Meditation on Easter Triduum
4/8/2004 - 7:00 AM PST

Pope Reflects on 3 Days at Heart of the Mystery of Salvation

VATICAN CITY, APRIL 8, 2004 (Zenit) - Here is a translation of John Paul II's address at today's general audience, which he dedicated to a meditation on the events of the paschal triduum which begins on Holy Thursday.

* * *

1. "Christ Jesus ... humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him" (Philippians 2:8-9). We just heard these words of the hymn contained in the Letter to the Philippians. They present to us, in an essential and effective way, the mystery of the passion and death of Jesus; at the same time, they make us perceive the glory of the Easter of resurrection. They constitute, therefore, an introductory meditation to the celebrations of the Easter triduum, which begins tomorrow.

2. Dear Brothers and Sisters, we are preparing to relive in the next few days the great mystery of our salvation. Tomorrow morning, Holy Thursday, in all diocesan communities, bishops together with their presbyteries, will celebrate the Chrism Mass, in which the oils are blessed: the oil of catechumens, that of the sick, and the sacred chrism. In the evening we remember the Last Supper with the institution of the Eucharist and the priesthood. The "washing of the feet" reminds us that, with this gesture carried out by Jesus in the Cenacle, he anticipated the supreme sacrifice of Calvary, and left us as the new law, "mandatum novum," his love. In keeping with a pious tradition, after the rites of the Mass of the Lord's Supper, the faithful remain in adoration before the Eucharist well into the night. It is a singular vigil of prayer, which is united to the agony of Christ in Gethsemane.

3. On Good Friday the Church remembers the passion and death of the Lord.

The Christian assembly is invited to meditate on the evil and sin that oppress humanity and on the salvation effected by the redemptive sacrifice of Christ. The Word of God and some evocative liturgical rites, such as the adoration of the Cross, help us to reflect on the different stages of the Passion. Moreover, on this day Christian tradition has given life to various manifestations of popular piety. Striking among these are the penitential processions of Good Friday and the pious exercise of the "Via Crucis," which help to internalize the mystery of the Cross.

A great silence characterizes Holy Saturday. In fact, no particular liturgies are planned on this day of expectation and prayer. Everything is silent in the churches, while the faithful, imitating Mary, prepare for the great event of the Resurrection.

4. As night falls on Holy Saturday, the solemn Easter Vigil begins, the "mother of all vigils." After having blessed the new fire, the paschal candle is lit, symbol of Christ who illuminates every man, and the great proclamation of the Exsultet resounds joyously. The ecclesial community, while listening to the Word of God, meditates on the great promise of the final deliverance from the slavery of sin and death. There follow, afterward, the rites of baptism and confirmation for the catechumens, who have gone through a long course of preparation.

The proclamation of the resurrection bursts in the darkness of the night and the whole of created reality awakens from the sleep of death, to acknowledge the lordship of Christ, as the Pauline hymn underlines which give rise to our reflections: "at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord" (Philippians 2:10-11).

5. Dear brothers and sisters, these days are particularly opportune to make more profound the conversion of our heart to Him who out of love died for us. Let us allow Mary, the faithful Virgin, to accompany us; with her we stay in the Cenacle and remain next to Jesus on Calvary, to find him at last risen on the day of Easter. With these sentiments and auspices, I express my most cordial wishes for a happy and holy Easter to you here present, to your communities, and to all those dear to you.

[At the end of the audience, the following summary was read by one of the Pope's aides:]

Today's reading from the Letter to the Philippians reminds us of the passion and death of Jesus, and at the same time, shows us the glory of his resurrection. During the next few days, we will relive the great mystery of our salvation. On Holy Thursday we will recall the Last Supper remembering the institution of the Eucharist and the priesthood. On Good Friday, we will revisit Christ's passion and death on the cross. The great silence which characterizes Holy Saturday will allow us to imitate Mary, as we prepare for the Resurrection.

Finally, in the darkness of Saturday evening, we will celebrate the Easter Vigil, joyously proclaiming in the Exsultet that the light of the Resurrection has dispelled the darkness of night. Indeed, these days are a unique opportunity to turn our hearts to Jesus who died for love of us.

[The Holy Father then greeted pilgrims in several languages. In English, he said:]

I am pleased to greet the English-speaking pilgrims present at this audience, especially those from England, the Faroe Islands, Canada and the United States of America. Upon you and your loved ones, I invoke the Lord's blessings of health and joy and wish you a happy and holy Easter.

Contact: The Vatican
http://www.catholic.org , VA
Pope John Paul II - Holy See, 661-869-1000
Email: info@yourcatholicvoice.org
Keywords: Easter, Triduum,Lent

In addition to prayer, the Pope suggests that pastors should provide proper formation for boys and young men in their parishes, particularly altar boys, so that the parish can be "almost a sort of pre-seminary," giving young men solid spiritual formation and opening them to the possibility of a priestly vocation.

The Pope's letter was presented to the media at a news conference in Rome chaired by Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, the prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy. Archbishop Csaba Ternyak, the secretary of that Congregation, also briefed reporters. The letter was made available in Italian, English, French, German, Spanish, Polish, and Portuguese.

"Our annual encounter through this letter is a particularly fraternal one," the Pope writes to priests. His 12-page letter concentrates on the Eucharist. It is the Eucharist that binds together all priests, he says. And on Holy Thursday, he adds, the fraternity of the priesthood are underlined through the Chrism Mass-- in which all priests gather with their bishops-- and the Mass of the Lord's Supper. It is through the institution of the Eucharist on Holy Thursday, he observes, that "we were born as priests."

All Catholics should pray for priestly vocations, the Pope observes. But that duty falls especially to "priests who love the Eucharist," and can convey their love to young men. He recalls how during his own years as a pastor in Krakow, he found it profitable to devote special attention to the altar boys serving with him, and attend to their "human, spiritual, and liturgical formation."

Altar servers form a sort of "garden of priestly vocations," the Pope writes. The Holy Father does not comment on the fact that since 1994, not all altar servers are eligible for the priesthood. Ten years ago, Pope John Paul approved a change in Church traditions, allowing young women to serve at the altar. But he has also made it clear that the Church cannot ordain women to the priesthood.

The Holy Thursday letter does reinforce another consistent theme of John Paul's teaching, stressing that the role of the priest must be understood as different from that of the laity. He emphasizes that the priesthood-- preserved through the apostolic succession and the power of ordination-- is essential to the sacramental life of the Church. "The assembly of the faithful," he writes, "even though it is the place where Christ is present in his Church, especially in her liturgical celebrations, is not by itself able to celebrate the Eucharist or to provide the ordained minister."

As he introduced the Pope's letter to the media, Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos focused on the same point. He observed that Catholics recognize that "Christ is present in priests so that the world might understand that reconciliation-- obtained through the Holy Cross, whose fruit is in the Eucharist-- is not an act confined to a specific time or place, but transcends the categories of life on earth and extends continually in time until Christ will come at the end of the world." Archbishop Ternyak, giving reporters some background on the priesthood, said that the latest available figures (collected in December 2001) showed 439,850 priests and deacons in the world-- an increase over the 406,509 forty years earlier. He also pointed out that 14 percent of the world's Catholic parishes have been opened in the past 30 years.

As he closed the April 6 news conference, Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos announced that a worldwide conference of priests will be held in Malta this October.

Top

LETTER OF THE HOLY FATHER POPE JOHN PAUL II TO PRIESTS FOR HOLY THURSDAY 2004 - text

LIBRERIA EDITRICE VATICANA

VATICAN CITY

Dear Priests!

1. It is with great joy and affection that I write you this Holy Thursday Letter, following a tradition which began with my first Easter as the Bishop of Rome twenty-five years ago. Our annual encounter through this Letter is a particularly fraternal one, thanks to our common sharing in the Priesthood of Christ, and it takes place in the liturgical setting of this holy day marked by its two significant celebrations: the morning Chrism Mass, and the evening Mass in Cena Domini.

I think of you first as you gather in the cathedrals of your different Dioceses around your respective Ordinaries for the renewal of your priestly promises. This eloquent rite takes place following the consecration of the Holy Oils, especially the Chrism, and is a most fitting part of the Chrism Mass, which highlights the image of the Church as a priestly people made holy by the sacraments and sent forth to spread throughout the world the good odour of Christ the Saviour (2Cor 2:14-16).

At dusk I see you entering the Upper Room for the beginning of the Easter Triduum. It is precisely to that “large room upstairs” (Lk 22:12) that Jesus invites us to return each Holy Thursday, and it is there above all that I most cherish meeting you, my dear brothers in the priesthood. At the Last Supper, we were born as priests: for this reason it is both a pleasure and a duty to gather once again in the Upper Room and to remind one another with heartfelt gratitude of the lofty mission which we share.

2. We were born from the Eucharist. If we can truly say that the whole Church lives from the Eucharist (“Ecclesia de Eucharistia vivit”), as I reaffirmed in my recent Encyclical, we can say the same thing about the ministerial priesthood: it is born, lives, works and bears fruit “de Eucharistia”(cf. Council of Trent, Sess. XXII, canon 2: DS 1752). “There can be no Eucharist without the priesthood, just as there can be no priesthood without the Eucharist” (cf. Gift and Mystery. On the Fiftieth Anniversary of My Priestly Ordination, New York, 1996, pp.77-78).

The ordained ministry, which may never be reduced to its merely functional aspect since it belongs on the level of “being”, enables the priest to act in persona Christi and culminates in the moment when he consecrates the bread and wine, repeating the actions and words of Jesus during the Last Supper.

Before this extraordinary reality we find ourselves amazed and overwhelmed, so deep is the humility by which God “stoops” in order to unite himself with man! If we feel moved before the Christmas crib, when we contemplate the Incarnation of the Word, what must we feel before the altar where, by the poor hands of the priest, Christ makes his Sacrifice present in time? We can only fall to our knees and silently adore this supreme mystery of faith.

3. “Mysterium fidei”, the priest proclaims after the consecration. The Eucharist is a mystery of faith, yet the priesthood itself, by reflection, is also a mystery of faith (cf. ibid., p.78). The same mystery of sanctification and love, the work of the Holy Spirit, which makes the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ, is at work in the person of the minister at the moment of priestly ordination. There is a particular interplay between the Eucharist and the priesthood, an interplay which goes back to the Upper Room: these two Sacraments were born together and their destiny is indissolubly linked until the end of the world.

Here we touch on what I have called the “apostolicity of the Eucharist” (cf. Encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia, 26-33). The sacrament of the Eucharist—like the sacrament of Reconciliation—was entrusted by Christ to the Apostles and has been passed down by them and their successors in every generation. At the beginning of his public life, the Messiah called the Twelve, appointed them “to be with him” and sent them out on mission (cf. Mk 3:14-15). At the Last Supper, this “being with” Jesus on the part of the Apostles reached its culmination. By celebrating the Passover meal and instituting the Eucharist, the divine Master brought their vocation to its fulfilment. By saying “Do this in memory of me”, he put a Eucharistic seal on their mission and, by uniting them to himself in sacramental communion, he charged them to perpetuate that most holy act in his memory.

As he pronounced the words “Do this...” Jesus' thoughts extended to the successors of the Apostles, to those who would continue their mission by distributing the food of life to the very ends of the earth. In some way, then, dear brother priests, in the Upper Room we too were called personally, each one of us, “with brotherly love” (Preface of the Chrism Mass), to receive from the Lord's sacred hands the Eucharistic Bread and to break it as food for the People of God on their pilgrim way through time towards our heavenly homeland.

4. The Eucharist, like the priesthood, is a gift from God “which radically transcends the power of the assembly” and which the assembly “receives through episcopal succession going back to the Apostles” (Encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia, 29). The Second Vatican Council teaches that “the ministerial priest, by the sacred power that he enjoys ... effects the Eucharistic Sacrifice in the person of Christ and offers it to God in the name of all the people” (Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, 10). The assembly of the faithful, united in faith and in the Spirit and enriched by a variety of gifts, even though it is the place where Christ “is present in his Church, especially in her liturgical celebrations (Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium, 7), is not by itself able to celebrate the Eucharist or to provide the ordained minister.

Quite rightly, then, the Christian people gives thanks to God for the gift of the Eucharist and the priesthood, while praying unceasingly that priests will never be lacking in the Church. The number of priests is never sufficient to meet the constantly increasing demands of evangelization and the pastoral care of the faithful. In some places of the world the shortage of priests is all the more urgently felt since today the number of priests is dwindling without sufficient replacements from the younger generation. In other places, thank God, we see a promising spring-time of vocations. There is also a growing awareness among the People of God of the need to pray and work actively to promote vocations to the priesthood and to the consecrated life.

5. Vocations are indeed a gift from God for which we must pray unceasingly. Following the invitation of Jesus, we need to pray the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest (cf. Mt 9:37). Prayer, enriched by the silent offering of suffering, remains the first and most effective means of pastoral work for vocations. To pray means to keep our gaze fixed on Christ, confident that from him, the one High Priest, and from his divine oblation, there will be an abundant growth, by the work of the Holy Spirit, of the seeds of those vocations needed in every age for the Church's life and mission.

Let us pause in the Upper Room and contemplate the Redeemer who instituted the Eucharist and the priesthood at the Last Supper. On that holy night he called by name each and every priest in every time. He looked at each one of them with the same look of loving encouragement with which he looked at Simon and Andrew, at James and John, at Nathanael beneath the fig tree, and at Matthew sitting at the tax office. Jesus has called us and, along a variety of paths, he continues to call many others to be his ministers.

From the Upper Room Christ tirelessly seeks and calls. Here we find the origin and the perennial source of an authentic pastoral promotion of priestly vocations. Let us consider ourselves, my brothers, the first ones responsible in this area, ready to help all those whom Christ wishes to associate to his priesthood to respond generously to his call.

First, however, and more than any other effort on behalf of vocations, our personal fidelity is indispensable. What counts is our personal commitment to Christ, our love for the Eucharist, our fervour in celebrating it, our devotion in adoring it and our zeal in offering it to our brothers and sisters, especially to the sick. Jesus the High Priest continues personally to call new workers for his vineyard, but he wishes from the first to count on our active cooperation. Priests in love with the Eucharist are capable of communicating to children and young people that “Eucharistic amazement” which I have sought to rekindle with my Encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia (cf. No. 6). Generally these are the priests who lead them to the path of the priesthood, as the history of our own vocations might easily show.

6. In the light of this, dear brother priests, I would ask you, among other initiatives, to show special care for altar servers, who represent a kind of “garden” of priestly vocations. The group of altar servers, under your guidance as part of the parish community, can be given a valuable experience of Christian education and become a kind of pre-seminary. Help the parish, as a family made up of families, to look upon the altar servers as their own children, like “olive shoots around the table” of Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life (cf. Ps. 127:3).

With the help of the families most involved and catechists, be particularly concerned for the group of servers so that, through their service at the altar, each of them will learn to grow in love for the Lord Jesus, to recognize him truly present in the Eucharist and to experience the beauty of the liturgy. Initiatives for altar servers on the diocesan or local level should be promoted and encouraged, with attention to the different age groups. During my years of episcopal ministry in Krakow I was able to see the great benefits which can accrue from a concern for their human, spiritual and liturgical training. When children and young people serve at the altar with joy and enthusiasm, they offer their peers an eloquent witness to the importance and beauty of the Eucharist. Thanks to their own lively imagination and the explanations and example given by priests and their older friends, even very young children can grow in faith and develop a love for spiritual realities.

Finally, never forget that you yourselves are the first “Apostles” of Jesus the High Priest. Your own witness counts more than anything else. Altar servers see you at the regular Sunday and weekday celebrations; in your hands they see the Eucharist “take place”, on your face they see its mystery reflected, and in your heart they sense the summons of a greater love. May you be for them fathers, teachers and witnesses of Eucharistic piety and holiness of life!

7. Dear brother priests, your particular mission in the Church requires that you be “friends” of Christ, constantly contemplating his face with docility at the school of Mary Most Holy. Pray unceasingly, as the Apostle exhorts (cf. 1Th 5:17), and encourage the faithful to pray for vocations, for the perseverance of those called to the priestly life and for the sanctification of all priests. Help your communities to love ever more fully that unique “gift and mystery” which is the ministerial priesthood.

In the prayerful setting of Holy Thursday, I would recall once again some invocations of the Litany of Jesus Christ Priest and Victim (cf. Gift and Mystery, pp.108-114), which I have recited for many years with great spiritual profit:

Iesu, Sacerdos et Victima,
Iesu, Sacerdos qui in novissima Cena formam sacrificii perennis instituisti,
Iesu, Pontifex ex hominibus assumpte,
Iesu, Pontifex pro hominibus constitute,
Iesus, Pontifex qui tradidisti temetipsum Deo oblationem et hostiam,
miserere nobis!
Ut pastores secundum cor tuum populo tuo providere digneris,
ut in messem tuam operarios fideles mittere digneris,
ut fideles mysteriorum tuorum dispensatores multiplicare digneris,
Te rogamus, audi nos!

8. I entrust each of you and your daily ministry to Mary, Mother of Priests. During the recitation of the Rosary, the fifth mystery of light leads us to contemplate with Mary's eyes the gift of the Eucharist, to marvel at the love that Jesus showed “to the end” (Jn 13:1) in the Upper Room, and at his humble presence in every tabernacle. May the Blessed Virgin obtain for you the grace never to take for granted the mystery put in your hands. With endless gratitude to the Lord for the amazing gift of his Body and Blood, may you persevere faithfully in your priestly ministry.

Mary, Mother of Christ our High Priest, pray that the Church will always have numerous and holy vocations, faithful and generous ministers of the altar!

Dear brother priests, I wish you and your communities a Holy Easter and to all of you I affectionately impart my blessing.

From the Vatican, on 28 March, the Fifth Sunday of Lent, in the year 2004, the twenty- sixth of my Pontificate.

Top

MEDITATING ON THE CROSS, POPE OPENS HOLY WEEK

Vatican, Apr. 05 (CWNews.com) - Pope John Paul II opened Holy Week at the Vatican by presiding at Mass in St. Peter's Square on Palm Sunday.

St. Peter's Square was filled with 30,000 pilgrims-- including many from abroad who plan to spend Holy Week in Rome, and many young people participating in the annual World Youth Day observances-- for the colorful ceremony, which began with the traditional Palm Sunday procession. Pope John Paul, in red vestments, blessed the palms and greeted the participants in the 19th World Youth Day.

After the long reading of the Passion narrative, the Holy Father offered a meditation on the meaning of the Cross, "the greatest and most eloquent sign of merciful love, the only sign of salvation for all the generation and for all humanity." In a message specifically addressed to the young people in attendance, the Pope spoke of the World Youth Day cross that he gave to the youth of the world 20 years ago. That cross, he remarked, "has become a luminous sign of the faith that inspires the young people of the third millennium."

While many of their contemporaries find that the message of the Cross "is not easy to understand," the Pope encouraged the young people to continue their efforts to evangelize, saying: "Do not be afraid to proclaim the Gospel of the Cross, in all circumstances." He added: "Do not be afraid to go against the trends!"

Top

Pope Exhorts the Young to Go "Against the Current"

April 5, 2004

VATICAN CITY, APRIL 5, 2004 (Zenit.org).- John Paul II made a Palm Sunday plea to youth to fearlessly go "against the current" in proclaiming the cross of Christ, the redeeming salvation for mankind.

Celebrates World Youth Day on Palm Sunday

Addressing some 30,000 pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square, the Pope began Holy Week by presiding over a long Eucharistic celebration. The occasion was also World Youth Day, celebrated this year at the diocesan level.

"Certainly the message that the cross communicates is not easy to understand in our time, in which material well-being and comfort are proposed and sought as priority values," the Holy Father said in a clear voice.

"But you, dear young people, do not be afraid to proclaim in every circumstance the Gospel of the cross. Do not be afraid to go against the current!" he exhorted.

Today's ceremony began with the procession of palms and olives on a sunny morning and continued with the full reading of the passion of Jesus.

The Pope dedicated his homily to explaining, especially to his young listeners, this central mystery of Christianity.

"Jesus died on the cross for each one of us," he said. "The cross is, therefore, the greatest and most eloquent sign of his merciful love, the only sign of salvation for every generation and for the whole of humanity."

The celebration also marked the 20 years since young people were entrusted with a cross in Rome -- the birth of World Youth Days.

"Since then, the cross has continued to go across numerous countries, in preparation for World Youth Days," the Pope said.

Last Thursday, in St. Peter's Square, John Paul II again entrusted to young people the World Youth Day cross he gave them 20 years ago.

Today, in Berlin, that cross was passed on to the thousands of youths who gathered at the Brandenburg Gate and who heard the Pope's words through a satellite hookup. The cross will be taken around Germany in preparation for the next international-level World Youth Day, in Cologne in August 2005.

"During its pilgrimage, it has gone across the continents," the Holy Father said of the cross. "Like a torch passed from hand to hand, it has been taken from country to country; it has become the luminous sign of the trust that animates the young generations of the third millennium."

At the end of the homily, the Holy Father repeated the message he gave 20 years ago: "To you I entrust the cross of Christ! Carry it in the world as the sign of the Lord Jesus' love for humanity, and proclaim to all that only in Christ, dead and risen, is there salvation and redemption."

Included in the Prayer of the Faithful was the intention for "the holy city of Jerusalem, that the Lord may grant her peace, lead Christians who live there to reconciliation, and make her a place of meeting and dialogue for believers in the one God."

Top

CBCP-ECPPC Affirms Option for Life

Some two thousand years ago, a man was sentenced to death and crucified on the cross. Two millennium years later, states and societies have not learned their lesson. They still impose the ultimate punishment on those whom they deem have violated their laws, despite the fact that some of those that they have sent to death are innocent, like JESUS, the man who died on the Cross.

Others, like Dismas and Hestas and those who followed after them, were guilty but their fate – whether on the cross, at the gallows, in the gas chamber, on the electric chair, lethal injection or through any contraption of society’s extreme cruelty to its erring members – failed to deter others from committing even the most heinous of crimes.

Indeed, then as now, the imposition of capital punishment is deemed by the State as the quickest, most efficient solution to its biggest penal-administration problem – disposing of a subject who has transgressed its laws.

The stance against the death penalty law is in no way a posture to let criminal offenders go scot-free. The Catholic Church believes in Justice and it is ranked high in its hierarchy of values. Those who have transgressed the laws of the land should be held answerable after a fair trial; otherwise, they become effective endorsers of crime and criminal actions, and strong parody for the ethical adage that “crime does not pay.”

The Church values all forms of life, especially human life. It is sacred. And only the Giver of life has the right to take it away. This is the premise for all the pro-life advocacies of the Church, more so for the abolition of the death penalty. The Church firmly believes in the capacity of the human being to transform and reform its behavior, especially with the help of society which, in the first place, has much to do in creating an environment for the commission of crime, intended or not.

On the occasion of the celebration of Pro-Life Week, we reiterate our conviction that the death penalty is not a deterrent and a solution to the worsening peace and order situation. We affirm that the death penalty is sinful murder. We enjoined all Christians to reflect and explore alternatives to mete out justice. Let us vigorously advocate a shift in the paradigm of justice: from litigation to mediation; prosecution to healing; punishment to reform and rehabilitation: from the retributive to the restorative. Let us put an end to the cycle of violence that has been upon us and affirm our commitment to uphold LIFE.

Top