief was converted during those few hours on Good Friday, so also this year does Christ desire to pour out graces of conversion; just as the apostles, poor, weak, sinful men, would be transformed by the graces of Holy Week to begin to be—after Pentecost—heroes of holiness who would bring about the conversion of the Roman Empire; so also God wishes to bring about, this Holy Week, radical conversions in hearts and in souls, radical changes in your lives.

But satan desperately wants you to avoid receiving those graces. And so he places in minds and hearts the temptation of discouragement: “Look at how poor your efforts have been throughout all of Lent up until now, how little you have changed, how weak and sinful you still are. And now there are only two weeks left… Nothing great can possibly happen in your life in those short two weeks. You might as well resign yourself to that fact. Don’t entertain false hopes…” If the enemy is whispering such words in your ear right now, and if your Lent has in fact not been brilliant, you might finally be at the point where you are willing to truly surrender to God, to truly sacrifice your will, your plans for your daily life, and be willing to begin embracing His will, His plans for who you are called to be, for how you will live your daily life. Perhaps you are finally at the point where you will be willing to truly die with Him, to die to yourself, to let Him remake you in His image.

            For He respects your freedom. He will not force his graces upon you. But if you are willing to die with Him, to die to yourself, then nothing will be impossible for God.

            What can you do, on a very practical level, to live well this Holy Week, and this week of preparation, this passiontide that we are beginning today? Each one of you is different and Jesus will ask slightly different things of you. What he asks of young children is different from what He asks of parents, which is different from what He asks of those who are single, and so on. In some places there is a popular custom, for those who are able, of going to monasteries to spend the Triduum there on retreat. But most people, and most of you, will not be able to do this. Here is then some advice as to how you might live Holy Week.

            One thing that is a tremendous help during Holy Week is silence. Both exterior silence, and, even more importantly, interior silence. Even for those of you with young children, at least interior silence is possible. Let me explain.

            External silence consists in the absence of sounds, at least in the absence of sounds except for sacred or natural sounds: the sound of the wind blowing through the trees, or waves crashing, or birds chirping, or Sisters chanting. For those making a retreat at a monastery, this sort of silence can envelop the entire day. But for those still at home, working, and caring for children, what can be done?

            In the home, much can be done during Holy Week, and already perhaps, by way of preparation, during this next week. You could choose to only allow sacred music to be played or heard in your home. Perhaps selecting several albums of sacred music that can be played in the home throughout Holy Week, or throughout the Triduum. It is surprising how much music changes the atmosphere of a place. One approach is to use some classical music leading into Holy Week, or into the Triduum, and then to transition to chant or other sacred music during the Triduum itself.

            “Visual external silence” can be facilitated by covering the crucifixes in your home with a violet cloth, or by having the home be more orderly and tidy. For children, a portion of toys could be put away and not used during this time. For food, even in situations or with children and others who cannot reduce the amount of food, changes can be made in the type of food. Eating a simpler diet.

            You might choose a time in the evening, perhaps an hour, when true silence is maintained in the home, and each one should be reading or the family gathers for the rosary for part of that hour. Some children may not be ready for this, but others can embrace it quite well.

            All these practices of external silence are meant to facilitate interior silence. What is interior silence? Nourished by what we have heard, by what we have seen, by what we have experienced, there is often constant noise inside of us. Our mind, our emotions, and our ego can be constantly clamoring for the realization of our desires and wishes: “I want this,” “I can’t stand that,” “I’d like to see that” “I really don’t want that” and so on. Interior silence consists in beginning to lay aside my thoughts, my desires, my wishes, so that God can begin placing in my soul His thoughts, His way of seeing the world, His desires, His wishes, so that I can begin to look at the world as He sees it, and more importantly so that He can begin to give His very self to you, to dwell more fully in your soul.

            But because silence is not easy for us—neither interior nor exterior silence, it is helpful to not only have silence but to nourish our souls with good things. This can be done through reading: for example reading a bit each day from Sacred Scripture, perhaps the passion Gospels, or reading other spiritual books; or devoting time to specific prayers, such as the stations of the Cross, or to quiet prayer and adoration in the church; or taking an extended silent hike in nature. For some people it can be very helpful to spend hours walking in nature without talking. It can even be done as a group. To spread out single file—leaving plenty of space between you—and agree that you won’t talk until you reach some other destination. Instead you will each walk alone with Jesus and Mary. Or you may decide to do simple manual work in silence, to keep you occupied but allow your heart to try to talk to Jesus. Or you may choose to give time to those who are sick, elderly or in need. Such visits can also be a good way to spend part of Holy Week.

            Finally, a few words on preparing for the liturgies of Holy Week. They are the most intense, and longest, liturgies of the entire year. They are meant to be lived by following along closely in the booklets that will be provided, meditating on the long passages from Scripture, especially the Passion Gospels—offering God the extra sacrifice of a longer time in silent prayer, spending extra time thinking about Him, rather than about ourselves. Palm Sunday is the longest Sunday Mass of the year—with the extended blessing of the palms, procession, and Passion Gospel….

            For young children, those unable to read and follow along in the booklets, what should be done? There are of course smaller picture books for children—Know Your Mass is one example, some of you have other books—which can be very useful for helping the children to pray during any Mass. In general they can learn to offer their adoration and love to Jesus. In these days they can be taught to appreciate the special gestures such as receiving the palm from the priest and kissing both it and the priest’s hand, and the meaning of each, the procession, safeguarding the blessed palm, and so forth.

Of the Triduum liturgies, Holy Thursday is the briefest, and so might be more accessible for young children. At the end it has procession to the “Garden of Gethsemane” with Our Lord and then the quiet time of keeping vigil with him. Young children can appreciate coming again, perhaps later that day or evening, for a few moments of praying with Jesus, keeping Him company as He prepares to suffer.

Good Friday’s liturgy has the veneration of the Cross, and then the Lord’s presence “disappearing” from the earth when the Blessed Sacrament is consumed, and the church tabernacles being left empty, without His presence. These can be significant moments for young children. The Easter Vigil is the longest: about 3 hours, and the most challenging for young children. Its readings are very rich—all 14 of them!—it offers us an extended time of meditation on all of salvation history, before beginning the celebration of the Lord’s resurrection. Here at Lanherne it will lead into the rest of a quiet Saturday—which gives us the chance to live with the Virgin Mary the hidden and profound joy of the resurrection. You could say that it offers a chance to live in a contemplative way the mystery of the resurrection before its full external celebration begins on Sunday morning.

Take advantage of these blessed two weeks, especially Holy Week, when nothing will be impossible for God.