The Good Catholic Life

**Today's host(s):** Scot Landry and Fr. Matt Williams**Today's guest(s):** Andreas Widmer, former Swiss Guard to Pope John Paul II and CEO of Seven Fund* [The Swiss Guard](http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/swiss_guard/index.htm)* [Seven Fund](http://www.sevenfund.org/)**Today's topics:** Pope John Paul's lessons for how to elevate our work into a vocation.**1st segment:** Fr. Matt joins the program via phone. He's on a planning retreat for his office. He spent the Triduum on the Hunger for Justice retreat for teens. Holy Week is the Super Bowl for priests. About 200 teens from the northern part of the archdiocese came together for the retreat on which they fasted for 30 hours. Their fasting was sponsored, each one raising about $250. They raised about $15,000 total for Japan earthquake relief. They started on the beach in Nahant with a theme that sin leaves us homeless because sin alienates us from the Lord, from each other, and ourselves. We are outside the loving embrace of the Lord. But the cross of Jesus welcomes us home. They had Good Friday service at St. Thomas Aquinas in Nahant, then went back to St. Mary in Lynn where they had a final meal for the fast.On Saturday they served the homeless in Boston. One man in a wheelchair told one of the girls how he sometimes finds himself sleeping in a garage in a sleeping bag. He had only a thin shirt under his jacket and the girl gave him her own sweatshirt she was wearing. It was raining all day, but they didn't have a rain contingency. The homeless get rained on whenever it rains, so the kids took part in solidarity with them. It helped them appreciate the blessing they have and what the homeless go through.Toward the end of today’s show, we will answer listener questions about the Holy Father’s Beatification. If you have a question, please email [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]), text or call us at 617-410-MASS.**2nd segment:** Andreas Widmer joins Scot and Fr. Matt. Andreas was on the show a few weeks ago and he shared how he became a Swiss Guard and his first encounter with Pope John Paul II. Andreas has since studied John Paul's life and has written a book, "The Pope & The CEO: Nine Lessons in Executive Leadership Learned by a Swiss Guard at the Feet John Paul II" (coming soon from Emmaus Road) on how to apply those lessons to his life. After the Swiss Guard, he entered the high-tech industry and went through the ups and downs of the tech boom. In the downs of life, you can sometimes find God more easily. In one of those downs, he started to think about those lessons of John Paul.Vocation is often talked about a religious vocation, but John Paul made sure to emphasize that vocation is whatever mission we are sent from God. 98% of Christians have a vocation outside of religious life. John Paul said you know that you're working well, you don't just make more, but you become more. Is my job helping me to become more? How do you approach your job? How do you see your job?How did John Paul teach someone to find their specific vocation? Andreas said John Paul would say that God is asking you what you are going to do with all the talents and opportunities He has given you? We present what we are going to do and then God will bless us and help us to excel in life and become a saint.Fr. Matt said Pope John Paul II wrote a letter to young people in 1985, [Dilecti Amici](http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_31031985_dilecti-amici_en.html). John Paul saw young people as the hope of the future. In the letter, he identified adolescence as a time of intense discovery where we ask what is our life's project. God has created us in a particular time and place for a purpose that we have to discover. In our culture, we are constantly surrounded by noise and distraction and it keeps the heart and soul from listening. That's why Eucharistic adoration is so powerful. When Fr. Matt was first thinking of a priestly vocation, his dad went to an Oblate priest and asked him about it. The priest asked if Fr. Matt prayed and if not then he didn't have a vocation.Andreas said the second chapter is prayer after the first chapter on vocation. The Church gives us many ways to pray. It is our particular way to have a loving relationship with the Lord. Be careful not to fall into the trap of going before the Lord and "putting in your order." It needs to be a two-way street. It's okay sometimes to just go and sit and listen. Some prayers can help you to calm the mind and then have a period of silence at the feet of Christ.**3rd segment:** Andreas observed John Paul's prayer in his time as a Swiss Guard. One of the key experiences was once during a rosary on Vatican radio with the Pope and about 50 other people. The pope was kneeling and Andreas was standing in front of him looking out at all the people. Andreas suddenly felt different, he had a peace that he hadn't felt before. Andreas thought, "Whatever this guy has, this peace and humanity, that's what I want." Many people would tell Andreas how they would find the Holy Father in his private chapel late at night, sitting with the Lord, often writing in a notebook. Or they would find him prostrate in front of the Eucharist for hours on end. He had a comfort and a sense of being at home in front of the Lord. We can do a physical action that brings our heart along with the body. Fr. Matt said the translator of John Paul's "Theology of the Body" once said that the Holy Father wrote that masterpiece at a desk that was in his chapel. The Holy Father's tremendous love of the Blessed Mother is worthy of emulation. Before he entered the seminary, John Paul was introduced to St. Louis de Montfort and the total consecration to Mary, the prefect disciple and model for being the best disciple we can be. Almost everything he wrote, he turned at the end to the Blessed Mother for her intercession and mediation. The rosary was one of his favorite prayers. When he was praying he felt his prayers. He valued intercessory prayer. When the Holy Father visited the Philippines in 1995, he had an occasion to pray the rosary with a group. As the rosary ended, he took another 30 minutes to pray by name for specific bishops around the world and their intentions.Andreas pointed out that the bishops and priests he prayed for were part of his work. Likewise, we can take that opportunity to pray for those we work with. We are sent from Mass to carry Christ with us to the world. When we go about our daily work, wherever it is, we can take the opportunity for prayer, to offer up our work to God. This is why John Paul is so inspiring, because he left us many ideas and ways to do this.Fr. Matt said our suffering is a kind of prayer, whether it's diseases or difficulties in life and in our work. The Holy Father helped us rediscover the value of redemptive suffering. The Holy Father himself suffered in the years after being shot in the early 80s. The pope's base state in life is prayer. He prayed, went to do his work, and then returned to prayer. The infusion of prayer in his life was n't forced, but an attitude that came naturally. Being a saint is what we're here for. Becoming a saint is a decision we make and continue to make as we stick to the plan. Holiness is a part of life. It's not about being gloomy or pietistic.Andreas said there was always so much laughter in the papal apartments. As a 20-year-old he was drawn to Pope John Paul because he wanted to be just like him.**4th segment:** Discussing the extraordinary virtues of Pope John Paul II and the Church's sense of his holiness. Scot said flowing from Pope John Paul's prayer was how he treated people he encountered. Andreas told us during his last appearance on the show about how Pope John Paul saw how Andreas was hurting inside when others didn't. When you perceive the world as God sees it, then you can see the basic human dignity of the person you encounter and you are present to them. Whenever you met Pope John Paul, you felt like he got out of bed that day just to meet you. He did that with everyone from presidents to the homeless. How he treated others then changed how everyone around him treated those people as well.Fr. Matt said grace builds on nature and John Paul's human nature was so great. He was a healthy and vigorous man who loved so greatly. His humanity was a bridge by which people could encounter Christ. John Paul saw every person as a unique, unrepeatable soul, a masterpiece crafted by the hand of God. In our culture we get caught up with appearances, with what we do, with our education, etc. That didn't matter to John Paul. And this why so many flocked to him from all over the world.Andreas said the model of someone who is beatified shouldn't someone who is on a pedestal above, but that being like him is easy. That's why John Paul made so many saints. We are all called to be saints and it is attainable for us. John Paul was a like a coach who tells us that we are made for greatness and he can't wait to see how far we will go. The coach is tough on you--"You can do better than that". The coach doesn't bend the truth for you in some false Kumbaya sense, dumbing it down for us. No, he says we can do better because we are made in the image and likeness of God.**5th segment:** It’s time to announce the winner of this week’s **WQOM Benefactor Raffle**. Our prize this week is the “Messengers of Faith Talking Jesus and Mary Doll Set – Donated by [BibleToys.com](http://www.BibleToys.com).” Children can learn more about Jesus and Mary as these dolls narrate their lives while children play with these 11" tall dolls. This week’s winner is **Jacqueline Bouzan from Abington, MA**. Congratulations to Jacqueline. If you would like to be eligible to win in an upcoming week, please visit [WQOM.org](http://www.WQOM.org). For a one-time $30 donation, you’ll receive the Station of the Cross benefactor card and key tag, making you eligible for our weekly raffle of books, DVDs, CDs and religious items. We’ll be announcing the winner each Wednesday during “The Good Catholic Life” program.**6th segment:** Andreas is going to Rome this week for the beatification of Pope John Paul this Sunday. It's a dream come true for him. Andreas was in Europe when John Paul died and was able to go the funeral, which was one of the most spiritually charged events of his life. It was an experience of the universality of the Church, with people from all over the world praying together in communion and receiving Communion. In other beatifications, people often had a devotion to the beati, but didn't personally know them. But in this case, no other person in the world may have been as exposed to the person of John Paul. Andreas said John Paul's spirit will be present as they celebrate John Paul as the vicar of Christ. It's going to be just as much about being with the people around him at the event as it is about the beatification itself.Fr. Matt said for those who can't be in Rome, keep in mind that it's Divine Mercy Sunday, also May 1 which is usually the Feast of St. Joseph and the beginning of the month of Mary. We can imitate the Holy Father by entering into the Divine Mercy mystery, which was a powerful message promoted by John Paul. St. Faustina was the first saint canonized in the new millennium. Enter into the spirit of the day by embracing Divine Mercy.Andreas said in Europe, May is also Labor Day, and John Paul was himself a laborer. He was a stonecutter in a quarry in his youth. So on Sunday, we can contemplate our work and see how we can elevate our work into a prayer and find a spiritual meaning in it.* [Divine Mercy](http://thedivinemercy.org/)Fr. Matt explained a little about the Divine Mercy devotion and St. Faustina. Jesus wanted us to embrace more deeply the mercy brought to us by the power of the cross. Even the worst sins can be blotted out by the mercy of God. God's mercy is infinite and anyone who turns to Jesus can experience this great mercy. The Divine Mercy chaplet is prayed on the rosary beads. It was the wish if Jesus in those Divine Mercy messages to St. Faustina that the Sunday after Easter would be the feast of Divine Mercy. Andreas pointed out that John Paul died right after celebrating the Divine Mercy Mass in 2005.

**Today's host(s):** Scot Landry and Fr. Chris O'Connor**Today's guest(s):** Dr. David Franks, vice-president of mission for the Theological Institute for the New Evangelization at the [Theological Institute for the New Evangelization](http://www.tine.org) at St. John's Seminary* [Pope Benedict's Homily for the Easter Vigil, April 23, 2011](http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/homilies/2011/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20110423_veglia-pasquale_en.html)* [Pope Benedict's "Urbi et Orbi" (the City and the World) message for Easter 2011](http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/messages/urbi/documents/hf_ben-xvi_mes_20110424_urbi-easter_en.html)* ["Pope contrasts Easter joy with suffering humanity," (Zenit)](http://www.zenit.org/article-32410?l=english)**Today's topics:** Pope Benedict's messages to the world on Easter; Pope John Paul II's influence**1st segment:** Scot welcomes back Fr. Chris. Recalling the celebration of the Triduum, Fr. Chris said many different people come to the liturgies of the Triduum from outside the seminary. Scot was on the Dan Rea show on WBZ Radio last Friday to talk about Catholics Come Home and answer caller questions about the Church.At the seminary on Holy Thursday, they traditionally select the men in their 3rd year for the foot washing. On Saturday night, they had transitional deacon Quang Lee sing the Exsultet. Scot said they hope to have the transitional deacons on the shows leading up to the ordination next week.Scot said in this show, they plan to talk about the Holy Father's messages on Easter, the major ideas and themes. The messages are for everyone, not just those gathered in St. Peter's Square.**2nd segment:** Scot and Fr. Chris welcome Dr. David Franks back to the show. Last Saturday, the Holy Father's homily follows--as in every Easter Vigil Mass in the world--the service of light, the Exsultet, and the readings of Salvation History. He begins:>The liturgical celebration of the Easter Vigil makes use of two eloquent signs. First there is the fire that becomes light. As the procession makes its way through the church, shrouded in the darkness of the night, the light of the Paschal Candle becomes a wave of lights, and it speaks to us of Christ as the true morning star that never sets – the Risen Lord in whom light has conquered darkness. The second sign is water. On the one hand, it recalls the waters of the Red Sea, decline and death, the mystery of the Cross. But now it is presented to us as spring water, a life-giving element amid the dryness. Thus it becomes the image of the sacrament of baptism, through which we become sharers in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.Fr. Chris said it is a beautiful opening and it captures this image of light. "Lumen Christi, Deo gratias", "The Light of Christ, thanks be to God." You see not just the Paschal candle, but the lights of hundreds of followers. And then the image of water to welcome into the faith, new believers, to have it happen because Christ's side was pierced for them and us. It's also an image of the Church being born. The Church is more than just stone and mortar, it's living human souls.David said fire and water is also a symbol of the Holy Spirit. Fire and water can be lifegiving, but they can also be dangerous in the natural world. But in Jesus Christ, what can be destructive toward human good are lifted up and used for the good of humanity. Scot said they are basic elements of creation and capture our imagination.Scot said his 9- and 7-year-olds were struck by the third reading of Pharaoh's chariots being drowned in the Red Sea and asked if God was being mean. David said St. Paul points out to the Romans, we aren't talking about the eternal destination of the Egyptians, but the plan of liberation God has set in place. If we work with God then it is to our benefit, but if we array ourself against God, we should realize that no force of darkness can overcome the power of God's love.Fr. Chris said that as soon as the Paschal candle is illuminated, it shatters all darkness. It reminds us that the smallest candle can overcome all darkness. All Christians are called to be salt and light in the world. The light of Christ shatters sin and darkness once and for all.>The Church wishes to offer us a panoramic view of the whole trajectory of salvation history, starting with creation, passing through the election and the liberation of Israel to the testimony of the prophets by which this entire history is directed ever more clearly towards Jesus Christ. In the liturgical tradition all these readings were called prophecies. Even when they are not directly foretelling future events, they have a prophetic character, they show us the inner foundation and orientation of history. They cause creation and history to become transparent to what is essential. In this way they take us by the hand and lead us towards Christ, they show us the true Light.Fr. Chris said God is afoot, He is present in our world now. He is still calling us and unveiling His mystery to us. This past week, the Holy Father said there are three things if we want to be holy: the 10 commandments, the Sunday Mass, and daily prayer. Those 3 things coupled with God's grace can lead us to the path to sanctity. This unfolding of God's love for us continues for us today.David said God is on the move. This is what gives our lives a sense of mysterious promise. There is something powerful and good that is coming. Anytime we pray, God is on the move transforming our lives.Scot said he loves that he said the Church offers us in this reading a panoramic view of salvation history. Jesus was the fulfillment of promises made over a period of thousands of years. Fr. Chris said we are all on a trajectory toward heaven. We need to remind ourselves what our final end is. Fr. Corapi said in a homily that if we had a natural end, then it would be enough to be good enough. But we have a supernatural end and we must be more.The Holy Father then says the Creation account is included because "The sweep of history established by God reaches back to the origins, back to creation." David said the other world views in our culture would have us believe we don't come from a loving God, but a result of randomness. Is it a matter of God's loving directed plan for our lives? That's the claim of the Church.Fr. Chris said in Christoph Schoenborn's book ["Loving the Church"](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0898706769/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=catholicnetrevie&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0898706769) where he refers to us as "creatures" which reminds us that we are God's creation. Ultimately, God does not need us, but He desires to share His love with us. There is one God who is worthy to be praised for the gift of life and creation. When you see a newborn child, you know there is nothing random about that at all.**3rd segment:** Continuing the Holy Father's homily. >The Sabbath is the seventh day of the week. After six days in which man in some sense participates in God’s work of creation, the Sabbath is the day of rest. But something quite unprecedented happened in the nascent Church: the place of the Sabbath, the seventh day, was taken by the first day. As the day of the liturgical assembly, it is the day for encounter with God through Jesus Christ who as the Risen Lord encountered his followers on the first day, Sunday, after they had found the tomb empty. The structure of the week is overturned. No longer does it point towards the seventh day, as the time to participate in God’s rest. It sets out from the first day as the day of encounter with the Risen Lord. This encounter happens afresh at every celebration of the Eucharist, when the Lord enters anew into the midst of his disciples and gives himself to them, allows himself, so to speak, to be touched by them, sits down at table with them. This change is utterly extraordinary, considering that the Sabbath, the seventh day seen as the day of encounter with God, is so profoundly rooted in the Old TestamentThe Holy Father is reminding us that because of what happened on Easter that Sunday becomes the central moment in our life as Christians. Every Sunday is a little Easter and we should be reminding ourselves that the centrality of our faith is rooted in Christ's death and resurrection.David said Pope Benedict is saying a radical shift should be noted here. There is nothing to account for such a radical change unless the resurrection is true. He's also saying that Christians don't exist on the same rhythm as the rest of the world. On the day of Christian rest, we don't lie down, but we get up to serve and love on another on a new level. Scot said we should be starting each week and each day in the presence of God. The wisdom of our Church is that we start the week this way and we should model our lives this way.Fr. Chris asked how we get out of bed in the morning and establish the rhythm of our day. And Sunday is the anchor for each person that establishes how we will live each week. When Pope Benedict talks about the centrality of the Sabbath becoming the first day, it shows the need to order our lives so that Sunday takes a priority for us. >We celebrate the definitive victory of the Creator and of his creation. We celebrate this day as the origin and the goal of our existence. We celebrate it because now, thanks to the risen Lord, it is definitively established that reason is stronger than unreason, truth stronger than lies, love stronger than death. We celebrate the first day because we know that the black line drawn across creation does not last for ever. We celebrate it because we know that those words from the end of the creation account have now been definitively fulfilled: “God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good” (Gen 1:31). Amen.Fr. Chris said Pope Benedict is reminding us that we have a lot to give and thanks and praise to the Lord for. We are sharing in the newness of life that only Easter can bring. If we die with Christ and live with Christ, we shall rise with Christ (St. Paul). David said the emphasis is on human suffering, that we remember that it is the Cross that Jesus has overcome. That "black line" has caused immense suffering the world. Pope Benedict said the suffering is real, but Jesus Christ has risen to today and everything is different. Scot said see how much good is brought out of love today because of Easter.**4th segment:** Now considering Pope Benedict's Urbi et Orbi message, delivered from the central window of St. Peter's Basilica overlooking St. Peter's Square. He does this once per year. Fr. Chris said it means "City and the World". It's a reminder that he is both Bishop of Rome, but also leader of the Catholic Church and speaking to every person of good will in the world. It's a powerful message. As soon as he finishes the Easter mass, he proclaims this message from the place where he was proclaimed as pope upon his election. He traditionally highlights his concerns and requests for prayer for the world. This location is only used for this purpose and for papal elections.>Right down to our own time – even in these days of advanced communications technology – the faith of Christians is based on that same news, on the testimony of those sisters and brothers who saw firstly the stone that had been rolled away from the empty tomb and then the mysterious messengers who testified that Jesus, the Crucified, was risen. And then Jesus himself, the Lord and Master, living and tangible, appeared to Mary Magdalene, to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, and finally to all eleven, gathered in the Upper Room (cf. Mk 16:9-14).Fr. Chris said we do rely on the testimony of others that Christ has died and rise, but just as important is the witness of the martyrdom of those who died for preaching the Risen Christ. David said it is important that the Good News is passed on from one witness to another so that we are all taking part in God's plan of salvation. It is part of the plan of salvation that Christians testify to it and that it passed on from person to another.Scot said he loves that the Holy Father brought in modern communications, that witnessing can take place using all technologies and methods both old and new. We share the Good News in every way we communicate with others. Fr. Chris said that bringing children to Church, living the faith and sharing it with children, is part of that. All the technology doesn't matter if people aren't willing to tell others about the message of Christ.>The resurrection of Christ is not the fruit of speculation or mystical experience: it is an event which, while it surpasses history, nevertheless happens at a precise moment in history and leaves an indelible mark upon it. The light which dazzled the guards keeping watch over Jesus’ tomb has traversed time and space. It is a different kind of light, a divine light, that has rent asunder the darkness of death and has brought to the world the splendour of God, the splendour of Truth and Goodness.David said that every time in our lives that something beautiful happens that is the light of Christ erupting into creation. That's what we want to communicate in a life of holiness. The more we love well, the more the light will enter the world.Fr. Chris said that because it is supernatural light, it permeates all darkness.Scot takes away from this the emphasis that this is a real historical event. Christ entered history, He really died, and He really rose from the dead.>“In your resurrection, O Christ, let heaven and earth rejoice.” To this summons to praise, which arises today from the heart of the Church, the “heavens” respond fully: the hosts of angels, saints and blessed souls join with one voice in our exultant song. In heaven all is peace and gladness. But alas, it is not so on earth! Here, in this world of ours, the Easter alleluia still contrasts with the cries and laments that arise from so many painful situations: deprivation, hunger, disease, war, violence. Yet it was for this that Christ died and rose again! He died on account of sin, including ours today, he rose for the redemption of history, including our own. So my message today is intended for everyone, and, as a prophetic proclamation, it is intended especially for peoples and communities who are undergoing a time of suffering, that the Risen Christ may open up for them the path of freedom, justice and peace.Fr. Chris said here you see the contrast of the pilgrim Church, that one day we will arrive at eternal life, but before we get there we still encounter suffering in the world. This is why Christ redeemed us, so that we could trust in the fact that one day all would be well.David said Christ explodes the depths of suffering from the inside. We think of the horrific victims today and in history when we consider the Victim on the Cross. It is the light of God and true love that will convert all things to life.Scot said the Holy Father mentions specific peoples in the Middle East and in Japan and others who are struggling. Regardless of what they're battling, Christi is their answer too, because he will lighten the load and carry the burden.Fr. Chris said faith takes on a context lived in the lives of people who are suffering. It's in our times of suffering and sadness that we go right to the Lord that He is our only hope in the midst of the human condition.>Dear brothers and sisters! The risen Christ is journeying ahead of us towards the new heavens and the new earth (cf. Rev 21:1), in which we shall all finally live as one family, as sons of the same Father. He is with us until the end of time. Let us walk behind him, in this wounded world, singing Alleluia. In our hearts there is joy and sorrow, on our faces there are smiles and tears. Such is our earthly reality. But Christ is risen, he is alive and he walks with us. For this reason we sing and we walk, faithfully carrying out our task in this world with our gaze fixed on heaven. Happy Easter to all of you!David said this is so moving because Pope Benedict is reaching into all of our lives to say that there isn't a pain there that Christ hasn't touched and hasn't given a new purchase on a life of Divine Love. This is why we need to tell everyone we meet that Jesus Christ is alive and that changes everything.Fr. Chris said there is also the idea of finishing the race and running it well. Christ is the trailblazer before us and we follow behind him on this path to the Father. The Cross is the ladder to the heavens. We can't get there on our own. We need the gift of Jesus' cross.Scot said he loves what it says that we carry out our lives, walk behind Jesus with our gazes fixed on heaven. It gives us something to think about at our next hour of adoration.**5th segment:** Now considering the influence of Pope John Paul on the lives of the hosts and guest.Scot said he's never met someone who would become Blessed. He met him twice up front. Scot pointed out that Pope John Paul is being beatified for his virtues and holiness, not his papacy.David said he was raised a Baptist in Arkansas, and it was the presence of John Paul in the world that partly drew him to the Church eventually. There was an intense holiness that drew him in. His first-born son is John Paul and his second son is Benedict. He asks for prayers for his wife and their third son who is to be born next week.Fr. Chris said he has Polish heritage and growing up in a Polish section of Dorchester, he saw the excitement and joy of the Polish people at his election. He met Pope John Paul along with his Aunt Judy and it was an awesome experience of being in the presence of someone holy and who believed and drew close to Christ Jesus. He was also struck by his love for the Blessed Mother. John Paul lost his own mother at an early age and she became a real mother for him. John Paul was responsible for the image of Mary that was put up on the wall of the Apostolic Palace overlooking St. Peter's Square.John Paul's press spokesman said his great virtue was being truly present for each person who came before him. Scot and his brother were privileged to go to Mass in the pope's chapel in the apostolic palace. They were able to ask him to pray for their great aunt who was dying and he stopped them to pray for her right at that moment. He was able to tell her that Holy Father had prayed for her by name.Fr. Chris said he was often struck at World Youth Days by the young people who felt like the Holy Father had looked at them personally. He drew people in to himself and pointed them to Christ.David's favorite works of John Paul is the Theology of Body because it was so revolutionary to the way we talk about the faith in the modern world in the context of the sexual revolution especially. Scot said the way the Theology of the Body was taught in the weekly audiences was a way to teach this because some officials did not want him to write a book about sex. Thus it was "written into the record" as it was.Fr. Chris said the seminarians today are generally those who were inspired by Pope John Paul II, especially from World Youth Days. He also helped to revolutionize how seminary formation takes place.

**Today's host(s):** Scot Landry **Today's guest(s):** Rocco Palmo of the [Whispers in the Loggia](http://whispersintheloggia.blogpost.com) blog.* [Vatican Blog Meeting on Twitter](http://twitter.com/#!/vbm_11)* [Rocco Palmo on Twitter](http://twitter.com/#!/roccopalmo)* [Pontifical Council for Social Communications](http://www.pccs.va)* [Pontifical Council for Culture](http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/cultr/)* [Information on the Vatican meeting for bloggers](http://www.pccs.va/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=381%3Ainformation-on-vatican-meeting-for-bloggers&catid=1%3Aultime&Itemid=50&lang=en)**Today's topics:** Catholic blogger and journalist Rocco Palmo on his blog, an upcoming Vatican meeting of bloggers, and his memories of Pope John Paul II.**1st segment:** Scot said he hopes everyone had a wonderful celebration of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter. It was a truly wonderful Triduum and a wonderfully bright Easter Day yesterday. One personal moment meant a lot to him. His 9-year old son and 7-year old daughter heard The Good Catholic Life last Wednesday when we discussed the beauty of the Easter Vigil. They asked him to go, saying they would take a nap if necessary to stay up late so they could see it for the first time. It was wonderful to share it with them!The Blog “Whispers in the Loggia” first was published in December of 2004 by Rocco Palmo, a then-recent graduate of the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Political Science. Whispers was partly a response to the aftermath of the Clergy Abuse Crisis as one way to shed light on the true nature of the Church, instead of what Catholics and non-Catholics were reading in the secular press. Soon it was picking up thousands, then tens-of-thousands of readers. Now millions of people have read this blog about the life of the Catholic Church. On today’s show, we’ll discuss this Blog, the upcoming Vatican conference for Bloggers, which happens a week from today, and as he prepares to travel to Rome for the Beatification of Pope John Paul II, we’ll discuss with Rocco the impact Pope John Paul II had on him and his views on his lasting impact in the Church and the world. Scot welcomes Rocco Palmo. Scot asked him about the number of readers on the blog. He's had a total of about 17 million readers over the past 7 years. He gets 5 to 6 million per year now.Who reads the blog? There are a lot of laypeople, priests, and even some bishops. He gets emails from secular journalists as well. He runs on a shoestring budget, but he won't go to subscription because he doesn't want to put up barriers to people just coming to the site. He also doesn't take ads. He said the Church in the US is polarized and any advertiser would be difficult to reach all. He prefer the purity of the content. He also likes that donations give readers the opportunity to contribute and show their appreciation.That bishops and priests read his blog is significant. Growing up in Philadelphia, he had a reverence for bishops, priests, and religious, for the wrk of lifelong commitment they made. That he can give something back to them is very humbling.Scot first began a fan in late 2005. He felt that it was a good aggregation of all current news about the Church. Scot knows many pastors who feel the same way. Rocco said he's had a great formation in the Church and he's also had a great formation in the media from his father who's worked for a Philadelphia newspaper for 30 years. He wants to cover the news that isn't just the most sensational.In 2004, after graduation, he started the blog. Scot asked Rocco why he decided to start this. Rocco said he studied Vatican politics in college and found people were fascinated by the Church. He found people were responsive when he explained how the Church really works behind the scenes. The blog started as a catharsis for himself and friends. At the time, he saw little creativity in Church communications at the time. It started with 3 friends and it grew by word of mouth.The first time he knew it was getting bigger was about six months later, after the death of Pope John Paul II and the election of Pope Benedict. When he published a rumor that Cardinal Levada was going to be named Prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, people saw he got it right and he got lots of attention from it.He's known for speculating on the appointment of bishops, but there's not a lot of appointments out there right now. So he spends his time on more "fun" stuff.Scot asked why insiders share information with Rocco. First, he said it's important to figure out why someone is sharing that information, especially if they are having an axe to grind against someone else. Early on, he heard from people who were in a minority in Church leadership, were frustrated that the Church was too conservative with its communications. Now he's seeing more people who are more tech-savvy and he's seeing the Church becoming more media savvy.He's found that where he used to be able to sit on a story for eight or ten hours in the past, now the turnaround has to be quicker and quicker.**2nd segment:** When Rocco was 8 years old he had a significant encounter with Cardinal Bevilacqua in Philadelphia. He was fascinated when the Cardinal was elevated to the office in a consistory and he had many questions about the Church that no one could answer. So he went to a Mass with the cardinal and got to meet him. For over a decade, the cardinal became a mentor and a second father in his life. He always said yes to Rocco and to anybody he met. He would maintain relationships with people he would encounter randomly in life.Scot said people must ask Rocco all the time about whether he has a vocation to the priesthood, but he has discerned he does not now. Rocco said there is something unique that laypeople can bring to speaking publicly about the Church. 10 years after he met Cardinal Bevilacqua, he got to meet Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver. It was an ecclesial culture shock in Denver, so different from his experience in Philadelphia. He saw thousands of kids at a youth event on fire for their faith, and he'd never seen anything like it. He'd spent most of his formative time around people much older than him. He realized that he couldn't be who he is as a priest.Scot asked Rocco how the blog has helped him grow. Rocco said it's shown him how much growth he still needs. He came to it as a cocky college kid and now knows how much has to learn. He realizes he doesn't have all the answers. He feels God's presence in many of the stories that come his way and the people he encounters. He's got a sense of horizontal communion in the Church, which hasn't always been the case everywhere in the Church.What are his favorite blog posts? None of them have anything to do with the appointments of bishops. In August 2007, he wrote about a Philadelphia man named [Danny Parrillo](http://whispersintheloggia.blogspot.com/2007/08/story-of-soul.html), a Catholic school teacher and a friend of his. At the age of 55, he told Rocco that he felt a calling to the priesthood. He entered seminary in the Diocese of Camden, and in his second year at the seminary he died in a car accident. Rocco felt that if there was a story he was born to write, this was it. He got 5,000 responses to that post. There were 5 bishops at the funeral and 2,000 total people.**3rd segment:** The Vatican is gathering 150 Catholic bloggers from around the world next Monday, May 2, the day after the beatification of Pope John Paul II. Rocco said as much as the Catholic blogosphere reflects the totality of the Church's life, Rome wants to have a long view of the Church, but also to bring everyone together. It is also a listening exercise and they are coming at it with very good faith. It's an acknowledgement that they need to listen and learn how this works, and to work with those who are doing it.Pope Benedict on each World Communication Day has talked about the power of new media and has reached out to young people to use it to evangelize the "digital continent." One of the primary means going forward for evangelization will be people sharing their faith through their networks. Rocco said the rise of the Internet has changed everything and traditional media in general is struggling. We have a much more segmented audience: reaching out to the wider, but also energizing the base of the Church. It's not just blogs, but also Facebook and Twitter and smartphone apps. It reaches out to connect to people where they are. For an institution used to speaking with one message, this is a pioneering step. Rocco said that while 150 slots were available, the Holy See got 800 requests to attend. These are people who had a shot at being in Rome for the beatification. He was impressed that there are people representing six language groups going to be present. Everyone will learn a lot from each other; the bloggers from the Holy See; and the Holy See from the bloggers. There are now 20 blogging bishops in the US. He hopes to say to the two councils putting on the conference, "Let us help you." Much Church communications today works as if they have all the answers. But they often don't understand the digital continent. **4th segment:** Rocco will be present at the beatification of Pope John Paul II on Sunday. It will be beyond emotional for him to be present for the event. For so many young people, he was a father to us and a great model of fearlessness and of following Christ. He's seen John Paul II four times. The first time was at Giant Stadium in 1995. There were 90,000 people getting soaked in a torrential downpour and no one wanted to be anywhere else. Threats had been made on the Pope's life, but he refused to be carried in an armored car to the altar.Another favorite story, in 1985, in Los Angeles, when Tony Melendez, who was born without legs, played guitar for him at a public event, the Pope jumped from the stage and ran to embrace him. One of his great gifts to the Church in the US was an evangelical boldness, a fearlessness and confidence. He showed the way to bring everyone to the heart of Christ by going out to them.From Rome, he will be blogging whatever happens and in Rome with two million pilgrims, anything can happen.

**Today's host(s):** Scot Landry and Susan Abbott**Today's guest(s):** Fr. Roger Landry, executive editor of The Anchor, the official newspaper of the Fall River diocese; and Gregory Tracy, managing editor of The Pilot, the official newspaper of the Boston archdiocese* [The Pilot](http://www.pilotcatholicnews.com)* [The Anchor](http://www.anchornews.com)* ["Entering the Kingdom," Fr. Roger Landry, Editorial in The Anchor (April 22, 2011)](http://catholicpreaching.com/index.php?content=articles&articles=20110422anchor)* ["Following Jesus' Example," Fr. Roger Landry, Homily for Holy Thursday (March 28, 2002)](http://catholicpreaching.com/index.php?content=homilies&homilies=20020328)* ["Our Crucifed, Eucharistic Lord," Fr. Roger Landry, Homily for Good Friday (March 25, 2005)](http://catholicpreaching.com/index.php?content=homilies&homilies=20050325)* ["Meditation Notes for the Seven Last Words," Fr. Roger Landry, Priestly Day of Recollection (April 14, 2003)](http://catholicpreaching.com/index.php?content=homilies&homilies=20030414)**Today's topics:** The Liturgies of Holy Thursday and Good Friday**A summary of today's show:** The Mass of the Lord's Supper and Celebration of the Passion provide Scot, Susan, Fr. Roger Landry, and Gregory Tracy with fodder for a spiritually fruitful discussion of Holy Thursday and Good Friday.**1st segment:** We are at Holy Thursday. On today’s show, since we are in the height of our liturgical year, we won’t discuss the news as we do on most Thursdays, but we will discuss the great liturgies of the “Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper” tonight and also the “Celebration of the Lord’s Passion” tomorrow on Good Friday. We are discussing both liturgies today since tomorrow WQOM will cover the Good Friday liturgy directly from Hanceville, AL during this hour.Scot asked Susan what experiencing the Triduum means to her? She said Holy Thursday is her favorite day of the year because of the Eucharist. She has been blessed this Lent with the [Magnificat](http://www.magnificat.com/) and the Holy Father's book, ["Jesus of Nazareth: Holy WeeK"](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1586175009/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=catholicnetrevie&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=158617500) and the [Stations of the Cross](http://www.penitents.org/Ratzstations.html) that he wrote as Cardinal Ratzinger. She shared a haiku sent to her by a friend: "He knew He must leave/So he found a way to stay/The Holy Eucharist".**2nd segment:** Scot said on Holy Thursday that there is no daily Mass today on the Church's calendar, but there is only the evening Mass of the Lord's Supper. Fr. Roger said while every Mass brings us to the upper room, on Holy Thursday it brings us in a significant way to that time and place. The liturgy tonight also doesn't end tonight, but continues through the Good Friday liturgy and finally ends with the Easter Vigil. As a priest, it is the anniversary of all priests because Christ instituted the priesthood at the Last Supper. The Mass brings him back to the reasons he became a priest.* [Instructions from the Roman Missal on Holy Thursday Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper](http://www.catholicliturgy.com/index.cfm/FuseAction/documentText/Index/2/SubIndex/38/ContentIndex/324/Start/319)*[Gospel (John 13:1-5)](http://www.usccb.org/nab/042111a.shtml#gospel)*Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had cometo pass from this world to the Father.He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end.The devil had already induced Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, to hand him over.So, during supper, fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power and that he had come from God and was returning to God, he rose from supper and took off his outer garments.He took a towel and tied it around his waist.Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel around his waist.He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Master, are you going to wash my feet?”Jesus answered and said to him,“What I am doing, you do not understand now,but you will understand later.”Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.”Jesus answered him, “Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me.”Simon Peter said to him, “Master, then not only my feet, but my hands and head as well.”Jesus said to him, “Whoever has bathed has no need except to have his feet washed, for he is clean all over; so you are clean, but not all.”For he knew who would betray him;for this reason, he said, “Not all of you are clean.”So when he had washed their feet and put his garments back on and reclined at table again, he said to them, “Do you realize what I have done for you?You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am.If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet.I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.”Scot said during the Mass, the celebrant washes the feet of people who are present imitating Christ washing the feet of the apostles. Gregory said to him it signifies the priest taking the role of a servant. As Cardinal Sean said inthe Chrism Mass, we sometimes forget this role of the priest as the servant. They are taking the last place as Jesus took the last place.Scot said the Holy Father talked about the washing of the feet in his book. He said Jesus washes the feet because baptism cleanses the rest of the person in preparation for the wedding feast of the Lamb. Susan said Jesus frequently says that we must love one another, but here He is emphasizing that we must match love with our actions. We must love not just as an emotion, but to love one another as He loves us.In the Pope's book, he focuses on how, unlike Adam who grasped at divinity, Christ did not grasp at His divinity, taking the form of a servant. The Lord came down from heaven precisely to die on the cross. This act symbolizes His whole ministry, to cleanse us and to serve us. He takes a pssage from a passage from the Book of Revelations in which the redeemed have their robes washed and made white by the blood of the Lamb. Fr. Roger said he hadn't seen it as a sacrament of the whole of Christ's life, as the Pope says. We ourselves are cleansed through the full depth of his love. It helps us to understand just how Christ loved us all the way to the end.Scot said this begins Christ's hour, his time. Why is this the beginning? Fr. Roger said that St. John uses two notions of time. One is seconds and minutes, but the other is a description of a significant moment or occasion. When this is his time, it is the occasion of the highlight of Christ's life. This hour starts here and ends at the Cross. Christ's hour is our hour too to enter into and live in our whole lifetime.Gregory said that when Jesus talks about being the master who was the feet, it shows him that he doesn't have the ability to love one another as Christ loves us on his own ability and merit, but only through the love of Christ can he have the strength to take this last place.Susan said in her parish,whose church can hold 700 people, will be filled to capacity. She said it is very touching to her to see her own pastor wash the feet of the people.How does Fr. Roger choose the people to wash their feet and what's the experience of doing it? He said pastors have a lot of latitude for how they do it. He said the most experiencing is washing the feet of prisoners in jail on retreats. The ceremony is supposed to be the commemoration of Christ calling the apostles, not just any disciples, so he always choose male altar servers so that it might be an occasion for them to hear a potential call to the priesthood. The Church says that it should be men to symbolize the apostles and the priesthood.At first a lot of people reject the request to take part, but the Gospel itself talks about how Peter resisted. When he brings it up, people often reconsider in the example of St. Peter. People are often embarrassed and shy and don't think they're worthy to be called out in front of other, but it's the example of how we are not worthy, but made worthy by Christ.This Mass doesn't end with a final blessing, but the Eucharist is processed to a chapel or other place of reservation where people can stay and pray with Christ as if accompanying Him into the Garden of the Agony. Gregory said it's a beautiful opportunity to continue the Triduum in a moment to be with the Lord, before He is taken from us on Good Friday.Susan said in her parish they sing Night Prayer at 10pm and the church stays open until Midnight. Fr. Roger encourages his parishioners to stay in some prayer with the Lord. He usually has about 30 people who stay with him through midnight and groups from about 30 parishes visit while taking part in the devotion of the seven altars. Fr. Roger said Pope Benedict this focused on the importance of the adoration after the liturgy. In His prayer in the garden, Christ teaches us not to be afraid of death or suffering, but to say yes to the will of God.Scot said what stands out for him is how the apostles fell asleep despite being asked by Christ to pray with him. Fr. Roger said that while there's a physical sleepiness--although it's hard to fall asleep while on your knees--but there's also a spiritual sleepiness, an insensitivity to evil in the world as well as the good the Lord calls us to. We push it aside, but Lent is meant to help us wake up to the full reality of God's love.**3rd segment:** Now moving to talk about the Good Friday liturgy, the Celebration of the Lord's Passion, a continuation of the Triduum. The Mass readings come from the Gospel of John. Fr Roger said the Church uses John every Good Friday and rotates among the other three Gospels on Palm Sunday. Matthew, Mark, and Luke share many of the same details, but John also strikes deeper into the mystery. It includes that dialogue with Pontius Pilate, which includes Pilate's skeptical "What is truth?" On Good Friday, we discover anew that Truth has a name, Jesus Christ.* [Instructions from the Roman Missal on Good Friday Celebration of the Lord's Passion](http://www.catholicliturgy.com/index.cfm/FuseAction/documentText/Index/2/SubIndex/38/ContentIndex/325/Start/319)Susan said the dialogue between Pilate and Jesus is startling. She said Pope Benedict in his stations of the cross says that Pilate is not entirely evil, because he looks for a way to release the innocent man, but lets his concern for his station and what others think steer his ultimate action. We can ask ourselves what we would do if we were there as a fruitful meditation.Gregory said as a parent that it's important to explain to the children the significance of the event and break down the story for them and help them understand the meaning of Jesus' death and the ultimate victory over death. It's not a sad ending, it's just the middle of the story, so they can look forward to Easter.He said that he's struck by on Palm Sunday, we as the congregation are the ones who shout out "Crucify him!" Where would we be in that crowd if we were there?Jesus gives His last homily from the cross. Fr. Roger said we are told to put on the mind of Christ and in this hour, these 7 last words show us how He really enters into our humanity. He prays for us, asking the Father to forgive us because we don't really know who Jesus is.Then He prayed for a sinner in particular, the Good Thief. He was the one lost sheep Christ went to find.His 3rd word was to give Mary to John and through him to all of us.His 4th word shows his anguish, with the Psalm in which He calls out to God as he is forsaken, but the Psalm ends hopeful.His 5th word shows how He thirst for us.His 6th word says it is finished, His mission is accomplished. His 7th word, He prays to the Father in heaven. He entrusted everything to the Father.They help us enter into His mind and His heart.*[Gospel (John 18:1-19:42)](http://www.usccb.org/nab/042211.shtml#gospel)*Jesus went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley to where there was a garden, into which he and his disciples entered.Judas his betrayer also knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples.So Judas got a band of soldiers and guards from the chief priests and the Pharisees and went there with lanterns, torches, and weapons.Jesus, knowing everything that was going to happen to him, went out and said to them, “Whom are you looking for?”They answered him, “Jesus the Nazorean.”He said to them, “I AM.”Judas his betrayer was also with them.When he said to them, “I AM, “ they turned away and fell to the ground.So he again asked them,“Whom are you looking for?”They said, “Jesus the Nazorean.”Jesus answered,“I told you that I AM.So if you are looking for me, let these men go.”This was to fulfill what he had said, “I have not lost any of those you gave me.”Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear.The slave’s name was Malchus.Jesus said to Peter,“Put your sword into its scabbard.Shall I not drink the cup that the Father gave me?”So the band of soldiers, the tribune, and the Jewish guards seized Jesus,bound him, and brought him to Annas first.He was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year.It was Caiaphas who had counseled the Jews that it was better that one man should die rather than the people.Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus.Now the other disciple was known to the high priest, and he entered the courtyard of the high priest with Jesus.But Peter stood at the gate outside.So the other disciple, the acquaintance of the high priest, went out and spoke to the gatekeeper and brought Peter in.Then the maid who was the gatekeeper said to Peter, “You are not one of this man’s disciples, are you?”He said, “I am not.”Now the slaves and the guards were standing around a charcoal firethat they had made, because it was cold,and were warming themselves.Peter was also standing there keeping warm.The high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and about his doctrine.Jesus answered him,“I have spoken publicly to the world.I have always taught in a synagogue or in the temple area where all the Jews gather, and in secret I have said nothing. Why ask me?Ask those who heard me what I said to them.They know what I said.”When he had said this, one of the temple guards standing there struck Jesus and said, “Is this the way you answer the high priest?”Jesus answered him,“If I have spoken wrongly, testify to the wrong; but if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?”Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.Now Simon Peter was standing there keeping warm.And they said to him,“You are not one of his disciples, are you?”He denied it and said,“I am not.”One of the slaves of the high priest, a relative of the one whose ear Peter had cut off, said, “Didn’t I see you in the garden with him?”Again Peter denied it.And immediately the cock crowed.Then they brought Jesus from Caiaphas to the praetorium.It was morning.And they themselves did not enter the praetorium, in order not to be defiled so that they could eat the Passover.So Pilate came out to them and said, “What charge do you bring against this man?”They answered and said to him,“If he were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you.”At this, Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves, and judge him according to your law.”The Jews answered him, “We do not have the right to execute anyone, “ in order that the word of Jesus might be fulfilledthat he said indicating the kind of death he would die.So Pilate went back into the praetorium and summoned Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?”Jesus answered,“Do you say this on your own or have others told you about me?”Pilate answered,“I am not a Jew, am I?Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me.What have you done?”Jesus answered,“My kingdom does not belong to this world.If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews.But as it is, my kingdom is not here.”So Pilate said to him,“Then you are a king?”Jesus answered,“You say I am a king.For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth.Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”When he had said this,he again went out to the Jews and said to them,“I find no guilt in him.But you have a custom that I release one prisoner to you at Passover.Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”They cried out again,“Not this one but Barabbas!”Now Barabbas was a revolutionary.Then Pilate took Jesus and had him scourged.And the soldiers wove a crown out of thorns and placed it on his head, and clothed him in a purple cloak, and they came to him and said,“Hail, King of the Jews!”And they struck him repeatedly.Once more Pilate went out and said to them, “Look, I am bringing him out to you, so that you may know that I find no guilt in him.”So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple cloak.And he said to them, “Behold, the man!”When the chief priests and the guards saw him they cried out, “Crucify him, crucify him!”Pilate said to them,“Take him yourselves and crucify him.I find no guilt in him.”The Jews answered, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.”Now when Pilate heard this statement,he became even more afraid, and went back into the praetorium and said to Jesus, “Where are you from?”Jesus did not answer him.So Pilate said to him,“Do you not speak to me?Do you not know that I have power to release you and I have power to crucify you?”Jesus answered him,“You would have no power over me if it had not been given to you from above.For this reason the one who handed me over to youhas the greater sin.”Consequently, Pilate tried to release him; but the Jews cried out, “If you release him, you are not a Friend of Caesar.Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.”When Pilate heard these words he brought Jesus out and seated him on the judge’s bench in the place called Stone Pavement, in Hebrew, Gabbatha.It was preparation day for Passover, and it was about noon.And he said to the Jews,“Behold, your king!”They cried out,“Take him away, take him away! Crucify him!”Pilate said to them,“Shall I crucify your king?”The chief priests answered,“We have no king but Caesar.”Then he handed him over to them to be crucified.So they took Jesus, and, carrying the cross himself, he went out to what is called the Place of the Skull, in Hebrew, Golgotha.There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus in the middle.Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross.It read,“Jesus the Nazorean, the King of the Jews.”Now many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek.So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’but that he said, ‘I am the King of the Jews’.”Pilate answered,“What I have written, I have written.”When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four shares, a share for each soldier.They also took his tunic, but the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top down.So they said to one another, “Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it will be, “ in order that the passage of Scripture might be fulfilled that says:They divided my garments among them,and for my vesture they cast lots.This is what the soldiers did.Standing by the cross of Jesus were his motherand his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas,and Mary of Magdala.When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he lovedhe said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.”Then he said to the disciple,“Behold, your mother.”And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.After this, aware that everything was now finished, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I thirst.”There was a vessel filled with common wine.So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop and put it up to his mouth.When Jesus had taken the wine, he said,“It is finished.”And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.Here all kneel and pause for a short time.Now since it was preparation day,in order that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath,for the sabbath day of that week was a solemn one, the Jews asked Pilate that their legs be broken and that they be taken down.So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus.But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs, but one soldier thrust his lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out.An eyewitness has testified, and his testimony is true; he knows that he is speaking the truth, so that you also may come to believe.For this happened so that the Scripture passage might be fulfilled:Not a bone of it will be broken.And again another passage says:They will look upon him whom they have pierced.After this, Joseph of Arimathea, secretly a disciple of Jesus for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate if he could remove the body of Jesus.And Pilate permitted it.So he came and took his body.Nicodemus, the one who had first come to him at night, also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes weighing about one hundred pounds.They took the body of Jesus and bound it with burial cloths along with the spices, according to the Jewish burial custom.Now in the place where he had been crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had yet been buried.So they laid Jesus there because of the Jewish preparation day; for the tomb was close by.**4th segment:** One of the powerful elements of the Good Friday liturgy is the veneration of the cross. When Scot attended at St. Paul in Cambridge, he remembers waiting in line, singing, "This is the wood of the cross on which hung the Savior of the world. Come let us worship" Susan said as the celebrant processes forward with the cross, singing with response. She notes that it is not just a piece of wood. It is a crucifix, wood on which hangs the corpus of Christ. Scot said it makes it personal to go forward and kiss the cross.Gregory said as he waits his turn to venerate, he considers what are his crosses in life and how he could love the way he should. Scot said he thinks about his sins that added to the burden of Christ's cross.Fr. Roger said the Church recommends we genuflect before the crucifix. We usually only genuflect before the Eucharist, except on Good Friday. Many people take off their shoes, like Moses took off his sandals before the burning bush. On a spiritual level, he encourages people to think of the unbelievable pain Christ would have endured on that weapon. But the cross is not so much a sign of pain, but is a sign of love. It is the greatest sign of love, more than Cupid or a wedding ring. The cross is the sign by which we first receive the Lord's love for us in baptism. He encourages people to come slowly, not in a rush. To venerate with love, with the same devotion Mary would have had when she received her Son's body from the cross.Scot said the intercessory prayers are quite powerful. At St. Paul's, Cambridge, they sang these prayers that ask for special grace for the Church, the Pope, the Clergy and Laity, those preparing for Baptism, for Unity of Christians, for the Jewish People, for those that don’t believe in Christ, for those that don’t believe in God, for those in public office, and for those in special need. Especially the prayer for Jewish people is poignant because we recognize they are our elder brothers in faith and that Jesus and Mary and apostles were themselves Jewish. Susan recalled that the prayer for the Jews changed in recent years to make clear that the Church is not anti-Semitic. As in John's Gospel, it is not just the Jews who crucified Christ, but as we all cry out, Crucify Him!, it is we who crucify Him.In the prayer for unbelievers, the prayer says that sometimes people don't believe because of the way that believers act.* [The Good Friday Celebration of the Passion, including the intercessory prayers](http://www.oremus.org/liturgy/lhwe/gf.html)

**Today's host(s):** Scot Landry and Fr. Matt Williams**Today's guest(s):** Father Jonathan Gaspar, the Co-Director of the Office of Worship & Spiritual Life and the Priest Secretary to Cardinal Seán O’Malley**Today's topics:** The Liturgy of the Easter Vigil in the Holy Night Of Easter**A summary of today's show:** Scot, Fr. Matt, and Fr. Jonathan Gaspar go through the prayers and readings of the Easter Vigil to see how the entire Christian faith and salvation history is encapsulated in this liturgy, the high point of the whole liturgical year.**1st segment:** We are now several days into Holy Week. Today is the last day of Lent. We begin the Sacred Triduum tomorrow of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday. Tomorrow on The Good Catholic Life we will discuss the liturgies of Holy Thursday and Good Friday. Today we will discuss the most powerful liturgy in the Church’s calendar, in Scot's opinion, the Easter Vigil.Fr. Matt said he is excited about the week. Thursday he will be concelebrating at St. Joseph, Holbrook. On Friday and Saturday, he will be at the Hunger for Justice retreat as discussed last week on The Good Catholic Life.Scot welcomes Fr. Jonathan. Both of his jobs are very busy this week. What's it like to be Cardinal Sean's priest-secretary during Holy Week? He said it's not unlike the parish priests who labor from morning to night during Holy Week with the extra liturgies. He invites everyone to come to the cathedral to celebrate with Cardinal Sean. All of the broadcasts can be watched this week on CatholicTV or at CatholicTV.com.Fr. Jonathan said Easter Vigil is the basis of the Church's liturgical year. It is the most exalted of liturgies. It goes back to the earliest centuries of the Church. 4th century Christian writers wrote about gathering in the evening to prepare for the Resurrection and it would last all night long until sunrise. Scot said you can learn most of the essentials of our Catholic faith during the Easter vigil.* [The Easter Vigil liturgy](http://www.liturgy.co.nz/churchyear/vigil.html)The liturgy starts after nightfall and starts in a way unlike any other. Fr. Matt said it starts at dusk outdoors with the lighting of the holy fire, blessing and consecrating it. The significance is that Jesus Christ is the light of the world. The church inside is dark as well. It shows us that without Jesus, everything is dark, and the Light of the world scatters the darkness of sin. The Easter candle is lit from that candle and all the candles held by the parishioners are it from that candle. The priest recites a prayer of Christ as the Alpha and Omega and then the Easter candle is blessed. Traditionally it was the celebrant who decorated the candle. At the cathedral, the cardinal still traces the year in four quadrants of a cross and the Greek letters for Alpha and Omega into the candle with a stylus and then five stakes of incense are placed into the candle to symbolize the wounds of Christ. The candle symbolizes the Risen Christ. When Christ is raised from the dead, He still carries within His body the wounds of the sacrifice. >Christ yesterday and today (tracing the vertical arm of the cross) the beginning and the end (the horizontal arm) Alpha and Omega (these letters, above and below the cross) All time (the first numeral, in the upper left corner of the cross) and all ages belong to Christ (the second numeral in the upper right corner) to whom be glory and sovereignty (the third numeral in the lower left corner) through every age for ever. Amen. (the last numeral in the lower right corner).Fr. Matt said the incense shows that the Lord's self-sacrifice is a fragrant offering to the Father.Fr. Jonathan said the one candle lights all the tapers to fill the church with a holy glow, from darkness into the Light of Christ. We receive the light of cross and pass it on. Then there is the singing of the Easter proclamation.* [The Exsultet: A detailed look by Dom Jerome Gassner, OSB](http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?id=6341)>Rejoice, heavenly powers! Sing choirs of angels! Exult, all creation around God's throne! Jesus Christ, our King is risen! Sound the trumpet of salvation! >Rejoice, O earth, in shining splendor, radiant in the brightness of your King! Christ has conquered! Glory fills you! Darkness vanishes for ever! >Rejoice, O Mother Church! Exult in glory! The risen Savior shines upon you! Let this place resound with joy, echoing the mighty song of all God's people! In the first part of the Easter proclamation is a call for everyone to rejoice, all the earth and all of heaven to join in this hymn of joy at the Resurrection of Christ. Scot said it connects us with heaven. This is an order in which it is sung.Fr. Matt said the backdrop is that it comes just after Good Friday. After the devastation of Good Friday and emptiness of Holy Saturday, it is very dramatic and powerful. Fr. Jonathan said in the Extraordinary Form of the older liturgy, all the priests were still in the purple of Lent although the deacon singing this would be in white to symbolize Easter.Scot recalls the line that Christ has conquered in a new way, unlike any other conqueror.>My dearest friends, standing with me in this holy light, join me in asking God for mercy, that he may give his unworthy minister grace to sing his Easter praises.>>The Lord be with you.>And also with you.>Lift up your hearts.>We lift them up to the Lord.>Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.>It is right to give him thanks and praise.>>It is truly right that with full hearts and minds and voices we should praise the unseen God, the all-powerful Father, and his only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. For Christ has ransomed us with his blood, and paid for us the price of Adam's sin to our eternal Father! >This is our passover feast, When Christ, the true Lamb, is slain, whose blood consecrates the homes of all believers. >This is the night, when first you saved our fathers: you freed the people of Israel from their slav'ry, and led them dry-shod through the sea. >This is the night, when the pillar of fire destroyed the darkness of sin. >This is the night, when Christians ev'rywhere, washed clean of sin and freed from all defilement, are restored to grace and grow together in holiness. >This is the night, when Jesus broke the chains of death and rose triumphant from the grave. >What good would life have been to us, had Christ not come as our Redeemer?Scot said never until he had heard the Exulstet did Scot believe that God had brought good even out of the evil of Original Sin. Fr. Jonathan noted the beautiful images of Christ as the Passover lamb, connecting us to the Jewish roots of our Christianity, and in Passover they offer an unblemished lamb in sacrifice to the Lord. Pontius Pilate finds no blemish, no wrong in Christ and yet Christ is led to the sacrifice. Fr. Matt said it was the sprinkled blood of the unblemished lamb that saved the Israelites from slavery and death, so too the Christian is washed in the blood of Christ.Scot said five times the Exulstet proclaims that "this is the night!" We celebrate this in a profound way in the darkness. Fr. Jonathan said everything we believe as Christians depends on on our real belief in the empty tomb and the Resurrection of Christ. The music takes on a bit more exuberance and is more melodic. It's because it emphasizes the biblical types, the connections between the Old Testament and the New Testament. Scot said, just as Christ rose triumphant from the grace, he gives us the opportunity to rise triumphant with Him.>Father, how wonderful your care for us! How boundless your merciful love! To ransom a slave you gave away your Son.>O happy fault, O necessary sin of Adam, which gained for us so great a Redeemer!>Most blessed of all nights, chosen by God to see Christ rising from the dead!>Of this night scripture says: "The night will be as clear as day: it will become my light, my joy.">The power of this holy night dispels all evil, washes guilt away, restores lost innocence, brings mourners joy; it casts out hatred, brings us peace, and humbles earthly pride.>Night truly blessed, when heaven is wedded to earth and Man is reconciled with God!Scot said this will be the most powerful night in the history of the world. Fr. Matt notes that this section is addresses to the Father. How much the Father in heaven loves us that He would give us His Son who would liberate us from sin.Fr. Jonathan said his favorite line is "when heaven is wedded to earth." The Bible begins the wedding of Adam and Eve and ends with the wedding feast of the Lamb in Revelations. Man is reconciled to God, not by our initiative, but by God's.Fr. Matt says it shows how sin alienates us from God, our community, even ourselves. We see how God takes sin seriously, but also how the love of God conquers that sin.>Therefore, heavenly Father, in the joy of this night, receive our evening sacrifice of praise, your Church's solemn offering. >Accept this Easter candle, a flame divided but undimmed, a pillar of fire that glows to the honor of God. >Let it mingle with the lights of heaven and continue bravely burning to dispel the darkness of this night! >May the Morning Star which never sets find this flame still burning: Christ, that Morning Star, who came back from the dead, and shed his peaceful light on all mankind, your Son, who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.Scot said this ties the prayer in with the Mass that is celebrated after this. It is a sacrifice of praise where we echo and make present the sacrifice of Christ for us on the Cross. Fr. Jonathan said we are talking to the Father as the ransomed and adopted sons and daughters He has created. The whole point of the vigil is to be a sacrifice of praise. By the end of the vigil you will be exhausted, but for all the right reasons. We talk to the Easter candle because it is the sign of the Risen Christ. In the Book of Revelations (22:16), Jesus says, "I am the Morning Star." It is the first star of the morning, that remains visible even in the dawn. Christ remains, He is yesterday, today, and forever. Fr. Matt said we hope that our candles may be found burning when He comes again.Fr. Jonathan explained the Easter candle. It is the largest candle in the sanctuary. During Easter season it is placed near the lectern and is always lit. During baptism, a candle is lit from the Easter candle, a sign that the life of Easter is passed on through the sacraments of the Church ,especially baptism, which is the gateway of life. The candle is placed at the head of the casket at a funeral to symbolize that Christ is the beginning and end and so we light that candle as a sign that the deceased kept the flame burning throughout their lives.Now we have the 7 Old Testament readings, the most important readings in the OT that help us to understand Christ's coming and the significance.The first is the story of God's creation of the universe.*1st Reading: [Genesis 1:1-2:2](http://www.usccb.org/nab/bible/genesis/genesis1.htm#v1)*In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless wasteland, and darkness covered the abyss, while a mighty wind swept over the waters.Then God said,“Let there be light,” and there was light.God saw how good the light was.God then separated the light from the darkness.God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.”Thus evening came, and morning followed—the first day.Then God said,“Let there be a dome in the middle of the waters, to separate one body of water from the other.”And so it happened:God made the dome, and it separated the water above the dome from the water below it.God called the dome “the sky.”Evening came, and morning followed—the second day.Then God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered into a single basin, so that the dry land may appear.”And so it happened:the water under the sky was gathered into its basin, and the dry land appeared.God called the dry land “the earth, “ and the basin of the water he called “the sea.”God saw how good it was.Then God said,“Let the earth bring forth vegetation: every kind of plant that bears seedand every kind of fruit tree on earth that bears fruit with its seed in it.”And so it happened: the earth brought forth every kind of plant that bears seed and every kind of fruit tree on earth that bears fruit with its seed in it.God saw how good it was.Evening came, and morning followed—the third day.Then God said:“Let there be lights in the dome of the sky, to separate day from night.Let them mark the fixed times, the days and the years, and serve as luminaries in the dome of the sky, to shed light upon the earth.”And so it happened:God made the two great lights, the greater one to govern the day, and the lesser one to govern the night; and he made the stars. God set them in the dome of the sky, to shed light upon the earth,to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness.God saw how good it was.Evening came, and morning followed—the fourth day.Then God said, “Let the water teem with an abundance of living creatures, and on the earth let birds fly beneath the dome of the sky.”And so it happened:God created the great sea monsters and all kinds of swimming creatures with which the water teems, and all kinds of winged birds.God saw how good it was, and God blessed them, saying, “Be fertile, multiply, and fill the water of the seas; and let the birds multiply on the earth.”Evening came, and morning followed—the fifth day.Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth all kinds of living creatures: cattle, creeping things, and wild animals of all kinds.”And so it happened:God made all kinds of wild animals, all kinds of cattle,and all kinds of creeping things of the earth.God saw how good it was.Then God said: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and the cattle, and over all the wild animals and all the creatures that crawl on the ground.”God created man in his image;in the image of God he created him;male and female he created them.God blessed them, saying:“Be fertile and multiply;fill the earth and subdue it.Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the living things that move on the earth.”God also said: “See, I give you every seed-bearing plant all over the earth and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit on it to be your food; and to all the animals of the land, all the birds of the air, and all the living creatures that crawl on the ground, I give all the green plants for food.”And so it happened.God looked at everything he had made, and he found it very good.Evening came, and morning followed—the sixth day.Thus the heavens and the earth and all their array were completed.Since on the seventh day God was finishedwith the work he had been doing, he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had undertaken.The second reading is the story of Abraham and Isaac. God asks Abraham to sacrifice his son and much of the story reflects the crucifixion. Isaac carries the wood of his own sacrifice to the top of the mountain. Abraham says God Himself will provide the sacrifice, prefiguring Christ.*2nd Reading: [Genesis 22:1-18](http://www.usccb.org/nab/042311.shtml#reading2)*God put Abraham to the test.He called to him, “Abraham!”“Here I am,” he replied.Then God said:“Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah.There you shall offer him up as a holocaust on a height that I will point out to you.”Early the next morning Abraham saddled his donkey, took with him his son Isaac and two of his servants as well, and with the wood that he had cut for the holocaust, set out for the place of which God had told him.On the third day Abraham got sight of the place from afar.Then he said to his servants:“Both of you stay here with the donkey, while the boy and I go on over yonder.We will worship and then come back to you.”Thereupon Abraham took the wood for the holocaust and laid it on his son Isaac’s shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife.As the two walked on together, Isaac spoke to his father Abraham: “Father!” Isaac said.“Yes, son, “ he replied.Isaac continued, “Here are the fire and the wood, but where is the sheep for the holocaust?”“Son,” Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the sheep for the holocaust.”Then the two continued going forward.When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it.Next he tied up his son Isaac, and put him on top of the wood on the altar.Then he reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son.But the LORD’s messenger called to him from heaven,“Abraham, Abraham!”“Here I am!” he answered.“Do not lay your hand on the boy,” said the messenger.“Do not do the least thing to him.I know now how devoted you are to God, since you did not withhold from me your own beloved son.”As Abraham looked about, he spied a ram caught by its horns in the thicket.So he went and took the ram and offered it up as a holocaust in place of his son.Abraham named the site Yahweh-yireh; hence people now say, AOn the mountain the LORD will see.”Again the LORD’s messenger called to Abraham from heaven and said: “I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you acted as you did in not withholding from me your beloved son, I will bless you abundantlyand make your descendants as countlessas the stars of the sky and the sands of the seashore; your descendants shall take possession of the gates of their enemies, and in your descendants all the nations of the earth shall find blessingC all this because you obeyed my command.”The 3rd reading is the freeing of the people from Egypt under Moses and this reading is followed by the Psalm called the Canticle of Moses.*3rd Reading: [Exodus 14:15--15:1](http://www.usccb.org/nab/042311.shtml#reading3)*The LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me?Tell the Israelites to go forward.And you, lift up your staff and, with hand outstretched over the sea,split the sea in two,that the Israelites may pass through it on dry land.But I will make the Egyptians so obstinatethat they will go in after them.Then I will receive glory through Pharaoh and all his army, his chariots and charioteers.The Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I receive glory through Pharaoh and his chariots and charioteers.”The angel of God, who had been leading Israel’s camp, now moved and went around behind them.The column of cloud also, leaving the front,took up its place behind them,so that it came between the camp of the Egyptiansand that of Israel.But the cloud now became dark, and thus the night passed without the rival camps coming any closer togetherall night long.Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the LORD swept the seawith a strong east wind throughout the nightand so turned it into dry land.When the water was thus divided, the Israelites marched into the midst of the sea on dry land, with the water like a wall to their right and to their left.The Egyptians followed in pursuit; all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and charioteers went after them right into the midst of the sea.In the night watch just before dawn the LORD cast through the column of the fiery cloudupon the Egyptian force a glance that threw it into a panic; and he so clogged their chariot wheelsthat they could hardly drive.With that the Egyptians sounded the retreat before Israel, because the LORD was fighting for them against the Egyptians.Then the LORD told Moses, AStretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may flow back upon the Egyptians,upon their chariots and their charioteers.”So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at dawn the sea flowed back to its normal depth.The Egyptians were fleeing head on toward the sea, when the LORD hurled them into its midst.As the water flowed back, it covered the chariots and the charioteers of Pharaoh’s whole armywhich had followed the Israelites into the sea.Not a single one of them escaped.But the Israelites had marched on dry landthrough the midst of the sea, with the water like a wall to their right and to their left.Thus the LORD saved Israel on that dayfrom the power of the Egyptians.When Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the seashore and beheld the great power that the LORDhad shown against the Egyptians, they feared the LORD and believed in him and in his servant Moses.Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD:I will sing to the LORD, for he is gloriously triumphant;horse and chariot he has cast into the sea.The 4th reading recounts Israel's abandonment of God at times, but God taking them back. God's love will never leave us, even though our faith may be shaken. God comes back to His people, regardless of what we've done. There is no sin we can commit that God's love won't compensate for.*4th Reading: [Isaiah 54:5-14](http://www.usccb.org/nab/042311.shtml#reading4)*The One who has become your husband is your Maker;his name is the LORD of hosts;your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel,called God of all the earth.The LORD calls you back,like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit,a wife married in youth and then cast off,says your God.For a brief moment I abandoned you,but with great tenderness I will take you back. In an outburst of wrath, for a momentI hid my face from you;but with enduring love I take pity on you,says the LORD, your redeemer.This is for me like the days of Noah,when I swore that the waters of Noahshould never again deluge the earth;so I have sworn not to be angry with you,or to rebuke you.Though the mountains leave their placeand the hills be shaken,my love shall never leave younor my covenant of peace be shaken,says the LORD, who has mercy on you.O afflicted one, storm-battered and unconsoled,I lay your pavements in carnelians,and your foundations in sapphires;I will make your battlements of rubies,your gates of carbuncles,and all your walls of precious stones.All your children shall be taught by the LORD,and great shall be the peace of your children.In justice shall you be established,far from the fear of oppression,where destruction cannot come near you.In the 5th reading, we are called to come to the water to receive nourishment from the Lord. We are to seek the Lord as our source of life-giving satisfaction for our souls. "My Word will not return to me void." The Word is Christ and He brings great fruits through His incarnation.*5th Reading: [Isaiah 55:1-11](http://www.usccb.org/nab/042311.shtml#reading5)*Hear, O Israel, the commandments of life:listen, and know prudence!How is it, Israel,that you are in the land of your foes,grown old in a foreign land,defiled with the dead,accounted with those destined for the netherworld?You have forsaken the fountain of wisdom!Had you walked in the way of God,you would have dwelt in enduring peace.Learn where prudence is,where strength, where understanding;that you may know alsowhere are length of days, and life,where light of the eyes, and peace.Who has found the place of wisdom,who has entered into her treasuries?The One who knows all things knows her;he has probed her by his knowledgeC The One who established the earth for all time,and filled it with four-footed beasts;he who dismisses the light, and it departs,calls it, and it obeys him trembling;before whom the stars at their postsshine and rejoice;when he calls them, they answer, “Here we are!”shining with joy for their Maker.Such is our God;no other is to be compared to him:He has traced out the whole way of understanding,and has given her to Jacob, his servant,to Israel, his beloved son.Since then she has appeared on earth,and moved among people.She is the book of the precepts of God,the law that endures forever;all who cling to her will live,but those will die who forsake her.Turn, O Jacob, and receive her:walk by her light toward splendor.Give not your glory to another,your privileges to an alien race.Blessed are we, O Israel;for what pleases God is known to us!In the 6th reading, we hear what we need to know where the answers are found. We know the things of God because Jesus has revealed them to us.*6th Reading: [Baruch 3:9-15,32-4:48](http://www.usccb.org/nab/042311.shtml#reading6)*Hear, O Israel, the commandments of life:listen, and know prudence!How is it, Israel,that you are in the land of your foes,grown old in a foreign land,defiled with the dead,accounted with those destined for the netherworld?You have forsaken the fountain of wisdom!Had you walked in the way of God,you would have dwelt in enduring peace.Learn where prudence is,where strength, where understanding;that you may know alsowhere are length of days, and life,where light of the eyes, and peace.Who has found the place of wisdom,who has entered into her treasuries?The One who knows all things knows her;he has probed her by his knowledge The One who established the earth for all time,and filled it with four-footed beasts;he who dismisses the light, and it departs,calls it, and it obeys him trembling;before whom the stars at their postsshine and rejoice;when he calls them, they answer, “Here we are!”shining with joy for their Maker.Such is our God;no other is to be compared to him:He has traced out the whole way of understanding,and has given her to Jacob, his servant,to Israel, his beloved son.Since then she has appeared on earth,and moved among people.She is the book of the precepts of God,the law that endures forever;all who cling to her will live,but those will die who forsake her.Turn, O Jacob, and receive her:walk by her light toward splendor.Give not your glory to another,your privileges to an alien race.Blessed are we, O Israel;for what pleases God is known to us!The 7th reading, the Lord tells us He will make us new. It prefigures baptism with the sprinkling of water that will gives us a new heart and a new spirit. It is a new life of grace through baptism. *7th Reading: [Ezekiel 36:16-17a, 18-28](http://www.usccb.org/nab/042311.shtml#reading7)*The word of the LORD came to me, saying: Son of man, when the house of Israel lived in their land, they defiled it by their conduct and deeds.Therefore I poured out my fury upon them because of the blood that they poured out on the ground, and because they defiled it with idols.I scattered them among the nations, dispersing them over foreign lands; according to their conduct and deeds I judged them.But when they came among the nations wherever they came, they served to profane my holy name, because it was said of them: “These are the people of the LORD,yet they had to leave their land.”So I have relented because of my holy name which the house of Israel profaned among the nations where they came.Therefore say to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord GOD: Not for your sakes do I act, house of Israel, but for the sake of my holy name, which you profaned among the nations to which you came.I will prove the holiness of my great name, profaned among the nations, in whose midst you have profaned it.Thus the nations shall know that I am the LORD, says the Lord GOD, when in their sight I prove my holiness through you.For I will take you away from among the nations, gather you from all the foreign lands, and bring you back to your own land.I will sprinkle clean water upon youto cleanse you from all your impurities, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you, taking from your bodies your stony heartsand giving you natural hearts.I will put my spirit within you and make you live by my statutes, careful to observe my decrees.You shall live in the land I gave your fathers; you shall be my people, and I will be your God.**2nd segment:** It’s time to announce the winner of this week’s WQOM Benefactor Raffle. Our prize this week is a copy of the book “[Priest: Portraits of Ten Good Men Serving the Church Today](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1928832717/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=catholicnetrevie&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=1928832717),” by Michael Rose. The book communicates the virtuous institution of the priesthood by telling the stories of ten faithful priests who are living examples of holiness, sacrifice, and love of God. This week’s winner is **Bob Ricci from Tewksbury, MA**. Congratulations to Bob. If you would like to be eligible to win in an upcoming week, please visit [WQOM.org](http://www.WQOM.org). For a one-time $30 donation, you’ll receive the Station of the Cross benefactor card and key tag, making you eligible for our weekly raffle of books, DVDs, CDs and religious items. We’ll be announcing the winner each Wednesday during “The Good Catholic Life” program.**3rd segment:**Once the readings are completed, the bells of the church are rung, the lights come on and then the Gloria is sung. Fr. Jonathan said we keep the lights off until this point to let loose all the joy we've been holding in by singing the Gloria. On Holy Thursday is the last time we will sing the Gloria until the Easter Vigil. In the Vigil we've listened to the stories that lead us to Christ and the Church again sings the song of the praise of angels.Now the Epistle is read. Saint Paul writes to the Romans that we become buried with Christ in death so that we can rise with him by the glory of the Father and have newness of life!*Epistle: [Romans 6:3-11](http://www.usccb.org/nab/042311.shtml#readinge)*Brothers and sisters:Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life.For if we have grown into union with him through a death like his, we shall also be united with him in the resurrection.We know that our old self was crucified with him, so that our sinful body might be done away with, that we might no longer be in slavery to sin.For a dead person has been absolved from sin.If, then, we have died with Christ,we believe that we shall also live with him.We know that Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more;death no longer has power over him.As to his death, he died to sin once and for all;as to his life, he lives for God.Consequently, you too must think of yourselves as being dead to sinand living for God in Christ Jesus.In the Gospel, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary discover the empty tomb, meet the angel who instructs them to tell the disciples that Jesus has been raised from the dead, and he is going before you to Galilee and you will see him there. Jesus met them on the way and told them to don’t be afraid and to tell the other disciples. Fr. Matt said Christ shows that the Old Testament is revealed in the New.*Gospel: [Matthew 28:1-10](http://www.usccb.org/nab/042311.shtml#gospel)*>After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning,>Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.>And behold, there was a great earthquake; >for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, >approached, rolled back the stone, and sat upon it.>His appearance was like lightning>and his clothing was white as snow.>The guards were shaken with fear of him>and became like dead men.>Then the angel said to the women in reply,>“Do not be afraid!>I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified.>He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said.>Come and see the place where he lay.>Then go quickly and tell his disciples,>‘He has been raised from the dead, >and he is going before you to Galilee;>there you will see him.’>Behold, I have told you.”>Then they went away quickly from the tomb, >fearful yet overjoyed,>and ran to announce this to his disciples.>And behold, Jesus met them on their way and greeted them.>They approached, embraced his feet, and did him homage.>Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid.>Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee,>and there they will see me.”Unique to the Easter Vigil is the Liturgy of Baptism for those entering the Church. Fr. Jonathan said it begins at the beginning of Lent. In Boston over 600 people have been preparing to enter the Church at Easter. Lent is a time to prepare. In this moment, when we look back at the events of Good Friday and the soldier pierces the Body of Christ and water and blood flows forth. In the same way, the Body of Christ gives us baptism (water) and the Eucharist (blood). We celebrate the events of history by witnessing the power of Christ's grace breaking into the souls of those about to be baptized. Everyone present is asked to renew their baptismal vows.Fr. Matt said most of us had our baptismal vows said by our parents, but here we can do this for ourselves. We start by rejecting Satan and sin and then professing our faith in God.Fr. Jonathan said those who were just baptized and were baptized before now receive the sacrament of confirmation. Scot said 150,000 people across the country will be entering the Church this Easter. The Church wants us all to remember our baptism and our First Communion and our confirmation.Scot said the Easter vigil can take couple of hours, but it's well worth it and it can change you. It's like a retreat.Fr. Matt said the Divine Mercy novena starts on Good Friday. St. Faustina was canonized by Pope John Paul II. She received private revelations of Christ and His Divine Mercy. It's an opportunity to intercede on behalf of the Church and the world, culminating on Divine Mercy Sunday, May 1, the second Sunday of Easter and the day Pope John Paul II will be beatified.All parishes of the archdiocese will be open tonight from 6:30-8pm for the last Wednesday of the [Light is On For You](http://www.thelightisonforyou.org).

**Today's host(s):** Scot Landry and Fr. Chris O'Connor **Today's guest(s):** Fr. Michael Barber, SJ, director of spiritual formation at St. John's Seminary **Today's topics:** The Chrism Mass of Holy Week and Cardinal Seán's homily **A summary of today's show:** Cardinal Seán's homily for the Chrism Mass on Tuesday of Holy Week calls on priests to humility and courage and greater immersion in the Word of God in order to be strengthened in their vocations and to be united in Christ for their mission. **1st segment:** Scot said we began Holy Week this past Palm Sunday. There are so many powerful opportunities for learning more about our Faith and getting closer to Christ this week. Today we are going to discuss the Chrism Mass, which occurred earlier today, and then look ahead to all the liturgies of this Holy Week. At 11am this morning at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Cardinal Sean and hundreds of concelebrating priests celebrated the Chrism Mass, which is a tradition for Tuesday of Holy Week in the Archdiocese of Boston and many dioceses. There are 2 unique aspects of the annual Chrism Mass: (a) The consecration of the Holy Chrism oil: (b) the celebration of the priesthood and renewal of priestly vows. Here is what today’s Mass program said about both: >All Christians are anointed because all are filled with the Spirit's gifts for the building up of the church and the church's service to the world. In every local church one Christian presides in love and orchestrates the church's ministry: this is the bishop, or chief pastor. It is not surprising, therefore, that the most ancient liturgical witnesses designate the bishop as the consecrator of the sacramental oils. Although priests once blessed the oils of the catechumens and the sick and may do so in some circumstances, only the bishop may consecrate the chrism with which the baptized are sealed at confirmation and ordination. This rite is one of the last rites of preparation before the Triduum begins. Before the local church baptizes, it prepares the chrism which will be used in the Vigil. > >This celebration has always retained a special character of priestly collegiality. Even in the centuries when eucharistic concelebration had disappeared from the church's life, the ritual for the blessing and consecration of oils retained strong elements which reminded all that ministry in the church is never the work of an individual but of a community of ministers of different gifts and responsibilities. The present celebration of the rite has been restored as a full concelebration of the bishop with his clergy and with the full participation of the laity. Scot welcomes Father Chris O’Connor our Tuesday co-host. What does the Chrism Mass mean for him as a priest of the Archdiocese of Boston? Fr. Chris said it is a reaffirmation of the priests to the Lord in a special way and it's powerful to do that with your brother priests. It's a beautiful celebration of the priesthood with the bishop. It is a priestly fraternity. It is wonderful to look around the cathedral to see so many priests who have rendered service to God's family. Scot said it is amazing to see all the priests that are there and the diversity of ages, ethnicity, and national original. Fr. Chris said what unites us is faith in Jesus Christ. He said there is also the practical reason for them to come together, which is to get the oils that they will use in their parishes throughout the year: the oils for baptism and anointing of the sick and confirmation. Scot said Cardinal Seán gives one of his best and one of his longest homilies each year at the Chrism Mass. In many ways it is a message directly to priests and indirectly to all of us who support our priests and minister with them in the Church. We’re going to discuss many elements of his homily today. Fr. Chris said it was a great and rousing homily. Father Chris and Scot are joined by Father Michael Barber, the new director of spiritual formation at St. John’s Seminary as of last Fall. Fr. Barber's first connection to Boston was when he was on the apostolic visitation team implemented the Vatican and he was sent to Boston. He had a very positive impression. He also got to know many Boston priests during his time as a military chaplain. Fr. Barber's background: * Saint John’s new Director of Spiritual Formation, Father Michael Barber, SJ grew up in San Francisco and Sacramento, California. He followed the normal 12 year course of Jesuit studies, with philosophy at Gonzaga University, Spokane, and Theology at Regis College, University of Toronto. * Ordained in 1985, he was sent for two years of missionary work in Western Samoa, Polynesia. He was then sent to the Gregorian University in Rome to study and teach Dogmatic Theology. Father Barber’s research centered on the unpublished sermon manuscripts of Blessed John Henry (Cardinal) Newman. From Rome, he was sent to Oxford University as a research fellow at Campion Hall, the Jesuit college at Oxford. He subsequently was elected Bursar and tutor in theology there. * He later was appointed by Archbishop (now Cardinal) William Levada as Director of the School of Pastoral Leadership in the Archdiocese of San Francisco, followed by eight years as Director of Spiritual Formation and assistant professor of theology at St. Patrick’s Seminary in Menlo Park, California. Father Barber was commissioned in 1991 as an officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve, and currently holds the rank of Commander. He was called up for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 as Catholic chaplain to the 6,000 Marines in the 4th Marine Air Wing. He is currently assistant division chaplain to the 4th Marine Division, USMC. Fr. Barber recalls attending the Chrism Mass in the Archdiocese of Verona, Italy, and how every single space in the cathedral being filled by priests. They also had the custom of presenting new seminarians to the bishop at that Mass. Triduum means three, referring to the three days of Holy Thursday through Easter Sunday. These days represent the summit of all we believe as Christians. Scot said that if you wanted to start to take your faith seriously, this is the week to do it by focusing on the liturgies of this week. **2nd segment:** Clips from Cardinal Sean's homily will now be played and discussed. *Costly Grace*: >At times the demands of one's vocation can seem overwhelming. It is truly a costly grace. And so it is with the priestly vocation. There are always more and more demands, more instructions from headquarters, new programs to be implemented, the bishop's latest brainchild. Today, at the Chrism Mass, I am happy for the opportunity to be able to say how much the whole Catholic community appreciates the tireless work of our priests and as your Bishop, I am particularly grateful for your generous dedication to ministry. These are very challenging times for the church. Business as usual is not enough if we are going to be able to fulfill our mission. We have to go the extra mile, turn the other cheek, give our tunic along with the cloak. Yes, our vocation is a costly grace, but at the same time it's a bargain. It is a beautiful life. And together, we can make it more beautiful. Our Chrism Mass gives us an opportunity to reflect on how precious our priesthood is and to rededicate ourselves to our vocation. As always, we look to Christ, the High Priest and Good Shepherd, to gain insight into our calling. Scot said he talks of the challenges to the priesthood and the Church and that it's time to go the extra mile. Fr. Chris said the cardinal is reminding us that priests have given their life to, and they will only be authentic when they are filled with joy and giving up themselves generously. That's when they will discover their happiness as priests. Fr. Barber said it reflects [St. Ignatius of Loyola's prayer](http://www.catholicdoors.com/prayers/english3/p02709.htm): "To give and not to count the cost..." Business as usual is not good enough for the Church. Fr. Chris said we can't be complacent. People aren't coming to us, we have to go find them. *Humility*: >Today, I would like to reflect on the Catholic Priest as prophet leader, called to continue the prophetic role of Jesus. And in particular, I wish to explore three aspects of our vocation to be prophetic leaders of Christ's people: Humility, Courage, and Involvement with the Word of God. The first characteristic of the Prophet is humility. "Learn of me for I am meek and humble of heart." The priest must imitate Jesus' humility and self-emptying, Jesus, who has taken on the form of a slave. John the Baptist, the great prophetic figure at the opening of the Gospel says, "He must increase. I must decrease." Fr. Barber said humility and courage are tied together because only a humble man will have the courage to get up in the pulpit and preach the Word of God even when he knows some people will not like what he has to say. He has to have the humility to know he answers to a higher authority. Priests could say sometimes, "He must increase and I must increase with Him," but that doesn't work. Fr. Chris said this is a particular and new tack that the cardinal is taking from the usual image. If priests are going to proclaim the truth, they will have to expect pushback. *Resist self-importance*: >Narcissism and an exaggerated sense of self importance, preclude a real conversion and prevent one from functioning as a prophet leader. Fr. Eugene Hemrick in his [Habits of a Priestly Heart](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/158459442X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=pilo0e-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=158459442X) speaks of the need to resist the most serious foes that can take the heart out of our priesthood: resentment, careerism and clericalism. Priestly humility is the antidote to these cancers. Some day the Pope should get all the bishops and priests together in St. Peter's Square and say to us: "Repeat after me, in the words of John the Baptist: 'I am not the Messiah.'" It may come as a shocking revelation to many bishops and priest who enjoy a messianic complex. But it is very liberating to cast off this fiction. It is rooted in the same pride that makes us so competitive. Fr. Chris said it made him reflect like this was a mini-retreat, to be challenged to examine how he had to work on these things himself. The Cardinal challenged the priests to reflect during Holy Week on how they can become better priests. Scot said there often expectations of priests to function like messiahs. Fr. Barber said some priests feel like they have to be at the center of things at Mass, to entertain. But he sees more and more churches being renovated where the presider's chair is moved from the highest and most central place. *A priest who is humble...*: >A priest who is humble knows that he needs others. In the face of his own limitations, he accepts his role as a prophet leader. He knows that he is gifted in some areas and not in others. The humble priest realizes that we are interdependent, and together we can do what we cannot do alone. The humble man believes in this togetherness, being part of a team and seeking this support from his brother priests and offering it to them. The proud man aspires to be a star, a lone ranger, a messiah. Fr. Chris said it's very scriptural. The apostles were sent out by Christ, two by two, never alone. The priests work as a body for the good of others. The lone star will burn out without a connection to others. Fr. Barber said no one priest has all the qualities of Christ, but all the priests of the Church together will reflect in some way or another the necessary qualities of Christ. *Challenges of modern priesthood*: >Priests are sometimes uneasy with accepting and exercising leadership in a world that is often suspect of its leaders. The uneasiness also comes from our own personal insecurities, fear of conflict, problems of self-esteem, fear of rejection, worries about taking responsibility for difficult decisions. I always say that in Boston every decision is a dilemma. Today, the priests face new challenges: ministering in a time when the number of priests has declined and the average age has risen. Often people have high, even unrealistic expectations of priests. The consumer mentality by which priests are to provide quick, efficient and friendly service like people expect from salespersons or hotel clerks. Scot said it identifies the reasons why it's tough for priests to lead their parishes today. Fr. Barber tells seminarians their security is rooted in their call by Christ and prayer life, not by polls and popularity. That is the source of their joy and contentment. If their source is in other people, they won't be secure. Priests are often overwhelmed by their inadequacies and will sometimes have an off-day, but they are only human and have God's grace to help them. "God chose you and the people will see and love in them something they see and love in Christ." Fr. Chris said there would be no problems if people understood that God loved them. Do you know that you are loved by Christ, because if you don't know that how will you help other people discover Christ's love for themselves? Scot said the consumer mentality causes laypeople to expect priests to be service providers. That is not the identity of priests. Fr. Chris said that is exactly right. We need to rid ourselves of a country club mentality in the Church where we come and go as we feel like it. Scot said as a parent, he has to remind his children that he is not there to simply respond to their wishes, but to lead them and raise them as strong adults. Fr. Barber has known priests who couldn't preach a homily, but where great one on one and others who were vice-versa. He sees seminarians come in from the world with all its distractions, but the men who struggle with their own temptations will make great confessors. *Courage*: >Living faithfully and ministering effectively demand courage of the priest. This virtue is built up by continuous acts of courage: facing obstacles, resisting temptation, not walking away from difficult situations, making decisions, teaching the hard words of the gospel. Luckily it does not depend entirely on us. We are not [Pelagianists](http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11604a.htm). Our prayer life, our priestly friendships, the spirit who anointed us in our ordination, all help us to acquire the courage we need to be priests and prophet-leaders to God's people. Fr. Barber recalled Archbishop Vigneron facing an impossible situation in a former diocese that he was confident that if the Lord wants success, He will make it happen. Fr. Chris said priestly friendships are a great help. No priest desires conflict so when it happens, it is great to have the support of brother priests to give feedback. The Holy Spirit is with us and stays with us. Scot's favorite part of the homily is the Cardinal saying that courage is a virtue and that is built up by acts of courage. *Being a messenger of God*: >Our task is not to impart information, but to be messengers of God whose word is a two edged sword, whose Gospel brings life and meaning to people. To do that, we must learn to love the Word of God that will nurture the contemplative aspect of our vocation. Moses, the Prophet, climbs the mountain and there basks in God's presence, receives His Word, and then comes down. His face is glowing from being in God's presence. We must spend time each day with God and His Word if we are going to be God's messengers with fire in our belly and God's glow on our face. Fr. Barber said God's Word is a two-edged sword because it always has a bite to it. The role of the preacher is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. Also he likes that Cardinal Sean says that your homilies must be prepared on your knees. The priest is a conduit between the Holy Spirit and people's hearts. Fr. Chris said people can be so busy in other people's lives that they forget their own call to holiness. Scot said his dad taught him that the more you work for something, the more you receive. The work of the priest to receive more and give more is the work of prayer. *Skills of holiness*: >It is not enough for a parish priest to be personally holy. He also needs to have the skills to lead others to holiness. Fr. Ronald Knott has a good definition of Spiritual Leadership: "The ability to influence another through invitation, persuasion and example to move from where they are, to where God wants them to be, especially through the skillful use of the pulpit." He calls Catholic pulpits buried treasures waiting to be claimed. The prophet leader has a special challenging task of reaching out to the segment of God's people who seldom frequent the sacraments or attend Mass. Fr. Knott refers to them as: "The mad and the sad; the ignored and the bored." Our motivation to accept this challenge must be our love for God and for His People. Fr. Barber said a good preacher has the ability to interpret the events and actions in people's lives through the Word of God. Don't give up, keep on striving, keep faith, and know that they are planting seeds. The priest never knows where the seed goes or when it will ever come to fruition. Fr. Chris said the priest makes a return gift of his life when he knows how much God loves him. With fewer priests and higher demands, the priest needs to know where he is being fed and that is through the Word of God. If the priest doesn't have the Word of God how will he share it with others? Scot said Cardinal Sean said in his Ash Wednesday that if we're standing still in the spiritual life, then we're falling behind. *Renewal of promises*: >At the Ordination ceremony--all the priests come forward to lay on hands, and again--all come forward to give the kiss of peace. The new priests' hands are anointed with the very chrism that this same presbyterate blessed, together with the Bishop, a few months before. All of this to indicate our unity, our oneness with Christ and with each other. And today in this Chrism Mass, we renew our priestly promises together. And it is together that we must live out this call to be the presbyterate of Boston, united to Christ, the Good Shepherd, and to our brother priests in the service of God's people. Together, in our role as priests, prophet leaders, with humility, with courage, and immersed in the Word of God. Let us make our renewal of promises, a new beginning, an opportunity to say yes again to Christ. Fr. Chris said the Cardinal is reminding the priests what they committed to on their ordination and calling them to unity within Christ. If there isn't unity, how can priests ask others to be a people of reconciliation. The priests need to be united in Christ around the Bishop around the Eucharist, then they are fraudulent. Fr. Barber said priests live that togetherness by calling each other late at night, for example, where their brother priests live alone. They give each other encouragement and hope. The bishop is the chaplain of his priests. Fr. Chris said priestly fraternity begins in the seminary. It is 10 times harder to gather priest friends in the parish when all the demands of the parish are on them. A central characteristic of St. John's is the camaraderie shared among the men. **3rd segment:** The sacred Triduum is the three days in the Church's calendar when the normal business of the Church shuts down. Fr. Chris said we are all united around the events of Christ's suffering, death and resurrection. For those three days, our parish church becomes the Holy Land where we walk with Christ. We are in the upper room on Holy Thursday and we come together in the garden as we pray before the tabernacle. On Good Friday is Calvary. At the Easter Vigil we start in the darkness of the tomb and lead to the light of Easter. By celebrating these events we too rise with Christ. Fr. Barber said no one can say that God doesn't love me when we experience the events of the Triduum. We hear the Lord's last words and his love letter to the Church in his preaching at the Last Supper. If we wear a crucifix we wear a reminder of how much He loves us. All the beautiful symbolism of the Triduum remind us of the inner mysteries of Christ. Scot said that on Good Friday the veneration of the cross brings us face to face with what Christ did for me. On Holy Saturday, the tangible act of lighting a candle and passing it on and what it means to us as faithful Catholics. Fr. Chris said he ended his homily with John 3:16 and it's the greatest love story in all the world. His vocation came to him in eighth grade as an altar server serving at all the Triduum liturgies. Fr. Barber said the veneration of the crucifix on Good Friday is a high point for him. He highly recommends the new movie ["Of Gods and Men"](http://www.sonyclassics.com/ofgodsandmen/) in which an old monk knows he's about to die for his faith and he's praying before an image of Christ. Knowing he's alone, he goes up to lay his head on Christ's side and kiss the wound in his side.

**Today's host(s):** Scot Landry and Fr. Chris O'Connor**Today's guest(s):** Fr. Joseph Fessio, SJ, founder and publisher at Ignatius Press* [Jesus of Nazareth 2](http://www.ignatius.com/promotions/jesus-of-nazareth/)* [Ignatius Press](http://www.ignatius.com)**Today's topics:** Pope Benedict's new book, "Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week: From the Entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection"**A summary of today's show:** Fr. Joseph Fessio, SJ, of Ignatius Press and a friend and student of Pope Benedict, recounts his own journey with the Holy Father, reflects on his papacy and future legacy, and delves this new book which is apropos for this Holy Week as we enter into it.**1st segment:** Happy Patriots' Day. Scot said today is much more than a day off or Marathon Day or a day when the Red Sox play with an early start. It is the start of Holy Week. We celebrated Palm Sunday yesterday and today is officially known in the Church calendar as Monday of Holy Week. Pope Benedict XVI published a book last month entitled "Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week: From the Entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection" to help us to get to know our Lord in a special way. On today's broadcast we talked with the English-language publisher of that book, Fr. Joseph Fessio of Ignatius Press. But Fr. Fessio is much more than just the publisher. He has known Pope Benedict since Father was a graduate student and the Pope was known as Fr. Joseph Ratzinger.**2nd segment:** Scot and Fr. Chris welcome Fr. Fessio. Fr. Fessio first met Fr. Ratzinger in 1972. Prior to that he was doing his theology as a young Jesuit scholastic in Lyons, France. He met there [Fr. Henri de Lubac, SJ](http://www.ignatiusinsight.com/authors/henridelubac.asp), who was a wonderful priest, a great Jesuit, and tremendous scholar. When it came for Fr. Fessio to do hiw own doctoral studies, and Fr. de Lubac suggested he do his studies on [Hans Urs von Balthasar](http://www.ignatiusinsight.com/authors/vonbalthasar.asp), the Swiss theologian that de Lubac thought was the great theologian of the Church. He said Fr. Fessio should go to Regensburg to study with the great young theologian Fr. Ratzinger and it was Fr. de Lubac who wrote Fr. Ratzinger on his behalf. Fr. Ratzinger made an exception to accept Fr. Fessio among his graduate students even though he'd been trying to reduce the number of students he was accepting. He was a wonderful teacher as the world now knows.After that, his former doctoral students would gather with him every year, especially after 1977, when he became Archbishop of Munich-Friesing. This was called the Schulerkreis or "student circle". They would go to a monastery, select a theme, bring in a speaker, have discussions, have meals together, Mass together. It was a wonderful opportunity to spend time with their revered mentor. They thought they would end when he became Pope in 2005, but he informed the students that he wanted to continue so they keep going every August. That he continues this, tells Fr. Fessio that he values his friendships he's made, that he values academic discussion and inquiry in o themes of theological interest, and what a warm human person he is that he enjoys this recreation.Fr. Chris asked what qualities Pope Benedict has a professor and teacher that he would admire. He has a brilliant mind and grasps what he reads and remenbers them forever. Is widely read in many subjects, not just theology and philosophy, but also literature and history and others. HE loves art and music and plays piano. He's exceptional for the depth of his knowledge and the sharpness of his intellect. He's also very tranquil and listens well. Most memorable for Fr. Fessio were not Fr. Ratzinger's lectures, which were excellent, but his seminars. In a group of students, he would lead discussion and make sure everyone got a chance to speak and guide it. At the end, he would summarize the whole session into two very beautiful and long German sentences. They would be astounded at his ability to synthesize and grasp the important themes and put them together. He sees it again and again now that he's Pope. At the Synod of the Eucharist, where bishops discuss a theme, then put together a synopsis of themes they'd like the Pope to address, and if you read the document Pope Benedict produced, it's beautiful. When the synod fathers give the Pope their document, they number each item. If you look at the footnotes of the Pope's post-synodal exhortation, [Sacramentum Caritatis](http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_ben-xvi_exh_20070222_sacramentum-caritatis_en.html), he took all the little fragments that they'd put into their list and he made them into a mosaic; he put them into order; he synthesized them. The synod was one big seminar where Professor Ratzinger listened and synthesized. Pope John Paul II had put Cardinal Ratzinger in charge of the creation of the Universal Catechism and he did the same with that document.Fr. Fessio once made a retreat and meditated on the table of contents of the Catechism. He didn't read the document, just the table of contents. It is so beautifully organized. It's not just individual statements of our faith; they are put together as an organic whole.Scot said his reaction when he read Pope Benedict's first encyclical, [Deus Caritas Est](http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20051225_deus-caritas-est_en.html), was that the Pope was such a clear writer and to be a clear writer, you need to be a clear thinker. Back when he was Fr. Ratzinger, what was the general thinking of where the brilliant professor Fr. Ratzinger was headed in his life? Fr. Fessio said they didn't think he would become part of the ecclesiastical structure of the Church. He was a brilliant professor and in Germany that's a highly revered position and they assumed he would continue a career in theology. In Germany, theologians become bishops. (In the US, it's canon lawyers.) When he became prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the hostile media gave him the image as the Panzercardinal, the great Enforcer, the disciplinarian, harsh and unyielding. When he became Pope, his students rejoiced because as Pope now this wonderful man would be known for who he truly is. Sure enough, in 2005, the journalists all asked what caused the change for him to become so warm and kind and caring. Fr. Fessio said that's the way he's always been. They only just finally got to know him.Scot asked him what it was like to have someone he knew so well to be elected Pope. He was very happy and he sort of predicted it. When he looked at all the candidates, he decided that no one else had the name recognition or great talents. And John Paul II had increased the College of Cardinals and made it more international which means there are cardinals from all over the world. If you are good enough to become a cardinal, you know you can't elect someone on hearsay or a nice impression. You need someone you rely upon or trust or that someone you know relies upon and trusts. Who do all these cardinals know? A cardinal serving in Rome gets to know all the other curial cardinals as well as the worldwide cardinals and because he is such a good person and so fair--even his enemies admire and respect him--it just seemd to Fr. Fessio it was unlikely anyone else would be elected. He was happy for the whole Church.The 20th century was a great century for Popes in his view: from Pius X all the way to Pope John Paul II. We are fortunate to have been alive during two of the greatest pontificates, maybe, of all time. Scot asked Fr. Fessio if he had concern for the Pope upon him being elected Pope in his late 70s as he was preparing for retirement. On the one hand, he knew he would prefer to work in his later years in theology. But on the other hand, he is a person of great serenity. He knew he would live the papacy from within and be quite content within. He didn't want it and wasn't looking for it. In the interview book ["Light of the World"](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1586176064/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=catholicnetrevie&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1586176064), he said, "I saw the guillotine coming." He also said about following John Paul II, he said, "I am who I am. The cardinals elected me. I'll just do the best I can."**3rd segment:** Fr. Chris said it's great to discover that the Pope's new book is #5 on the New York Times' bestseller list. To what does Fr. Fessio attribute this great success? He said we have the best known teacher on the planet writing a book about the most important figure in human history and that should be of interest to even the readers of the New York Times. Even in these secularized times, there are still people who value a book like this by a man like this.Scot asked the significance of the book in the papacy of Pope Benedict XVI. Scott Hahn says that the "Jesus of Nazareth" project will be the Pope's great legacy, just as the Theology of the Body was Pope John Paul's. Fr. Fessio said the project is a work of Pope Benedict's mature years, is close to his heart, he's worked on it at great length with great devotion, and it's on Jesus. He also does something in this book that's not been done in any major book about Jesus. We've had lives of Jesus, but this is not a life of Jesus. We've had Christologies, books on the theology of the divinity and humanity of Christ and the function of his being a savior, but Pope Benedict said in the introduction that it's not his goal to do that.His goal is to present the figure and the message of Jesus in a way that will inspire a personal commitment and give people a certitude about their faith. In the last century, there has been an historical scholarship to find the "real" Jesus, but it always ends up with someone how is wispy and amorphous or someone who represents the pet project of the scholar, i.e. Jesus the revolutionary or social worker. But in this book, he says that that the results of historical scholarship are in now and there's not much more to say there. What we need to do now is expand it into theological exegesis that recognizes faith as a way of seeing the Gospel. And it stays historical because it's about a real person who lived.He integrates the results of historical scholarship and the vision of faith and that, Fr. Fessio said, will be a landmark for a long time to come.On the other hand, he believes Pope Benedict's legacy will be larger than this and it will be marked by two things. First, his greatest love is the liturgy and after he was named archbishop in 1977 he didn't write any more books. He gave talks and wrote articles that were collected into books and wrote an autobiography, but he in 1990 said he would work on a book on the liturgy. Fr. Fessio believes the book, "The Spirit of the Liturgy", is the masterpiece on the Catholic Mass. It is the best of any that has been written and he doesn't see how it can be surpassed in the future. That, along with his motu proprio in 2007 [Summorum Pontificum](http://www.ewtn.com/library/papaldoc/b16summorumpontificum.htm) which made the Extraordinary For of the Mass more available, mark a turning point in liturgical renewal which will have a longstanding effect on the Church.Third, you can't have a healthy Catholic Church without priests. You can't have a large number of priests without strong bishops who have good solid seminaries. Fr. Fessio said he lived through a dark age of seminaries after the 2nd Vatican Council, which is changing now. For the last three or four years, bishops' appointments have been men who've been willing to stand up for the faith, to take a stand for it, have great talents, and are quite loyal to the Church. This isn't by chance. Last July he appointed Cardinal Mac Ouellet as prefect for the Congregation for Bishops, the congregation that oversees the appointment of bishops. Fr. Fessio has know him for many years and both were close to Fr. Ratzinger. He's extraordinary, intelligent, and a man of faith, and he's in charge of the appointment of bishops worldwide. For the US, Cardinal Burke is a member of that Congregation and he knows the situation in the US and knows priests and bishops and here.Scot asked Fr. Fessio to describe what in Pope Benedict's and Cardinal Ouellet's mind makes a good bishop for the 2010s. Of course, they want men of prayer deeply committed to Jesus and his Church. They want bishops with intellectual foundation to defend the faith and be prophetic in proclaiming the Word of God. They also want bishops who can recognize the importance of hermeneutics of continuity, an understanding that the Second Vatican Council is not a break with the past, of everything that went before it. Fr. Fessio has heard a lot of people say, "Oh, that's pre-Vatican II. We don't do that any more." This Pope's view is that the Vatican council was a moment in the Church's long living tradition in which there was organic development that was called for, a renewal that was rooted in Tradition. After the council , there were many bishops who thought the council was a complete transformation of the Church.Fr. Chris said that it seems that with the current Jesus of Nazareth book ending with the Resurrection that it wraps up the series. Or is there another volume coming? Fr. Fessio said the Holy Father has promised that he would write a short book (in Italian "fascicolo") on the infancy of Christ. So there's the public life of Christ to the Transfiguration and then the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Christ in two volumes and then a small half-book being worked on now that he hopes to finish it by the summer. Scot asked if Ignatius Press will publish that book. Fr. Fessio said they don't have the contract yet, but the Pope has been very loyal to Ignatius as Ignatius has been to him. He knows of a New York publisher who went to Rome personally to offer a $2.1 million advance for the book, which Ignatius wasn't required to pay, but the Holy Father's publisher said No, that Ignatius Press was going to do it.After he was elected Pope, Ignatius had 23 of his books in print. Other publishers wanted to get on the bandwagon and one American publisher who knows the Pope and his secretary who asked him, "Holy Father, why is that only Ignatius Press is allowed to publish your books?" He said, "Before anyone cared about me, they published my books."Scot asked Fr. Fessio why does it have both Joseph Ratzinger and Pope Benedict XVI on the cover? At what level of magisterial authority does he write this book? Fr. Fessio said it is not at all magisterial, in the technical sense of being an authoritative statement for the Church. It is really a book by Joseph Ratzinger as a private theologian, but this man happens to be Pope. So in order to help sell the books and to let people understand, they book both the name and the title. It doesn't have the Church's authority behind, but neither does the phone book and that's full of true statements. So it's full of truth in that sense even while you can disagree with his conclusions. He has also become what his office is. Joseph Ratzinger doesn't put on a costume as Pope Benedict XVI. He really is the successor of Peter and he is what his office is. **4th segment:** Fr. Chris asked Fr. Fessio what his favorite part of the book is. Fr. Fessio said he couldn't pick a favorite part. It's not a book that's easily divided into parts. It's sequential as it goes through Holy Week and it's a story. The whole story is what is powerful for him. In every part he sees wonderful insights and clarity of thought. What he likes most are certain constant features that everywhere throughout the book. Pope Benedict uses the Old Testament in a certain way. He'll talks about saying and acts of Jesus that may be hard to understand by going back to Old Testament texts in which Jesus' acts are the fulfillment. But he goes deeper an deeper into the historical context. It's also so Christ-centered because he shows how the sayings of Christ, his words to us, are actually expressions of the way Christ lived his life. Pope Benedict's character as a teacher is seen throughout the book. He enumerates many things, he begins with questions and then answer them. He has a teaching style.Fr. Fessio said he's working on adapting the books into an online college course, working with the [College of St. Thomas More](http://www.cstmo.org/) in Fort Worth, a fully online Catholic university. Every time he re-reads the books in preparation for these classes, he gets something new. They discuss Scot's favorite passage of the book on Christ washing the feet of the Apostles. Pope Benedict says it's an encapsulation of the ministry of Christ, that God stoops down to serve man, that "God did not grasp at divinity, but rather emptied himself and took on the form of a slave." The bathing of the whole body is also a reference to baptism and feet-washing is a reference to the need for continual cleansing necessary through confession. When Christ washes our feet, it is an expression of an inner reality of service to others, not just to show us who He is, but to gives us an example of who were to be. Now, the Pope goes deeper. Christ knows we can't do that as an act of our own moral strength. Noting that this takes place at the Last Supper, he says we need to be united to Christ in the Eucharist, then we can let that life flower in us as a moral life. We don't do it on our own.Fr. Chris said in the foreword of the book, Pope Benedict says he has the task as communicating the figure and message of Christ. Fr. Fessio said that his is against the background of the historical scholarship. Pope Benedict wants to show us that having read the scholarship, there can still be a full concrete attractive image of Jesus, the man who was God, not a shriveled and shrunken image made by questioning everything we know about Christ. He wants to give the fullness of Christ as we receive Him in the Gospels. The message is similar. Some scholars say we can't be sure of what Christ said because earlier editors could have inserted anything into the texts of the Gospels we have today. But Pope Benedict says we can have a genuine figure of Jesus, filled out and fleshed out and we can have have real teachings of Jesus from the Gospels; we can rely on them. Otherwise who will follow Jesus? No one will follow a stick figure Jesus.About the Resurrection, Fr. Fessio notes that Pope Benedict says with St. Paul that if Jesus isn't risen our faith is in vain. He also addresses whether the tomb was empty. Some scholars say that Jesus could have died and his spirit rose to heaven and his body decomposed and it would not alter our belief in the resurrection of Jesus. But the Pope says while there could be a resurrection of the crucified Christ without the body leaving the tomb, because it's a transhistorical, beyond empirical event, but there would have been no belief in it, the Jews at the time knew where he was buried. If they'd gone to the tomb and found a body, it would have been a dis-proof of the resurrection and there wouldn't have been a belief in Jesus in the early Church.Fr. Fessio said there is a [study guide](http://www.ignatius.com/IProducts/56149/jesus-of-nazareth-study-guide-volume-ii.aspx?src=ipjon) available for the book and Holy Week is a good time to study and pray with this book.He suggests that Holy Week is a good time to get away from the world--Facebook, Twitter, TV, and magazines--and be with the Lord in this special time.

**Today's host(s):** Scot Landry and Fr. Mark O'Connell**Today's guest(s):** Fr. Richard Erikson, Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia for the Archdiocese of Boston, and Colbe Mazzarella, founder and organizer of the Way of the Cross for Life on Good Friday. * [Archdiocese of Boston's Annual Report for 2010](http://www.bostoncatholic.org/annualreport)* [Life Matters TV show](http://www.lifematterstv.org/)* ["Way of the Cross for Life tradition continues" (The Pilot, 4/2/2004)](http://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=1603)* [Way of the Cross for Life - Meetup](http://www.meetup.com/Way-of-the-Cross-for-Life/)**Today's topics:** Fr. Richard Erikson's role as vicar general and moderator of the curia; the Archdiocese's balanced budget; and the Way of the Cross for Life**A summary of today's show:** Fr. Erikson tells Scot and Fr. Mark what the vicar general and moderator of the curia does and then talks about the milestone of the Archdiocese's balanced budget, which is a foundation for the future of the church in Boston. Colbe Mazzarella discusses her founding of the Way of the Cross for Life as a spiritual component of the pro-life movement. Then a discussion of the first Gospel for Palm Sunday.**1st segment:** Scot welcomes Fr. Mark back to the show. Fr. Mark was in Washington DC with the Canon Law Society of America. He is a member of the board of governors. There are thousands of members. Tomorrow, as the judicial vicar, he is the chaplain of the Catholic Lawyers Guild, and on the Saturday before Palm Sunday they have a day of recollection. Fr. Ed Riley will lead the day. All Catholic Lawyers and judges are welcome at the Pastoral Center tomorrow. Scot asked why the annual Mass for lawyers is called the Red Mass. Fr. Mark said it has medieval origins. It connects with the robes that the priests wore during that Mass, which were red.**2nd segment:** Scot and Fr. Mark welcome Fr. Richard Erikson to The Good Catholic Life. Scot asks what Fr. Richard's job entails. He was asked by Cardinal Sean to take on the job five years ago and even then he didn't have a full understanding. Vicar comes from the word vicarious. So his job is to take Cardinal Sean's vision and make it reality. His job is to reflect the mind and the heart of the bishop. He said Cardinal Sean has an enormous mind and an enormous heart. He has the heart of a shepherd. There are a number of vicars general in the Archdiocese. The auxiliary bishops are also vicars general and Fr. Mark says that Fr. Rich's role is unique because of his job as moderator of the curia. The curia are all those who work in the Archdiocese, those who work in the Pastoral Center and all the priests. He is the pastor for them.Fr. Mark asked what are the privileges of his role. Fr. Rich said he has the privilege of working in Christ's name to bring Christ to others, to build the kingdom of God in the Archdiocese. It is also a responsibility of leadership as well.Scot said that on his first day of work, Fr. Rich talked with him about the ministry of development, and Fr. Rich talks about the ministry of administration. Fr. Rich is also an Air Force chaplain. What does it mean to have a ministry of administration? He says it's difficult not to be a parish priest. He had imagined he would spend his life in parishes. Everything we do in the Pastoral Center i service to others, to parishes, to hospitals, to others in carrying out the mission of Christ. Even though he spends a lot of time in meetings and writing memos and looking at budgets, all of it is service to Christ and the Catholic community. Scot noted that he was astounded when he learned how big the Archdiocese is, how many ministries there are, how many organizations. Fr. Rich said what even more impressive than the scope of the operations is the dedication of the people on the staff and the hours people spend and the devotion and commitment. He didn't know before he became vicar general that there were 144 communities in the archdiocese. His parish encompasses 1.8 million people. He's learned that there are wonderful people who devote their lives to Christ and the Church with great sacrifice, day in and day out. It includes people who also work in administrative positions.Fr. Rich had enumerated four pillars he hoped that all ministries would embrace: Service, outreach, communication, and coordination. The most important person in the archdiocese today is the person who will ring a doorbell looking for a priest, a prisoner seeking ministry, a child receiving First Communion. In outreach, we are about what happens outside this building in the parishes of the archdiocese. Communication: To get the message of Christ, we make the best use, particularly through the Catholic Media secretariat using modern means. Coordination: The Archdiocese is very complex with a need for many different departments, like benefits, payroll, legal, etc., plus coordinating with the five regions of the archdiocese and all the vicariates and parishes within them.**3rd segment:** For the first time in Cardinal Sean's tenure, the Archdiocese has achieved a balanced budget for central ministries. Fr. Rich said its extraordinary given the challenges Cardinal Sean had. He began with a $15 million deficit. The Knights of Columbus had given loans to help, but the loans had up to $3 million in interest payments. To get here has required a great deal of sacrifice. First, there is the generosity of the people of the Archdiocese of Boston, sticking with the Church through the darkest hour of our history. Second, there is the great work of the staff in the Annual Catholic Appeal, which is to the archdiocese what the weekly offertory is to parishes. Third, the work of Jim McDonough, the chancellor, and his staff, bringing the best practices of finances and administration to the archdiocese. The sacrifices have included most painfully reductions in staff. The people in the Pastoral Center are doing more with less. Fr. Mark asked about future signs of hope. Fr. Rich said he sees the balanced budget is something to be built on. We have made remarkable strides in evangelization over the past few years through the [Arise](http://www.bostoncatholic.org/ARISE.aspx?pid=464) program and [Catholics Come Home](http://www.catholicscomehomeboston.org) and the [The Light Is On For You](http://www.thelightisonforyou.org). These wouldn't happen if we didn't have our financial house in order and didn't have t he generosity of our people.Scot said one of the headlines for him that he didn't see in the secular coverage is the amount of information that's there and how transparent there is. No other diocese comes close. Fr. Rich said trust is so important in a diocese so devastated by the abuse of minors and what the Church did not do in relation to those crimes. Transparency is one more indication of the Cardinal's desire to earn the trust of the people of the Archdiocese.Fr. Mark said both the cardinal and the chancellor speak with optimism of the Improved Financial Relationship Model. Fr. Rich said Scot had the vision of a new relationship in terms of finances and stewardship between central ministries and the parishes of the archdiocese. Scot saw that the model for fundraising in the archdiocese needed improvement. The model is to increase offertory giving at the parish level--which has already seen great success--and then to have a fair share by each parish in its contributions to the central ministries. It's not about increasing what central ministries receives. It's about dividing the pie more fairly. It's not about money, but it's about relationships. The 30 parishes in the first phase have a far greater connection to central ministries and far greater sense of the Universal Church.Fr. Rich has [written about Holy Week](http://pilotcatholicnews.com/article.asp?ID=13236) in the Pilot this week. It's about Palm Sunday. As a priest he looks forward to next week for the opportunity to focus on our journey with Christ. The article looks at the Passion of the Lord and the fact that the Lord is with us. He encourages everyone to make the time to be with Christ next week.**4th segment:** Scot and Fr. Mark are joined by Colbe Mazzarella. She started the Way of the Cross for Life. Back in the 80s she heard about a Walk for Life on the West Coast and 24 years later it continues. There are three processions: one in Boston with Cardinal Sean; another in East Boston; and the original that used to start in Brookline. they used to walk between three different abortion clinics, but they've all since closed. That procession is now in Allston in front of Planned Parenthood. They all start at 9am.The Boston route starts at Government Center and all the stops are at churches. The Paulist Center is next to the State House, St. Anthony Shrine, St. James in Chinatown, and Holy Cross Cathedral. They saw two stations per stop and do readings.This is not a protest. There are no signs or anything. They carry a cross and a statue of Our Lady.Fr. Mark said when he did this in Rome, there is something invigorating about crossing the street with a big crowd of people witnessing to Christ. Colbe said it's about making reparation, like Jesus walking through the streets of Jerusalem, getting mixed reactions, being a witness. East Boston starts at Most Holy Redeemer. The Allston way stays in front of Planned Parenthood. The East Boston procession ends at the Madonna shrine in Orient Heights.At the cathedral, Cardinal Sean leads the last two stations and leads a consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The procession at the cathedral ends at noon and people usually stay for Good Friday services.Scot asked about the pro-life movement not being just about politics, but is about prayer and sacrifice as well. Colbe said politics is a means to an end. They're trying to help mothers and fathers and babies live a good life and end up in heaven. They're concentrating on the spiritual side of things. On Good Friday, Christ is pierced for what we do wrong. It's not just about women who've had abortions, but for all of us who may have failed to help someone in a crisis pregnancy or otherwise were silent. It has the spiritual goal to be in union with God. Christ asked us to take up His cross and follow Him.Fr. Mark noted that Colbe has eight children. This is a family friendly event. They take two hours to walk what would normally take 20 minutes. There are people with strollers and others walking with a cane.Scot asked how people could do something like this in their town? She said they've had others who've done Ways of the Cross for Life as far as India. She has a booklet that she can send or email anyone. Email her at [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]).Colbe said that after 24 of these Ways of the Cross for Life, she knows that she has served Christ. It's not a great burden to organize it. Pick a time or place and invite others. Emphasis is on prayer, not on confrontation.**5th segment:** Scot, Fr. Mark, and Colbe consider the Gospel for Sunday. Because the Palm Sunday includes all of the Passion which is very long, they will consider the first Gospel that is read at the beginning of Mass.April 17, 2011 Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion, Gospel of the Procession of the Palms (Matthew 21:1-11)>When Jesus and the disciples drew near Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find an ass tethered, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them here to me. And if anyone should say anything to you, reply, ‘The master has need of them.’ Then he will send them at once.”>>This happened so that what had been spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled: Say to daughter Zion, “Behold, your king comes to you, meek and riding on an ass, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.” >>The disciples went and did as Jesus had ordered them. They brought the ass and the colt and laid their cloaks over them, and he sat upon them. The very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and strewed them on the road. The crowds preceding him and those following kept crying out and saying: “Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; hosanna in the highest.” >>And when he entered Jerusalem the whole city was shaken and asked, “Who is this?” And the crowds replied, “This is Jesus the prophet, from Nazareth in Galilee.”Holy Week begins an understanding of Jesus as king, connecting to the Old Testament. Fr. Mark said he connected it with Colbe feeling sent to do something. Likewise, the disciples are sent and the result is the glory of Jesus. We do our part for the Lord and and Christ does the rest. We lead people to ask the question, "Who is this Jesus?"Colbe says she loves that we are in different roles within the crowd of different roles at different times in our lives. Scot said that in the Holy Father's new book, Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week: From the Entrance Into Jerusalem To The Resurrection, he dictates it to the entrance to Jerusalem. He says hosanna is understood that it is connected to the coming of the king. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord would fulfill the messianic promises. Kings of the day controlled the means of transportation. The people understand that Christ at least believes he is the new king, but he is a king unlike what they were expecting, a king of peace, of simplicity, of the poor. Fr. Mark said they were ready to cheer the king they thought he was, but they abandoned him when he wasn't what they thought.The Holy Father also says the Palm Sunday is an anticipation of what the Church does each day in her liturgy. The Church sees the coming of Christ again and again in the bread and wine. The Church greets Him as one who continues to come. As a pilgrim, He comes to us and take us in His ascent to the cross and resurrection to the New Jerusalem.Fr. Mark said it is a perfect time to come home to the Church, to walk with Christ into the glories of Jerusalem. Don't wait for Easter. Come Palm Sunday with us on the journey.

**Today's host(s):** Scot Landry and Susan Abbott**Today's guest(s):** Gregory Tracy, managing editor of The Pilot, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Boston, and Domenico Bettinelli, creative director of Pilot New Media and former editor of Catholic World Report magazine* [The Pilot](http://www.pilotcatholicnews.com)* [The Anchor](http://www.anchornews.com) **Today's topics:** Pope John Paul's upcoming beatification and his feast day is set; Supreme Knight Carl Anderson's JFK talk; a great pro-life essay from a pre-teen; two new pastors in the Archdiocese and one going to Rome; closing of a school in Lawrence; the Archdiocese's annual financial report**1st segment:** * [Glastonbury Abbey](http://www.glastonburyabbey.org/)**2nd segment:** * [Vatican announces Masses, Oct. 22 feast day for Blessed John Paul (CNS)](http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1101438.htm)* [Pawtucket Roman Catholic parishes to merge (Boston Globe)](http://www.boston.com/news/local/rhode_island/articles/2011/04/12/pawtucket_roman_catholic_parishes_to_merge/)* [Supreme Knight Carl Anderson's talk on April 7](https://www.kofc.org/un/en/news/releases/detail/jfk_speech04082011.html)* [Supreme Knight Carl Anderson on The Good Catholic Life, April 5, 2011](http://www.thegoodcatholiclife.com/2011/04/05/program-0020-for-tuesday-april-5-2011/)**3rd segment:** * [St. Catherine of Siena, Norwood](http://www.stcatherinenorwood.org/)* [St. Margaret Mary, Westwood](http://www.saintmmparish.org/)* [St. Thomas Aquinas, Bridgewater](http://www.stthomasaquinas.com/)**4th segment:*** [St. Mary of the Assumption School](http://www.stmaryassumption-lawrence.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_ID=4)* [Archdiocese of Boston Annual Report](http://www.bostoncatholic.org/annualreport.aspx)**5th segment:*** [USCCB document: "Co-workers in the Vineyard of the Lord"](http://www.usccb.org/laity/laymin/co-workers.pdf)

**Today's host(s):** Scot Landry and Fr. Matt Williams**Today's guest(s):** Andrea Alberti, youth minister at St. Thomas Parish in Nahant and St. Mary High School, Lynn; and Chris Carmody, youth minister at Immaculate Conception in Salem and religion teacher at St. Mary High School, Lynn.* [Hunger for Justice on Facebook](http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_134715953259931)* [St. Mary High School, Lynn](http://www.smhlynn.org/)* [St. Thomas Parish, Nahant](http://www.stthomasnahant.com/)* [Immaculate Conception Parish, Salem](http://icsalem.org/)* [The Light Is On For You](http://www.thelightisonforyou.org)**Today's topics:** The Hunger for Justice retreat for 350 youths on Good Friday and Holy Saturday; and a special message from Bishop Robert Hennessey about the Sacrament of Confession**A summary of today's show:** Andrea Alberti and Chris Carmody share the amazing story of 350 youths on the Hunger for Justice Retreat fasting from Good Friday to the Easter Vigil, while serving the poor of their community, experiencing God's love and mercy in the sacraments, and raising tens of thousands of dollars for charity. Thousands of youths have experienced one of the 27 retreats and have borne much fruit in the Church.**1st segment:** Scot said that one of the things he hears so often working for the Church is the concern that we are not doing enough to engage young people in our Catholic faith. Behind this concern is the hope that we can figure out fresh ways to present our faith so that it connects with young people and sparks their interest to make a commitment to it as teenagers and adults.Today’s broadcast of The Good Catholic Life will give us all hope. What Andrea Alberti and Chris Carmody are doing up on the North Shore really works. The [Hunger for Justice](http://www.smhlynn.org/page.cfm?p=1083) retreat they organize on Good Friday and Holy Saturday attracts 350 students, who participate in carrying a cross through the town of Nahant, serving the homeless in Boston, and then experiencing together the joy of the Easter Vigil. Also today, we will hear a special message from Bishop Robert Hennessey about the Sacrament of Confession and its availability each Wednesday evening during The Light Is On For You campaign. **2nd segment:** Scot and Fr. Matt welcome Andrea Alberti and Chris Carmody to the program. This is the 27th time that Andrea and Chris have run the Hunger for Justice retreat. Andrea said it is now celebrated during the Triduum, but it started just as a service project with 6 confirmation students at Immaculate Conception Parish, Newburyport, who wanted to do something about the fact that children are denying every day. Chris was one of those students. They made a difference by fasting from food and any other kind of luxuries and got sponsors for each hour they did this, raising $7,000. Last Good Friday, they had 350 students who raised $25,000 that went to a hospital in Haiti.Scot asked Chris about what attracted him to do this as young person and who are the young people who take part in the Hunger for Justice retreat on Good Friday. Chris said it started when he was a freshman in high school and he remembers the adults in his parish who were so on fire with Christ and invited the kids to understand poverty, especially since they didn't see it growing up in Newburyport. As part of the retreat they walked miles for whatever water they needed because they had seen videos of poor women and children who walked for miles every morning and night for their water. The kids who come now see a need and feel a call from God in their hearts, knowing that they can make a difference, they can do something about it. They are God's hands and feet.What is the experience for the kids on the retreat? Andrea said they always try to begin everything around the sacraments, in an intimate relationship with Jesus. Their axiom is "Rules with Relationship = Rebellion." They could get students who have been in Catholic school for 11 years but can't relate what it means that Christ died on the cross on Good Friday and don't understand the basics of their faith. So on Good Friday, they get to carry the cross literally. They hear the Gospel message that Christ loves them so much He died for them. Fr. Matt last year preached for the kids on the beach during a prayer experience. There are sometimes kids who come because their parents make them because they got in trouble. One part of the experience is that they go into Boston to serve the homeless. Last year, they brought 2,500 pairs of socks into Boston and 2,000 sandwiches and the students were sent out to interact with the homeless. At one point they ran out of socks. This one boy who had been forced to go by his mother because he had got into trouble came up to Andrea to ask for more socks for a homeless man and when she said they didn't--on this freezing, cold Saturday--he gave away his own socks to the man who needed them. It is conversion on every level. Kids who are already in a relationship with Christ can go deeper on this retreat. Kids who have never met Christ can have an encounter with Him.Scot noted that the students fast from food for 35 hours and in the midst of the fast they hand out sandwiches. He remarked that it must be very difficult for them when they're hungry. Andrea noted that this is usually the first fasting experience for most of these students. She thinks that the retreat has grown so successful because the fuel that power it is prayer, fasting, and sacrifice. The kids are amazed that they can do this. When Chris did this, the kids worked in a soup kitchen cooking hot food and serving it. One year, the kids baked cookies and said, "Are you kidding me?" but the youth ministers encouraged them that they could do it. They see the power of fasting and the power of prayer.Scot asked Fr. Matt what it's like to see kids experience this retreat during the Triduum. Fr. Matt said he prays every day that God would raise up men and women who would not be afraid to mentor young men and women in the faith. What makes the Hunger for Justice experience powerful is that there is a core group of people who make young people a priority in their life and they are willing to pour out their lives for them. Kids respond to that. He remembers being on that beach on that Good Friday, just before noon, before the Way of the Cross to the Church for the Good Friday service, seeing those 350 kids and to have the opportunity to preach the Gospel to them.Fr. Matt asked how Chris and Andrea started off the retreat last year in a way that got the kids' attention. Andrea said they look for a way to make it interactive and dynamic, just like the sacraments. There were 400 people all together milling around on the beach. They had coordinated with the Nahant police to come down to the beach, to pull Fr. Matt aside to talk to him, and then the school principal, and then they had one of the dads start calling for his son. The son came out of the crowd and the police "arrested" him, put him in cuffs and in the police car. Another one of the students students stood on the giant cross they have and called out, "No, it wasn't him. It was me. Take me."All of the people present thought this whole drama was real. And then student's dad explained that this is what happened to Christ, that He was falsely accused and crucified on Good Friday. There was a beautiful moment of openness where they were receptive to hearing what Jesus Christ did for them. That's why they are able to fast. When the reality of Christ's sacrifice becomes real to them, they can then endure the 35 hours of fasting.**3rd segment:** Fr. Matt said that last week, they had [Bob Rice on the program](http://www.thegoodcatholiclife.com/2011/04/06/program-0021-for-wednesday-april-6-2011/) and he spoke of the importance of evangelizing young people in the classroom, that when we're catechizing them, we're not giving them dry facts, but we're witnessing to them and they experience Christ through us. He asked what makes Hunger for Justice so effective? What is it about their experience of the way the Gospel is presented that sets young people on fire? Andrea said it comes down to the sacraments of the Church. We often have such low expectations of young people, but really they want the truth. Their hearts are restless, until they rest in the Lord. They want to know about the One True Church and we shy away. This retreat is bold. The leaders of the retreat are challenged to daily Mass in preparation and say a daily Rosary. The kids are challenged to take their faith seriously and when they do their lives are changed. Amazing things happen.Fr. Matt reflects that so often when he celebrates Mass, he sees so few young people and those he sees look bored. But Andrea is saying something different, that when they are challenged and are exposed to the beauty of the Church something powerful happens. If we know of a teen who has an apathy toward the faith, what can a parent do to help them to know Jesus Christ? Andrea said you need to build a relationship with them, but first let your own faith grow. You can't give what you don't have. Your own life has to be rooted in Christ. You have to be a witness. We die to ourselves and Christ lives in us. All of our conversations on whatever topic, all our interactions, will have Christ at their heart. And when they say No to our first overtures, we should say Why not? The world pressures them to fall away from Christ, so we should persevere to give them what they are truly hungering for.Chris said Hunger for Justice makes Christ alive for them. They hear about Christ and they know facts about Him. But the retreat makes Christ a person to them. Like Mother Teresa would say she saw Jesus in the people she served, so too the kids see Jesus in the poor people they encounter on this retreat, as well as the adult leaders, during the Easter Vigil Mass, in the confessional where hundreds of kids all go to confession with 15 different priests.Scot brought the discussion back to the retreat itself. We know it starts on the beach with a moving and attention-grabbing beginning, followed by a procession of the cross to St. Thomas Parish in Nahant. Andrea said it takes 7 students at a time to carry the cross and they rotate in to help carry. Andrea grew up in the parish and last year she said she'd never seen the church more full and had never seen a more reverent congregation. They knew what was happening because they'd just heard the Gospel preached. They are an inspiration to the older people in the pews. They sat quietly for hour after hour.After that service, they head to St. Mary High School for a final meal and fast until Saturday after the Easter Vigil Mass. At the school, Chris said they eat the meal together and then get into small groups for group-building activities. They are not just serving the poor, but also serving one another. The kids come from many different parishes and this helps the teens to overcome shyness and awkwardness to relax and enjoy.Then they watch the movie "The Passion of the Christ". When they survey kids after the retreat on their favorite parts of the weekend they consistently say it is "The Passion of the Christ" and the Easter Vigil Mass. They take time to process what they saw and there is a time of prayer and healing. Taking up the retreat theme of "From Darkness into Light," they have a "glowstick" party and a time of fun. Then students sleep in cardboard "homes" where they sleep for the night. No pillows or anything. The girls are in the school cafeteria, the boys are in the gym.Chris said that on Saturday, they get up early and get on buses to go to Boston. They are broken up into three groups and they split up for three different locations: Boston Common, [St. Anthony's Shrine](http://www.stanthonyshrine.org/), and [Pine Street Inn](http://www.pinestreetinn.org/). They hand out whatever they have to the homeless. But the point is to stop and talk with the people they serve. The kids are amazed to have their preconceptions shaken up. Many of the homeless are educated or from good backgrounds who have fallen on hard times or just struggling. The kids are rotated by group through St. Anthony's Shrine where they hear a talk on God's mercy and confession. They have the opportunity for confession. Chris and Andrea said about 99% of the kids go to confession when given the opportunity, which Scot said it was positive peer pressure. Chris said about 10 or 12 priests available, including many of the Franciscans as well as pastors from the kids' parishes. The kids encourage each other to go to confession and talk about what it means for them.**4th segment:** Their work of service doesn't end here. They return to St. Mary's in Lynn and the leaders explain that after receiving absolution, they can now be filled with Christ to go out and evangelize and serve. They serve locally within Lynn in their small groups of 8 to 10 to homeless shelters, an orphanage, the local YMCA, the St. Vincent de Paul store. They do spring cleaning in every parish church available. Having fasted since the previous day, they continue to work hard with passion. It is rooted in what they see Christ did for them on Good Friday and now they serve others.Then they prepare to go the Easter Vigil Mass. Scot asked for how many is it their first Easter Vigil experience? Chris knows that is the first time for most of them because you can see it on their faces when they encounter the darkened church. They start on the Lynn common outside of St. Mary church for the candle-lighting ceremony and then process into the church singing. They get the kids as involved as possible, so they act as readers and servers. Last year, one of the youths was confirmed at the Vigil. While they're nervous at first at the unfamiliar Mass, they enjoy it immensely.Scot said it is the longest Mass of the year, but so moving. The [Exultet](http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?id=6341) that is sung in the darkness, with just the one candle, is a tremendously moving experience and song. Then it is followed by the 7 Old Testament readings that take us through salvation history, and the New Testament, and the Gospel and any rites of initiation. It's a catechesis of our whole faith in the one Mass. Fr. Matt said that over the previous 35 hours they've heard the Gospel, they've seen the suffering of the poor, they've been invited to give of themselves. There's something about the power of fasting that enables us to empty ourselves and make us think of others and the essentials of others. There's something about everything they experience that tills the heart so that they can experience the Mass anew. Without the relationship with Christ, Mass would be a boring routine, but after this weekend they have a new appreciation for the Mass.Andrea said she knows of three priests who heard their call to their vocation at an Easter Vigil Mass. They hear from some kids every year how shocking it is to realize that having fasted for so long that the first meal they receive is the Eucharist, that they understand that is truly Jesus. they are empty and they receive Jesus, and they say that this is how they came to the retreat: Empty, but now filled with Christ. when that epiphany happens, it is a beautiful moment and they pray for their openness in that moment so that the Easter Vigil is the pinnacle event.Fr. Matt notes that in their normal lives they are so full--full schedules, they get pretty much anything they want--yet the seem so spiritually empty as well. Andrea said that they see that so many of them "have it all" and it doesn't bring happiness. All these things of the world do not bring contentment and teens will admit that quicker than many adults will. That emptiness that they feel is the heart's longing for God's love. When this is revealed, that hunger for love is obvious on their faces. This is the message that works.This is the 15th year of doing the Hunger for Justice retreat during the Triduum and the 27th overall. Fr. Matt said that he knows that there is a ton of work that goes into making it happen. Andrea said it takes a year of planning. They start meetings with adult leaders 2 months out. They train youth leaders. They start bulletin announcements 3 months early. They put a cross in the back of churches that are participating with requests for supplies such as cases of Gatorade or water or other goods for the poor. The whole parish participates in the evangelization efforts of the youth.Chris said there are many adults who are involved in all the details. For example, there's the cardboard needed for the kids to make their cardboard houses. They need huge piles of cardboard for all 350 kids. They also have to provide lots of juices and other drinks for the kids while they fast. They have a leadership track of 70 high school students who have been on the retreat before. They meet every Wednesday night to help plan the retreat. Last weekend, the peer leaders spent another weekend on retreat to prepare for the Triduum weekend. And as much work as the logistics is, prayer is even bigger need. They get all the adults and all the kids to stay in prayer.One of the many fruits is the 70 high school leaders. Andrea said 21 of the young men among them went to a St. Andrew's Dinner, which is an event held at St. John's Seminary for young men who might be discerning a vocation to the priesthood. These are kids who are going to go deeper in their faith, building on the experience of the retreat. They go out to evangelize their world. 75 of the kids went to the March for Life in Boston. Every Tuesday at 7:15 am, before school, at St. Mary's, they 50 or more kids who come to pray in their chapel. Anytime they have a reconciliation opportunity at the school, they have 99% who show up. Andrea said Chris himself is one of the fruits of the retreats and there are others like him who went on the retreats and who are now students at Franciscan University of Steubenville, and planning to become youth ministers themselves.The retreat is open to all high school-age students. First, check to see if your parish is one of the 12 currently participating as a group, but the St. Mary High School website also has registration information (see link above). There is also a Hunger for Justice group on Facebook (see link above).Chris said that in the week's before the retreat the kids ask family, friends, neighbors, and parishioners to pledge donations. They emphasize that they need to give everyone an opportunity to be generous of whatever amount they can afford. Last year, they sent the funds to [Hospital Albert Schweitzer](http://www.hashaiti.org/), just outside of the capital. It was one of the few hospitals still functioning months after the earthquake. A family from Nahant knew of the hospital and its need for basic medical supplies. This year they will be sending the money to Japan. Anyone who wants to donate can send a check to Andrea Alberti, St. Mary's High School, 35 Tremont Street, Lynn, MA 01905 and make the check payable to "St Mary High School" with "Hunger for Justice" in the memo line.**5th segment:** It’s time to announce the winner of this week’s **WQOM Benefactor Raffle**. Our prize this week is a copy of the book [“Seven Pillars of Catholic Spirituality,”](http://www.dynamiccatholic.org/index.php?page=seven_pillars) a great book by Catholic writer Matthew Kelly. Kelly describes the pillars of Confession, Daily Prayer, The Mass, The Bible, Fasting, Spiritual Reading and the Rosary in a compelling way. This week’s winner is **Theresa Rose Verhault from Stoneham, MA**. Congratulations to Theresa. If you would like to be eligible to win in an upcoming week, please visit [WQOM.org](http://www.wqom.org). For a one-time $30 donation, you’ll receive the Station of the Cross benefactor card and key tag, making you eligible for our weekly raffle of books, DVDs, CDs and religious items. We’ll be announcing the winner each Wednesday during “The Good Catholic Life” program.And now a special message from Bishop Robert Hennessey on the Sacrament of Confession: