Everything we do in Lent is marked by journeying or pilgrimage. Where are you going and how are your Lenten disciplines of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving leading you there? Today as we celebrate the Fifth Sunday of Lent we enter into Passiontide, the two-week run-up toward the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ which we commemorate on Good Friday and Easter Sunday, respectively. This is the final countdown of our Lent pilgrimage, the last leg of our race, the highest switchback as we ascend the holy mountain toward Easter through Mount Calvary. This is the time to jettison excess gear, cinch in those straps, and lean into the steep climb. Let’s finish well as we’re strengthened by the Holy Spirit and one another’s encouragement!
On this Fifth Sunday of Lent, we hear the final installment of our Lenten “short course” through the history of salvation, that pilgrimage of faith we have walked through the Old Testament. We have seen God make covenants with his Elect from the very beginning (first through Noah) and establish the nation (through the Patriarchs—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob). We have seen God save and teach his chosen people through the Exodus (with Moses at Mt. Sinai) and then take up his dwelling among them in the Temple (through the royal line of King David) as God brought his people back from their wandering and exile. Maybe your story is like theirs too? Today God tells us where that story will turn next as we hear him speak through his “mouthpiece,” the Prophet Jeremiah, a promise to establish a New Covenant in every human heart. I find that slowly meditating on the penitential Psalm, Miserere mei (Psalm 51), which we proclaim as our responsorial Psalm today just as we did on Ash Wednesday, is a most fitting way to prepare my heart to partner with God. This week, as you prepare your heart to be rent during Holy Week and make a place for Jesus to triumphantly pitch his home in you, to give you new life, you might also place a symbol of your heart in your family’s prayer corner along with the other symbols of the Old Testament covenants we have added week-by-week. Maybe review from the first week of Lent this overview of the covenants as we’ve now heard them all proclaimed for us Sunday by Sunday inviting us into the same story: https://youtu.be/6v4jKkFj3TI
A pious custom of veiling Crosses and images is observed in some parishes and homes. In a way this reflects that inward turn which God makes as he promises a new covenant which shall no longer be written on exterior tablets but rather be etched into our hearts. “In the Dioceses of the United States, the practice of covering crosses and images throughout the church from this [Fifth] Sunday [of Lent] may be observed. Crosses remain covered until the end of the Celebration of the Lord’s Passion on Good Friday, but images remain covered until the beginning of the Easter Vigil” (Roman Missal, third edition, Fifth Sunday of Lent). Veiling images reduces the stimuli for our senses and therefore invites us to focus on our interior life, the work God is doing therein to create a new heart. The color of such veils is not prescribed but they have traditionally been lightweight, non-ornate, and purple. I have seen a deep, reddish plum veil as emblematic of the blood of the Paschal Lamb which marked the doorposts of the Hebrews. I do not personally find the aesthetic of, for example, putting the processional crucifix in a bag very appealing; however, veiling images might be a practice your family wants to take up at home to heighten that sense of preparing our hearts inwardly by stripping away everything, even holy images, until we rejoice anew at Eastertide. There is indeed a heavy veil of mourning which is being cast over Jesus’ ministry as he enters his Passiontide.
On this Fifth Sunday of Lent (Year B) our Gospel offers us a third and final foreshadowing of Christ’s impending death. We previously heard Jesus say the Temple of his body would be destroyed (Third Sunday of Lent, John 2) and his telling Nicodemus that the Son of Man must be “lifted up” (Fourth Sunday of Lent, John 3). Today, we continue John’s Gospel in the latter part of chapter 12 as Jesus tells his disciples that he is like a grain of wheat which must be buried only to burst forth from its dead husk and rise again. This teaching follows Jesus’ raising of Lazarus in the previous chapter and his sister, Mary, anointing Jesus’ feet before Jesus enters Jerusalem. The Elect will hear and meditate on that account of Jesus calling Lazarus out from the tomb and declaring “I am the Resurrection and the Life” (John 11:25) as part of their third and final Scrutiny this Sunday. Let us remember in our prayer these Elect, now formed in the holy mysteries, that God may “grant to these chosen ones…new life at the font of Baptism and number them among the members of Christ’s Church” (For the Third Scrutiny).
We can practically smell the perfumed residue of Mary’s anointing of Jesus at the annual Chrism Mass celebrated in our archdiocese during this week before Holy Week. On Thursday evening, March 21, at 7:00 PM at St. James Cathedral we will celebrate one of the most important archdiocesan events. Most geographically widespread dioceses such as ours transfer the celebration of this Chrism Mass from the time given in the Roman Missal on the morning of Holy Thursday to another time close by when all the priests of the diocese are easier able to attend. It is in the context of the celebration of the Chrism Mass that, each year, every priest in every diocese renews his commitment to his priestly ministry and his promise of obedience to the bishop. It is a beautiful way that Archbishop Etienne, our chief shepherd, will gather his priests just like Jesus gathered the Apostles at the Last Supper, to commune with them in the concelebration of the Liturgy of the Eucharist. The high point and namesake of this Chrism Mass is the blessing of the Holy Oils. During the Chrism Mass the faithful will present the olive oil which Archbishop Etienne will bless to become the Oil of the Sick (used for the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick) and the Oil of Catechumens (used before a person is Baptized). The faithful will also present olive oil and aromatic oils (including balsam) like that which Mary used to anoint Jesus’ feet. Archbishop Etienne will then breathe into this aromatic mixture the Holy Spirit that has been poured out on him in his episcopal ordination thus consecrating the Sacred Chrism (used for Confirmation, the post-Baptismal anointing, the anointing of priests’ hands at their ordination, and the anointing of the altar and walls of a church during her dedication). These oils are then aliquoted so that each priest may take them to the parish, campus ministry, etc. which has been entrusted to him so that these oils may be used in the sacramental ministries throughout this coming year. The Chrism Mass is a glorious celebration linking our parish celebrations with our archbishop, that successor to the Apostles whom Christ has given to teach, guide, and sanctify us as he himself did. I encourage you to start your Holy Week a little early by attending or, if you can’t make it to Seattle, participating online in the Chrism Mass: https://www.stjames-cathedral.org/Events/2024/chrism.aspx The sacraments and their ministers are essential for what it means to be a Catholic Christian. These sacraments are our lifeblood and the Chrism Mass allows us all be united in the ministry of the Apostles handed down to our bishop.
Two weeks ago our sanctoral drew our attention to several Holy Women—St. Photina (the name the tradition gives to the Samaritan Woman at the Well), Ss. Perpetua and Felicity, and St. Frances of Rome. This week we look to several men whose heroic virtue numbers them among the Church Triumphant and whose intercession we seek. This mirrors well the ideas our teens have been reflecting on during their Frassati Youth Group with the Theology of the Body. A huge thanks to Erin and Ryan Simmons for leading our teens to see their God given femininity and masculinity as the unique means by which God sanctifies us and builds up his Church.
The memorial of St. Patrick falls on this Sunday and, since it is a Sunday, your normal Lenten abstinence doesn’t apply. I look forward to seeing you at the St. Patrick’s feast at the parish social hall. And, in a special way, as we remember the first Catholic parish of Vashon-Maury Island, St. Patrick in Dockton (marked by a plaque on the Dockton historic trail and whose bell is in Dockton Park), as well as look ahead to the future of our parish family including St. Patrick, Tacoma as our Partner in the Gospel, this is truly a parish titular feast! Everyone is a wee bit Irish on St. Patrick’s Day it seems! There are countless ways that the wider world has marked this holiday of March but is important for us as Catholics to keep in mind the real St. Patrick who was enslaved as a young child, relied on God’s grace, and when set free returned to the land of his captors to preach the Good News of God’s mercy in Christ Jesus to them. That is indeed a heroic story! Whether he drove the snakes out of Ireland as shown on the crest of Bishop Edward O’Dea under which I teach everyday—or more profoundly held up the Light of Christ to defeat the darkness of superstitious and inhumane forces that once held the Emerald Isle in bondage—we recall on this day a dedicated Apostle whose ascetic lifestyle, charismatic preaching in defense of the Holy Trinity, and incarnational theology wed the things of this world to invisible spiritual realities. I encourage you to pray the complete Lorica (or Breastplate) of St. Patrick which you can find in your Catholic Household Blessings and Prayers and at https://aleteia.org/2021/03/16/st-patricks-breastplate-unpacked/ In last week’s installment I made a film suggestion and offered a couple of brief videos about the life of St. Patrick. Be sure to check those out online if you haven’t. Lastly, I chose St. Patrick as my confirmation saint since I was moved by his missionary efforts, the powerful effects of later Irish monastics and scribes (see Cahill’s How the Irish Saved Civilization: The Untold Story of Ireland’s Heroic Role from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Medieval Europe), and the resilience of the Irish Catholic population who faced persecution not only at home when England conquered Ireland but also at the hands of Nativists here in the United States. St. Patrick is indeed a holy man whose memory and legacy are worthy of celebration!
Tomorrow, on Monday, March 18, we keep the memorial of St. Cyril of Jerusalem (c. 313 – 386) not to be confused with St. Cyril of Alexandria. St. Cyril of Jerusalem was bishop of the Holy City when Christianity was able to emerge as a religio licita (legal religion) in the Roman Empire. Cyril of Jerusalem is most well known as the author of more than a dozen Catechetical Homilies given to the catechumens preparing for the sacraments and his continuation of their formation in seven or so Mystagogical Catecheses given after the neophytes’ Christian initiation. These texts are included in the Office of Readings as the Second Reading during the Octave of Easter and formed the core of a formation retreat during Easter Week that I have used with the newly baptized. Egeria, an Iberian pilgrim to the Holy Land at the time St. Cyril was bishop of Jerusalem, records in her extant journals that Cyril was the liturgist and preacher during the Paschal celebrations which she describes in some detail. We thus can reconstruct with surprising accuracy both the liturgy and the preaching of late fourth century Jerusalem during Holy Week! This pattern helped to shape the present celebration of the Paschal Triduum which was restored in 1955. As you make a plan to participate fully in our Holy Week and Paschal Triduum liturgies with your family, check out this beautiful Catechesis XXI of St. Cyril: https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/310121.htm
Then on Tuesday we have a rare Solemnity during Lent, the Solemnity of St. Joseph, spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary. If you flip open your Catholic Household Blessings and Prayers you will see a Blessing of a St. Joseph Table. The popular custom, especially in Sicily, is to bless a table laden with breads, pastries, and at least one lima bean. These are then shared with the poor. For many years we have made Zeppole di San Giuseppe, a choux pastry filled with pistachio pudding. We know exceedingly little about St. Joseph from the Gospels; however, there is much we can fill in through Old Testament typology and from these many pious customs have arisen including a recent interest in Consecration to St. Joseph. Throughout the sweeping Christian tradition the Solemnity of St. Joseph has been an occasion to ponder fatherhood, a sort of Catholic Father’s Day. Years ago, I came across a beautiful explanation from St. Augustine of Hippo that St. Joseph was not only the foster father of Jesus but also was himself adopted, something St. Augustine evinces from the different genealogies of Jesus he encountered in the scriptures, thus showing this deep empathy St. Joseph had toward his adopted son, the Son of God, our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ. I stop by the statue of St. Joseph in St. James Cathedral every weekday afternoon on my way home from O’Dea and touch the feet of St. Joseph as I pray that God work through me to be a good, holy spouse and father. I certainly need the intercession and example of St. Joseph! As you enjoy your St. Joseph buns perhaps pray this Litany of St Joseph, our patron of the Universal Church: https://www.usccb.org/prayers/litany-saint-joseph “Go to Joseph!”
Finally, although not on the universal calendar, the Transitus of St. Benedict (March 21) on Thursday of this week is a memorial kept by Benedictine monastics and was the principal memorial of St. Benedict until his memorial was moved to July 11 so as not to have too many festivals during Lent.
I hope to see you at the Chrism Mass on Thursday and next week we’ll briefly address the transfer of the Annunciation and get into Holy Week!
iCasad 