Passion Sunday (A)

(Edited) Sunday reflections: (From) liturgical years 2014 (A), 2015 (B), and 2016 (C)

April 13, 2014
Liturgical readings
Isaiah 50:4-7
Psalm 22
Philippians 2:6-11
Matthew 26:14 - 27:66

"Though He was in the form of God, He emptied himself and took the form of a slave."

The letter of Paul to the Philippians expresses well the core of Matthew's passion narrative: a narrative which begins from the betrayal of Judas Iscariot; to the Last Supper; to the Lord's arrest; to the trial before Pilate; to the Lord's scourging and crucifixion; to His entombment; and finally ending with the Pharisees arranging with Pilate for the guards in His grave. All these events reveal to us the humility and meekness the Lord exemplified as man even if He is God's beloved Son.

We can understand in depth the Lord's Passion and Death on the Cross,
if we refer to St. Andrew of Crete's (ca. 660-740 A.D.) message:

"Let us run to accompany him as he hastens toward his passion,
and to cover his path not with olive branches and palms, but by
doing all we can to prostrate ourselves before him by being
humble and by trying to live as he would wish. Then we shall
be able to receive the Word at his coming, and God, whom no
limits can contain will be within us.

The passion and death of our Lord has such a great influence and impact on many Catholics, that more time is devoted to contemplate on this mystery and gift of the faith. All Catholics can have a depth of spiritual insight if all reverently make an effort to kneel in deeper prayer and silence in the Eucharistic liturgy, when this part of the gospel is read:

"Jesus cried out in a loud voice, and then gave up his spirit."

The mystery and gift of Christ's self-sacrificing love for humanity penetrates the very core of man's mortal existence. Human suffering is a mystery; but through Jesus, everyone is given the gift to understand it in his person.

Scripture quote:
Though he was in the form of God, Jesus emptied himself and took the form of a slave, being born in the likeness of men...He humbled himself, obediently accepting death, death on a cross! (Philippians 2)

Feast of Saints Celebrated in the Month of April

on April 1: Melito, bishop; Walaricus or Valery, abbot;
Macarius the Wonder-Worker; Hugh of Grenoble, bishop; Hugh of
Bonnevaux, abbot; Gilbert of Caithness, bishop; Catherine of
Palma, virgin

Pedro Calungsod was a teen-aged native of the Visayas
region of the Philippines. He was one of the Boy catechists who
went with some Spanish Jesuit missionaries from the Philippines
to the Ladrones Islands, later renamed "Marianas" - in the
western Pacific in 1668 to evangelize the Chamorros. On 2 April
1672, while helping Fr. Diego Luis de San Vitores, the rector
of the Mission, to recover a runaway servant and to do some
baptism at the village of Tomhon on the island of Guam, he was
killed by two natives for his being a Christian, for catechizing
the Chamorros and for helping in the administration of the
Sacrament of Baptism. His body was thrown into deep ocean
together with that of the rector who was also killed after him.
(April 2)

Francis de Paola: (died 1507); founded the Order of
Minims, a congregation of hermits, "the least in God's
household." (April 2)

also on April 2: Apphian and Theodosia, martyrs; Mary of
Egypt; Nicetus or Nizier of Lyons, bishop; Ebba the Younger,
virgin; John Paine, priest and martyr

on April 3: Pancras of Taormina, bishop and martyr; Sixtus
or Xystus I, pope and martyr; Agape, Chionia and Irene, virgin
and martyrs; Burgundofara or Fare, virgin; Nicetas, abbot;
Richard Wyche or Richard of Chichester, bishop; Luigi Scrosoppi

Isidore (died 635): succeeded his brother St. Leander,
as bishop of Seville; presided over the Council of Toledo
(633); completed the Mozarabic liturgy; combatted Arianism in
Spain; known as the "Schoolmaster of the Middle Ages",
especially for his Etymologies. (April 4)

also on April 4: Agathopus and Theodulus, martyrs;
Tigernach, bishop; Plato, abbot; Benedict the Black

on April 5: Vincent Ferrer, priest; Derfel Gadarn; Ethelburga
of Lyminge, matron; Gerald of Sauve-Majeure, abbot; Albert of
Montecorvino, bishop

on April 6: The Martyrs in Persia; Marcellinus, martyr;
Celestine I, pope; Eutychius, bishop; Prudentius of Troyes,
bishop; William of Eskhill, abbot

Jean-Baptiste de la Salle: (died 1719); from Rheims;
canon of the diocese of Paris; gave away his fortune to found
the (1680) Brothers of the Christian Schools (FSC), today
numbering some 7,200 religious; authored the "Conduct of Schools";
patron of teachers. (April 7)

also on April 7: Hegesippus Aphraates; George the Younger,
bishop; Celsus or Ceallach, bishop; Aybert; Henry Walpole,
priest and martyr

on April 8: Dionysius of Corinth, bishop; Perpetuus, bishop;
Walter of Pontoise, abbot; Julie Billiart, virgin

on April 9: Mary of Cleophas, matron; Waldetrudis or Waudru,
widow; Hugh of Rouen, bishop; Gaucherius, abbot

on April 10: Bademus, abbot; The Martyrs under the Danes;
Macarius or Macaire of Ghent; Fulbert, bishop; Paternus of
Abdinghof; Michael de Sanctis

Stanislaus: (died 1079); as bishop of Cracow he
assisted the poor; personally slain by the oppressive and
savage king, Boleslaus II; patron of Poland. (April 11)

also on April 11: Barsanuphius; Isaac of Spoleto;
Godeberta, virgin; Guthlac; Gemma Galgani, virgin

on April 12: Julius I, pope; Zeno of Verona, bishop; Sabas
the Goth, martyr; Alferius, abbot

on April 13: Martin I, pope and martyr; Hermenegild,
martyr; Agathonica, Papylus, and Carpus, martyrs; Martius or
Mars, abbot

on April 14: Tiburtius, Valerius and Maximus, martyrs;
Ardalion, martyr; Lambert of Lyons, bishop; Bernard of Tiron,
abbot; Caradoc; Benezet; Antony, Eustace and John, martyrs;
Lidwina of Schiedam, virgin

on April 15: Basilissa and Anastasia, martyrs; Padarn or
Patern, bishop; Ruadan of Lothra, abbot; Hunna or Huva, matron

on April 16: Optatus and Companions and Encratis, virgin and
martyrs; Turibius of Astorga, bishop; Paternus or Pair, bishop;
Fructuosus of Braga, bishop; Magnus, martyr; Drogo or Druon;
Contardo; Joseph Benedict Labre; Bernadette Soubirous, virgin

on April 17: Mappalicus and Companions, martyrs; Innocent
of Tortona, bishop; Donnan and Companions, martyrs; Robert of
Chaise-Dieu, abbot; Stephen Harding, abbot

on April 18: Apolonius the Apologist, martyr; Laserian,
Laisren or Molaisse, bishop; Idesbald, abbot; Galdinus, bishop

on April 19: Leo IX, pope; Expeditus; Ursmar, abbot and
bishop; Geroldus; Alphege, bishop and martyr

on April 20: Marcellinus of Embrun, bishop; Marcian or Marian;
Caedwalla; Hildegund, virgin; Agnes of Montepulciano, virgin

Anselm: (died 803); Benedictine abbot and duke. He was
born in Forum Julii, Italy. Heir to a local title but left his
titles and power, and in 750 founded a monastery at Tanano, Italy.
He went to Monte Casino for seven years, until Desiderius, the
new Lombard ruler, fell to the armies of Charlemagne. Anselm
stayed in Nonantula near Modena, Italy until his death.
(April 21)

also on April 21: Simeon Barsabae, bishop; and Companions,
martyrs; Anastasius I of Antioch, bishop; Bueno, abbot; Malrubius
or Maelrubba, abbot; Conrad of Parzham

on April 22: Epipodius and Alexander, martyrs; Leonides,
martyr; Agapitus I, pope; Theodore of Sykeon, bishop; Opportuna,
virgin and abbess

George: (died 300); Martyr and patron saint of England,
Portugal, Germany, Aragon, (Spain), Genoa and Venice. He was
venerated in England as early as the 8th c. and was the patron
of the Crusaders. The cult of St. George is part of the history
of Crusades and England. He has been a popular figure for
artists, depicted as a young knight in mortal combat with a
dragon, a Middle Ages symbol of evil. (April 23)

also on April 23: Felix, Fortunatus and Achilleus,
martyrs; Ibar, bishop; Gerard of Toul, bishop; Adalbert of Prague,
bishop and martyr [was ordained bishop of Prague in 983. During
his episcopate he encouraged the evangelization of the Magyar.
Having founded the monastery of Brevnov, he was forced into exile
by the nobility of Prague. He tirelessly preached the Gospel in
Poland, Hungary, Russia and Prussia, where he was martyred at
the age of 41]

Fidelis: (died 1622); Franciscan Capuchin martyr.
A practicing lawyer, he traveled across Europe as a tutor to
aristocrats but then started defending the poor. In 1612, he
became a Franciscan Capuchin monk. As a missionary, he was
so successful that he was taken a spy for the Austrian emperor.
He was stabbed to death in a church in Seewis. Canonized by Pope
Benedict XIV. (April 24)

also on April 24: Mellitus, bishop; Ivo, bishop; Egbert;
William Firmatus; Mary Euphrasia Pelletier, virgin

on April 25: Mark, evangelist; Anianus, bishop; Heribald,
bishop

on April 26: Peter of Braga, bishop; Richarius or Riquiet,
abbot; Paschasius Radbertus, abbot; Franca of Piacenza, virgin
and abbess; Stephen of Perm, bishop

on April 27: Anthimus, bishop; Asicus or Tassach, bishop;
Maughold or Maccul, bishop; Floribert, bishop; Stephen Pechersky,
bishop; Zita, virgin; Turibius of Lima, bishop; Theodore the
Sanctified, abbot

Peter Mary Chanel: (died 1841); French Marist missionary
on the Pacific islands of Wallis and Futuna where he was murdered;
destroyed cult of evil spirits; protomartyr and patron of Oceania.
(April 28)

Louis de Montfort was born to a poor family in 1673 at
Montfort-La-Carne in Britanny. Ordained at the age of 27, he was
deeply devoted to the Blessed Virgin, as exemplified by his book
"The Secret of the Rosary", the first work to describe the method
by which the Rosary is prayed even to our day. During his life,
he founded both a missionary band of men (Company of Mary) and a
religious institute of women devoted to the poor (Congregation of
the Daughters of Divine Wisdom) (April 28)

also on April 28: Vitalis, martyr

Catherine of Siena: (died 1380); O.P. tertiary, mystic
and author (The Dialogues); peacemaker within the Church and
renewer of religious life; worked toward ending the Avignon
papacy under Gregory XI (1377); declared doctor of the Church in
1970; patroness of Italy. (April 29)

also on April 29: Peter of Verona; Wilfrid the Younger,
bishop; The Abbots of Cluny: Berno, Odo, Mayeul, Odilo, Hugh,
Aymard, and Peter the Venerable; Robert of Molesome, abbot;
Joseph Cottolengo

Pius V: (died 1572); O.P. who implemented the reforms
of the Council of Trent; promulgated the Roman Catechism,
the Roman Missal, and the Roman Breviary used
until Vatican II. (April 30)

also on April 30: Maximus, martyr; Eutropius of Saintes,
bishop and martyr; James and Marian, martyrs; Forannan, abbot;
Gualfardus or Wolfhard

The Rosary According to St. Louis-Marie de Montfort

Introduction

The origins of praying the rosary depends on where you focus your search. One traditional story says that since the lay faithful could not pray the 150 psalms prayed by the clergy and monks, they instead adapted to the simple prayer of 150 Hail Marys - which was easier to memorize and recite. Another story of its origin is connected with St. Dominic's battle against the Albigensian heresy. This story says that the Blessed Virgin Mary gave the rosary to St. Dominic de Guzman to obtain victory against the Albigensians.

The Rosary as an established prayer

Since origins are difficult to ascertain when historical records in the past are not yet fully documented, what is definite is that the rosary as a prayer was established in the Church. An official Catholic rosary confraternity was founded and the establishment of numerous papal indulgences were given to this prayer. By 1573 A.D., an official feast of the rosary was declared and made part of the annual Catholic liturgical cycle.

St. Louis-Marie de Montfort and the rosary

Many saints wrote about the rosary and encouraged everyone to devote themselves to Mary through praying it regularly. In his book, "The Secret of the Rosary", St. Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort, says that the rosary recited with the meditation of the mysteries brings about the following marvelous results:

• 1 it brings us to a perfect knowledge of Jesus
• 2 it purifies our souls from sin
• 3 it gives us victory over our enemies
• 4 it makes the practice of virtue easy
• 5 it makes our love for God more ardent and fervent
• 6 it enriches us with graces and merits
• 7 it supplies us with what is needed to pay our debts to God and to others
• 8 it obtains all kinds of graces from God

For many lay faithful who are employed, practice a profession, manage a business, and care for a family, the 7th benefit is a relief! It is a consolation to seriously consider that praying to Mary according to Montfort can help pay debts! But look how Montfort composed his list. This benefit is placed only towards the end. What is important for Montfort is the first benefit - "it gradually brings us a perfect knowledge of Jesus Christ" (Secret of the Rosary #81).

A Christ-centered prayer

The rosary is classified under all Marian devotions, and St. Louis-Marie de Montfort teaches that its primary end is to know Christ-Wisdom better. With St. John Paul II adding the light mysteries to the rosary, the devotion now points all the faithful more and more to the person of Christ. The rosary therefore is now seen as a Christ-centered prayer that helps the devotee know Christ, the Eternal Wisdom of God. It is the meditations accompanying the recitation of the prayers reveals who Christ is for us. As all the faithful contemplate the Person of Jesus in the joyful, sorrowful, luminous and glorious mysteries, all are led to know, love and serve the Lord all the more.

Sources of this blog post

• The New Concise Catholic Dictionary, by Ekstrom
• God Alone, by Montfort Publications