The Meditation Palm Sunday -A.D. 2016 HOLY WEEK Jesus entry into Jerusalem 12 th century mosaic Palace of the Normans Palermo, Sicily
2. The Collect for Palm Sunday lmighty and everlasting God, who, of thy tender love towards mankind, hast sent thy Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ, to take upon him our flesh, and to suffer death upon the cross, that all mankind should follow the example of his great humility; mercifully grant, that we may both follow the example of his patience, and also be made partakers of his resurrection; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Five days before His Passion, Jesus makes His triumphant entry into Jerusalem, among the waving palms and the welcoming shouts of Hosanna to the Son of David, but how soon do those acclamations become angry cries of Crucify him! To the cross with him! and the triumphal procession was succeeded by the shameful way of the cross. St. Augustine of Hippo tells us that the palm branches were symbols of the victory over sin which the Lord was to gain by His death; His triumph over the devil, the prince of death. The humiliation of suffering and the glory of victory are so closely connected that we can confidently say that the one belongs to the other, as does life and death; death of the flesh and life of the spirit. Happy are they who fight and conquer under the banner of the Cross! The Saviour will fight to the last day of His life. His triumph will be His death on the Cross. He announced it himself, at his entry into Jerusalem. The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it dies, it bringeth forth much fruit and now my soul is troubled; and what shall I say? Father save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father glorify thy Name. (St. John: Ch. 12; Vss 23-28). Christ tells us clearly where, for us as for him, the road to victory lies. It is the way of the Cross. There was never any other way for Him, and there will never be any other for us. St. Thomas a Kempis, the author of The Imitation of Christ wrote: In the Cross is Salvation; in the Cross is life; in the Cross is the protection from thine enemies. In the Cross is the infusion of heavenly sweetness; in the Cross is strength of mind; in the Cross is joy of spirit. In the Cross is the height of virtue; in the Cross is the perfection of sanctity. There is no health of the soul nor hope of eternal life, but in the Cross. (Imitation of Christ; Book 2, Chap.12). It is good to have the Cross of Christ always before our eyes and to meditate upon His Passion. Continual meditation of the Passion raises the soul above the things of the earth, and teaches it how to think and feel and act. It encourages it to do that which costs most, and to desire to be unknown and counted as nothing. A Medieval spiritual writer wrote: O much-to-be-desired suffering and death. Here is a great marvel: death gives life, wounds bring healing, blood purifies and makes white as snow, pain is accompanied by unutterable sweetness, the opening of one Side unites all hearts.
3. The Five Sacred Wounds of Christ - 1495 And what is yet more wonderful: the sun is darkened but gives more light, the deadened fire blazes up again, humiliation brings honor. Most wonderful of all, Christ, dying of thirst, inebriates His disciples with love; stripped of His garments, he clothes them with his own virtues. His hands, nailed to the Cross, bring us freedom, His pierced feet teach us to walk in his ways. While giving up His spirit, He grants us life, and from His Cross He leads us to Heaven. St. Bonaventure once wrote to some nuns, telling them how best to meditate on the Passion and by it be transformed into Christ crucified: With the feet of your love, approach Jesus, wounded, crowned with thorns, nailed to the cross. Do not, like St. Thomas, merely wish to put your fingers into the openings in His hands and feet, your hand into His side, but penetrate into His heart and there let yourself be nailed to the Cross, pierced by God s love for you as by a lance, with the sword of deep compassion. We should seek nothing, desire no consolation, except that of dying with Jesus on His Cross that we may say with St. Paul: I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live ; yet not I but Christ liveth in me. (Galatians; Ch. 2, Vs. 20). Our Lord Jesus enters Jerusalem in great triumph today. We join with the crowd to shout our own Hosannas to the Son of God and follow Him to the Temple. We will follow Him in the coming week to Calvary and share in those hours that changed mankind forever. Let us become profoundly aware of the great reality that unfolds for us in the week ahead, and pray: Prepare us O Lord Jesus, for whatever suffering the Father has in store for us, that it may not take us unaware. Remind us that we too, cannot triumph but by the Cross.
4. From the Fathers of the Church St. Bernard of Clairveaux The glorious procession and passion of the Lord Not without good reason, my brethren, has the church, animated as she is by the spirit of her bridegroom and her God, added today, in a novel and wonderful combination, a solemn procession to the reading of the passion. I call this a novel and wonderful combination, because whereas the procession is triumphant and accompanied with songs of joy, the passion is provocative of tears and laments let us see what lessons this has for both classes of men. And we must examine first of all what it suggests to worldlings The world s joy turned to tears Accordingly, let the worldling consider and understand that, Mourning taketh hold of the end of joy (Prov. 14.13). It was indeed to impress this truth upon us that he who in all other things likewise began to do and to teach (Acts I.I), preached by example as well as by word : it was for this purpose, I say, that he, when made visible in the flesh, was at pains to prove clearly in his own person, what long before he had announced through his prophet: All flesh is grass and all the glory thereof as the flower of the field (Isaiah 40.6). If then he received the honor of a triumphal procession it was he knew that the day of his ignominious passion was at hand. Who ought now to put his hope in the inconstancy of temporal glory, when even in the Author of time and the Creator of the universe he holds so great a humiliation after so great an exaltation. For in the same city, in the same week, Christ was one day received with a glorious procession and divine honors, and on another subject to insult and torture... The passion: the path to heaven: I want you to see in the procession an image of the glory of our heavenly home and in the passion the way that leads thereto... If I say, you have thus suggested to you in the procession the term of our pilgrimage, behold, also marked out for you in the passion the way which leads to that end. For present tribulation is the way to life, the way to glory, the way to the holy city, the kingdom of God, according to the testimony of the thief on the cross, who said, Lord remember me, when thou comest into thy kingdom. He beheld Christ on His way to His kingdom and begged to be remembered by Him when He arrived there. Thither came also the thief as a result of his prayer ; and by how short a journey you may judge by the fact that he was deemed worthy to be with Christ in paradise that very day. Thus the glory of the procession renders the passion easy to endure, because nothing appears difficult to the soul that loves. -Excerpted from three sermons preached on the procession of the Palms
5. The Meditation is an on-line apostolate of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows Priory in Raymond, Maine. We are Anglo-Catholic Benedictine contemplative community that follows the Holy Rule of St. Benedict, the Father of Western monasticism. We are affiliated within the Diocese of the Northeast of the Anglican Church in America (ACA), a member of the worldwide Traditional Anglican Communion. The Meditation is a weekly on-line offering sent out free of charge to anyone who desires to receive it. Subscribers may copy and pass along the Meditation to their friends, or send us their e-addresses (with their permission) to add to our subscription list. Each edition is sent out as a BCC (Blank Copy) in respect to subscriber privacy. Contact Fr. Kevin at klamarre@maine.rr.com to subscribe. In respect to our contemplative vocation and the animals in our rescue and rehab center, we do not have guest facilities and do not receive visitors during the winter months. Fr. Prior Kevin is always available to hear Lenten confessions by appointment. Visit our Webpage at: www.ourladyofsevensorrows.org Hail, our King, Son of David, Redeemer of the world, whom the prophets have proclaimed to be the Saviour of the house of Israel that is to come. For thee the Father sent into the world to be the saving victim, whom all the saints expected from the beginning of the world, and now expect. Hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed is he that cometh in the Name of the Lord Hosanna in the highest! Anthem from a Sarum Missal of 1510 Palm Sunday 1880 Painting by Victorine Meurent (1844-1927) Colombes History Museum, France
6. Priory Kalendar For the week of March 20 th to March 27 th A.d. 2016 HOLY WEEK Sunday, March 20 th... Palm Sunday Blessing and Procession of the Palms at Mass today Note 1 Monday, March 21 st...... Monday in Holy Week Tuesday, March 22 nd......tuesday in Holy Week Wednesday, March 23 rd.... Wednesday in Holy Week Thursday, March 24 th.... Maundy Thursday. Note 2 the Friday, March 25 th........ GOOD FRIDAY... Note 3 Sacred Saturday, March 26 th...... Holy Saturday Easter Even... Note 4 Triduum Sunday, March 27 th........ EASTER DAY Note 1: Sunday March 20 th : the feast of St. Cuthbert is omitted this year. Note 2: Maundy Thursday, March 24 th : Altar cross is veiled white for the Mass: purple or oxblood outside of Mass. Note 3: Good Friday, March 25 th : All is veiled in Black this day. + + + Note 4: Holy Saturday, March 26 th : Violet/Oxblood until Mass then White at Deacon s function at Paschal candle. Kalendar Key Ab. = Abbot, Abs. = Abbess, Abp. = Archbishop, Anc. = Anchorite, Ancs. = Anchoress, Ap. = Apostle, Bl. = Blessed, Br. = Brother, Bp. = Bishop, Card. = Cardinal, C. or Conf. = Confessor, Comm. = Commemoration, Dcn. = Deacon, Doct. = Doctor of the Church, Ev. = Evangelist, H. = Hermit, LBr. = Laybrother, LSr. = Laysister, K. = King, Mat. = Matron, M. = Monk, M.M. = Month s Mind ( 30 day requiem for the recently departed ), Myr. = Martyr, N. Nun, Obl. = Oblate, P. = Priest, Po. = Pope, Pr. = Prior, Prs. = Prioress, R. = Recluse, RM = Requiem Mortorum, ( monthly requiem of the departed), Q. = Queen, Ven. = Venerable, Vir. = Virgin, W. = Widow. FASTING Key:.. A = Abstinence, F = Fast, F & A = Fast and Abstinence RELIGIOUS ORDERS: C.O. = Congregation of the Oratory Oratorians, C.P = Congregation of the Passion Passionists, C.S.J. = Congregation of the Society of Jesus Jesuits, Er. Cam. = Camaldolese Hermits, F.P.O. = Franciscans of the Primitive Observance, O. Car. = Carmelite Order, O. Cart. = Carthusian Order, O.C.D. = Order of Discalced Friars = Carmelites, O.F.A. = Augustinian Order, O.F.M. = Order of Friars Minor Franciscans, O.F.M. Cap. = Capuchins, O.P. = Order of Preachers = Dominicans (Blackfriars), O. Praem. = Order of Cannons Regular Norbertines ( White Monks), OS.B. = Order of St. Benedict Benedictines, O.S.U = Ursulines, O.C.O. = Order of the Cistercian Observance Trappists, O.C.S.O. = Cistercian Order of the Strict Observance = Trappists.
7. The Sacred Triduum The Three Holy Days The ecclesiastical year reaches its climax at the Easter Triduum : three days when Christ s victory over sin and death is celebrated in the form of a three act drama. It opens with Jesus, obedient to His Father s will, accepting His destiny; as He declines into a severe state of overemotion, when all seeming lost, He is crucified and buried; and concludes triumphantly with His mighty resurrection. For as in Adam all die... even so in Christ shall all be made alive. (I Cor.: Ch 15. Vs. 22) Liturgically this great drama begins on Maundy Thursday evening and ends at Vespers (Evening Prayers) on Easter Sunday. Thus the Easter festival is restored to its original form as a unitive celebration of the fact that the sacrifice on the Cross is not the end but the prologue to the Resurrection, the central mystery of the Christian faith. In the words of St. Leo the Great, Easter is: the feast of feasts. Feasts, Fasts, and Other Things: from: The Chipmunks Nutshell Library is presented by Br. A. Chip Monk, O.S.B. a munk of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows Priory in Raymond, Maine, USA Portrait of Br. Chip (Our little resident theologian!)
8. Animal News from the Priory Sundance Sundance arrives at the Priory Getting acquainted with Sr. Mary Francis Sundance and the Boys, Oliver & Joseph; they all got along from the first day! Sundance AKA Sunny arrived on March 12 th which was a beautiful sunny day. She arrived after a 2.5 hour ride in a huge horse van coming from New Hampshire. Sunny is an 11 year old buckskin(color) Quarterhorse (breed) mare (girl). She was born with badly deformed legs which prevent her from being ridden. She had been sold with her mother at 9 months old to a woman who loved her very much but has come to a stage in her life where keeping her was no longer possible and although the horse has a wonderful personality and temperament, she cannot be ridden so is deemed useless. The woman s fear was that someone would buy her and try to ride her which would end poorly for both human and horse. Generally in this scenario the animal ends up on a meat truck to the slaughterhouse. The woman was so grateful that we were able to take her and offer her a safe, loving and permanent home. Sunny has fit right in here and loves her 2 new brothers. We thank our animal angels whose support made this outcome possible.
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