PASSIONTIDE: You will notice today that our statues in church are covered in purple cloth. This is a tradition in the Church that reminds us that when Jesus went up to Jerusalem prior to the Passover and His arrest and crucifixion, He did so in a veiled and hidden way. So, the covering of the statues hides them from our sight as Jesus was hidden during the days before His death.
Abbot Gueranger enlightens us with a mystical interpretation of the Gospel which, in former times, was read on this Sunday: As Christ hid himself from the rage of the Jewish authorities (John 8:59), so now he is hidden from the world in preparation for the mysteries of his passion. “The presentiment of that awful hour [of our Savior’s passion] leads the afflicted mother [the Church] to veil the image of her Jesus: the cross is hidden from the eyes of the faithful. The statues of the saints, too, are covered; for it is but just that, if the glory of the Master be eclipsed, the servant should not appear.
“The interpreters of the liturgy tell us that this ceremony of veiling the crucifix during Passiontide, expresses the humiliation to which our Savior subjected Himself, of hiding Himself when the Jews threatened to stone Him, as is related in the Gospel of Passion Sunday [John 8:46-59, They took up stones therefore to cast at him. But Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple (John 8:59)]. The Church begins this solemn rite with the Vespers of the Saturday before Passion Sunday.”
Lest we forget! Confession
The second precept of the Church is “You shall confess your sins at least once a year.” Strictly speaking, we only need to take part in the Sacrament of Confession if we have committed a mortal sin, but the Church urges us to make frequent use of the sacrament and, at a minimum, to receive it once each year in preparation for fulfilling our Easter Duty.
The Code of Canon Law asserts, “After having attained the age of discretion, each of the faithful is bound by an obligation faithfully to confess serious sins at least once a year” (#989). However, the Code also asserts, “It is to be recommended to the Christian faithful that venial sins also be confessed” (#988.2). (This regulation is a slight variation of the old “Easter Duty” prescribed by the Fourth Lateran Council (1215) which stated, “Every faithful of either sex who has reached the age of discretion should at least once a year faithfully confess all his sins in secret to his own priest. He should strive as far as possible to fulfill the penance imposed on him, and with reverence receive at least during Easter time the sacrament of the Eucharist.”) Only a legalist would suggest that a person only has to go to confession when in a state of mortal sin, thereby hinting regular confession is not necessary. Regular confession is the recipe for sainthood, and all the saints of our Church knew it. As we continue our Easter celebration, we must not forget those graces of forgiveness and reconciliation the Risen Lord offers to each of us through the Sacrament of Penance.
Please make every effort to go to confession as you prepare for Easter. There are many opportunities before Easter, especially during Holy Week. Going to confession is not an easy thing for most people to do. It can make us uncomfortable or ashamed, but it is God who calls us to know His love and mercy by going to confession. The emphasis should be on our need for His love and mercy and not on how we feel about it.
Last Sunday we heard the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Both sons were called by their father to come to him and so know his love and mercy. Please take the time to read again this beautiful parable (Luke 15: 11-32) and listen to what Jesus is trying to teach us about our Father and ourselves.
Mark your calendar: The Living Stations will be performed by the 8th Grade class of Sacred Heart School on Friday, April 11 at 7 PM. We have been doing this for many years and has been a very prayerful and beautiful depiction of the Stations of the Cross. It’s a devotional way to spend a little time on a Friday evening in Lent.
