We will have a Tenebrae Service at 8pm on Good Friday.  This is a centuries old tradition, probably dating from the 5th Century, that was originally a combination of Matins and Lauds during the triduum.  They are the "hours of darkness," as matins were prayed after midnight.  As Christ was three days in the tomb, so too the candles are gradually extinguished each day.  On Good Friday, midnight going into Holy Saturday, all the candles had been gradually extinguished, save for one, which was kept as the only candle burning on Holy Saturday next to the pulpit.  We will have our Tenebrae service on Good Friday with an assortment of Scripture, Psalms, and readings from the tradition of the Church that speak of the death of Christ Jesus.  We will have seven candles, though varying traditions have 15, 24, and even 72 candles.  After each reading/scripture a candle is extinguished.   The last Candle symbolizes Christ, which seems to disappear from sight during the ceremony, accompanied by the torments of storms and earthquakes.  The light of Christ returns dispelling the chaos and ushering in peace.

Suffering Servant Songs

All of these passages come from Isaiah, and are the primary readings of the Old Testament for Holy Week, except for Holy Thursday.  These passages bring clarity to who the Messiah is and how he will save Israel and all the world.  It is difficult to say that they are not fulfilled in Christ.  They are as follows:

Monday 42: 1-4 This passage speaks primarily of gentle and meek Christ whose salvation is for the whole world.  Verse three emphasizes the mercy of Christ. Verse one is also reminiscent of the Words of God the Father proclaimed at the baptism of Jesus and at the Transfiguration.

Tuesday 49: 1-7 The Messiah is prepared for by the Father from all time.  His purpose is clear and is likened to a warrior who has weapons ready for battle.  The “light to the nations” is used again to show that the redeemed and unified Israel, or land of Jacob, will be a beacon of salvation to the world.

Wednesday 50: 4-11The Messiah is understood to have an eloquent, faithful and obedient tongue.  The Messiah will put all trust in God’s help though the persecution will be real.  “I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who plucked my beard; my face I did not shield to buffets or spitting.”

Good Friday 52: 13—53: 12 In this final passage can be seen the culmination of the Messiah’s work.  In doing the will of the Father he brings forgiveness of sins.  The Messiah is considered a source of shame as he is “avoided” and “spurned” by everyone.  St. Paul quotes Dt 21: 23, which says “cursed is he who hangs on a tree,” in Galatians 13 where he says that Christ became a curse for us to save us from the curse of sin.  The very wounds of Christ Jesus are in this passage; “He was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins…by his stripes we are healed.”  “Though he was harshly treated he opened not his mouth. Like a lamb led to the slaughter or a sheep before the shearers, he was silent…”

Dear Lord , “Let me be partaker of that Divine Nature in all the riches of Its attributes, which in fullness of substance and in personal presence became the Son of Mary.  Give me that life, suitable to my own need, which is stored up for us all in Him who is the Life of men.  Teach me and enable me to live the life of Saints and Angels.  Take me out of the languor, and irritability, the sensitiveness, the incapability, the anarchy, in which my soul lies, and fill it with Thy fullness.  Breathe on me, that the dead bones may live.  Breathe on me with that Breath which infuses energy and kindles fervour.  In asking for fervour, I ask for all that I can need, and all that Thou canst give; for it is the crown of all gifts and all virtues.  It cannot really and fully be, except where all are at present.  It is the beauty and the glory, as it is also the continual safeguard and purifier of them all.  In asking for fervour, I am asking for effectual strength, consistency, and perseverance; I am asking for deadness to every human motive, and simplicity of intention to please Thee:  I am asking for faith, hope, and charity in their most heavenly exercise.  In asking for fervour I am asking to be rid of the fear of man, and the desire of his praise; I am asking for the gift of prayer, because it will be so sweet; I am asking for that loyal perception of duty, which follows on yearning affection; I am asking for sanctity, peace, and joy all at once.”

John Henry Newman from his book of Prayers, Verses and Devotions

Athletes deny themselves all sorts of things, to win a crown that withers, but we fight for an imperishable crown.  So, run so as to win the race.

Ascesis is the practice of self-discipline.  For the Christian it is the interior combat: a spiritual combat that is harder than man’s battles.  In the relationship with God we have the freedom which gives us the ability to rise to our highest good.  What we need to have are senses that are alive, sharpened and perceptive to the good.  Ascesis is an awakening from the sleep-walking of daily life.  The purpose of ascesis is to divest oneself of surplus weight, of spiritual fat.  Ascesis is not obedience to some abstract categorical imperative.  It frees human nature to follow its deep instinct to ascend towards God.  We pass from a state of being “contrary to nature” to one of being in “harmony with nature,” in harmony, that is, with that human (and cosmic in the sense of the world, but not “worldliness”) material united with Christ, with the godhead, without separation or confusion.  St. Benedict, the father of Western monasticism.  “If justice leads us to propose some mild constraint in order to correct vices and to preserve love, do not at once fly in dismay from the path of salvation, which once cannot enter except through a narrow gate.  For as you gradually in a holy life and in faith, your heart is enlarged and you run the way of God’s commandments in an ineffable sweetness of love.”  Rule, prologue 47-49.  Fasting aids us in the journey of Lent, and must be joined to love of neighbor or it is devoid of strength.  “Fasting lightens the body, prepares is for resurrection, and opens it to healing grace.  It makes the soul more readily transparent and predisposes it to the study of Wisdom, to listening to the Word.  It makes mutual sharing possible.”  Thoughts from Olivier Clement.

Madrid has finally launched the much anticipated English version of the Official WYD website.

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