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

Our Lord taught us the Our Father (the Lord’s prayer) as a guide to deeper prayer.

The Lord’s Prayer

The Lord’s Prayer: Matthew 6:9-13  (NABRE)

⁹ “This is how you are to pray:

This powerful prayer covers many aspects, such as leading  us to understand God’s holiness. His kingdom will have no end. God’s will will be done on earth and heaven. We thank Him for our daily bread. We ask forgiveness for our sins and those who have sinned against us. Above all it keeps us from sin and evil.

Pater Noster Catholic Church

Pater Noster Catholic Church is located on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. Within this holy site is a cave where Christians believed that Jesus taught the Lord’s Prayer. This church is within walking distance from the Seven Arches Hotel where we stayed on our missionary journeys.

We prayed in the cave at Pater Noster and left some of our prayer petitions for the Carmelite nuns to collect and pray over. Unlike other holy sites, there is a small fee to enter this hallowed ground. This Byzantine church’s walls are covered with plaques made of tile framed in flowers. On these plaques are written the Lord’s Prayer in 140 languages. I can never remember where the English version of the prayers is located, but I always found it.

Bethany

The Mount of Olives is a few miles from Bethany, where Jesus must have made His way on foot to visit His friends Mary, Martha and Lazarus. Because Bethany is located in a Palestinian section of Jerusalem, only a Palestinian Arab guide could drive us to visit the site of the Church of Saint Lazarus and Lazarus’ tomb.  The church is surrounded by a Palestinian neighborhood and directly across the tomb is a home with a mustard tree. The owners of the home wait for us to finish visiting the tomb before approaching us to sell mustard seeds. This is the only place that I know of where you can purchase these biblical seeds. (Matthew 13:31-33)

We have on several occasions celebrated Mass with a wonderful Franciscan priest from Africa. On our last visit the church was preparing for the Easter Vigil. I asked the kind priest how many parishioners he had. His response was that there were only five Catholic families that are registered and attend Mass. Palestinian Christians are in the middle of all the conflict between Hamas and Israel. The war affects everyone in the Holy Land.

The grounds of the church are meticulously kept, but as soon as you leave the area of the church, the city looks abandoned and neglected. And that was before the current war.

Confirmation

Volunteering as a confirmation teacher at my parish has brought many things to light. For instance, I discovered through an ice breaker game that five of my students did not know the words to the Lord’s Prayer. Despite the fact that they are all baptized, and have completed the Sacrament of First Holy Communion, they did not know the prayer. So instead of blaming anyone, I will make sure that these students memorize The Lord’s Prayer.

First Holy Communion

I also teach a group of students preparing for the Sacrament of First Holy Communion. The ages of my students in this class vary; there are several fourth graders and also a few seventh graders. When the class started last September, many of these students did not know the Lord’s Prayer as well. For this reason I gave them copies of the Our Father, along with the Hail Mary, and instructed them to memorize the prayers. To illustrate the importance of these prayers, each week a different student opens and closes our sessions with both prayers.

The Bible

This is my favorite book. I will always refer to the holy wisdom of God’s inspired words when teaching my students. You can never go wrong with Scripture because it always leads us to do the right thing.

How I Pray

I pray at different levels.  I begin with an opening prayer of praise and thanksgiving. These prayers may range from a simple petition to protect my loved ones to bombarding the heavens for something that’s troubling my heart. To get clarity from God, I go to Adoration. This is my happy place; it’s where God meets me. Any decision big or small I take to the Father. Of course I make wrong decisions that could lead to costly mistakes, but it’s usually because I did not pray beforehand.

An Example of How I Pray

I praise You and Honor You, Lord. You know the desire of my heart is to (special intention), but until I hear from You I will not move forward. Father, give me a sign to help me make this decision. If You open the door, please provide the means for this undertaking. Dear Jesus, You know of my impatient character; please give me special graces to wait for Your reply. Amen.

Eucharistic Adoration

Being before the Blessed Sacrament (the body of Christ) is my highest level of prayer. My mind is at ease, so all my thoughts are yielded to the Father. On my last visit I prayed a rosary and prayers from a small pamphlet I carry in my wallet. These prayers cover most of mine and others’ needs. In addition to these prayers I ask God’s will to be done in my life.

Although the drive is 20 minutes away from my home, nothing is more fulfilling than the emotional charge I receive when leaving Adoration because part of Him is with me. You do not need to be Catholic to pray at an Adoration Chapel. St. Martin de Porres in Yorba Linda, California, has perpetual Adoration. During Lent the Blessed Sacrament is exposed in the sanctuary of the church during the day.

My Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father, I pray for all students who do not know You. Lord, surround them with angels, both human and supernatural. May they hear Your still, small voice and answer the call to serve You. Amen.