A Holy Nation by AFE Diocese of Westminster

Daily Meditations and Group Reflections First Sunday of Lent – Holy Saturday (Year C)

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Acknowledgements A Holy Nation Nihil Obstat: Right Reverend Alan Hopes V.G Auxiliary Bishop in Westminster Imprimatur: HE Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor Archbishop of Westminster Date: Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord 07.01.2007 The Nihil obstat and Imprimatur are a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be free from doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have granted the Nihil obstat and Imprimatur agree with the contents, opinions or statements expressed. Writing Group: Miss Michaela Mitchell, Mr Mark Nash, Fr Michael O’Boy, Dr Clare Watkins, Mrs Margaret Wickware. With thanks to Sr Amadeus Bulger and Fr Gerard Skinner for commenting on the text as a whole and to Mgr James Overton for commenting on certain aspects of the text. The Westminster Diocesan Agency for Evangelisation is grateful to the Archbishop’s Office for Evangelisation Melbourne for permission to reproduce material from Letters for Lent, copyright © 2006 The Archdiocese of Melbourne and to the Catholic Truth Society for permission to reproduce material from The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, copyright © 2006 The Incorporated Catholic Truth Society. We are similarly grateful to Columba Press for permission to use or adapt prayers taken from Prayer for Parish Groups by Donal Harrington and Julie Kavanagh © 1998, Columba Press, Dublin. Thanks also to Darton, Longman & Todd for permission to use scripture texts from the Jerusalem Bible © 1966 Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd and Doubleday and Company Ltd. Excerpts from The Divine Office © 1974, hierarchies of Australia, England and Wales, Ireland. All rights reserved. Excerpts from the English Translation of the Roman Missal © 1973, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Produced by The Agency for Evangelisation, Vaughan House, 46 Francis Street, London, SW1P 1QN. Tel: 020 7798 9152 or email: evangelisation@rcdow.org.uk Published by WRCDT, copyright © 2007, Diocese of Westminster, Archbishop’s House, Ambrosden Avenue, London, SW1P 1QJ Designed by Julian Game Cover Photographs by Mark Nash Print and distribution arranged by Transform Management Ltd: info@1025transform.co.uk All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photo-copying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the publishers.

Foreword ‘You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated nation, a people set apart’. It is these words from the first letter of Peter (1 Peter 2:9) that I want to give you as we begin our Lenten journey. I give them to you for two reasons. First, because they are a reminder of the great dignity that has been bestowed upon us in baptism and secondly, because of the challenge they represent. At baptism, God, through the free and gratuitous gift of the Holy Spirit, drew us into the very life of Jesus Christ whose triumph over death opened up for us the promise of eternal life. Baptised into Christ, his way is to be our way. The greatness of the gift demands a suitable response. Are you a consecrated or holy nation? What have you done with the dignity bestowed upon you in baptism? In the following reflections for small groups and individuals you will be invited to explore the gift and challenge that being a holy nation presents. Having acknowledged that baptism unites every Christian, whatever their particular tradition, you will be invited to reflect on your imitation of Christ – Christ as priest, Christ as prophet, Christ as king. In this way, my sincere hope is that you will see how the traditional observances of Lent – your prayer, your fasting and your almsgiving - can be a sharing in the mission of Christ and a realisation of the holy nation we are. With my blessing and prayers

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor Archbishop of Westminster 3

About this Book The meditation and faith sharing material found here has been coauthored by a group of people. In drawing this material together the group has been conscious of the desire expressed by many for ‘more teaching’. Certainly, we would welcome your feedback at evangelisation@rcdow.org.uk or by post at the address on the inside of the front cover. A uniform structure has been observed throughout and we think you will be stimulated by the variety of styles and approaches to prayer. • The group session begins with a period of prayer which focuses on the cross. Groups may then wish to have a short period of silence. Following the scripture reading you are invited to share anything that has struck you. You are then offered a further reflection that explores the theme of baptism and discipleship. Finally, having shared any further thoughts and questions, you are asked to discern the implications which the scripture reading and reflection may have for Christian living in general and your life in particular. The group session then proceeds to a small series of petitions, affording you the opportunity to give thanks, to ask forgiveness, to say what you want. The session then concludes with a group prayer. • The daily meditation begins with a short extract from the Sunday Readings and is followed by a brief reflection. This reflection is complemented by an extract from one of a number of Church documents or the Compendium. Having spent some time reflecting on the scripture, you may want to spend some additional time reflecting on this particular text. A little later you may chose to look it up in the relevant document or the Compendium. Finally, there is a prayer to help you draw your daily meditation to a close. As with the group session an individual may wish to start their meditation by focusing on a cross (such as the one of the back of the booklet). 4

When making decisions Catholics are called to rely on the guidance of the Holy Spirit and to be informed by Scripture, Tradition and the Magisterium (the Church’s teaching authority). This booklet uses both Scripture and the following Church documents: • Apostolicam Actuositatem (AA) is the Second Vatican Council’s Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity (18 November 1965). • Lumen Gentium (LG) is the Second Vatican Council’s Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (21 November 1964). • Christifideles Laici (CL) Pope John Paul II’s Apostolic Exhortation (30 December 1988) on the vocation and the mission of the lay faithful. Along with the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, use will also be made of: • Unitatis Redintegratio (UR), the Second Vatican’s Council Decree on Ecumenism (21 November 1964) and • Redemptoris Missio (RM), Pope John Paul II’s encyclical (7 December 1990) on the duty of the Church to undertake missionary activity. All of these documents can be found on the Vatican website (www.vatican.va) under the sections, ‘Papal Archive’ and ‘Resource Library’.

Week One First Sunday of Lent Scripture from the first Sunday of Lent (Year C) - Luke 4: 1 – 13 Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit through the wilderness, being tempted there by the devil for forty days. During that time he ate nothing and at the end he was hungry. Then the devil said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to turn into a loaf.’ But Jesus replied, ‘Scripture says: Man does not live on bread alone.’ Then leading him to a height, the devil showed him in a moment of time all the kingdoms of the world and said to him, ‘I will give you all this power and the glory of these kingdoms, for it has been committed to me and I give it to anyone I choose. Worship me, then, and it shall all be yours.’ But Jesus answered him. Scripture says: ‘You must worship the Lord your God, and serve him alone.’ Then he led him to Jerusalem and made him stand on the parapet of the Temple. ‘If you are the Son of God’, he said to him ‘throw yourself down from here, for scripture says: ‘He will put his angels in charge of you to guard you’, and again: ‘They will hold you up on their hands in case you hurt your foot against a stone.’ But Jesus answered him, ‘It has been said: You must not put the Lord your God to the test.’ Having exhausted all these ways of tempting him, the devil left him, to return at the appointed time.

Background This passage forms part of the prelude to Jesus’ public ministry and immediately follows an account of Christ’s own baptism at the hands of John the Baptist in the River Jordan. John was absolutely certain of his unworthiness to baptise Christ, being quite aware of who Jesus was and informing his followers that Jesus ‘will baptise with the Holy 6

Week One Spirit and fireâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; (Luke 3:16). In this passage, however, it is not John who recognises Christ for who he is, but the devil. In Lukeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Gospel evil forces will continue to recognise Christ for who he is (Luke 4:41; 8:29). Moreover, the temptations he experienced in the desert, will be set before him again; on the Cross where the leaders, soldiers and one of the criminals challenge him to save himself (Luke 23:35-39).

From Lumen Gentium 9. Moving forward through trial and tribulation, the Church is strengthened by the power of God's grace, which was promised to her by the Lord, so that in the weakness of the flesh she may not waver from perfect fidelity, but remain a bride worthy of her Lord, and moved by the Holy Spirit may never cease to renew herself, until through the Cross she arrives at the light which knows no setting. God, Our Father, In your infinite love and goodness you have shown us that prayer, fasting and almsgiving are remedies for sin: Accept the humble admission of our guilt and when our conscience weighs us down let your unfailing mercy raise us up. We make our prayer through Our Lord, Jesus Christ your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, One God, for ever and ever, Amen. From the Divine Office, Morning Prayer Sunday Week 3 of Lent 7

Monday of Week One Filled with the Holy Spirit Jesus was sustained in the desert by the Holy Spirit. In Scripture the Holy Spirit is frequently experienced as a nudging, gentle force, guiding us to God. Thus, in 1 Kings 19:11-13, Elijah perceives the Lord’s presence in the gentle breeze rather than the windstorm, earthquake or fire that preceded it. The term ‘Spirit’ translates from the Hebrew word ruah, which in its main sense, means breath, air, wind, something gentle. However, in the different accounts of his temptation in the desert Jesus is variously ‘led’ (Matthew 4:1) or ‘driven out’ (Mark 1:12) into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit. Here, the Holy Spirit is expressed as a vigorous force. At baptism we ask God to send down his Holy Spirit to dwell within us, and so each one of us may ask: where and how is the power of Christ, the power of the Holy Spirit, alive in my life?

From the Compendium 139. What symbols are used to represent the Holy Spirit? There are many symbols of the Holy Spirit: living water which springs from the wounded Heart of Christ and which quenches the thirst of the baptised; anointing with oil, which is the sacramental sign of Confirmation; fire which transforms what it touches; the cloud, dark or luminous, in which the divine glory is revealed; the imposition of hands by which the Holy Spirit is given; the dove which descended on Christ at his baptism and remained with him.

Monday of Week One All-powerful God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, by water and the Holy Spirit you freed your sons and daughters from sin and gave them new life. Send your Holy Spirit upon them be their Helper and Guide. Give them the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of right judgment and courage, the spirit of knowledge and reverence. Fill them with the spirit of wonder and awe in your presence. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Prayer from the Rite of Confirmation

Tuesday of Week One Tempted there by the devil for forty days The forty days of Lent, with its emphasis on resolutions to do or not to do things, is an ideal opportunity to reflect on the role which temptation plays in our lives. During Lent we are faced with our weaknesses, the very weaknesses which separate us from God. St James writes, ‘Everyone who is tempted is attracted and seduced by their own wrong desire. Then the desire conceives and gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it too has a child, and the child is death’ (James 1: 13-15). Baptism frees us from this death. Therefore, we may see temptation, not in a negative manner but, as St James wrote, as ‘a happy privilege’ through which we can grow in patience and stand firm, ‘winning the crown that the Lord has promised to those who love him’ (James 1: 2-4, 12).

From the Compendium 106. What do we learn from the temptations of Jesus in the desert? The temptations of Jesus in the desert recapitulate the temptation of Adam in Paradise and the temptations of Israel in the desert. Satan tempts Jesus in regard to his obedience to the mission given him by the Father. Christ, the new Adam, resists and his victory proclaims that of his passion which is the supreme obedience of his filial love. The Church unites herself to this mystery in a special way in the liturgical season of Lent.

Tuesday of Week One Our Father in heaven, may your name be held holy, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven those who are in debt to us. And do not put us to the test, but save us from the evil one. Amen. Matthew 6:9-13

Wednesday of Week One Jesus replied, ‘Scripture says…’ Responding to the temptations set before him, Christ makes constant references to Scripture. In his letter to the Ephesians, St Paul advises us to do the same in times of trial. ‘And then’, says St Paul, having accepted salvation from God as your helmet, ‘receive the word of God from the Spirit to use as a sword’ (Ephesians 6:17). Of course, Christ is not the only one in this episode to quote from Scripture. However, the devil’s is a mocking tone, which pays mere lip service to the Word of God. When we were baptised the celebrant invited us to an active listening and worthy proclamation of the Word, saying ‘The Lord Jesus made the deaf hear and the dumb speak. May he soon touch your ears to receive his word, and your mouth to proclaim his faith, to the praise and glory of God the Father’. When reading the Scripture, do we half-heartedly roll off words in familiar patterns, with little regard to what is the Word of God? Or are we confident in the ‘Good News, the power of God saving all who have faith’ (Romans 1:16)?

From Lumen Gentium 5. The Word of the Lord is compared to a seed which is sown in a field (Mark 4:14); those who hear the Word with faith and become part of the little flock of Christ (Luke 12:32), have received the Kingdom itself. Then, by its own power the seed sprouts and grows until harvest time (Mark 4:26-29).

Wednesday of Week One O Lord, you have given us your Word as a light to shine on our path; grant that we may so meditate on that Word and follow its teaching that we may find in it the light that shines more and more until the perfect day; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. St Jerome (c.347-420)

Thursday of Week One In a moment of time Temptation can come upon us without warning. Understandably, our reactions can therefore be unthinking and unwitting. However, even where temptation is more subtle and insidious, less vivid perhaps than the whirlwind tour the devil set before Christ, our response can be equally lacking. What then of Christ’s reactions to temptation? Christ’s instinctive reaction was to trust in God’s fidelity and to serve God alone. Such was his relationship to the Father – such was the trust that coursed through his bones and permeated his whole being - that even in times of great stress he remained steadfast. Where, to whom and to what, do I turn in the face of temptation and at moments of stress? Is it family, friends or colleagues? Or have we developed the instinct of habitually turning to God?

From Christifideles Laici 7. Adverse situations deeply affect the Church: they in part condition the Church, but they do not crush her, nor even less overcome her, because the Holy Spirit, who gives her life, sustains her in her mission.

On the day I called, you answered me, O Lord. I thank you, Lord, with all my heart, you have heard the words of my mouth. Before the angels I will bless you I will adore before your holy temple. Psalm138 (137): 1-2 Hymn of Thanksgiving 14

Friday of Week One He led him to Jerusalem Jerusalem was where Christ would ascend into heaven and complete his exodus, his time in the wilderness, his time on earth, away from the Father. In baptism we enter into the life of Christ and we come to share in his relationship with the Father. Death, for us, prefigures the culmination of that relationship â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a prelude to our sharing in Christâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s triumph and returning to the Father. And so, for us as for Christ, this world must always be a foreign place. Not a place for settlement, but a place for pilgrimage. We are called to look to the Heavenly Jerusalem, the place where the Most High dwells. Christ is the Way and where he has gone we will follow. We welcome this pilgrimage and look forward to the end of our exodus and time in the wilderness.

From Lumen Gentium 7. [Christ] is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he might have the first placeâ&#x20AC;Ś All the members ought to be moulded in the likeness of him, until Christ be formed in them. For this reason we, who have been made to conform with him, who have died with him and risen with him, are taken up into the mysteries of his life, until we will reign together with him. On earth, still as pilgrims in a strange land, tracing in trial and in oppression the paths he trod, we are made one with his sufferings like the body is one with the Head, suffering with him, that with him we may be glorified.

Friday of Week One O sweet and blessed country, the home of Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s elect! O sweet and blessed country that eager hearts expect! Jesus, in mercy bring us to that dear land of rest; who art, with God the Father and Spirit, ever blest. Bernard of Cluny (12th Century)

Saturday of Week One Having exhausted all these attempts at tempting him, the devil left him. At the end of his earthly life Christ prayed for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, a gift which was received at Pentecost, which is renewed in the Sacraments, and through which we are conformed more closely to him. Where we have failed to resist temptation Christ extends to us, in the Eucharist and in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, an opportunity to start over. In this way we can rekindle the new life gifted to us in the healing and forgiving waters of baptism. The giving of that second chance which is continually offered to us may not accord with our ‘human’ way of thinking and here perhaps we may give thanks for the seeming gap between ourselves and Christ. ‘For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength’ (I Corinthians 1: 25).

From Apostolicam Actuositatem 4. This life of intimate union with Christ in the Church is nourished by spiritual aids which are common to all the faithful, especially active participation in the sacred liturgy. These are to be used by the laity in such a way that while correctly fulfilling their secular duties in the ordinary conditions of life, they do not separate union with Christ from their life but rather performing their work according to God's will they grow in that union. In this way the laity must make progress in holiness in a happy and ready spirit, trying prudently and patiently to overcome difficulties. Neither family concerns nor other secular affairs should be irrelevant to their spiritual life, in keeping with the words of the Apostle, ‘What-ever you do in word or work, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God the Father through Him’ (Colossians 3:17). 17

Saturday of Week One I will thank you with an upright heart as I learn your decrees. I will obey your statutes; do not forsake me. Long may my soul live to praise you, long be your rulings my help! I am wondering like a lost sheep: come and look for your servant. Psalm 119(118): 7-8, 175-176

Week One - Group Session Opening Prayer A crucifix is placed in a central place among the gathered people. Leader: Response: Leader: Response: Leader: Response: Leader: Response: Leader:

With preoccupied hearts We gather in your presence O Lord In need of conversion We gather in your presence O Lord Leaving behind our comforts and distractions We gather in your presence O Lord We enter the desert of Lent We gather in your presence O Lord Let us sign ourselves with the cross In the name of the Fatherâ&#x20AC;Ś

All pray in silence for a short time. Small lights may be placed around the cross if this seems appropriate. A member of the group may say: How splendid the cross of Christ! It brings life not death; Light not darkness; Paradise, not its loss. It is the wood on which the Lord like a great warrior, was wounded in hands and feet and side, to heal our wounds. A tree destroyed us, a tree now brings us life. (St Theodore of Studios (9th Cent) Triduum Sourcebook)

Leader: Response:

We adore you Christ and we bless you. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world 19

Week One - Group Session Scripture from the first Sunday of Lent (Year C) - Luke 4: 1 – 13 Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit through the wilderness, being tempted there by the devil for forty days. During that time he ate nothing and at the end he was hungry. Then the devil said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to turn into a loaf.’ But Jesus replied, ‘Scripture says: Man does not live on bread alone.’ Then leading him to a height, the devil showed him in a moment of time all the kingdoms of the world and said to him, ‘I will give you all this power and the glory of these kingdoms, for it has been committed to me and I give it to anyone I choose. Worship me, then, and it shall all be yours.’ But Jesus answered him. Scripture says: ‘You must worship the Lord your God, and serve him alone.’ Then he led him to Jerusalem and made him stand on the parapet of the Temple. ‘If you are the Son of God’, he said to him ‘throw yourself down from here, for scripture says: ‘He will put his angels in charge of you to guard you’, and again: ‘They will hold you up on their hands in case you hurt your foot against a stone.’ But Jesus answered him, ‘It has been said: You must not put the Lord your God to the test.’ Having exhausted all these ways of tempting him, the devil left him, to return at the appointed time. Following a short period of silence you may wish to share an image, a thought, a phrase, a question that has struck you.

Week One - Group Session For Reflection In this week’s Gospel passage we hear how the devil tested Christ’s trust in the Father, attempting to drive a wedge between them. Division is a sad reality and wherever it exists there is pain. We find it between nations, within communities, among friends and family and within the Church. When faced with the differing Christian traditions it is very easy to speak of the Christian Churches but when we say Sunday by Sunday that we believe in one catholic and apostolic Church what we are truly saying is that there can only be one Church. What fundamentally and sacramentally connects those who profess belief in Christ as Saviour of all is baptism. The baptism which makes us a part of the Church is a common and shared one. ‘Whenever the sacrament of baptism is duly administered as Our Lord instituted it, and is received with the right dispositions, a person is truly incorporated into the crucified and glorified Christ, and reborn to a sharing of the divine life, as the Apostle says: "You were buried together with him in baptism, and in him also rose again-through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead" (Colossians 2:12 and Romans 6:4) ’ (UR, 22). Barriers to intercommunion remain but by virtue of our common baptism, which makes us members of the one Church, Christians of whatever tradition share the same mission. ‘The Church was founded for the purpose of spreading the kingdom of Christ throughout the earth for the glory of God the Father, to enable all men to share in his saving redemption, and that through them the whole world might enter into a relationship with Christ’ (AA, 2). As we start our Lenten journey, let us reflect on our shared baptism and our shared mission. Though our weaknesses are manifest and our time in the wilderness is frequently painful, we have Christ and the mission he gave us. Where and how can we, despite the divisions that exist among us, pursue our primary goal together – spreading the kingdom of Christ? 21

Week One - Group Session Share your thoughts on this reflection. How does this week’s scripture reading and reflection encourage you? Where are you affirmed? Where are you challenged? What impact might this have on your daily living? Leader:

Aloud or in the silence of our hearts let us bring to the Father our thanks (pause)…

Leader:

In sorrow let us ask the father for forgiveness (pause)…

Leader:

With confidence let us entrust to the Father our cares and concerns (pause)…

Almighty and eternal God, you keep together those you have united. Look kindly on all who follow Jesus your Son. We are all consecrated to you by our common baptism; Make us one in the fullness of faith and keep us one in the fellowship of love. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Opening prayer – Mass for the Unity of Christians (Year A)

Week Two Second Sunday of Lent Scripture from the second Sunday of Lent (Year C) - Luke 9: 28 – 36 Jesus took with him Peter and John and James and went up to the mountain to pray. As he prayed, the aspect of his face was changed and his clothing became brilliant as lightning. Suddenly there were two men there talking to him; they were Moses and Elijah appearing in glory, and they were speaking of his passing which he was to accomplish in Jerusalem. Peter and his companions were heavy with sleep, but they kept awake and saw his glory and the two men standing with him. As these were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, ‘Master, it is wonderful for us to be here; so let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.’ – He did not know what he was saying. As he spoke, a cloud came and covered them with shadow; and when they went into the cloud the disciples were afraid. And a voice came from the cloud saying, ‘This is my Son, the Chosen One. Listen to him.’ And after the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. The disciples kept silence and, at that time, told no one what they had seen.

Background Luke’s account of the transfiguration occurs in chapter 9 of his gospel. The beginning of this chapter includes the sending out of the twelve apostles, the feeding of the five thousand, Peter’s proclamation of Jesus as ‘The Christ of God’ and the Lord’s first prophecy of his ensuing death. It will conclude with Christ setting out ‘resolutely’ for Jerusalem. The transfiguration stands at an important cross-roads in Christ’s ministry. Here Christ can be found in conversation with Moses and Elijah, key figures in the Old Testament, who represent the Law and the prophets. For the 23

Week Two Church Fathers the transfiguration can be understood as the fulfilment of Christ’s assertion that some would not see death before they see the Kingdom of God come with power (Luke 9:27) It has also been understood as a prophecy or foretelling of the parousia – the second coming - when Christ will return in glory.

From the Compendium 110. What is the meaning of the Transfiguration? Above all the Transfiguration shows forth the Trinity: ‘the Father in the voice, the Son in the man Jesus, the Spirit in the shining cloud’ (Saint Thomas Aquinas). Speaking with Moses and Elijah about his ‘departure’ (Luke 9:31), Jesus reveals that his glory comes by way of the cross and he anticipates his resurrection and his glorious coming ‘which will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body’ (Philippians 3:21).

O Christ our God, when you were transfigured on the mountain your disciples, as much as they were capable of it, beheld your glory. O Christ our God, when we see you crucified help us, as you helped your disciples, to understand that your passion was voluntary, and grant us the confidence to proclaim to the world that you truly are the splendour of the Father. Amen. Adapted from the Byzantine Liturgy

Monday of Week Two As he prayed, the aspect of his face was changed At the transfiguration the Apostles who accompanied Christ saw him for who and what he really was. It was a moment of truth, where something was revealed about Christ, within the context of his praying. It was in prayer that the aspect of his face was changed, it was as he spoke with his Father that his clothing became brilliant as lightning. It is only in union with God that we will discover who and what we are, because separated from God, we remain in a state of want or need. The time of Lent is a call to conversion and change, but in responding to that call, we are not striving after something that is beyond us. On the contrary what we are being called to discover is what we are already, the children of God, dignified and chosen in the waters of baptism. Prayer figures alongside the other Lenten works of fasting and almsgiving. This is not incidental for in prayer we are in the presence of God, the very source of who and what we are.

From Apostolicam Actuositatem 16. The laity should vivify their life with charity and express it as best they can in their worksâ&#x20AC;ŚThey should all remember that they can reach all men and contribute to the salvation of the whole world by public worship and prayer as well as by penance and voluntary acceptance of the labours and hardships of life whereby they become like the suffering Christ (II Corinthians 4:10 and Colossians 1:24).

Monday of Week Two God our Father, in the transfigured glory of Christ your Son, you strengthen our faith by confirming the witness of your prophets, and show us the splendour of your beloved sons and daughters. As we listen to the voice of your Son, help us to become heirs to eternal life with him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever, Amen. Opening Prayer â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The Transfiguration of the Lord

Tuesday of Week Two His clothing become as brilliant as lightning At the transfiguration Christ was marked out by the changing aspect of his face and the brilliance of his clothing. In baptism we were marked with the sign of the cross, anointed, washed and clothed in white as we were claimed for Christ. However, the marking which takes place at baptism, is more than an external mark or superficial change that will fade away; for in baptism we believe that a fundamental change takes place – that sin is wiped away, we are turned back to God and our souls permanently marked as we become adopted sons and daughters of Christ. From the Compendium 252. What names are given to the first sacrament of initiation? This sacrament is primarily called Baptism because of the central rite with which it is celebrated. To baptise means to ‘immerse’ in water. The one who is baptised is immersed into the death of Christ and rises with him as a ‘new creature’ (II Corinthians 5:17). This sacrament is also called the ‘bath of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit’ (Titus 3:5); and it is called ‘enlightenment’ because the baptised becomes ‘a son of light’ (Ephesians 5:8). Lord, through the gift of your grace, help me walk in the light of truth my heart enlightened, my burdens washed away – that I may keep in mind the good deeds to be done. Amen. Adapted from Thomas À Kempis (1380-1471), The Imitation of Christ, Book III, Chapter 55. 27

Wednesday of Week Two they were speaking of his passing Speaking of our own death, and the death of those close to us, is not especially easy. But here in conversation with Moses and Elijah, Jesus does exactly this. In the realism of Christ’s sharing what was to be, there is a challenge for each of us. Death is rarely easy to contemplate. Culturally speaking, it may be easier for some rather than others. As Christians our approach to death is informed by the hope which Christ’s resurrection affords us. This hope can help us to speak of the ‘higher’ things as well as the practicalities of our dying. Of course, we do not know exactly what Moses, Elijah and Jesus said. But what Christ leaves to us is clear. ‘Go’, he said, ‘make disciples of all the nations’ (Matthew 28:19). From Lumen Gentium 48. The Church, to which we are all called in Christ Jesus, and in which we acquire sanctity through the grace of God, will attain its full perfection only in the glory of heaven, when there will come the time of the restoration of all things. At that time the human race as well as the entire world, which is intimately related to man and attains to its end through him, will be perfectly reestablished in Christ. God, mankind, being part of your creation, desires to praise you. You move us to delight in praising you; for you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in you. Amen. 28

St Augustine of Hippo (354-430)

Thursday of Week Two they kept awake and saw his glory It’s all too easy to get into routines and patterns that blind us to the surrounding people and places. We make the same journey into work, using the same route and the same trains. We do the same things at the weekend, catching up with what needs to be done while asleep to the ways in which God may be speaking to us. The narrowness of the ways in which we can live our lives, can prevent us from seeing what the Apostles saw. They stayed awake, remained alert and saw Christ’s glory. In a world disfigured by violence, prejudice and inequality, it can be difficult to see the glory of Christ at work in the events of our lives and the people we encounter. But here, like the Apostles, we need to stay awake, so as to see the light which his glory can throw on the ordinariness of our living.

From Christifideles Laici 36. Having received the responsibility of manifesting to the world the mystery of God that shines forth in Jesus Christ, the Church likewise awakens one person to another, giving a sense of one's existence, opening each to the whole truth about the individual and of each person's final destiny. From this perspective the Church is called, in virtue of her very mission of evangelisation, to serve all humanity. Such service is rooted primarily in the extraordinary and profound fact that ‘through the Incarnation the Son of God has united himself in some fashion to every person’.

Thursday of Week Two Eternal Light, shine into our hearts, Eternal Goodness, deliver us from evil, Eternal Power, be our support, Eternal Wisdom, scatter the darkness of our ignorance, Eternal Pity, have mercy on us; that with all our heart and mind and soul and strength we may seek your face and be brought by your infinite mercy to your holy presence, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen. Alcuin of York (c 735 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 804)

Friday of Week Two is wonderful for us to be here The apostles had witnessed something glorious and acknowledged that they had done so. This was a precious moment, they knew it and what is more, they shared their joy with the Lord. ‘Master’, they said, ‘it is wonderful for us to be here’. The ability to acknowledge the beauty of a gift, the preciousness of something said or the joy of a moment is something to be thankful for. As Christians we are called to a life of thanksgiving. This is the very meaning of the word Eucharist. We can all look back and say ‘that was wonderful’ or ‘special’ but all too often that recognition comes late in the day. So, let us learn to give thanks to the giver of the gift and the author of the word for the joy they have afforded us.

From Christifideles Laici 17. At the end of these reflections intended to define the lay faithful's position in the Church, the celebrated admonition of Saint Leo the Great comes to mind: ‘Acknowledge, O Christian, your dignity!’ Saint Maximus, Bishop of Turin, in addressing those who had received the holy anointing of Baptism, repeats the same sentiments: ‘Ponder the honour that has made you sharers in this mystery!’ All the baptised are invited to hear once again the words of Saint Augustine: ‘Let us rejoice and give thanks: we have not only become Christians, but Christ himself... Stand in awe and rejoice: We have become Christ’.

Friday of Week Two Lord Jesus Christ, you offered yourself to God the Father on the altar of the cross as a sacrifice for our reconciliation. You shed your blood for our ransom and our cleansing, so that we might be redeemed from wretched captivity and cleansed from all sins. How precious and wonderful the Eucharistic banquet, how full of all delight. Enable us to share in your divinity, by sharing in your body and blood received under the appearance of bread and wine. Amen. Adapted from â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The Eucharistic Banquetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; St Thomas Aquinas (c1225-1274)

Saturday of Week Two the disciples were afraid For some the prospect of meeting somebody famous or important can be a nerve racking ordeal. For the apostles there was no dress rehearsal or time to prepare. In the shadow of the cloud, and then in the cloud itself, they found themselves in the presence of God. The experience must have been overwhelming. How could they begin to make real sense of what was going on? Who would not be afraid? Yet here, as always, the scripture tells us not to be, for the presence that overwhelmed them does not leave them stranded. On the contrary he offers them a way through. ‘This is my Son’, God says, ‘the Chosen One. Listen to him.’ Thus fear gives way to silence and to contemplation.

From the Compendium 374. How is a moral conscience formed to be upright and truthful? An upright and true moral conscience is formed by education and by assimilating the Word of God and the teaching of the Church. It is supported by the gifts of the Holy Spirit and helped by the advice of wise people. Prayer and an examination of conscience can also greatly assist one’s moral formation.

Saturday of Week Two I will sing a new song to my God. Lord you are great, you are glorious, wonderfully strong, unconquerable. May your whole creation serve you! For you spoke and things came into being, you sent your breath and they were put together, and no one can resist your voice. A little thing indeed is a sweet smelling sacrifice, still less the fat burned for you in holocaust; but whoever fears the Lord is great forever. Judith 16: 13-17

Week Two - Group Session Opening Prayer A crucifix is placed in a central place among the gathered people. Leader: Response: Leader: Response: Leader: Response: Leader: Response: Leader:

With hesitant hearts We gather in your presence O Lord In need of transformation We gather in your presence O Lord Leaving behind our comforts and distractions We gather in your presence O Lord We walk towards the mountain of the Lord But always in your presence, O Lord, and under your cross Let us sign ourselves with the Cross In the name of the Fatherâ&#x20AC;Ś

All pray in silence for a short time. Small lights may be placed around the cross if this seems appropriate. A member of the group may say: Your cross we adore, O Christ, and in your resurrection we praise and glorify: You are God. We know no other besides you. It is your name that we proclaim. For through the cross joy has come into all the world. Ever blessing the Lord, let us sing his glory: for, having endured the cross for us, he has by his death trampled death. (Adapted from Byzantine hymn)

Leader: Response:

We adore you Christ and we bless you Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world 35

Week Two - Group Session Scripture from the second Sunday of Lent (Year C) - Luke 9: 28 – 36 Jesus took with him Peter and John and James and went up to the mountain to pray. As he prayed, the aspect of his face was changed and his clothing became brilliant as lightning. Suddenly there were two men there talking to him; they were Moses and Elijah appearing in glory, and they were speaking of his passing which he was to accomplish in Jerusalem. Peter and his companions were heavy with sleep, but they kept awake and saw his glory and the two men standing with him. As these were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, ‘Master, it is wonderful for us to be here; so let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.’ – He did not know what he was saying. As he spoke, a cloud came and covered them with shadow; and when they went into the cloud the disciples were afraid. And a voice came from the cloud saying, ‘This is my Son, the Chosen One. Listen to him.’ And after the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. The disciples kept silence and, at that time, told no one what they had seen. Following a short period of silence you may wish to share an image, a thought, a phrase, a question that has struck you.

Week Two - Group Session For Reflection ‘Master,’ they said, ‘it is wonderful for us to be here’. It is clear in the passage that Peter, James and John had a real sense of their being in a privileged position. Not only had they seen Christ transfigured and witnessed him in conversation with Moses and Elijah, they also found themselves in the presence of the Father who spoke to them directly. ‘This is my Son, the Chosen One. Listen to him.’ In the course of our lives, particularly in the face of difficulties, many of us may have desired such an experience: a clear cut encounter with God, an answer to prayer, where we are told quite clearly how things are and where we stand. Baptism can be looked upon as an entrance requirement and in a real sense it is. Through it we are incorporated into the Church, becoming members of the body of Christ and of each other. It’s not surprising therefore that we should speak of baptism in terms of its being a commitment, but we must remember that baptism is not only our human commitment to God but before this is God’s commitment to us. Membership of the Church cannot be seen solely in terms of the rules to be adhered to and the obligations to be met. In baptism each of us have been honoured just as Peter, James and John were honoured. We are claimed for God, washed clean of sin and permanently marked as his Holy Spirit makes a home in us. We are dignified with the living and real presence of God’s Holy Spirit and through the Spirit we have become brothers and sisters of Christ, sharing in his work and in his relationship with the Father. Just as God addresses his Son as the Beloved, so he addresses each of us. You are my son, you are my daughter, the Beloved. We are reminded in the scriptures that through baptism we have become a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people set apart. (1 Peter 2:9) What greater privilege can there be than to share in Christ’s work? 37

Week Two - Group Session What greater privilege is there than to be sanctified by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit? What greater privilege is there than to be a brother or sister of Christ? This is our dignity. This is our joy…that God through his son Jesus Christ and through the working of the Holy Spirit should open up for us a share in his work and divinity. Share your thoughts on this reflection. How does this week’s scripture reading and reflection encourage you? Where are you affirmed? Where are you challenged? What impact might this have on your daily living? Leader:

Aloud or in the silence of our hearts let us bring to the Father our thanks (pause)…

Leader:

In sorrow let us ask the father for forgiveness (pause)…

Leader:

With confidence let us entrust to the Father our cares and concerns (pause)…

O Lord our God, how great is your name, throughout all the earth! When I look up to the heavens, and see the work of your hands, the moon and the stars which you have arranged, what are we, men and women, that you should care for us, that you should keep us in mind? Yet you have made us a little lower than a god; you have crowned us with glory and honour, and have given us power over the works of your hands, put all things under our feet. How great is your name! Based on Psalm 8: 1, 3-9 38

Week Three Third Sunday of Lent Scripture from the third Sunday of Lent (Year C) - Exodus 3: 1-8, 13-15 Moses was looking after the flocks of Jethro, his father-in-law, priest of Midian. He led his flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in the shape of a flame of fire, coming from the middle of a bush. Moses looked; there was the bush blazing but it was not being burnt up. ‘I must go and look at this strange sight,’ Moses said ‘and see why the bush is not burnt.’ Now the Lord saw him go forward to look, and God called to him from the middle of the bush. ‘Moses, Moses!’ he said. ‘Here I am’ he answered. ‘Come no nearer’ he said. ‘Take off your shoes, for the place on which you stand is holy ground. I am the God of your father,’ he said, ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.’ At this Moses covered his face, afraid to look at God. And the Lord said, ‘I have seen the miserable state of my people in Egypt. I have heard their appeal to be free of their slave-drivers. Yes, I am well aware of their sufferings. I mean to deliver them out of the hands of the Egyptians and bring them up out of that land to a land rich and broad, a land where milk and honey flow. Then Moses said to God, ‘I am to go, then, to the sons of Israel and say to them, “The God of your fathers has sent me to you.” But if they ask me what his name is, what am I to tell them?’ And God said to Moses, ‘I Am who I Am. This’ he added ‘is what you must say to the sons of Israel: “The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.” This is my name for all time; by this name I shall be invoked for all generations to come.’

Week Three Background The story of Moses is well known. As a baby he was left to Providence in a reed basket and was cared for as one of the Pharaoh’s sons. Eventually he led the Hebrew people out of Egypt. Immediately prior to this passage Moses fled to Midian (located in present-day western Saudi Arabia, southern Jordan, southern Israel and the Sinai) after killing an Egyptian who was mistreating Hebrew slaves (Exodus 2:11-15). It was during this period of exile that Moses received and eventually accepted his call. The description of God as ‘I Am’ is particularly powerful and is echoed in Revelation, ‘God who is and is to come’ (Revelation 1:8). Christ himself referred to the Exodus passage when telling the Sadducees – who denied that there is life after death – that ‘God is God, not of the dead, but of the living’ (Matthew 22:32).

From the Compendium 537. How did Moses pray? The prayer of Moses was typical of contemplative prayer. God, who called to Moses from the burning bush, lingered in conversation with him often and at length, ‘face to face, like a man with his friend’ (Exodus 33:11). In this intimacy with God, Moses attained the strength to intercede tenaciously for his people: his prayer thus prefigured the intercession of the one mediator, Christ Jesus.

Week Three Christ, my God, you humbled yourself in order to lift me, a straying sheep, on to your shoulders. You fed me in green pastures and nourished me with the waters of true doctrine by the hands of your shepherds. Lord, lighten the heavy burden of my sins, like a bright lamp, guide me along the right path. Let your good Spirit guide me in the right way and may my works be in accordance with your will. Let it be so, right to the end, Amen. St John of Damascus (c.665-c.750)

Monday of Week Three God called to him from the middle of the bush It is often said that God works in mysterious ways. Moses sees the bush burning, yet it is not consumed by fire. This is of course no great task for God who we believe to be all-powerful, but by contrast getting Moses to accept his calling freely required God’s infinite patience. Moses resists God’s call to lead the Hebrews out of Egypt until Aaron is given to him as a helper (Exodus 4:1-17). On a daily basis in a variety of ways we are confronted by the challenge of God’s call and have to decide whether to walk his way in this world. With all the distractions offered to us following God’s call can prove difficult. We can become blinkered. However, just as Moses was helped by the gift of Aaron, we through baptism are assisted by the sustaining force of grace which turns us towards God.

From Christifideles Laici 3. The voice of the Lord clearly resounds in the depths of each of Christ's followers, who through faith and the sacraments of Christian initiation is made like to Jesus Christ, is incorporated as a living member in the Church and has an active part in her mission of salvation. The voice of the Lord also comes to be heard through the historic events of the Church and humanity, as the Council reminds us: ‘The People of God believes that it is led by the Spirit of the Lord, who fills the whole world. Moved by this faith it tries to discern authentic signs of God's presence and purpose in the events, the needs, and the longings which it shares with other people of our time. For faith throws a new light on all things and makes known the full ideal to which God has called each individual, and thus guides the mind towards solutions which are fully human’ (Gaudium et spes, 11). 42

Monday of Week Three Almighty Father you command us to awake from our slumbers, to arise from the dead. You made us not to be held prisoner in the underworld, nor to be held captive in sin. We are the work of your hands; we are fashioned in your image. Help us to rise, and go forward; for you in me and I in you, together we are one undivided person. Amen. Adapted from a reading from an ancient homily for Holy Saturday

Tuesday of Week Three ‘Take off your shoes, for the place on which you stand is holy ground’ It can be difficult to recognise Christ in the world around us, harder still to remember that we are all created in God’s image. Asked ‘what is holy ground?’ we might readily speak in terms of churches and cathedrals and neglect to mention the very people before us. We are all made in the likeness of God and we all have the capacity for holiness. Moses was told to recognise that the ground on which he stood was sacred. In baptism we were made holy, becoming temples of the Spirit, and called to holy living. As we seek to recognise and honour that which is holy in all those created in the image of God, let us remember to look also to ourselves. We are temples, holy ground to be adorned for the glory of God and for no other.

From Lumen Gentium 42. All the faithful of Christ are invited to strive for the holiness and perfection of their own proper state. Indeed they have an obligation to so strive. Let all then have care that they guide aright their own deepest sentiments of soul. Let neither the use of the things of this world nor attachment to riches, which is against the spirit of evangelical poverty, hinder them in their quest for perfect love. Let them heed the admonition of the Apostle to those who use this world; let them not come to terms with this world; for this world, as we see it, is passing away (I Corinthians 7:31).

Tuesday of Week Three God of eternal compassion, each Easter you rekindle the faith of your consecrated people. Give them still greater grace, so that all may truly understand the waters in which they were cleansed, the Spirit by which they were reborn, the blood by which they were redeemed. Amen. From the Divine Office, Concluding Prayer for second Sunday of Easter

Wednesday of Week Three Moses covered his face, afraid to look at God How would you react to meeting God face to face? Would you feel worthy or ashamed, conscious perhaps of all you have done or indeed failed to do? Moses felt shame. He was terrified and felt unworthy of the privilege given to him on seeing the burning bush. Like Moses, we are called by God, but when we face God we do so as baptised people. Yes, we still have the wounds of original sin about us. We are still inclined to sin (something we call concupiscence) but when we were baptised the shame of our sins, both personal and original, was wiped clean as we put on Christ. Baptism turns us back to God and enables us to see him afresh.

From the Compendium 263. What are the effects of Baptism? Baptism takes away original sin, all personal sins and all punishment due to sin. It makes a baptised person a participant in the divine life of the Trinity through sanctifying grace, the grace of justification which incorporates one into Christ and into his Church. It gives one a share in the priesthood of Christ and provides the basis for communion with all Christians. It bestows the theological virtues and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. A baptised person belongs forever to Christ. He is marked with the indelible seal of Christ (character).

Wednesday of Week Three Loving Father remembering all you have done, and mindful of your kindnesses, we worship you. In baptism we put on your son Jesus Christ, for this we give you thanks. Recalling your forgiveness, your tenderness and compassion, we praise you and give you glory. Amen. Adapted from Psalm 103 (1-3, 8-10)

Thursday of Week Three â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;I have seen the miserable state of my people in Egypt.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Touched by the suffering of his people, God remembers the promises he had made to their ancestors. We too are called to be motivated by the sufferings of others. As baptised members of the Church we cannot be indifferent to suffering of any sort. Human sickness is an obvious example, but suffering takes many forms. Injustice, inequality, prejudice; all these give rise to suffering. In baptism the promise or covenant we made was to live as disciples of Christ and Christ did not ignore the suffering he encountered. We have put on Christ, so we must see with the eyes of Christ.

From Apostolicam Actuositatem 7. Led by the light of the Gospel and the mind of the Church and motivated by Christian charity, they must act directly and in a definite way in the temporal sphere. As citizens they must cooperate with other citizens with their own particular skill and on their own responsibility. Everywhere and in all things they must seek the justice of God's kingdom. The temporal order must be renewed in such a way that, without detriment to its own proper laws, it may be brought into conformity with the higher principles of the Christian life and adapted to the shifting circumstances of time, place, and peoples. Pre-eminent among the works of this type of apostolate is that of Christian social action which the sacred synod desires to see extended to the whole temporal sphere, including culture.

Thursday of Week Three God of love, it is right and proper, in heart and mind and with the service of our voice, to acclaim you the invisible almighty Father. It is right and proper that we acclaim your only-begotten Son, who repaid Adamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s debt and freed us from the bonds of sin. Strengthen in us the gift of your Holy Spirit, that we may love as you have loved. Amen. Adapted from the Exsultet

Friday of Week Three a land where milk and honey flow God had made a promise, to deliver his people to the ‘promised land’. Moses was to lead his people through the Red Sea, across the desert and the River Jordan. Trials and tribulations met them along the way and these were overcome through faith in God. In Israel’s journey to the ‘promised land’ we can find a prefiguring of our baptism. Through the waters of baptism we have inherited the promise. Christ’s death and resurrection has enabled us to be called ‘children of the light’. For sure, as with the children of Israel, trials and tribulations will meet us on our way to the ‘land where milk and honey flow’, yet as Christ proclaims, ‘If anyone believes in me, even though he dies he will live, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die’ (John 11: 25-26). From Lumen Gentium 48. Joined with Christ in the Church and signed with the Holy Spirit ‘who is the pledge of our inheritance’, (Ephesians 1, 14) truly we are called and we are children of God but we have not yet appeared with Christ in glory, in which we shall be like to God, since we shall see him as he is. And therefore ‘while we are in the body, we are exiled from the Lord and having the first-fruits of the Spirit we groan within ourselves and we desire to be with Christ’. By that same charity however, we are urged to live more for him, who died for us and rose again. We strive therefore to please God in all things and we put on the armour of God, that we may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil and resist in the evil day.

Friday of Week Three Almighty God it is by your goodness, that we, your adopted children can address you as our Father with confidence, can share in the grace of Christ, can be called children of the light, anticipating in faith the beauty of the reward to come. For this we thank you and we praise you, loving and eternal God. Amen. Adapted from a reading from the treatise of St Basil the Great (c.330-379)

Saturday of Week Three ‘I Am who I Am’. The greatness of God is beyond our knowledge. His holiness, his power and might transcends all that we can understand. Such is the infinite mystery of God that the words and names we use to describe him are almost meaningless. In this passage from Exodus, when Moses dares to ask for God’s name, he gets a defiant response, ‘I Am who I Am.’ If, there is a certain elusiveness in God’s response, there is also a suggestion of his timelessness. ‘There is nothing more characteristic of God than to be, and that He will be forever’ (St Hilary of Poitiers (315-368)). God cannot be summed up and the formulas we use to proclaim our faith or to renew our baptismal promises, will fall inevitably short of his majesty, his wonder and his awe.

From the Compendium 5. How can we speak about God? By taking as our starting point the perfections of man and of the other creatures which are a reflection, albeit a limited one, of the infinite perfection of God, we are able to speak about God with all people. We must, however, continually purify our language insofar as it is image-bound and imperfect realising that we can never fully express the infinite mystery of God.

Saturday of Week Three Most high, all powerful, all good Lord! All praise is yours, all glory, all honour, and all blessing. To you, alone, Most High, do they belong. No mortal lips are worthy to pronounce your name. Be praised, my Lord, through all your creatures, be praised, my Lord, through those who forgive for love of you; through those who endure sickness and trial. Happy those who endure in peace, for by you, Most High, they will be crowned. Praise and bless my Lord, and give thanks, and serve him with great humility. St Francis of Assisi â&#x20AC;&#x201C; from the Canticle of the Sun (1182-1226)

Week Three - Group Session Opening Prayer A crucifix is placed in a central place among the gathered people. Leader: Response: Leader: Response: Leader: Response: Leader: Response: Leader:

With restless hearts We gather in your presence O Lord Looking for answers We gather in your presence O Lord Leaving behind our comforts and distractions We gather in your presence O Lord We follow in your footsteps â&#x20AC;&#x201C; one step at a time But always in your presence, O Lord, and under your cross Let us sign ourselves with the Cross In the name of the Fatherâ&#x20AC;Ś

All pray in silence for a short time. Small lights may be placed around the cross if this seems appropriate. A member of the group may say: O king of the Friday whose limbs were stretched on the cross, O Lord who did suffer the bruises, the wounds, the loss we stretch ourselves beneath the shield of thy might, some fruit from the tree of thy passion fall on us this night! (Ancient Irish Prayer)

Leader: Response:

We adore you Christ and we bless you Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world 54

Week Three - Group Session Explore the Scripture from the third Sunday of Lent (Year C) Exodus 3: 1-8, 13-15 Moses was looking after the flocks of Jethro, his father-in-law, priest of Midian. He led his flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in the shape of a flame of fire, coming from the middle of a bush. Moses looked; there was the bush blazing but it was not being burnt up. ‘I must go and look at this strange sight,’ Moses said ‘and see why the bush is not burnt.’ Now the Lord saw him go forward to look, and God called to him from the middle of the bush. ‘Moses, Moses!’ he said. ‘Here I am’ he answered. ‘Come no nearer’ he said. ‘Take off your shoes, for the place on which you stand is holy ground. I am the God of your father,’ he said, ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.’ At this Moses covered his face, afraid to look at God. And the Lord said, ‘I have seen the miserable state of my people in Egypt. I have heard their appeal to be free of their slave-drivers. Yes, I am well aware of their sufferings. I mean to deliver them out of the hands of the Egyptians and bring them up out of that land to a land rich and broad, a land where milk and honey flow. Then Moses said to God, ‘I am to go, then, to the sons of Israel and say to them, “The God of your fathers has sent me to you.” But if they ask me what his name is, what am I to tell them?’ And God said to Moses, ‘I Am who I Am. This’ he added ‘is what you must say to the sons of Israel: “The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.” This is my name for all time; by this name I shall be invoked for all generations to come’.

Week Three - Group Session Following a short period of silence you may wish to share an image, a thought, a phrase, a question that has struck you. For Reflection In this Scripture passage from Exodus, we read how Moses was called by God to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt where they were an enslaved people. In baptism we too were called out of bondage; not bondage to a slave master, but bondage to sin. For us it is Christ, not Moses who has freed us by virtue of his total selfgiving on the Cross; a loving that put an end to sin and to death. For some freedom can be defined as the ability to do what we like, how we like, when we like. But this is not what we believe or celebrate in baptism. For Christians the only true freedom is that which comes from leaving sin behind and living as Christ wishes us to live. Sin, as we are told in Genesis, gives rise to suspicion, division and death. It divides us from God and from each other. In baptism we believe that all our sins are washed away, forgiven. However, we also believe that a predisposition towards sin remains. This may seem a little odd. Why, if all our sins are forgiven in baptism does the tendency towards sin, and to turning away from God, remain? When Christ went to the Cross he went out of obedience to his Father, but an obedience which was freely chosen. God leaves us free in all things. He did not deliver the people of Israel from one enslavement to replace it with another. Similarly with us. God, having adopted us in baptism, having called us out of our bondage to sin, does not desire to trap us. Rather, having washed us clean of sin in baptism, God leaves us with a choice and affirms our dignity.

Week Three - Group Session Share your thoughts on this reflection. How does this week’s scripture reading and reflection encourage you? Where are you affirmed? Where are you challenged? What impact might this have on your daily living? Leader:

Aloud or in the silence of our hearts let us bring to the Father our thanks (pause)…

Leader:

In sorrow let us ask the father for forgiveness (pause)…

Leader:

With confidence let us entrust to the Father our cares and concerns (pause)…

God, you made us in your image but we are imperfect. We were slaves to this world, to our past, to our sin. In your boundless love, you sent your son to redeem us through the Cross. God, you freed us that we should remain free, free to become more like Christ, free to become more worthy of your love. Adapted from Galatians 5:1 and a prayer by Blessed John Duns Scotus (c.1265 – 1308)

Week Four Fourth Sunday of Lent Scripture from the fourth Sunday of Lent (Year C) II Corinthians 5: 17 – 21 For anyone who is in Christ, there is a new creation; the old creation has gone, and now the new one is here. It is all God’s work. It was God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the work of handing on his reconciliation. In other words, God in Christ was reconciling the world to himself, not holding men’s faults against them, and he has entrusted to us the news that they are reconciled. So we are ambassadors for Christ; it is as though God were appearing through us, and the appeal that we make in Christ’s name is: be reconciled to God. For our sake God made the sinless one into sin, so that in him we might become the goodness of God.

Background Commentators suggest that this letter (or collection of letters) was written in 55AD from Macedonia, south-eastern Europe. It was written to the people of Corinth, Greece. From Corinthians I and II it is clear that Corinth was a troubled community and that news of these troubles had reached Paul’s ears and caused him to write. Not surprisingly therefore, Paul seems somewhat frustrated and is clearly concerned that things be put on a more even footing sooner rather than later. Paul’s letters tend to be a mixture of teaching and practical advice. Again and again, in drawing out the practical implications of what is being taught, Paul emphasises the fact that Christ’s teaching must have an affect on our behaviour. Indeed, as Paul puts it in this particular passage, our task, with the help of Christ, is to become ‘the goodness of God’. 58

Week Four From Christifideles Laici 12. Regenerated as ‘Children in the Son’, the baptised are inseparably joined together as ‘members of Christ and members of the body of the Church’, as the Council of Florence teaches. Baptism symbolises and brings about a mystical but real incorporation into the crucified and glorious body of Christ. Through the sacrament Jesus unites the baptised to his death so as to unite the recipient to his resurrection (Romans 6:3-5). The ‘old man’ is stripped away for a reclothing with ‘the new man’, that is, with Jesus himself: ‘For as many of you as were baptised into Christ have put on Christ’ (Galatians 3:27; Ephesians 4:22-24; Colossians 3:9-10). The result is that ‘we, though many, are one body in Christ’ (Romans 12:5).

God of your goodness, give me yourself, for you are sufficient for me. If I were to ask for anything less I should always be in want, for in you alone do I have all. Amen. Julian of Norwich (1342 – 1416)

Monday of Week Four For anyone who is in Christ, there is a new creation In baptism we became brothers and sisters of Christ and as such, sharers in his work. This sharing is not a partial thing. Christ does not invite us to share in some things but not others. So, just as his work was to die and rise again, we in becoming Christ’s brothers and sisters, are invited to share in his triumph over sin, in his death and resurrection. His journey, his way, is now our way. For us therefore, baptism is a source of new life and hope. There is, as Paul puts it, ‘a new creation’. One of the challenges that baptism sets before us is the task of witnessing to this hope and our being ‘a new creation’. It is easy to become dismayed and pessimistic. Yet, in Christ, what we have to remember is that our life on earth has been given a new perspective. Death gave way to life! From Christifideles Laici 9. Incorporation into Christ through faith and Baptism is the source of being a Christian in the mystery of the Church. This mystery constitutes the Christian's most basic ‘features’ and serves as the basis for all the vocations and dynamism of the Christian life of the lay faithful (John 3:5). In Christ who died and rose from the dead, the baptised become a ‘new creation’ (Galatians 6:15; II Corinthians 5:17), washed clean from sin and brought to life through grace. O Christ, our Morning Star, splendour of Light Eternal, shining with the glory of the rainbow, come and waken us from the greyness of our apathy, and renew in us the gift of hope. Bede the Venerable (673 – 735) Amen. 60

Tuesday of Week Four It is all God’s work. In this week’s passage Paul reminds us that our Salvation, our being saved, is God’s work. At the same time however Paul reminds us that we still have a job to do, handing on the reconciliation we have received from God through Christ. It is this work of reconciliation, of consecrating or uniting the world to Christ which we share in through baptism. If we are to consecrate the world to Christ we cannot live our lives in boxes, being a particular kind of person in one situation and someone wholly different in another. Put simply, our relationship with God, must inform all areas of our lives: familial, social and professional. God should not be a stranger in any of these places. It is, as St Paul says, all God’s work and it is not up to us to set boundaries.

From Lumen Gentium 13. It was for this purpose that God sent his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, that he might be teacher, king and priest of all, the head of the new and universal people of the sons of God. For this too God sent the Spirit of his Son as Lord and Life-giver. He it is who brings together the whole Church and each and every one of those who believe, and who is the well-spring of their unity in the teaching of the apostles and in fellowship, in the breaking of bread and in prayers. O God teach me to breathe deeply in faith. Amen.

Soren Kierkegaard (1813 – 1845) 61

Wednesday of Week Four It was God who reconciled us to himself through Christ Reconciliation can refer to the peace-making process between enemies or one time friends. It can also be a balancing act whereby the sums are made to add up. The reconciliation that Paul speaks of in this passage is a turning back to God. This reconciliation is no ordinary reconciliation. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not simply a matter of compromise or of juggling the books, for at the heart of this reconciliation is an unmatchable generosity; a God who reconciled us to himself by gifting to us, in the person of his Son Jesus Christ, what we need in order to be led back to him. Put simply, it is Christ who turns us back to God. For us, this turning back to God is a daily challenge. It is not always easy to live in Christâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s way. However, if we are to be Christ for others, reconciling others to Christ as the ordained priest does more formally in the Sacrament, we too have to strive again and again to be reconciled to Christ. If I am not reconciled to Christ how am I to be a messenger of the reconciliation offered and to be obtained through him?

From Lumen Gentium 34. The supreme and eternal Priest, Christ Jesus, since he wills to continue his witness and service also through the laity, vivifies them in this Spirit and increasingly urges them on to every good and perfect work. For besides intimately linking them to his life and his mission, he also gives them a sharing in his priestly function of offering spiritual worship for the glory of God and the salvation of men. For this reason the laity, dedicated to Christ and anointed by the Holy Spirit, are marvellously called and wonderfully prepared so that ever 62

Wednesday of Week Four more abundant fruits of the Spirit may be produced in them. For all their works, prayers and apostolic endeavours, their ordinary married and family life, their daily occupations, their physical and mental relaxation, if carried out in the Spirit, and even the hardships of life, if patiently borne-all these become ‘spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ’ (Peter 2:5). Together with the offering of the Lord's body, they are most fittingly offered in the celebration of the Eucharist. Thus, as those everywhere who adore in holy activity, the laity consecrate the world itself to God.

Lord, you are the life and light of all this wonderous world we see; its glow by day, its smile by night, are but reflections caught from you. Where ever we turn, your glories shine, and all things fair and bright are yours. Amen. Adapted from a poem by Thomas Moore (1779 – 1852)

Thursday of Week Four He entrusted to us the news The good news that has been entrusted to us is not a private revelation to be kept to ourselves. Rather, it has been given to us, so that others may be drawn into a life giving relationship with Christ. They too have a right to the fulfillment that comes from a life in Christ. Sharing the good news entrusted to us demands something of us. For some people it has meant giving up family, careers and home. It can also be the self-sacrifice involved in giving of our time and energy, or that letting go of pride and pre-conceptions that forgiving calls for, and the sharing with others – family, friend and stranger – involves. What sacrifices have I made in order to bring the good news, to bring healing and wholeness, to others? Where have I set limits and refused to acknowledge that Christ has commissioned us to make disciples of all nations?

From Redemptoris Missio 31. The Lord Jesus sent his apostles to every person, people and place on earth. In the apostles, the Church received a universal mission – one which knows no boundaries – which involves the communication of salvation in its integrity according to that fullness of life which Christ came to bring (John 10:10). The Church was ‘sent by Christ to reveal and communicate the love of God to all people and nations.’…The Church, in fact, ‘cannot withdraw from her permanent mission of bringing the Gospel to the multitudes the millions and millions of men and women-who as yet do not know Christ the Redeemer of humanity. In a specific way this is the missionary work which Jesus entrusted and still entrusts each day to his Church.’

Thursday of Week Four Dear Jesus, flood our souls with your spirit and life. Penetrate and possess our whole being so utterly that our lives may be a radiance of yours. Shine through us and be so in us that every soul we come in contact with may feel your presence in our soul. Amen. Cardinal John Henry Newman (1801- 1890)

Friday of Week Four So we are ambassadors for Christ Mention the word ambassador and a variety of images come to mind, many of them ceremonial. Yet, being an ambassador is not a simply ceremonial role, there is more to it than the outward observance of formal niceties. First and foremost an ambassador is called to embody and personify the culture and views of the nation that he or she represents. In baptism, where we are clothed in white garments as a reminder of our Christian dignity and our putting on of Christ, we too were called to be ambassadors; not in some superficial sense, with outward acts for show, but truly and deeply in all that we do. If there is no depth to our conviction, if as ambassadors of Christ we are merely going through the paces, will our words and witness have any credibility in the eyes of those Christ sends us to?

From Apostolicam Actuositatem 2. [The laity] exercise the apostolate in fact by their activity directed to the evangelisation and sanctification of men and to the penetrating and perfecting of the temporal order through the spirit of the Gospel. In this way, their temporal activity openly bears witness to Christ and promotes the salvation of men. Since the laity, in accordance with their state of life, live in the midst of the world and its concerns, they are called by God to exercise their apostolate in the world like leaven, with the ardour of the spirit of Christ.

Friday of Week Four O Christ! You have shown us the beauty of eternal peace and the duty of inseparable love, grant that we may ever think humbly of ourselves, abounding in gentleness and pity towards all, that following the example of your humility and imitating you in all things, we may live in you and never depart from you. Amen. Mozarabic Sacramentary

Saturday of Week Four For our sake God made the sinless one into sin Most of us will have or have had the experience of taking responsibility for another’s actions; making up for their shortcomings. It’s common place for brothers and sisters to cover up for each other or as a parent, faced with the failings of a child, the automatic reaction is to ask where did I go wrong. That said, most of us at some stage will draw the line. People go too far, their mistake is too big and they themselves have to accept responsibility. Now imagine the person of Christ. On the Cross Jesus did not draw a line. He did not die for the forgiveness of a particular kind of sin or a particular kind of person. Rather, he bore the responsibility for every sin, even though he remained sinless (Hebrews 4:15).

From Lumen Gentium 5. Before all things, however, the Kingdom is clearly visible in the very Person of Christ, the Son of God and the Son of Man, who came ‘to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many:’ When Jesus, who had suffered the death of the cross for mankind, had risen, he appeared as the one constituted as Lord, Christ and eternal Priest, and he poured out on his disciples the Spirit promised by the Father. From this source the Church, equipped with the gifts of its Founder and faithfully guarding his precepts of charity, humility and self-sacrifice, receives the mission to proclaim and to spread among all peoples the Kingdom of Christ and of God and to be, on earth, the initial budding forth of that kingdom.

Saturday of Week Four Christ, innocent though you were, you died once for our sins, you died for the guilty, to lead us to God. In the body you were put to death, in the spirit you were raised to life. For this I give thanks. Adapted from the Divine Office, Responsory, Easter Octave: Friday.

Week Four - Group Session Opening Prayer A crucifix is placed in a central place among the gathered people. Leader: Response: Leader: Response: Leader: Response: Leader: Response: Leader:

With restless hearts We gather in your presence O Lord Looking for answers We gather in your presence O Lord Leaving behind our comforts and distractions We gather in your presence O Lord We follow in your footsteps â&#x20AC;&#x201C; one step at a time We gather in your presence O Lord Let us sign ourselves with the Cross In the name of the Fatherâ&#x20AC;Ś

All pray in silence for a short time. Small lights may be placed around the cross if this seems appropriate. A Member of the group may say: Most High and glorious God, enlighten the darkness of my heart. Give me right faith, sure hope and perfect charity. Fill me with understanding and knowledge that I may fulfill your command. (Prayer of St Francis before the Crucifix)

Leader: Response:

We adore you Christ and we bless you Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world 70

Week Four - Group Session Explore the Scriptures Scripture from the fourth Sunday of Lent (Year C) - II Corinthians 5: 17 - 21 For anyone who is in Christ, there is a new creation; the old creation has gone, and now the new one is here. It is all God’s work. It was God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the work of handing on his reconciliation. In other words, God in Christ was reconciling the world to himself, not holding men’s faults against them, and he has entrusted to us the news that they are reconciled. So we are ambassadors for Christ; it is as though God were appearing through us, and the appeal that we make in Christ’s name is: be reconciled to God. For our sake God made the sinless one into sin, so that in him we might become the goodness of God. Following a short period of silence you may wish to share an image, a thought, a phrase, a question that has struck you.

For Reflection Paul reminds us that we are reconciled to God by Christ. In baptism, when we became brothers and sisters of Christ, we became sharers in Christ’s work. Therefore, we have to ask ourselves how we are going to share in and make real Christ’s work of reconciliation? How, in effect, are we are going to unite others to God and, just as Christ makes us brothers and sisters, reconcile those at odds with each other? Christ reconciled us to God on the Cross. He sacrificed himself. In our attempts to be Christ like we are not called to die on a cross, but like Christ we are called to make sacrifices. Our daily living presents us with all sorts of opportunities to stand aside and put others first.

Week Four - Group Session Traditionally priests were those who made sacrifices. When we make sacrifices of our time and energy, going out of our way for others, we share in Christ’s priestly work. Similarly, when we forgive others or bring others together we are imitating Christ’s work of reconciliation. Although we are not acting formally in the same way that an ordained priest does in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we are still sharing in Christ’s priestly ministry. Again, when we care for the sick or confirm others we make real that loving and strengthening concern of Christ which becomes real for us in the anointing of the sick. The point is taken up in Christifideles Laici where the late Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, says ‘because of the one dignity flowing from baptism, each member of the lay faithful, together with ordained ministers and men and women religious, shares a responsibility for the Church's mission’ (CL, 15). Christ’s mission is not the preserve of a few specially called people. Rather, Christ’s mission is entrusted to each of us by virtue of our baptism. Yes, we all share in this mission in a particular way – as ordained ministers, religious and lay people – but still the fundamental call to each of us remains the same. In short, the ordained priest shares in Christ’s priestly ministry in a way appropriate to him, whilst the baptised have a particular responsibility for enacting Christ’s priestly ministry in the world at large. ‘Christ conferred on the Apostles and their successors the duty of teaching, sanctifying, and ruling in His name and power. But the laity likewise share in the priestly, prophetic, and royal office of Christ and therefore have their own share in the mission of the whole people of God in the Church and in the world’ (AA, 2).

Week Four - Group Session Share your thoughts on this reflection. How does this week’s scripture reading and reflection encourage you? Where are you affirmed? Where are you challenged? What impact might this have on your daily living? Leader:

Aloud or in the silence of our hearts let us bring to the Father our thanks (pause)…

Leader:

In sorrow let us ask the father for forgiveness (pause)…

Leader:

With confidence let us entrust to the Father our cares and concerns (pause)…

Heavenly Father, fill us with the Spirit of your son. Grant us the gift of confidence, as you call us to build up the Body of Christ. Help us to seize the moments and opportunities for caring, for confirming and for reconciling, that we may be ambassadors of your Son, Jesus Christ, who is Lord for ever and ever. Amen. Adapted from Prayer for Parish Groups by Donal Harrington and Julie Kavanagh.

Week Five Fifth Sunday of Lent Scripture from the fifth Sunday of Lent (Year C) John 8:1-11 Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At daybreak, he appeared in the Temple again; and as all the people came to him, he sat down and began to teach them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman along who had been caught committing adultery; and making her stand there in full view of everybody, they said to Jesus, ‘Master, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery, and Moses has ordered us in the Law to condemn women like this to death by stoning. What have you to say?’ They asked him this as a test, looking for something to use against him. But Jesus bent down and started writing on the ground with his finger. As they persisted with their question, he looked up and said, ‘If there is one who has not sinned let him be the first to throw a stone at her.’ Then he bent down and wrote on the ground again. When they heard this, they went away one by one, beginning with the eldest, until Jesus was left alone with the woman who remained standing there. He looked up and said, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ ‘No one, sir,’ she replied. ‘Neither do I condemn you,’ said Jesus ‘go away and don’t sin any more.’

Background Situated only a few hundred metres from the temple mount in Jerusalem, the Mount of Olives was a flattened ridge where Jesus often took rest and refuge. Frequently mentioned in Holy Scripture, Jesus prayed there with his disciples before his arrest and it was from there that he ascended into Heaven. 74

Week Five Guided by experts in the Hebrew scriptures, known as ‘scribes’, the Pharisees were a minority sect within the Jewish population living at the time of Christ. Staunch proponents of the Mosaic Law, they studied and strictly observed its rules and rituals as a way of life. They took notice of the growing interest in Jesus’ teaching, made it their mission to question Jesus when he was teaching in the Temple. Bringing before him a woman, they cited the law that demands stoning for a married woman who commits adultery (Deuteronomy 22: 23-24). Their aim was ‘to trap’ Jesus into speaking out against the law and to add to the body of evidence that they were amassing to validate his imminent arrest. Following a moment of quiet reflection, Jesus turned the encounter into an opportunity to continue his prophetic ministry: to convey the message of God’s unwavering love for us and to build up the kingdom of God even when it meant opposing the status quo. Through our baptism, this task has been passed down to each of us.

From Lumen Gentium 12. The holy people of God shares also in Christ's prophetic office; it spreads abroad a living witness to him, especially by means of a life of faith and charity and by offering to God a sacrifice of praise, the tribute of lips which give praise to his name. The entire body of the faithful, anointed as they are by the Holy One cannot err in matters of belief. They manifest this special property by means of the whole peoples' supernatural discernment in matters of faith when from the Bishops down to the last of the lay faithful they show universal agreement in matters of faith and morals. That discernment in matters of faith is aroused and sustained by the Spirit of truth. 75

Week Five It is exercised under the guidance of the sacred teaching authority, in faithful and respectful obedience to which the people of God accepts that which is not just the word of men but truly the word of God. Through it, the people of God adheres unwaveringly to the faith given once and for all to the saints, penetrates it more deeply with right thinking, and applies it more fully in its life.

Almighty, ever-living God, only hope of the world, by the preaching of the prophets you proclaimed the mysteries we will celebrate at the Easter. Help us to be your faithful people, for it is by your inspiration alone that we can grow in goodness. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. From the prayers after the readings at the Easter Vigil

Monday of Week Five Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Christ retired to a quiet place in the wilderness to prepare for his day’s work. There, in prayer, he sought the wisdom and courage of God our Father. We too can place our day in his hands; offering our challenges and seeking his protection in the words his Son gave us ‘that his will be done on earth as it is in heaven’. Knowing that our words and deeds serve as an example to those around us, let us strive to put each day into God’s hands; to spend some time with the Lord, so that our actions may imitate Christ’s life and our words proclaim his Gospel.

From Christifideles Laici 61. Christian formation finds its origin and its strength in God the Father who loves and educates his children. Yes, God is the first and great teacher of his People, as it states in the striking passage of the Song of Moses: he found him in a desert land in the howling waste of the wilderness; he encircled him, he cared for him, he kept him as the apple of his eye. Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, that flutters over its young, spreading out its wings, catching them, bearing them on its pinions, the Lord alone did lead him, and there was no foreign God with him. (Deuteronomy 32:10-12; cf. 8:5).

Monday of Week Five Oh my God, I offer you all my thoughts, words, actions, and sufferings; and I beseech you to give me your grace that I may not offend you today, but may faithfully serve you and do your holy will in all things. I entrust myself completely to your boundless mercy today and always. O Lord you have brought me to the beginning of a new day. Save me by your power so that I may not fall into any sin. May everything I say, and all that I do, be directed to the performance of your justice, through Christ our Lord. Lord may everything I do begin with your inspiration, continue with your help and reach conclusion under your guidance. Morning Offering, A Simple Prayer Book, published by the Catholic Truth Society.

Tuesday of Week Five He sat down and began to teach them. Having prayed beforehand, Jesus sat down and began to teach those in the Temple. The hectic nature of our everyday lives can make it difficult to sit down and share with family and friends. Indeed in many homes, the ‘evening meal’ is no longer the norm. Instead it’s a solitary ‘quick bite’ in between other activities. Jesus often used meals to set out his message to those around him. It might well be that we too could use meals to live out our baptismal calling to share in Christ’s prophetic work. Among family and friends here is an opportunity to reflect on the events of the day and, in the light of Christ’s teaching, to consider our reactions.

From Christifideles Laici 14. Through their participation in the prophetic mission of Christ, who proclaimed the kingdom of his Father by the testimony of his life and by the power of his world, the lay faithful are given the ability and responsibility to accept the gospel in faith and to proclaim it in word and deed, without hesitating to courageously identify and denounce evil…They are also called to allow the newness and the power of the gospel to shine out everyday in their family and social life, as well as to express patiently and courageously in the contradictions of the present age their hope of future glory even ‘through the framework of their secular life’.

Tuesday of Week Five Jesus Master, sanctify my mind and increase my faith. Jesus, teaching in the Church, draw everyone to your school. Jesus Master, deliver me from error, from vain thoughts, and from eternal darkness. Jesus, Way between the Father and us, I offer you all and await all from you. Jesus, Way of sanctity, make me your faithful imitator. Jesus Way, render me perfect as the Father who is in heaven. Jesus Life, live in me, so that I may live in you. Jesus Life, do not permit me to separate myself from you. Jesus Life, grant that I may live eternally in the joy of your love. Jesus Truth, may I be light for the world. Jesus Way, may I be example and model for souls. Jesus Life, may my presence bring grace and consolation everywhere. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Invocations to the Divine Masterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; by Blessed James Alberione, Practices of Piety and the Interior Life

Wednesday of Week Five the very act of committing adultery For some the sacrament of marriage is an outdated concept. For others it can seem an unnecessary expense. Yet, the very act of exchanging wedding vows and committing oneself to another before God strengthens the bond and commitment that lies at the heart of marriage. Moreover, it calls the married person to explore even further the baptismal calling of mirroring and growing in Christ. Marriage is a call to love one particular imperfect human being as Christ loves him or her. Husband and wife are to love one another as Christ loves each one of us. It requires several Christian virtues namely faithfulness, forgiveness and a commitment to growth. In their total self-gift to each other, husband and wife fulfil the prophetic of witnessing to Christ. Where they are blessed with the gift of children parents similarly do so by undertaking that most important task: to pass on the Faith to their children and to educate them in it.

From Christifideles Laici 52. The Christian family also builds up the Kingdom of God in history through the everyday realities that concern and distinguish its state of life: it is thus in the love between husband and wife and between members of the family- a love lived out in all its extraordinary richness of values and demands; totality, oneness, fidelity and fruitfulness-that the Christian familyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s participation in the prophetic, priestly and kingly mission of Jesus Christ and of his Church finds expression and realisation.

Wednesday of Week Five Grant me, Good Lord, the grace whatever my vocation to witness to Christ, and in my failings and in the failings of others give me the grace to love as you have loved, to forgive and to accept forgiveness. Amen.

Thursday of Week Five this as a test Just as Jesus was ‘tested’ by the Pharisees who wanted to hear him denounce the Law of Moses, we are tested in homes, workplaces and relationships. At times this testing can be quite overt. Witness, for example, the media’s endeavours to trap us into wanting a particular car or latest fashion accessory. But it can also be the pressure to deem things acceptable simply because of their widespread practice. If we are to mould our lives according to Christ, to teach in word and action, and share in Christ’s prophetic ministry, we have to face these challenges head on. How then do I respond to the ‘traps’ of an advertising, consumer culture? Where should I resist the direction in which society wants to go?

From Christifideles Laici 17. The eyes of faith behold a wonderful scene: that of a countless number of lay people, both women and men, busy at work in their daily life and activity, oftentimes far from view and quite unacclaimed by the world, unknown to the world’s great personages but nonetheless looked upon in love by the Father, untiring labourers who work in the Lord's vineyard. Confident and steadfast through the power of God’s grace, these are the humble yet great builders of the Kingdom of God in history.

Thursday of Week Five Holy Father, look upon this humanity of ours, marked by hatred, violence and oppression, but still thirsting for justice, truth and grace. Help us to be courageous heralds of the Gospel giving witness to your holiness in the midst of the world. Send holy labourers into your vineyard, that they may labour with the fervour of charity and, moved by your Holy Spirit, may bring the salvation of Christ to the farthest ends of the Earth. Amen. Adapted from Pope John Paul IIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s message on the World Day of Prayer for Vocations, (2002)

Friday of Week Five What have you to say? We can only speculate as to what Jesus wrote on the ground, yet his silence was telling. He did not immediately display any annoyance at another one of their traps. He wisely reflected on the situation. When we are asked what we think about this or that, Christ’s is a good example to follow. Indeed, it can be difficult to articulate the message of Christ so that others will be able to understand and relate to it, particularly if the question relates to a controversial Church teaching. Are we sometimes too hasty in giving a flippant answer? Or, where we are silent, is our silence a striving after wisdom or the result of a lack of confidence and understanding? How seriously do I take my responsibility to carry on learning and growing in my faith? From Christifideles Laici 58. The fundamental objective of the formation of the lay faithful is an ever-clearer discovery of one's vocation and the ever-greater willingness to live it so as to fulfil one's mission. God calls me and sends me forth as a labourer in his vineyard… To be able to discover the actual will of the Lord in our lives always involves the following: a receptive listening to the Word of God and the Church, fervent and constant prayer, recourse to a wise and loving spiritual guide, and a faithful discernment of the gifts and talents given by God, as well as the diverse social and historic situations in which one lives. Jesus, confirm my heart’s desire to work and speak and think for thee; still let me guard the holy fire, and still stir up thy gift in me. Amen.

Charles Wesley, 1707 - 1788 85

Saturday of Week Five ‘If there is one who has not sinned let him be the first to throw a stone at her.’ In a world all too ready to apportion blame and make judgements, perhaps the most transforming part of the Christian message is forgiveness. In this well-known scripture passage, we see that Jesus did not condemn the woman, but gave her a new start in life. Thus, we learn that it is not our role to sit in judgment of others particularly those who may be asleep in their faith or have not yet heard his message. On the contrary, our prophetic mission, is to welcome these people into our midst, share Christ’s message and provide an opportunity for them to choose Christ – to experience his love. This is evangelisation.

From Christifideles Laici 34. At this moment the lay faithful, in virtue of their participation in the prophetic mission of Christ, are fully part of this work of the Church. Their responsibility, in particular, is to testify how the Christian faith constitutes the only fully valid response – consciously perceived and stated by all in varying degrees – to the problems and hopes that life poses to every person and society. This will be possible if the lay faithful will know how to overcome in themselves the separation of the Gospel from life, to again take up in their daily activities in family, work and society, an integrated approach to life that is fully brought about by the inspiration and strength of the Gospel.

Saturday of Week Five Let me love you, my Lord and my God, and see myself as I really am: a pilgrim in this world, a Christian called to respect and 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 with fervour. Help me to forget myself and reach out toward others. Amen. Taken from â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The Universal Prayerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, attrib. to Pope Clement XI (1649-1721)

Week Five - Group Session Opening Prayer A crucifix is placed in a central place among the gathered people. Leader: Response: Leader: Response: Leader: Response: Leader: Response: Leader:

All pray in silence for a short time. Small lights may be placed around the cross if this seems appropriate. A member of the group may say: Faithful Cross above all others, one and only noble Tree, none in foliage, none in blossom, none in fruit thy peer may be; sweetest wood and sweetest iron, sweetest weight is hung on thee. (Antiphon for Good Friday)

Leader: Response:

We adore you Christ and we bless you Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world 88

Week Five - Group Session Explore the Scripture from the fifth Sunday of Lent (Year C) - John 8: 1 -11 Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At daybreak he appeared in the Temple again; and as all the people came to him, he sat down and began to teach them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought in a woman along who had been caught committing adultery; and making her stand there in full view of everybody, they said to Jesus, ‘Master, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery, and Moses has ordered us in the Law to condemn women like this to death by stoning. What have you to say?’ They asked him this as a test, looking for something to use against him. But Jesus bent down and started writing on the ground with his finger. As they persisted with their question, he looked up and said, ‘If there is one of you who has not sinned let him be the first to throw a stone at her.’ Then he bent down and wrote on the ground again. When they heard this they went away one by one, beginning with the eldest, until Jesus was left alone with the woman, who remained standing there. He looked up and said, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ ‘No one, sir,’ she replied. ‘Neither do I condemn you,’ said Jesus ‘go away, and don’t sin any more.’ Following a short period of silence you may wish to share an image, a thought, a phrase, a question that has struck you. For Reflection Christ was the Greatest Prophet, a messenger of God’s love to each one of us and God’s plan for our salvation. At the Last Supper he commissioned his disciples: ‘As the Father has sent me, so I send you’ (John 20:21). This work of announcing Christ by the spoken word and the way we live (‘our testimony’) is an integral part of our baptismal calling. At the heart of this calling is the call to conversion. 89

Week Five - Group Session Conversion is not a one-off event. It is an on-going process. While conversion may rekindle the faith of a baptised person who has not been practicing their faith, there are also continuous conversions in the hearts of all the baptised who choose again and again to turn their hearts and minds to Christ while living in the world. Clearly, Jesus was at work evangelising the Pharisees and the adulterous woman in the Temple that day, calling them to a conversion of heart. Today, the Temple has gone but the mission of evangelisation remains. Quite often people see this work as the responsibility of priests and religious but again and again, the church makes it clear that this work of evangelisation is the responsibility of all by virtue of their common baptism. As Pope John Paul II reminds us, the lay faithful are called to action in the vast and complicated world of politics, society and economics, as well as the world of culture, of the sciences and the arts, of international life, of the mass media. They are to be leaven in the world. Where and how can I be a prophet, a teacher and proclaimer of Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Word? For parents the most obvious starting point is the home. They are, after all, called to be the first teachers of their children in the ways of faith. However, we are not just called to share our faith with those dear to us or those with whom we are comfortable. Christâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s saving message is for all people, for all times, in all places. The challenge of sharing the Gospel message, of being prophets is something we must live afresh in all the situations of our lives. As we enter into Holy Week and take a break from our regular routines, it may be worth asking ourselves how we will explain our Easter break to friends and colleagues. Will we, for example, include an account of our Easter observances or speak of the Christ whose living, dying and rising has been recalled? 90

Week Five - Group Session Share your thoughts on this reflection. How does this week’s scripture reading and reflection encourage you? Where are you affirmed? Where are you challenged? What impact might this have on your daily living? Leader:

Aloud or in the silence of our hearts let us bring to the Father our thanks (pause)…

Leader:

In sorrow let us ask the father for forgiveness (pause)…

Leader:

With confidence let us entrust to the Father our cares and concerns (pause)…

Lord Jesus Christ, no one is freed from sin by themselves nor by their own power, no one is raised above themselves, no one is completely rid of their sickness or solitude. On the contrary, all stand in need of you, our Christ, our model, our mentor, our liberator, our Savior, the source of life. Amen. Adapted from Second Vatican Council Decree Ad Gentes, 8

Week Six Passion Sunday Scripture from Passion Sunday (Year C) – Philippians 2: 6 – 11 His state was divine, yet Christ Jesus did not cling to his equality with God but emptied himself to assume the condition of a slave, and became as men are, and being as all men are, he was humbler yet, even to accepting death, death on the cross. But God raised him high and gave him the name which is above all other names so that all beings in the heavens, and on earth and in the underworld, should bend the knee at the name of Jesus and that every tongue should acclaim Jesus Christ as Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Background Paul writes his letter to the Philippians from prison, where he seems to be facing the possibility of execution (Philippians 1:18). Yet, for all this, this letter is one of warm friendship, and real joy – ‘Rejoice in the Lord always! And again I say, Rejoice! (Philippians 4:4). Paul, the great evangelist, rejoices even in his chains, because through this imprisonment the Gospel is being spread (Philippians 1:12-14). In his sufferings Paul finds reason to exult in the Lord Jesus. In this passage Paul may well be quoting an early hymn, celebrating the faith of the first Christians in Jesus. The hymn gives a beautiful account of Christ’s kingship and royal priesthood, and roots his glory and power in suffering and self-emptying. The verse before this reading has Paul say: ‘In your minds you must be the same as Christ Jesus’. This ancient reflection on Christ’s saving Passion, stands as a call to each of us who are baptised into his death and resurrection: a call to become emptied, obedient, and gloriously sovereign as members of Christ. This is truly a reading to shed warm and personal light on the Passion of Christ, and on our own call to have some share in it. 92

From Christifideles Laici 17. All the baptised are invited to hear once again the words of St Augustine: ‘Let us rejoice and give thanks: we have not only become Christians, but Christ himself…Stand in awe and rejoice: We have become Christ.’ The dignity as a Christian, the source of equality for all members of the Church, guarantees and fosters the spirit of communion and fellowship, and, at the same time, becomes the hidden dynamic force in the lay faithful’s apostolate and mission. It is a dignity, however, which brings demands, the dignity of labourers called by the Lord to work in his vineyard: ‘Upon all the lay faithful, then, rests the exalted duty of working to assure that each day the divine plan of salvation is further extended to every person, of every era, in every part of the earth.’ (LG, 33)

Lord Jesus Christ, take all my freedom, my memory, my understanding, and my will. All that I have and cherish you have given me. I surrender it all to be guided by your will. Your grace and your love are wealth enough for me. Give me these, Lord Jesus, and I ask for nothing more. Amen. Prayer of St. Ignatius Loyola (c. 1491-1556)

Monday of Week Six His state was divine… and he became as men are At the heart of the Mass the priest says these words, quietly, over the bread and wine: ‘By the mystery of this water and wine, may we come to share in the divinity of Christ, who humbled himself to share in our humanity.’ This refers us to the mystery of our faith in the Incarnation – God’s becoming man in Jesus. Here is God’s total self-giving in love, to share our lot; and he does this so that we can come close to him and share his divine and eternal life, the life of salvation. In baptism our ordinary lives are opened up to this extra-ordinary mystery, as we become sharers in Christ’s divine-andhuman life. All our living depends on our being in Christ.

From Apostolicam Actuositatem 3. From the fact of their union with Christ the head flows lay people’s right and duty to be apostles. Inserted as they are in the Mystical Body of Christ by baptism and strengthened by the power of the Holy Spirit in Confirmation, it is by the Lord himself that they are assigned to the apostolate. If they are consecrated a kingly priesthood and holy nation (cf. I Pet. 2: 4-10), it is in order that they may in all their actions offer spiritual sacrifices and bear witness to Christ all the world over.

Monday of Week Six 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 adore you as my first beginning, I long for you as my last end, I praise you as my constant helper and I call on you as my loving protector. Amen. The beginning of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The Universal Prayerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, attributed to Pope Clement XI (1649-1721)

Tuesday of Week Six The name which is above all other names For many of us life is busy and demanding. We learn to prioritise, and make choices about who or what we will give energy to. As baptised people, it is good to ask ourselves, each day, where Jesus, and the life we share in Him, comes in these decisions. As members of God’s royal and holy people, how do we honour Christ’s Kingship in and over our lives? Is his name truly above all others? Christ’s Kingship is, this reading tells us, one of service. It is by living more and more with Christ as ‘first in our hearts’ that we will begin to build more fully God’s Kingdom on earth.

From Lumen Gentium 36. Christ, made obedient unto death, and because of this exalted by the Father (Philippians 2:8-9), has entered into the glory of his kingdom. All things are subjected to him until he subjects himself and all created things to the Father, so that God may be all in all (I Corinthians 15:27-28). He communicated this power to the disciples that they may be constituted in royal liberty and, by selfabnegation of a holy life, overcome the reign of sin in themselves (Romans 6:12) – that indeed by serving Christ in others they may, in humility and patience, bring their brethren to that King to serve whom is to reign. The Lord also desires that his kingdom be spread by the lay faithful: the kingdom of truth and life, the kingdom of holiness and grace, the kingdom of justice, love, and peace. (cf. Preface of the Feast of Christ the King.)

Tuesday of Week Six My Jesus, from all eternity you were pleased to give yourself to us in love, and you planted within us a deep spiritual desire that can only be satisfied by yourself. We can only be satisfied by setting our hearts, imperfect as they are, on you. We are made to love you; you created us as your lovers. My Jesus, how good it is to love you. Let me be like your disciples on Mount Tabor, seeing nothing else but you. Let us be like two bosom friends, neither of whom can ever bear to offend the other. Amen. St Jean Vianney (1786-1859)

Wednesday of Week Six That every tongue should acclaim Jesus Christ as Lord, to the glory of God the Father What is the Church for? What are we for, exactly? The answer, in the Gospel, and in the consistent teaching of the Church is clear, though we often lose sight of it. Being Christian is for ‘the world’. The whole point of the Church is to be ‘the sacrament of salvation for the world’ (LG, 1), to be the place in human history where men and women can meet Jesus Christ, and find God’s love and salvation. As baptised people we are anointed and called to work for this Kingdom.

From Christifideles Laici 15. Baptism does not take [the faithful] from the world at all, as the apostle Paul points out: ‘So, brethren, in whatever state each was called, there let him remain with God’ (I Corinthians 7: 24). On the contrary, he entrusts a vocation to them that properly concerns their situation in the world. The lay faithful, in fact, ‘are called by God so that they, led by the spirit of the Gospel, might contribute to the sanctification of the world, as from within like leaven, by fulfilling their own particular duties. Thus, especially in this way of life, resplendent in faith, hope and charity, they manifest Christ to others.’…In fact, in their situation in the world, God manifests his plan and communicates to them their particular vocation of ‘seeking the Kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs and by ordering them according to the plan of God’ (LG, 31).

Wednesday of Week Six Lord Jesus Christ – hope of my heart, strength of my soul, help of my weakness, by your powerful kindness complete what in my powerless weakness I attempt. My life, the end to which I strive, although I have not yet attained to love you as I ought, still let my desire for you be as great as my love ought to be. Amen. From ‘Prayer to Christ’, St. Anslem (1033-1109)

Maunday Thursday He emptied himself to assume the condition of a slave Today we celebrate Christ’s royal priesthood, in which we share through baptism. There can be few more striking and truthful embodiments of what that means than in the actions we see in the celebration of Mass on Maundy Thursday. As a royal priesthood we are all called – in our different ways – to kneel at the feet of others, to bathe their dirt, and weariness, and soreness with simple, practical acts of love. We can celebrate this not only in church, but in the sanctuaries of our households and workplaces and neighbourhoods. In this washing, and in this Eucharist, we become ever more deeply part of Christ’s life and work. It is in this that we show ourselves true subjects of Christ the King. It is in this emptying of ourselves before the needs of others that we live the royal vocation of our baptism. If we compare the Last Supper in John’s Gospel to Matthew, Mark and Luke we will see a big difference. For John, it is the washing of feet that is Jesus’ central act for his friends at the Last Supper – not the institution of the Eucharist. There is, all the same, something profoundly ‘eucharistic’ about Jesus’ foot washing here. Particularly as baptised people ‘in the world’, we are called to reflect, today, on how, by simple acts of charity, and of selfsacrifice, we can live ‘eucharistically’, in a world crying out for the love and nourishment of Christ. Today, let’s also try to find time for quiet and solitary prayer, when we can us allow Jesus to ‘wash our feet’ – because this is surely what he wants to do for each one of his people.

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Maunday Thursday From Christifideles Laici 16. The call to holiness is rooted in Baptism and proposed anew in the other Sacraments, principally in the Eucharist. Since Christians are reclothed in Christ Jesus and refreshed by his Spirit, they are ‘holy’. They therefore have the ability to manifest this holiness and the responsibility to bear witness to it in all they do. The apostle Paul never tires of admonishing all Christians to live ‘as is fitting among the saints.’ (Ephesians 5:3). Life according to the Spirit, whose fruit is holiness (cf. Romans 6:22; Galatians 5:22), stirs up every baptised person, and requires each to follow and imitate Jesus Christ, in embracing the Beatitudes, in listening to and meditating on the Word of God, in conscious and active participation in the liturgical and sacramental life of the Church, in personal prayer, in family or in community, in the hunger and thirst for justice, in the practice of the commandments of love in all circumstances of life, and service to the brethren, especially the least, the poor and the suffering.

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Maunday Thursday Almighty and ever-living God, I approach the sacrament of your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. I come sick to the doctor of life, unclean to the fountain of mercy, blind to the radiance of eternal light, poor and needy to the Lord of heaven and earth. Lord, in your great generosity, heal my sickness, wash away my defilement, enlighten my blindness, enrich my poverty, and clothe my nakedness. May I receive the bread of angels, the King of Kings, and Lord of lords, â&#x20AC;ŚMay I receive the sacrament of the Lordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s body and blood, and its reality and power. Amen. From a Prayer of St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)

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Good Friday He was humbler yet, even to accepting death, death on a cross For most people, most of the time, death is too frightening to contemplate. Moments of fear about this inevitable end to our plans and hopes for our life are not surprising, nothing to be ashamed of – even given our faith. Jesus himself, in Gethsamene, dreads the suffering and death he knows he will undergo. Physical pain, emotional anguish, despair and death are the common and inevitable horrors of all human beings. Our baptismal faith does not make that go away. But what we do know as Christians is that, in his Passion, Jesus finds a place for all this fear in the heart of the love of God. When we meditate on the terrible story of the Passion, we know that ‘God so loved the world.’ (John 3:16) The Cross is the throne of the King of Love, as well as his place of suffering. In this mystery we contemplate our salvation, and the salvation of the whole world. We share in this saving Passion in our baptism. Each day we are called to ‘die to self’, to take up our cross and follow Christ on his way to Calvary. In this way we witness to God’s love for the whole world. From Christifideles Laici 34. To all people of today I once again repeat the impassioned cry with which I began my pastoral ministry: ‘Do not be afraid! Open, in deed, open wide the doors to Christ! Open to his saving power the confines of states, and systems political and economic, as well as the vast fields of culture, civilisation, and development. Do not be afraid! Christ knows “what is inside a person.” Only he knows! Today too often people do not know what they carry inside, in the deepest recesses of their soul, in their heart. Too often people are uncertain about a sense of life on earth. Invaded by doubts they are led to despair’… 103

Good Friday Humanity is loved by God! This very simple yet profound proclamation is owed to humanity by the Church. Each Christian’s words and life must make this proclamation resound: God loves you, Christ came for you, Christ is for you ‘the Way, the Truth, and the Life.’ (John 14:6).

O Jesus, who is loving kindness itself, from this throne of grace and pardon, the Cross, to which I behold you fastened, send me your Spirit. He will teach me to give proof of my gratitude, to make my life more like yours, to take part in your sufferings and death. He will show me how to return to you love for love, and how to remain ever faithful to you, who has redeemed me at such great cost. Amen. John of Torralba, Carthusian (d. 1578)

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Holy Saturday So that all beings, in the heavens, and on earth, and in the underworld should bend the knee at the name of Jesus Holy Saturday can easily be a forgotten sort of day. For many of us the culmination of the day will come in the great celebration of the Easter Vigil, in the night of Saturday. Above all this is a liturgy of Baptism-and-Eucharist, the celebration and renewal of what we are in Christ: priests, prophets and sovereigns. But we can also let Holy Saturday have its own time: a time of proper emptiness, of waiting and quiet. This is a day of the died-and-living Christ working even in death and among the dead. Perhaps we can simply be still and let God do his work in the places of darkness and loss in our lives, reconciling sinners to himself. This is a day when all things – ‘in the heavens, and on earth, and in the underworld’ - are handed into the loving power of God’s sovereignty. Our stillness at the centre of these mysteries, our emptiness before God, might be the best preparation we can make for that full renewal of baptism and discipleship that we are called to in our celebration of Easter.

From Lumen Gentium 9. That messianic people [of the Baptised] has as its head Christ, ‘who was delivered up for our sins and rose again for our justification’ (Romans 4:25), and now, having acquired the name which is above all names, reigns gloriously in heaven. The state of this people is that of the dignity and freedom of children of God, in whose hearts the Holy Spirit dwells as in a temple. Its law is the new commandment to love as Christ loved us (John 13: 34). Its destiny is the kingdom of God, which has been begun by God himself on earth… 105

Holy Saturday I shall follow you, Lord Jesus. I shall follow you, Lord, to the garden where your flesh was sown. Here, yes, here, you sleep, Lord; here you keep a gentle Sabbath in Sabbath rest. May my flesh be buried with you Lord, that what I live in the world I may live not in myself, but in you who gave yourself up for me. Let my flesh be anointed with you, O Lord. Adapted from â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The Mirror of Charityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; by Aelred of Rievaulx (1110-1167)

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Week Six - Group Session Opening Prayer A crucifix is placed in a central place among the gathered people. Leader: Response: Leader: Response: Leader: Response: Leader: Response: your Leader:

With attentive hearts We gather in your presence O Lord On the threshold of Holy Week We gather in your presence O Lord leaving behind our comforts and distractions We gather in your presence O Lord Committing everything to you at last And always in your presence, O Lord, and under cross Let us sign ourselves with the cross In the name of the Father…

All pray in silence for a short time. Small lights may be placed around the cross if this seems appropriate. A Member of the group may say: It was after this that Christ showed me something of his passion near the time of his dying. I saw his dear face, dry, bloodless and pallid with death. It became more pale, deathly and lifeless…And it seemed to me, that with all this drawn out pain, he had been a week in dying…There were times when I wanted to look away from the cross but I dared not. For I knew that while I gaxed on the cross I was safe and sound. (Julian of Norwich – The Revelations of Divine Love 14th Century)

Leader: Response:

We adore you Christ and we bless you Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world 107

Week Six - Group Session Explore the Scripture from Passion Sunday (Year C) – Philippians 2: 6 – 11 His state was divine, yet Christ Jesus did not cling to his equality with God but emptied himself to assume the condition of a slave, and became as men are, and being as all men are, he was humbler yet, even to accepting death, death on the cross. But God raised him high and gave him the name which is above all other names so that all beings in the heavens, and on earth and in the underworld, should bend the knee at the name of Jesus and that every tongue should acclaim Jesus Christ as Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Following a short period of silence you may wish to share an image, a thought, a phrase, a question that has struck you.

For Reflection In this Holy Week, as we prepare to renew our baptismal promises at the Easter Vigil, we enter deeply into the story of Christ’s Passion and Resurrection. It is here that we can see, most clearly, what sort of Kingship, what sort of power is his; and from this we can learn more about what it means for us to share in this royal office (LG, 36). In the Passion we see that Christ’s Kingship is one of selfsacrifice and love; his power is rooted in his total trust in and abandonment to the Father. This is the sovereign way of life to which all baptised people are called. Being baptised into Christ’s Kingship, means, first of all, to acknowledge him as sovereign over all things. (LG, 13; AA, 3) In our own lives, in our households, in our parish communities, and in our wider political and economic society – it is Jesus Christ who is Lord, and who is to bear the ‘name above all other names.’ But is this 108

Week Six - Group Session really how we see and understand the world? When we think of how our money and time and energy is spent, are we honouring Jesus as Lord of all? (Prayerfully reflecting on our diaries, or bank and credit card statements might help us be honest and practical about these questions!) Or do we have other priorities? Are there things we might begin to do that might make the Lord of Love the ruler of our lives in all things? As our sense of Christ’s Kingship grows, we can be drawn more and more deeply into his mission of proclaiming the Kingdom. Here, the Church teaches, there is a particular work – an apostolate (from the Greek word for ‘sent’, like ‘apostle’) – for the baptised lay person. As faithful and anointed Christians ‘in the world’, we are sent out to sanctify (that is, ‘make holy’) and evangelise all areas of human life and work (AA, 5-6). In the ordering of our lives to Christ’s sovereignty, we are to work for the Kingdom of love in every circumstance, and to announce with confident and courageous words the truth of God’s saving love (AA, 6). We do this with the same trust in the Father that Jesus shows us in his self-giving. ‘The Church is called, in virtue of her very mission of evangelisation, to serve all humanity. Such service is rooted primarily in the extraordinary and profound fact that “through the Incarnation the Son of God has united himself in some fashion to every person.” ’ (CL, 36) In living this faith out, in every personal encounter, we fulfil our dignity as members of God’s royal household. Share your thoughts on this reflection. How does this week’s scripture reading and reflection encourage you? Where are you affirmed? Where are you challenged? What impact might this have on your daily living?

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Week Six - Group Session Leader:

Aloud or in the silence of our hearts let us bring to the Father our thanks (pause)…

Leader:

In sorrow let us ask the father for forgiveness pause)…

Leader:

With confidence let us entrust to the Father our cares and concerns (pause)…

O Virgin of the Magnificat, fill our hearts with a gratitude and enthusiasm for our vocation and mission. With humility and magnanimity you were ‘the handmaid of the Lord’; give us your unreserved willingness for service to God and the salvation of the world. Open our hearts to the great anticipation of the Kingdom of God and of the proclamation of the Gospel to the whole of creation. Amen. Adapted from Christifideles Laici, 64

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Notes

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