Easter 2024 laudare, benedicere, praedicare T O P R A I S E , T O B L E S S , T O P R E A C H
Sweetest Banquet
“He
Iremember the experience of receiving the first priestly blessing of my brother right after his ordination Mass in Rome I knelt before him, felt his newly consecrated hands on my head, and heard his words that called down the Holy Spirit upon me and sent me forth with new strength. God’s blessings are always pouring upon us, but in that moment they seemed so tangible. It struck me how God infuses a representative of his Son with a power to communicate his love and grace
The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes blessing as “ a divine and life-giving action, the source of which is the Father; his blessing is both word and gift” (1078). The Latin word translated as “blessing” is benedicere, which literally means “to speak well of” or “to speak something good,” and the Greek term is eulogia, meaning “good words” or “good speech ” God’s words are so good that they are capable of giving eternal life (Jn 6:68). When God blesses, he is truly speaking his lifegiving words over us.
Said the Blessing”: Transformed by the Word of Life by Sister Mary Gianna, O.P.
Salvator Mundi (1570) by Titian
“From the beginning until the end of time, the whole of God’s work is a blessing” (CCC 1079). Creation came into existence through the power of God’s speech: “Let there be light” (Gen 1:3) All things came to be, not just through his words, but through his Word, his eternal Son (Jn 1:3). When creation fell through man ’ s sin, God never stopped speaking words of life over his people. The culmination of divine blessings is the Word made Flesh Piercing through the darkness of our sinful history, the Father spoke the Word of Life, his own divine Son, thus uttering the greatest Blessing The Father has truly “blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” (Eph 1:3).
When Jesus blessed the bread at the last Supper, comparable to the creative words at the beginning of time, his word of blessing had the power to transform ordinary matter into his own Flesh That Flesh is the source of all divine blessing for the Church.
The Church, who is the Body of Christ, also sees herself on the altar, under the consecrating hands and words of Christ:
“The Church never ceases to present to the Father the offering of his own gifts, and to beg him to send the Holy Spirit upon that offering, upon herself, upon the faithful and upon the whole world so that through communion in the death and resurrection of Christ the Priest, and by the power of the Spirit, these divine blessings will bring forth the fruits of life ‘to the praise of his glorious grace ’” (CCC 1083)
Indeed, as my brother showed me on his ordination day, we must allow the Word to bless us and send us forth to bear fruit that will endure Called to speak the praises of God by our lives, we too, like the bread in the hands of the priest, will be transformed into Him and will become a source of his life-giving blessings to others
SistersandaDominicanFriarreceiveablessingfromtheMasteroftheOrderofPreachers,Father GerardTimoner,O P
Holy Friendship
By Sister Maria Catherine, O.P.“A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter, he that has found one has found a treasure” (Sirach 6:14) When I was in high school, I longed for friendship. From the outside no one would have known I felt something missing in my life. I had friends from classes, cross country, band, and choir I had the friends I spent the most time with because our personalities clicked and Christian friends who shared a common pursuit of Christ, but something was still missing: Catholic friends who sought Christ in the totality of His presence in the Church. As I looked at colleges, I saw that my final decision came down to Catholic community When I found it, it changed my life
“A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter, he that has found one has found a treasure.”
Sirach 6:14
Holy friendships, founded on the common pursuit of Christ, are at the heart of the Church St Thomas Aquinas defines the virtue of charity as friendship with God Often, the saints on earth came in pairs or groups of friends, and Heaven is a communion of charity - friendship with God and with others in Him. Friendships founded on Christ help us in our own path of spiritual growth, as together we delight in the goodness of the Lord (Ps 34:4) They support us in difficult times as we bear one another’s burdens (Gal 6:2), and keep us accountable as together we seek the ultimate good in the midst of hardship
How do we develop and deepen these holy and wholesome friendships? The principles of virtuous friendship, explained by Aristotle and re-articulated and deepened by St Thomas Aquinas, can help us examine our own friendships and grow in the joy of deeper and more mature spiritual friendships
In every friendship, says St Thomas, the friends are united by a shared good that brings fellowship and depth. We can ask ourselves - What is the foundation of my friendships? When I look back, I realize I had some great friendships based on varying levels of good things, but I was missing that communion with others based on a whole-hearted pursuit of Christ in His Church that I most longed for. Can we read and discuss together a good book on faith or a cultural topic? Can we do a service project together, go to Adoration, or to outdoor or cultural events that help us appreciate the beauty of God’s creation?
St. Thomas also says that every friendship is based on mutual benevolence, with each person willing the true good of the other I need to ask myself if am I willing to support my friends and make healthy sacrifices for them? We can’t have a one-sided friendship, says St Thomaseach person has to care equally for the other I can ask myself - do I want what’s truly good for my friends, or some lesser good that doesn’t allow me to be the best person I could be? Does my friend want this for me?
Finally, friendship involves spending time together Where and how I choose to spend my time shows me what’s important in my life As St Thomas says, “The things that we love tells us what we are. ” Investing time in in-person relationships will help strengthen me in the pursuit of what is good, first in my friendship with Christ, and also in my friendships with His friends St Thomas helps us see the longing for communion that is fundamental to the human heart Our desire for deep friendships is a beautiful gift from God that helps point us back to Him. If we are seeking to grow closer to Christ, holy friendships with His friends based on the shared good of eternal life are part of our journey to Him
Holy Week & Easter
At the Motherhouse
TOP / Liturgicalbooksandpalmsareset out inpreparationforPalmSundayMass. BOTTOM/Allgatherintheexonarthexto beginthePalmSundayLiturgy.
ONTHISPAGE/DuringtheHolyThursdayliturgy,thesistersprocesstothealtarofreposewherethereissolemnadorationinthe presenceoftheBlessedSacrament
ABOVE&CENTER/CelebrationofGoodFridayLiturgy attheMotherhouse
BELOW/Thesistersweartheirmantlesatallmealson GoodFriday.
TOP/FortheEasterVigilMass,thesistersgatheredoutsideof theMotherhousewherethePaschalFirewasbuilt.
CENTER/Candleswerelitfromthepaschalfireandthesistersprocessedintothedarkchapel.
BELOW/DuringtheLiturgyoftheWord,theGloriawasintonedandthechapellitwiththelightof Christ.
BOTTOMRIGHT/SisterFiatJoyproclaimsoneofthereadingsattheEasterVigil.
ONTHISPAGE/Imagesfromthe EasterVigil& EasterMorningMasses
ONTHISPAGE/EasterSundayintheMotherhouseChapel
ONTHISPAGE/TheSisterscelebratewith paschaljoy!
