The Meditation Palm Sunday April 14 th, A.D. 2019 Christ Entering Jerusalem Painting by Bernard van Orley (1487-1541) Flemish Renaissance artist. 1
The Introit (Entrance) Verse for the Mass for Palm Sunday Be not far from me, O Lord, thou art my succor, haste thee to help me: save me from the lion s mouth... My God, my God, look upon me... Be not far from me. - Psalm 22 Obedient unto death St. Paul s words, which serve as the Reading for the Office of Sext [1] for today, affirm the doctrine of Holy Week: He made of himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name. (Philippians; Chap. 2, Vss. 7-9). The crowds will have barely ceased acclaiming Jesus as their King, when we join with them following His royal entry into Jerusalem. We will find ourselves in the Garden of Olives, where we will witness His humiliation and agony. Holy Church never misses an occasion to impress upon us the necessity of following His example of emptying ourselves... of obeying, even unto death, the death upon a cross: and then only, will the Father raise us up again. Nowhere in the Epistles do we find the unbendable law of death to gain life, of suffering to attain glory, of struggle ending in victory, so convincingly expressed, as in that of St. Paul s letter to the Philippians: Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. (Phil; Chap. 2, Vs. 5). The line Christ followed is the law of all spiritual life. He laid aside His dignity as God, took upon himself the form of a slave, in all things like us, and humbled Himself as far as was possible to Him by accepting the cross, for which reason His Father raised Him above all mankind and the angels. St. Anthony of Padua instructs us that if we would feel with Jesus all that He felt, we must watch Him leaving His apostles, kneeling before His Father, praying that, if it were possible, that the chalice (of suffering and death) might pass Him by; then bowing Himself to the Divine Will and in His agony sweating great drops of blood. Betrayed by one of His own disciples with a kiss, He is arrested, bound like a criminal and led away. His captors blindfolded Him, and spit upon Him, tear out His beard, and strike Him in the face. He is scourged at the pillar and crowned with thorns. The Cross is then laid upon His shoulders and He walks the road to Calvary, where He is stripped of His garments, crucified between two thieves, given vinegar and gall to drink, and is insulted and blasphemed. St. Bonaventure picks up by saying that we realize that the Lord s death was a death of shame, just as the prophet foretold: He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief... yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted... He was taken from prison and judgement... he was cut off out of the land of the living. (Isaiah: Chap. 2
53, Vss. 3, 4, & 8). He seems to say that no one could any longer recognize God in a lamb brought to the slaughterer. [2] Now, what of us, His disciples? Jesus Himself has said: The servant is not greater than his lord, neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. (St. John: Chap. 13, Vs. 16). It is scandalous to avoid the cross, to wear a proud heart, under outward pious looks and living, to think of oneself better than others, or wiser than one s superiors. Humiliation has become an honorable thing, since the Highest (Christ) took the lowest place in life. Since, He who is God, let Himself be trampled underfoot and became a worm and no man, says the Scripture. Can we do no less if we are to be just like Him, since He became poor and humble for our sakes? If humiliation and sufferings fall hard upon us as human beings, didn t they also fall hard on Jesus? Isn t that the reason why the reward of our discipleship is so very great? Jesus said: Whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased [3], and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. (St. Luke; Chap. 14, Vs. 11). The promise was fulfilled in Him, to the utmost. because He accepted death, the death upon the Cross, That at the Name of Jesus, every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth. And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians: Chap. 2, Vss. 9-11. Such glory will be ours if we, following the Master s example, and become obedient unto death: death to self, death to the world, even death on the Cross. Performing all things in great humility just as He did, while bearing the cross of everyday life and trials, as He bore His, and dying to self with all its temptations, vices, and lusts. St. Cyprian writes that the Son of God suffered to make us children of God. How then can the children of mankind refuse to suffer, in order that they may become children of God? A heavy trial awaits those who make their choice to follow Christ, and as disciples of Christ we must prepare ourselves for this courageously. We receive Christ s blood daily in the Eucharist in order to prepare ourselves to shed ours for Him at any moment. If we are indeed children of God, we are co-heirs with Jesus Christ: providing that we sacrifice and suffer along side Him. If we can do this, we shall be glorified with Him forever. We have His Word on this, and that should be more than enough. Dear Lord, we beseech thee, by the merits of your Passion, to teach us the great lesson that is Holy Week; they who fight the good fight with you will share with you in the crown of victory. Amen. Meditation Notes: [1] Ref: The Anglican Breviary; page. C282. [2] Isaiah; Chap. 53, Vs. 7 [3] Abased: humiliated. 3
Priory Kalendar For the week of: April 7 th to April 14 th - A.D. 2019 Holy Week NOTE: The Priory will not be accepting phone calls or answering Communications all this week Sunday, April 14 th...... Palm Sunday Holy Week Begins today Monday, April 15 th...... Monday in Holy Week...Fast Day Tuesday, April 16 th...... Tuesday in Holy Week...Fast Day. Wednesday, April 17 th... Spy Wednesday...Fast & Abstinence. The day on which Judas Iscariot betrayed Christ: (St. Matt; Ch. 26, Vss. 14-16.) Thursday, April 18 th..... Maundy Thursday...Fast Day. Friday, April 19 th....... Good Friday...Fast & Abstinence Saturday, April 20 th.....holy Saturday...Easter Vigil Begins at First Vespers Sunday, April 21 st...... Easter Day - Sunday of the Resurrection Dear Friends, Check Your Email Boxes this week! You ll be receiving The Office of the Passion for your Good Friday devotions. 4
KALENDAR KEY: Abt. = 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/Commemorate, Dcn. = Deacon, Doct. = Doctor of the Church, Ev. = Evangelist, H. = Hermit, LBr. = Lay Brother, LSr. = Lay Sister, K. = King, Mat. = Matron, M. = Monk, M.M. = Month s Mind ( Requiem for the recently departed on the 30 th day after death or burial). Myr. = Martyr, N. = Nun, Obl. = Oblate, P. = Priest, Po. = Pope, Pr. = Prior, Prs. = Prioress, R. = Recluse, RM = Requien Mortuorum, ( Mass and Offices for the departed once a month as designated on Kalendar). SDcn. = Sub Deacon, Q. = Queen, Ven. = Venerable, Vir.=Virgin, W. = Widow. FASTING KEY: A = Abstinence, F = Fast, F & A = Fast and Abstinence RELIGIOUS ORDER ABBREVIATIONS: 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 = Capuchin Order, O.P. = Order of Preachers (Dominicans also called Blackfriars ), O. Praem. = Order of Cannons Regular (Norbertines), O.S.B. = Order of St. Benedict (Benedictines), O.Ss. S. = Bridgettines, O.S.U = Ursulines, O.C.O. = Order of the Cistercian Observance (Trappists/Trappistines), O.C.S.O. = Cistercian Order of the Strict Observance (Trappists/ Trappistines). Tert. = Tertiary (Third Order religious) About the Meditation and About Us The Meditation is an online apostolate of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows Priory in Raymond, Maine, USA. We are an Anglican-Catholic Benedictine contemplative community that follows the Holy Rule of St. Benedict, the 5 th century Father of Western Monasticism. We are resident within the Diocese of the Northeast (DNE), of the Anglican Church in America (ACA), a member of the worldwide Traditional Anglican Communion (TAC). We observed 25 years of institution as a community on October 16 th, 2018. The Meditation is a weekly online offering that is sent out free of charge to anyone who desires to receive it. Subscribers may copy and pass along The Meditation to their families and friends, or send us their e-address (with their permission) to add to our subscription list so they may receive it directly from us. Each issue is sent out as a BCC (Blank Copy) in respect to subscriber privacy and online security. To subscribe, contact us at: klamarre@maine.rr.com To read past issues of the Meditation, please go to our website at: www.ourladyofsevensorrows.org and you can find them in the section marked Meditations on the homepage. PLEASE NOTE: In respect to our contemplative vocation and the animals in our rescue and rehab center, we do not have guest or bathroom facilities and do not regularly receive visitors. Fr. Kevin is available to hear confessions and give spiritual direction by appointment only. Please contact via email to make an appointment or to make us aware of your needs, concerns and intentions for our prayerful attention. It is our privilege to pray for you. NOTE: We think due to the discrepancy between Windows 7 and Windows 10 we are not receiving some of your emails. The Meditation will continue to be sent from klamarre@maine.rr.com however if you do email us to subscribe, schedule confessions or spiritual counseling, and do not get a response please contact Fr. Kevin on his gmail account which is revkev258@gmail.com. PLEASE CONSIDER REMEMBERING US IN YOUR ESTATE PLANNING Contact Sr. Mary Francis, O.S.B. for more information via our email address 5
Animal News By Sr. Mary Francis JACK IS IN THE BUILDING!!!...NO...JACK IS BACK!!!!!!!!!!!! We finally had a few warm days before this last round of snow. It was actually warm enough to free the candy cane decorations that had been frozen in the snow since Christmas. Sr. decided that this was an opportunity to get them out of the ground and put them away before Easter, so she did just that. Nosey Jack was lurking and watching her while she, all the while, thought that he was inside the porch sleeping. She gathered all the candy canes and walked them over to the hill where the storage shed is, put them inside, locked the door, and walked back to the house. End of the day chores were done and there was no sign of Jack. Now Jack is an in and out cat and comes and goes through the door more than any animal or human. He also does like to spend nights out in the hay storage when it is warm enough, so it is not odd to not see him at the end of the day. He was called in but didn t come. The next day he was not seen all day...slightly odd but not completely. The next day at lunch we discussed the possibility that Jack may have met his match and been killed, or was he out carousing, and Sr. even made mention that this is the time of year when cats are likely to get locked in people s sheds as they trade snowblowers for lawnmowers, snow shovels for garden tools etc. Chore time on day 2...still no Jack. Sr. had been praying to St. Anthony for help in finding the cat and a little voice inside kept nudging her to go look in the shed. The last outdoor thing of the day was a trip to the shed. The lock was removed, the doors opened and amid the mess he had created over the last 2 days, was Jack looking none the worse for wear but grateful for his freedom. Jack and Sr. spend early evenings sitting together in a chair on the deck when weather permits. Sr. prays, Jack sleeps. This night Jack beat Sr. to the chair and was insistent that she come and sit. Sr. thinks he was also offering prayers for having been found...! PAX 6
7
8