Where was Jesus during the forty days after Easter?

We know that Christ truly rose from the dead and appeared to his disciples in bodily form at various times during the forty days from Easter Sunday to Ascension Thursday. Christ our God was truly upon the Earth and in the world, even in his glorified flesh, for all of those days until he ascended into heaven.

The gospels speak of ten apparitions of the risen Jesus, and we gather at least two more from St. Paul. But, we wonder, where was Jesus during the rest of those forty days? Where was the Lord when he was not visibly present to his disciples?

Which is greater in God: Mercy or Justice?

“Eternal God, in whom mercy is endless and the treasury of compassion inexhaustible, look kindly upon us and increase Your mercy in us, that in difficult moments we might not despair nor become despondent, but with great confidence submit ourselves to Your holy will, which is Love and Mercy itself.” (concluding prayer of the Divine Mercy Chaplet)

We know that in God there is both mercy and justice; rather, that God is both mercy and justice. However, we also pray that, upon our death, we might meet in Christ not the just Judge, but the merciful Savior. Knowing that mercy and justice can never truly contradict one another, we might still ask which is greater in God, and which comes first and which is greater.

Is justice the foundation from which mercy builds? Or, is mercy the fundamental disposition of God toward his creatures?

What's wrong with blessing children in the Communion line?

Fr. Cory Sticha has stated, “I despise blessing children in the Communion line (and yes, I chose that strong language very carefully), and encourage other priests to stop immediately.” [read the article here]

Fr. John Zuhlsdorf has seconded Fr. Sticha’s article with the phrase (in his typical red-ink), “Do I hear an ‘Amen!’?” [here]

But I ask, What is wrong with a priest giving blessings to young children in the Communion line?

For what it’s worth

Fr. Sticha is a good friend of mine, as we are both priests of the Diocese of Great Falls – Billings in Montana, USA. He is a few years ahead of me in the priesthood, and I am currently serving in what was his first assignment. Fr. Sticha was recently appointed by our Bishop as the diocesan liturgist.

That being said, friends are able to have differing opinions. And in this case, I think that both Fr. Sticha’s and Fr. Zuhlsdorf’s articles are not at all helpful.

The Shroud of Turin, represented at every Mass

The negative of a photograph of the Shroud of Turin

Then cometh Simon Peter … and went into the sepulcher, and saw the linen cloths lying, And the napkin that had been about his head, not lying with the linen cloths, but apart, wrapped up into one place. (John 20: 6-7)

The Shroud of Turin is traditionally believed to be the pure linen burial cloth which was wrapped around the Corpse of our Savior and which was found in the empty tomb on the first Easter Sunday. The image of our Lord miraculously imprinted upon the Shroud is a visible indication and (to some degree) “proof” of the Resurrection.

Thus, it is fitting that, during the Easter season, the Christian faithful consider the Shroud, meditating upon the joy and amazement of the first disciples who found the tomb empty.

Many of the faithful may not realize that the Church provides a tangible reminder of the Shroud at every Mass through the use of the corporal.

When did Mary begin to understand that Jesus would die and rise?

Tradition holds that Blessed Mary alone remained steadfast in faith, even in the midst of her grief, on the Saturday of our Savior’s rest in the tomb. She knew, by her perfect faith, that Jesus would indeed rise from the dead on the third day – perhaps this is why she did not go with the other women to the tomb on Easter Sunday morning, she knew that she must not seek the living among the dead.

How is it that Mary knew that Jesus would rise from the dead? What event, if any, can be singled out as the moment when she first began to understand that her beloved Son would die and rise again?

Many years earlier, when Jesus was only twelve, he began to instruct his Mother in the paschal mystery.

A chronology of the passion and death of Jesus

The events of last twenty-four hours of our Savior’s life can be a bit confusing to fit into a chronology. No single gospel relates all that happened, and (what is more difficult) some of the gospels seem to contain points of contradiction.

Here, I will set forth a simple chronology of the events from the Last Supper through Christ’s burial. But first, we will show the Catholic tradition regarding the question of whether Holy Thursday or Good Friday was the feast of Passover.

Crying children call to mind the mystery of the Mass

It is not uncommon today for parents to feel awkward about bringing young children to Mass. If, when they are in the church, the toddlers or infants begin to fuss and cry, the parents often struggle to quiet their little ones before other parishioners become annoyed. Many parishes now have cry-rooms to segregate these noisy kids from the rest of the Christian community.

For me, as a priest, the sound of crying children calls to mind the mystery of the sacrifice of the Mass.