We truly are the Easter people.

The Abbey

An announcement was made at our parish that during the week of Holy Week there would be no confessions. It had been a month since my last confession, so I felt that before Easter I needed to be  purged of my transgressions. My friend Susan and I made plans to go to St. Michael’s Abbey because they were still hearing confessions.

When we arrived the line was wrapped around the building with more than 50 people waiting. We arrived at 1:15 p.m.

I had an appointment with my optometrist at 3:30 p.m.  that I had to cancel because I knew this was going to take longer. With four priests hearing confessions, we were done by 3;00 p.m.

Small Talk

Small talk has always been my gift, so I started a conversation with a lady behind us. She had driven from Dana Point, which was a 45-minute drive. As our conversation continued she mentioned that on Good Friday Santiago Retreat Center opens to hikers to go through the Stations of the Cross. “Is it a hard climb?” “Could someone like me do it?” I asked. She was an outdoorsy-type of person who hikes on a regular basis. She answered, “I’m sure you could do it!” This was a challenge, but I did not want to do this alone.

The No Planning Debacle 

If you know anything about me, even if I plan things, something always goes wrong. I called Russ ( my son-in-law) and asked if he would like to join me on this hike. I could hear Sonja in the background, “Why are you planning things with my husband?” Russ added that Sonja was off on Good Friday. So between the two of them, the message was clear that they were not interested.  But on Thursday, while Mike and I were at dinner, I received a text from Russ saying that they wanted to go on the hike.

On Good Friday I woke up in a panic. “I needed to be at Sonja’s at 7:45 a.m.. “Are you coming with us?” I asked Mike. “Going where? What are you talking about?” The hike, I answered. Of course I forgot to mention all the specifics to Mike but, thank God, he decided to join us.

I had an unscheduled appointment to see Mario, so I wanted to make sure that we finished on time for me to drive to Norco.

Being unaware that we needed to register online was just one small hurdle. I forgot to bring water, so Sonja supplied us. “Do you have the directions?” I asked as we were driving. Sonja looked puzzled, “I thought you took care of this.” No, just pull it up on your phone,” I answered. “What is the name of the place?” she asked. “Silverado Retreat Center,”I replied.  “Mom, there is no such place! I found Santiago Retreat Center.” “Oh, I forgot,  that’s it!”

The Stations of the Cross

This experience was both beautiful and challenging. As I looked in the distance I could see the iron cross. I thought to myself, “We’re not going that high, are we?” We were, and it took an hour to hike  up to the summit. Some of the terrain was rocky and steep; with each station the walk became more arduous.

When we reached the Forth Station of the Cross, it became more of a spiritual challenge. I knew the Lord was with us at every station. I felt safe. When reaching the summit, I looked at the path below us and thanked God for allowing us to experience this holy adventure. It was around 11:15 a.m. by the time we finished  our hike, two hours total. I was in a bit of a rush because I needed to drive to Norco.

The Visit

A quick breakfast of fried eggs and avocado toast, and then I was off to visit Mario. When I arrived at the facility there were two new guards at the check-in station. I arrived a little before 1:00 p.m. I remembered the time that I did not have an appointment I was made to wait until 2:00 p.m. in the afternoon. For as many times as I tried to make an appointment, the prison system was blocking me. In frustration, I gave up. To this day their system is still unable to get this problem resolved.

Two Rude Officers

“Do you have an appointment?” asked the first woman officer. “No, your system is down and I was unable to get one scheduled,” I answered. “Well, we’ve changed the time for walk -in appointment visits to 4:00 p.m. Didn’t you read the website?” she smugly answered. “When was it changed?” I asked. “Two weeks ago, you should have read the website.” We went back and forth, with me trying to explain that not only did I not know about this, but that Mario was unaware of this change as well.

I pleaded with both of these rude women, but they would not give in. I explained that I was the only one there,  that it was Good Friday, and all I wanted was to minister to my nephew. One with a tight bun looked at me and told me to stop arguing with them. I was not in anyway arguing but only trying to explain that I could not get an appointment because of their faulty system.

I asked to speak to their supervisor but to no avail. “We’re not going to do that because the answer is going to be NO!”   “How do you know if the answer is going to be no if you don’t ask?” I responded.

When I reminded them that it was Good Friday, one of them said, “It’s just a another Friday.” I could not wait three and a half  hours, so I left. I cried part of the way home, thinking I let Mario down. By the time Mario called I was more composed; we were both saddened by this rude outcome.

One thing I will never understand about visiting someone in prison is that the visitor is treated like a prisoner.

My Prayer

Dear Lord, thank You for allowing us to walk the Stations of Your glorious Cross. I pray for every pilgrim who took this hike to come to the knowledged of how very difficult each station was for You, Lord. Please touch the hearts of these prison employees. Teach them empathy and to treat all visitors with respect. Amen.

We are entering the climax of our Christian existence. Palm Sunday is the first day of Holy Week.

I wrote this poem while at Adoration.

The Way of Pain

Peter stood as He passed by

Not once, not twice, but three times he denies.

When the cock crows he cries.

His Mother met Him and held Him tight;

She knew very well His terrible plight;

The way of pain was not yet done.

Not knowing He was the One

A man named Simon helped the Son.

The soldiers whipped Him and spat on His face,

But Jesus kept His place.

The women wept as He passed them by,

But one in particular caught His eye.

She ran in haste to wipe His face

And on the cloth His image stayed.

The crowd, with fists raised high, in unison sang the same death song,

“Crucify Him!“ “Crucify Him!”

It was finished, the work was done.

© Lynda Ciriza

Palm Sunday

Following in the footsteps of Jesus as He made his triumphant entry into the city, one can truly imagine the joy in the hearts of His followers. Experiencing this as a pilgrim, my eyes recorded this joyous event and I stored them deep within my heart.

Why did Jesus ask His disciples to bring Him a colt? This was done to fulfill the prophecy in Zechariah.

In Matthew 21:7-8, the people spread their cloaks over the animals because this was a tradition of the Israelite kingship to reestablish a Davidic line. It’s also important to understand that there were two groups of Jews: the Jews who joined Jesus for His triumphal entry and the Jews who lived in Jerusalem. The Jews who lived in Jerusalem knew very little if anything about Jesus; these were the ones who joined forces with the Romans to demand Jesus’ crucifixion.

Monday

On this day Jesus curses a fig tree for not bearing  fruit. What good are we if we are not bearing fruit, or if our fruit is tasteless?  As  disciples of Jesus, we should always bear good fruit. This was also the day that Judas Iscariot negotiated with the Sanhedrin to betray Jesus (Mat 26:14-16).

Tuesday 

The chief priest, scribes and Pharisees form a pack against Jesus and attempt to entrap Him. They organize an ambush but Jesus evaded their trap. Jesus’ harsh word against them:(Mat 23:24-33)

Wednesday

The Bible does not say what Jesus did on Wednesday but Bible scholars believed He spent the day resting in Bethany in anticipation of the Passover.

Holy Thursday, The First Day of Triduum

The word Triduum comes from the Latin meaning three days  in preparation for a great feast.

In the Upper Room, Jesus took on the role of a servant and washed the feet of His disciples. Washing the feet is part of the Aaronic priesthood (Ex 30:21).

While they are eating the Last Supper, Jesus announces that one of them will betray Him.

The bread and wine is the institution of the Holy Eucharist.

On Holy Thursday Jesus instituted the priesthood over his apostles at the Last Supper (Mt 26:26-29). This is commemorating the celebration of the first Mass. At every Mass we recall what great sacrifice Jesus did for us by dying on the Cross.

Good Friday, Second Day of Triduum

While Jesus is in the Garden of Gethsemane, Judas arrives with the chief priest, scribes and elders.  Judas has done his dirty deeds and received thirty pieces coins. We know that Judas hanged himself, but before that, he returned the money he received for the betrayal of Jesus to the high priest (Mt 27:3-10). This too was in fulfillment of the prophet Zechariah.

The chief priest requests that a guard be placed at the tomb of Jesus. The guarded tomb is secured and sealed. This was done so that Jesus’ body could not be stolen,  allowing His disciples to later claim that He had risen from the dead. These guards were assumed to be Roman soldiers because Jews had no authority to perform an executions (Mt 27:62-66).

Holy Saturday is the great Easter Vigil, this is always an evening service. The church will be in complete darkness – representing the tomb. Fire is lit from outside of the church followed by a procession. The Paschal candle is lit – representing the light and life of Christ. This candle is used throughout the year for celebrating baptisms , First Holy Communion, Confirmation and funerals.

Easter Sunday

As the women who loved our Lord come to anoint His body, they discover an empty tomb.  Jesus entrusted the great news of His Resurrection to women! (Luke 24:1-9)  Alleluia, Christ the Lord is Risen!

My Prayer

Dear Jesus, as we walk through Holy Week with You may our hearts be filled with sorrow and gratitude for what You have done for us. May we never deny Your existence. Teach us to carry our crosses as You did with great dignity. Lord reveal to us, in the spirit of Simon of Cyrene, to help those whose crosses are to hard to bear. May we come alongside them in prayer. Thank You, Lord, for Your glorious Resurrection! Amen.

We have all told a lie at one time or another.

Lying is first mentioned in Genesis 3:1-24 when the serpent deceived Eve in the Garden of Eden.

God Is Truth

God knew when He created the human race that by nature man would fall short. So to better understand this subject of lying is to know that God is truth (John 14:6-7). The basis of  Christianity and why we are Christians  is because we believe in God’s truth. Truth is fundamental in our walk with Christ; we should all be seeking His direction in every area of our lives.

One Of The  Ten Commandments

Thou Shall not bear false witness is the ninth commandment. To the Lord the truth is so consequential that He made it into a commandment.

God Is Our GPS

On Sunday I gave  our grandson Lucas and three other friends a ride to the movies. Lucas entered the address on Waze, an app for driving directions. Waze got us there but because, I was not accustomed to using this app, I could not shut it off. All the way home it continued to inform me to make a U-turn. There was little I could do to stop the noise. Finally when I got home, Jacob, our other grandson, shut down the voices that were driving me crazy.

Although  I knew my way home because of this device, I got a little disoriented. “Am I going the right way?” I asked myself. If we truly believe God is our modern day GPS,  the Holy Spirit will alert us to all the untruths that penetrate our minds.

Teach The Truth 

The students I teach have been well catechized about telling the truth. I remind them, “If you are lying, your heart will beat faster. That is God reminding you to always tell the truth. Remember the Devil is the Father of Lies.”

When a parent or role model lies and their lies are accepted as truth, this becomes problematic. People who lie, especially compulsive liars, lack conviction deep within their souls. They have become so accustomed to their lies that it’s part of their nature. This habitual behavior is all they know. So perhaps it may not be a generational curse, but is it a learned behavior?

For instance, if a child’s father was an alcoholic and beat the child’s  mother, this abusive behavior could be passed on to the child. It’s the same with lying.

The Danger Of Lies

When we owned our tortilla factory the position of Human Resources fell under my responsibility. I did all the hiring and disciplinary action if we had problems with employees. I hired a friend of ours to deliver our product out of state. This person was a long haul driver.

Whopper Lies

One day I was notified that the man I had hired, this personal friend, failed to show up for work. When I called him he told me that his pregnant wife was in a car accident. I felt so bad and totally dismissed his absence. In those days we had handwritten applications with phone numbers for emergency  contacts. I was concerned about  his wife and the welfare of their baby. On his application he had listed his mother-in-law as a contact. When I called his mother-in-law and asked about her daughter, the woman was confused. She told me that her daughter was never in an accident and that her daughter had just left her house.

The Outcome

This unsettling news about this  horrific lie did not sit well with me. So I called out the lie to the driver. But instead of being apologetic, he became enraged. Shortly after that incident notes were left on my desk with images of tombstones with my name written on them saying R.I.P.  Needless to say the man was fired. This happened in the 90’s and messages like these were not considered that threatening; nevertheless, this man’s actions made me very uncomfortable.

2483 Lying is the most direct offense against the truth. To lie is to speak or act against the truth in order to lead into error someone who has the right to know the truth. By injuring man’s relation to truth and to his neighbor, a lie offends against the fundamental relation of man and of his word to the Lord.

2484 The gravity of a lie is measured against the nature of the truth it deforms, the circumstances, the intentions of the one who lies, and the harm suffered by its victims. If a lie in itself only constitutes a venial sin, it becomes mortal when it does grave injury to the virtues of justice and charity.

2485 By its very nature, lying is to be condemned. It is a profanation of speech, whereas the purpose of speech is to communicate known truth to others. the deliberate intention of leading a neighbor into error by saying things contrary to the truth constitutes a failure in justice and charity. the culpability is greater when the intention of deceiving entails the risk of deadly consequences for those who are led astray.

I believe that The Catechism of the Catholic Church overview offers a deeper meaning on the dangers of lying.

 

This is From Psychology Today