The Supreme Importance of Prayer

One mark of Modernism is the emphasis on social justice.  There are those who feel it is at least as important, and maybe even more so, to concentrate on taking care of the physical needs of people than on our personal prayer and our relationship with Our Lord.  But in his weekly audience on April 25, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI specifically stated:  "It is significant that the Apostles acknowledge the importance of both prayer and works of charity, yet clearly give priority to prayer and the proclamation of the Gospel."  The most important part of our lives is prayer, even above works of charity.  Why would that be?  Without prayer, we are living our lives apart from God, who is the source of all that is good.  Works of charity, apart from God, who is True Love, are meaningless, as the Apostle Paul told us in I Corinthians 13:1-3:

If I speak with the tongues of men, and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And if I should have prophecy and should know all mysteries, and all knowledge, and if I should have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And if I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor, and if I should deliver my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

Works of charity will flow out of our relationship with God, as surely as planting a seed in the ground will cause a plant to grow and bloom.  But we must first have that relationship with God, and that is what our Holy Father is telling us.  Apart from God and a close personal relationship with our Creator, we are nothing more than sounding brass and clanging symbols.

Dear brothers and sisters,

In the last catechesis, I showed that from the beginning of her journey, the Church found herself having to face unforeseen situations, new questions and emergencies, which she sought to respond to in the light of faith, by allowing herself to be guided by the Holy Spirit.

Today I would like to pause to reflect on another of these situations, on a serious problem that the first Christian community in Jerusalem had to face and resolve, as St. Luke tells us in the sixth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, regarding the pastoral care of charity shown to those were alone and in need of help and assistance. The question is not of secondary importance for the Church and, at the time, it risked creating divisions within the Church; in fact, the number of the disciples was increasing, but the Hellenists began to murmur against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution (cf. Acts 6:1). Faced with this urgent need involving a fundamental aspect of the life of the community; i.e. charity shown to the weak, the poor, and the defenseless -- and justice -- the Apostles summon the whole group of the disciples.

At this time of pastoral emergency what stands out is the Apostles’ discernment. They are faced with the primary need to proclaim the Word of God according to the mandate of the Lord; but even though this is the primary demand placed upon the Church -- they consider with equal seriousness the duty of charity and of justice, that is, the duty of assisting widows and the poor, of lovingly providing for their brothers and sisters in situations of need, in order to respond to Jesus’ command: love one another as I have loved you (cf. John 15:12,17).

Therefore, the two realities they must live out within the Church -- the proclamation of the Word, the primacy of God, and concrete charity, justice -- are creating difficulties and a solution must be found, so that both may have their place, their necessary relation. The Apostles’ reflection is very clear; they say, as we heard: “It is not right that we should give up preaching the Word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brethren, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word” (Acts 6:2-4).

Two things appear: first, that from that moment in the Church, there is a ministry of charity. The Church must not only proclaim the Word; she must also make the Word, which is charity and truth, a reality. And the second point: these men were to be not only of good repute; they must be men filled with the Holy Spirit and wisdom; that is, they cannot be mere organizers who know how to “do”; they must “do so” in the spirit of faith by the light of God, in wisdom of heart. Therefore also their role -- though primarily of a practical nature -- is still a spiritual role. Charity and justice are not only social actions; rather, they are spiritual activities realized in the light of the Holy Spirit.

Therefore, we may say that the situation is handled with great responsibility on the part of the Apostles, who make this decision: seven men are chosen; the Apostles pray in order to ask for the power of the Holy Spirit; and then they lay hands on them so that they might be dedicated in a special way to this service of charity. Thus, in the Church’s life, in the first steps she takes, what happened during Jesus’ public life, in the home of Martha and Mary in Bethania, is reflected in a certain way. Martha was wholly given over to the service of hospitality offered to Jesus and to His disciples; Mary, on the other hand, devotes herself to listening to the Word of the Lord (cf. Luke 10:38-42). In both cases, the moments of prayer and of listening to God, and daily activity, i.e. the exercise of charity, are not placed in opposition. Jesus’ reminder: “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things; one thing is needful. Mary has chosen the better part, which shall not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:41-42), as well as the Apostles’ reflection: “We … will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the Word” (Acts 6:4), demonstrate the priority that we must give to God.

I do not wish to enter now into an interpretation of this Martha-Mary pericope. At any rate, activity on behalf of one’s neighbor, for the other, should not be condemned; however, it should be emphasized that activity must also be penetrated interiorly by the spirit of contemplation. On the other hand, St. Augustine says that the reality of Mary is a vision of what shall be ours in heaven; therefore, on earth we can never have it completely, but a little taste of anticipation must nonetheless be present in all of our activities. The contemplation of God must also be present. We must not lose ourselves in pure activism, but should always allow ourselves to be penetrated, even in our activity, by the light of God’s Word and thereby learn true charity, true service of our neighbor, who doesn’t need many things -- certainly he has need of the necessities -- but who above all needs our heart’s affection, the light of God. [The Holy Father is telling us that yes, we must take care of the physical needs of our neighbors, but first and foremost are the spiritual needs.]

St. Ambrose, commenting on the episode of Martha and Mary, thus exhorts his faithful and also us: “Let us also seek to have what cannot be taken away from us, by offering diligent, undistracted attention to the Lord’s Word: for it also happens that the seeds of the heavenly word are carried off, if they are strewn along the path. Like Mary, stir up within yourself the desire to know: this is the greatest, most perfect work.” And he adds: “may the care of ministry not distract us from the knowledge of heavenly words,” from prayer (Expositio Evangelii secundum Lucam, VII, 85: PL 15, 1720).

The saints, then, have experienced a profound unity of life between prayer and action, between total love of God and love for the brethren. [Our ultimate goal - to love God and to love our fellow man] St. Bernard, who is a model of harmony between contemplation and industriousness, in the book De consideratione, addressed to Pope Innocent II in order to offer him a few reflections on his ministry, insists precisely upon the importance of interior recollection and of prayer in defending oneself from the dangers of excessive activity, whatever be the condition in which we find ourselves and the task we carry out. St. Bernard affirms that too many occupations, a frenetic life, often end in hardening the heart and in making the spirit suffer (cf. II, 3).  [Action without contemplative prayer will lead to burnout and make us ineffectual and spiritually impotent.]

It is a precious reminder for us today, habituated as we are to evaluate everything based upon the criteria of productivity and efficiency. The passage from the Acts of the Apostles reminds us of the importance of work -- whence, undoubtedly, true ministry is born – and of the importance of commitment to daily activity responsibly carried out with dedication, but it also reminds us of our need for God, for His guidance, for His light, which gives us strength and hope. Without daily prayer faithfully lived out, our activity becomes empty, it loses its deep soul, it is reduced to mere activism, which in the end leaves us unsatisfied.

There is a beautiful invocation from the Christian tradition to be recited before each activity, which goes like this: “Actiones nostras, quæsumus, Domine, aspirando præveni et adiuvando prosequere, ut cuncta nostra oratio et operatio a te semper incipiat, et per te coepta finiatur”, that is: “Inspire our actions, Lord, and accompany them by your help, so that our every word and act may always have its beginning in you and in you be brought to completion.” Every step of our lives, every action -- also of the Church -- must be carried out before God, in the light of His Word.

In last Wednesday’s catechesis I had emphasized the first Christian community’s undivided prayer in the face of trial and how, precisely in prayer, in meditation on Sacred Scripture, it was able to understand the events it was going through. When prayer is nourished by the Word of God we are able to see reality with new eyes, with the eyes of faith, and the Lord -- who speaks to the mind and heart -- gives new light on the journey at every moment and in every situation. We believe in the power of God’s Word and in prayer. Even the difficulties the Church was living through when faced with the problem of service to the poor -- the question of charity -- were overcome through prayer, in the light of God, of the Holy Spirit.

St. Peter Ordaining St. Stephen

The Apostles did not merely ratify their choice of Stephen and the other men, but “after having prayed, they laid their hands upon them” (Acts 6:6). The Evangelist will record these acts again on the occasion of the election of Paul and Barnabas, where we read: “after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off” (Acts 13:3). It again confirms that the practice of charity is a spiritual service. Both realities must go together.

With the laying on of hands, the Apostles confer a particular ministry upon seven men, so that they might be given the corresponding grace. The emphasis on prayer -- “after praying,” they say -- is important because it highlights the action’s spiritual dimension; it is not simply a matter of conferring a task, as happens in a social organization; rather, it is an ecclesial event in which the Holy Spirit appropriates to Himself seven men whom the Church has chosen by consecrating them in the Truth, who is Jesus Christ: He is the silent protagonist, present in the imposition of hands so that those who are chosen might be transformed by His power and sanctified in order to face the practical challenges, the challenges of pastoral life. And the emphasis on prayer reminds us, moreover, that it is only through an intimate relationship with God cultivated each day that a response to the Lord’s choice is born and that every ministry in the Church is entrusted.

Dear brothers and sisters, the pastoral problem that led the Apostles to choose and lay hands on seven men charged with the task of the service of charity, in order that they might dedicate themselves to prayer and to preaching the Word, indicates also to us the primacy of prayer and of God’s Word, which then also produces pastoral action. For Pastors, this is the first and most precious form of service paid to the flock entrusted to them. If the lungs of prayer and the Word of God fail to nourish the breath of our spiritual life, we risk suffocating amid a thousand daily cares: prayer is the breath of the soul and of life. And there is another precious reminder that I would like to emphasize: in our relationship with God, in listening to His Word, in conversation with God, even when we find ourselves in the silence of a church or in our room, we are united in the Lord with so many brothers and sisters in faith, like an ensemble of instruments that, though retaining their individuality, offer to God one great symphony of intercession, of thanksgiving and of praise. Thank you.

Once more, the depth and wisdom of the Holy Father amazes me.  He strikes at the core of the ills we face, and shows that we have and are nothing apart from our Creator.  The Holy Father, in his message, emphasizes how absolutely vital prayer is to our lives.  As Pope Benedict XVI said:  "If the lungs of prayer and the Word of God fail to nourish the breath of our spiritual life, we risk suffocating amid a thousand daily cares: prayer is the breath of the soul and of life. "

Are You a Dumb Sheep?

Our Lord has called us sheep. Is he just trying to tell us we are stupid? Well, that might be true for some of us, but this is not what our Lord meant.  The universal perception of sheep is that they are so stupid they will follow one another right off of a cliff to their own deaths if they are not stopped. This is true, but it's not because sheep are stupid.  There is a reason why sheep act with "group think."  From sheep101.info: 

Due to their strong flocking instinct and failure to act independently of one another, sheep have been universally branded "stupid." But sheep are not stupid. Their only protection from predators is to band together and follow the sheep in front of them. If a predator is threatening the flock, this is not the time to act independently.

Sheep have no way to protect themselves other than to band together. Therefore, they will follow one another even into apparent danger. Sheep need a shepherd to survive. 

Man's greatest enemy is Satan, who wants to destroy each and every one of us, and without anyone to defend us, Satan will accomplish his evil purpose. We, in our natural carnal state, are completely defenseless against his wickedness and evil.  Like sheep, we can sense there is something evil out to destroy us, but also like sheep, we have no natural defense against that evil.  We tend to band together because we feel that is our only defense, which in turn leads us to destruction.  But our Lord came to this earth as a man and died on the cross to become the Good Shepherd who will protect and save us from the evil one.

The Gospel for today in the Traditional Latin Mass is taken from John 10:11-16 in which Jesus tells us He is the Good Shepherd who will lay down his life to save His sheep.  

11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his life for his sheep.

12 But the hireling, and he that is not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf snatcheth, and scattereth the sheep:

13 And the hireling fleeth, because he is a hireling: and he hath no care for the sheep.

14 I am the good shepherd, and I know mine, and mine know me.

15 As the Father knoweth me, and I know the Father, and I lay down my life for my sheep.

16 And other sheep I have, that are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

There is an excellent reading in the Traditional Breviary by St. Gregory the Pope in which he explains that this beautiful passage not only tells us how to recognize the Good Shepherd, but how to follow the example of Jesus and lead others to the true Way of Life.

Dearly beloved, ye have heard from the Holy Gospel what is at once your instruction, and our danger. For behold what Christ saith concerning goodness! He himself is good, not from any gift of nature bestowed upon him, but by the very essence of his being, and he saith : I am the Good Shepherd. And then he saith what is the character of his goodness, even of that goodness of his which we must strive to copy : The Good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. As he had foretold, even so did he ; what he had commanded, that he exemplified. The Good Shepherd gave his life for the sheep, and made his own body and his own blood to be our Sacramental Food, pasturing upon his own Flesh the sheep whom he had bought.

He, by despising death, hath shewn us how to do the like ; he hath set before us the mould wherein it behoveth us to be cast. Our first duty is, freely and tenderly to spend our outward things for his sheep, but lastly, if need be, to serve the same by our death also. From the light offering of the first, we go on to the stern offering of the last ; and, if we be ready to give our life for the sheep, why should we scruple to give our substance, seeing how much more is the life than meat?

And some there be which love the things of this world better than they love the sheep. All such as they no longer deserve to be called shepherds. For these are they of whom it is written : But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth. Such an one as this is not a shepherd but an hireling, which feedeth the Lord's sheep, not because he loveth their souls, but because he obtaineth earthly gain thereby. He that taketh upon himself a shepherd's place, but seeketh not gain of souls, that same is but an hireling ; such an one is ever ready for creature-comforts, he loveth his pre-eminence, he groweth sleek upon his income, and he liketh well to see men bow down to him.

This last paragraph is especially ominous, I think, for all bishops and priests who have been given a duty to protect the people of God.  How many are sacrificing the people of God because they want to just fit in with the rest of the world, they don't want anyone to think badly of them and so will not stand up for what is right?  We may not always be able to depend on humans for the protection we need, but we can always be sure that the Good Shepherd will never let us down. 

Legalized Torture and Killing

There is a horrific story out of South Carolina about a family dog that killed and dismembered a 2-month old child.  According to the story, this happened while the father slept.  The mother discovered this unbelievable tragedy when she returned home.  From the article:  "Aiden McGrew’s mother called 911 when she got home around 11 a.m. and discovered the boy’s leg was severed by a retriever mix the family had taken into the home a few weeks earlier."  The coroner, Chris Nisbet, said, "Today is one of the saddest days in my [over] 20 years of being in the Dorchester County Coroner’s Office as I report to all of you one of the worst deaths I have ever handled."  This will, I am sure, haunt all involved for the rest of their lives.   I definitely offer prayers for the family that they will somehow be able to handle this terrible tragedy.

But the unfortunate fact of our society is that thousands of small children are killed and dismembered every day in the United States, and many more tens of thousands throughout the world.  It is completely legal.  It is called abortion.  Yes, these are "unborn" children, but the truth is that if the child in the South Carolina story had been four months younger, or a 7 month old preborn baby, it would have been completely legal to go into the womb of Aiden McGrew's mother and tear him apart limb from limb. 

Most people are not aware of just how abortions are done.  There are different methods, but one that is often employed is called "Dilation and Curettage", in which the abortionist goes into the mother's womb with a  hook shaped knife (curette) which cuts the baby into pieces. The pieces are scraped out through the cervix and discarded.  The diagram at the right shows how this is done.  A nurse must then reassemble all the dismembered parts of the baby to make sure none were left in the mother.  As you can see from the diagram, the last part of the baby to be removed is the head.  I will spare showing you pictures of a mutilated baby from this procedure, but if you are interested, you can do an online search.  But I will warn you, these pictures are gruesome beyond description.

This is what happens in abortion clinics throughout our country. This is what we are paying for when we give taxpayer dollars to Planned Parenthood. We are paying for the mutilation and murder of innocent babies in the wombs of their mothers. Most people blissfully and ignorantly walk by these killing fields never thinking about the horrors happening on the other side of those walls. Little legs and arms are torn off of babies' bodies, their heads are decapitated. And it is a scientific fact that a fetus can feel pain at least as early as 8 weeks.

We cringe at stories like the one from South Carolina, and we hold our children a little closer to us thankful that such a dreadful event has not happened in our families. But as you read this, remember that it is happening to thousands of children at this very moment. How much longer can our loving God put up with this satanic evil? How much longer can good people allow this to happen right under their own noses? If you are sickened by the story out of South Carolina, then you should be even more outraged that this is sanctioned by our government. What are you doing about it? Edmund Burke said: "The only thing necessary for the triumph [of evil] is for good men to do nothing."

Where Did That Health and Wealth Gospel Go?

Jesus appearing to St. Faustina

Today in the contemporary Liturgical Calendar, it is Divine Mercy Sunday, a beautiful day given to us through the diary of St. Faustina, a Polish nun to whom Christ appeared in the 1930's to announce his great message of Divine Mercy.  In her diary, St. Faustina wrote these words of our Lord:

My image already is in your soul. I desire that there be a Feast of Mercy. I want this image, which you will paint with a brush, to be solemnly blessed on the first Sunday after Easter; that Sunday is to be the Feast of Mercy.

This day was instituted by Blessed John Paul II in 2000 when St. Faustina was canonized.  It is a wonderful feast day with many blessings attached to it.

But I am concentrating today on the readings from the Traditional Breviary.  The Gospel for the Traditional Calendar today is from John 20:19-31.  In this passage, the apostles are hiding out from the Jews in fear of their lives a week after Christ's crucifixion, even though most of them have seen the risen Christ.  One who had not seen the risen Christ at this point was Thomas, Doubting Thomas as we call him.  Christ appears and Thomas now believes and utters those words that lay people still utter at the consecration in the Holy Mass:  "My Lord and My God!"

19 Now when it was late that same day, the first of the week, and the doors were shut, where the disciples were gathered together for fear of the Jews: Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them; Peace be to you.

20 And when he had said this, he shewed them his hands, and his side. The disciples, therefore, were glad, when they saw the Lord.

21 He said therefore to them again; Peace be to you. As the Father hath sent me, I also send you.

22 When he had said this, he breathed on them, and he said to them: Receive ye the Holy Ghost:

23 Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them: and whose you shall retain, they are retained.

24 Now Thomas, one of the twelve, who is called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.

25 The other disciples, therefore, said to him; We have seen the Lord. But he said to them; Unless I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.

26 And after eight days, his disciples were again within, and Thomas with them. Jesus cometh, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said; Peace be to you.

27 Then he saith to Thomas; Put in thy finger hither, and see my hands, and bring hither thy hand, and put it into my side: and be not incredulous, but faithful.

28 Thomas answered, and said to him; My Lord, and my God.

29 Jesus saith to him; Because thou hast seen me, Thomas, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and have believed.

30 Many other signs also did Jesus in the sight of his disciples, which are not written in this book.

31 But these are written that you may believe, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God: and that believing, you may have life in his name.

As we were reminded at the Mass I attended yesterday, this day also marks the institution of the Sacrament of Confession, as noted in verses 22:23:

When he had said this, he breathed on them, and he said to them: Receive ye the Holy Ghost:  Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them: and whose you shall retain, they are retained." 

There is yet another lesson from this passage that St. Augustine brought out and which was used in the readings for the Traditional Breviary.   In verse 21, Christ said to the Apostles:

As the Father hath sent me, I also send you.

This is a very short statement packed with tremendous meaning, as was everything Christ said.  St. Augustine gives us an excellent explanation, and it is not in keeping with the world's understanding of what it means to be a Christian:

Christ Instructing Apostles

Then said Jesus unto them again : Peace be unto you ; as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. That is, As my Father, who is God, hath sent me, who am God, even so do I, who am Man, send you, who are men. The Father sent the Son, whom he appointed to be made man for the redemption of man. Him he willed to send into the world to suffer, albeit this Jesus whom he sent to suffer was the Son whom he loved. And the Lord Jesus sendeth his chosen Apostles into the world, not to be happy in the world, but, as he had been himself sent, to suffer. As the Father loveth the Son and yet sendeth him to suffer, even so doth the Lord love his disciples, albeit he sendeth them unto the world, to suffer therein. And therefore it is well said : As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. That is, Even though I send you into the wild storm of persecution, I do love you all the same ; yea, I not only do have a love for you ; but I love you with a love like unto that wherewith the Father loveth me, who sent me into the world to bear agony therein.

In our modern world, we are far too often taught that to be a Christian means to enjoy the great physical blessings of God, i.e., health and wealth.  How many times have we heard, God wants you to be happy!  He doesn't want you to live in poverty and suffer.  In fact, if you are not physically blessed, that means you are doing something wrong and you must be a great sinner!  Well, that is not what our Lord said, and not what the great saints of the Church have told us. 

The Grotto at Lourdes

The greatest saints in the Church all suffered in this life.  One prime example is St. Bernadette, the visionary at Lourdes, which is renowned for all those who have been healed there.  Yet, St. Bernadette suffered terribly in her short life.  From a short autobiography of St. Bernadette:

Even from her earliest years at Nevers she had been a victim of a tubercular condition of the right knee, but this developed into an abcess in 1877, which left her in constant and agonizing pain. In 1879 she became much weaker, was hardly able to eat and became quite emaciated. She was also tormented by painful sores on all her limbs. On 28 March she was anointed for the fourth and final time, dying on 16 April.

Her comment was that the healing at Lourdes was for others, not for her. Was she bitter about this? The following are quotes from this beloved saint:

It is so good, so sweet and above all, so beneficial to suffer. 

I'm happier with my crucifix on my bed of pain than a queen on her throne. 

O Jesus and Mary, let my entire consolation in this world be to love you and to suffer for sinners. 

O Jesus, I would rather die a thousand deaths than be unfaithful to you! 

I must die to myself continually and accept trials without complaining. I work, I suffer and I love with no other witness than his heart. Anyone who is not prepared to suffer all for the Beloved and to do his will in all things is not worthy of the sweet name of Friend, for here below, Love without suffering does not exist.


I shall spend every moment loving. One who loves does not notice her trials; or perhaps more accurately, she is able to love them. 

O my Mother, to you I sacrifice all other attachments so that my heart may belong entirely to you and to my Jesus. 

I shall do everything for Heaven, my true home. There I shall find my Mother in all the splendor of her glory. I shall delight with her in the joy of Jesus himself in perfect safety. 

From this moment on, anything concerning me is no longer of any interest to me. I must belong entirely to God and God alone. Never to myself.

Are we willing to suffer for the Kingdom of God?  There is no easy road to heaven.  Our Lord was the example for us, just as St. Augustine wrote:

The Father sent the Son, whom he appointed to be made man for the redemption of man. Him he willed to send into the world to suffer, albeit this Jesus whom he sent to suffer was the Son whom he loved. And the Lord Jesus sendeth his chosen Apostles into the world, not to be happy in the world, but, as he had been himself sent, to suffer.

Our first Pope wrote in I Peter 2:21-23:

For to this you have been called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving you an example that you should follow his steps.  Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:  Who when he was reviled, did not revile: when he suffered, he threatened not: but delivered himself to him that judged him unjustly. 

And in I Peter 4:12-13:

Dearly beloved, think not strange the burning heat which is to try you, as if some new thing happened to you: But partaking of the sufferings of Christ, rejoice that also in the revelation of his glory ye may rejoice with exultation.

Let us take up our Crosses, rejoicing and thanking Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, as we follow him into the Kingdom of Heaven.

Easter Meditation: The Women At Christ's Sepulchre

Easter is such a joyous Feast, celebrating Christ's victory over sin and death and the opening of heaven to mankind, that it cannot be celebrated in just one day.  Easter is celebrated the entire week, so each day is Easter Sunday, Easter Monday, Easter Tuesday, etc. 

Below is the meditation from yesterday's traditional Breviary on the women who came to Christ's tomb early in the morning and were greeted by an angel who told them to fear not, that Christ was not there but had risen as he said he would.  St. Gregory the Great tells us that the story of these women symbolizes our walk with Christ, in that just as the women brought spices to Christ's grave, our good works are a sweet fragrance to our Lord.  The Roman guards were very frightened by the angel when he came and rolled back the stone, and they, who were supposedly afraid of nothing, even ran away.  This represented the fear of those who are opposed to our Lord compared with the love and acceptance shown to those who follow our Lord. 

The women going early in the morning to the grave are an inspiration to me because even though Jesus was dead, and as far as they knew, he was no longer there for them, their love for him was so great that they still served him.  After three days, a dead body would have a very bad smell, plus Jesus had been beaten so badly that it would have been worse than a normal dead body.  But that did not deter them at all.  Also, while Peter and the other apostles were hiding away from the Roman soldiers in fear of their lives, the women boldly went out without thought for their own safety to minister to Christ in the only way they could.  For this they were rewarded with a greeting from an angel of God, and were the first to receive the message that our Lord had risen.  They did not understand this message and Mary Magdalene was not convinced it was true until Christ Himself appeared to her and told her so.  But her lack of understanding was not counted against her or the other women.  And so our lack of understanding is not an impediment to us.  Intellectual understanding by itself will not save anyone.  It is only faith that counts, and that is what these women illustrated in their actions. 

A Homily by St. Gregory the Pope

Dearly beloved brethren, ye have heard the deed of the holy women which had followed the Lord ; how that they brought sweet spices to his sepulchre, and, now that he was dead, having loved him while he was yet alive, they followed him with careful tenderness still. But the deed of these holy women doth point to somewhat which must needs be done in the holy Church. And it behoveth us well to give ear to what they did, that we may afterward consider with ourselves what we must do likewise after their ensample. We also, who believe in him that was dead, do come to his sepulchre, bearing sweet spices, when we seek the Lord with the savour of good living, and the fragrant report of good works. Those women, when they brought their spices, saw a vision of Angels, and, in sooth, those souls whose godly desires do move them to seek the Lord with the savour of good lives, do see the countrymen of our Fatherland which is above.  [Like the women who came to the sepulchre on that first Easter, even though we may not totally understand all that we do for our Lord, he will reward us in far greater measure than we can ever imagine as long as we proceed in faith.]

The Demons Cast Out Of Heaven

It behoveth us to mark what this meaneth, that they saw the angel sitting on the right side. For what signifieth the left, but this life which now is? or the right, but life everlasting? Whence also it is written in the Song of Songs : His left hand is under my head and his right hand doth embrace me. Since, therefore, our Redeemer had passed from the corruption of this life which now is, the Angel which told that his undying life was come, sat, as became him, on the right side. They saw him clothed in a white garment, for he was herald of the joy of this our great solemnity, and the glistering whiteness of his raiment told of the brightness of this holy Festival of ours. Of ours, said I? or of his? But if we will speak the truth, we must acknowledge that it is both his and ours. The Again-rising of our Redeemer is a Festival of gladness for us, for us it biddeth know that we shall not die for ever ; and for Angels also it is a festival of gladness, for it biddeth them know that we are called to fulfil their number in heaven.  [St. Augustine taught that one of the purposes of creating man was to replace the fallen angels who had rebelled against God and been cast out of heaven.  Therefore, the angels in heaven rejoice greatly that man has been saved to join them in heaven.]

On this glad Festival Day then, which is both his and ours, the Angel appeared in white raiment. For as the Lord, rising again from the dead, leadeth us unto the mansions above, he repaireth the breaches of the heavenly Fatherland. But what meaneth this, that the Angel said unto the women which came to the sepulchre : Fear not? Is it not as though he had said openly : Let them fear which love not the coming of the heavenly countrymen ; let them be afraid who are so laden by fleshly lusts, that they have lost all hope ever to be joined to their company. But as for you, why fear ye, who, when ye see us, see but your fellow-countrymen? Hence also Matthew, writing of the guise of the Angel, saith : His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow. The lightning speaketh of fear and great dread, the snow of the soft brilliancy of rejoicing.

Easter Vigil Message: The Holy Father Warns Of Great Peril To The World

Christ Rising From The Dead

Today is Easter Sunday.  On Good Friday we commemorated the most solemn day of the Christian calendar, the day on which our Lord died on the cross for our salvation.  Today, Easter, we celebrate the most joyous day, for today Christ is risen and death is conquered.  Christ has opened the door to heaven for all mankind, and beckons us to follow Him.  Darkness and destruction have been lifted from the earth.  Our Lord has redeemed us, bought us back from the evil one.  We rejoice with the angels in heaven today.  As the Apostle Paul wrote in I Corinthians 15: "O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting?"  Our Lord has conquered death not through violence or anger or hate, but through love.  He has given himself for us, and now we must give ourselves to him and to each other. 

But as we look around us, it certainly doesn't seem that anything has changed.  If anything, the world seems to be descending into more and more evil.  Man's inhumanity to man is reaching new heights, or should I say, depths.  The evil one seems to be the one who is winning. 

Our Holy Father, as usual, explains this far better than I can even begin to.  Here is his Easter Vigil message:

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Easter is the feast of the new creation. Jesus is risen and dies no more. He has opened the door to a new life, one that no longer knows illness and death. He has taken mankind up into God himself. “Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God”, as Saint Paul says in the First Letter to the Corinthians (15:50). On the subject of Christ’s resurrection and our resurrection, the Church writer Tertullian in the third century was bold enough to write: “Rest assured, flesh and blood, through Christ you have gained your place in heaven and in the Kingdom of God” (CCL II, 994). A new dimension has opened up for mankind. Creation has become greater and broader.

Easter Day ushers in a new creation, but that is precisely why the Church starts the liturgy on this day with the old creation, so that we can learn to understand the new one aright. At the beginning of the Liturgy of the Word on Easter night, then, comes the account of the creation of the world. Two things are particularly important here in connection with this liturgy. On the one hand, creation is presented as a whole that includes the phenomenon of time. The seven days are an image of completeness, unfolding in time. They are ordered towards the seventh day, the day of the freedom of all creatures for God and for one another. Creation is therefore directed towards the coming together of God and his creatures; it exists so as to open up a space for the response to God’s great glory, an encounter between love and freedom. On the other hand, what the Church hears on Easter night is above all the first element of the creation account: “God said, ‘let there be light!’” (Gen 1:3). The creation account begins symbolically with the creation of light. The sun and the moon are created only on the fourth day. The creation account calls them lights, set by God in the firmament of heaven. In this way he deliberately takes away the divine character that the great religions had assigned to them. No, they are not gods. They are shining bodies created by the one God. But they are preceded by the light through which God’s glory is reflected in the essence of the created being.

What is the creation account saying here? Light makes life possible. It makes encounter possible. It makes communication possible. It makes knowledge, access to reality and to truth, possible. And insofar as it makes knowledge possible, it makes freedom and progress possible. Evil hides. Light, then, is also an expression of the good that both is and creates brightness. It is daylight, which makes it possible for us to act. To say that God created light means that God created the world as a space for knowledge and truth, as a space for encounter and freedom, as a space for good and for love. Matter is fundamentally good, being itself is good. And evil does not come from God-made being, rather, it comes into existence only through denial.   It is a “no”.  [St. Augustine explained that good can exist without evil, but there can be no evil unless there is good, because evil is the absence of good, or as the Holy Father explains, the absence of light, the True Light that is Jesus Christ.]

At Easter, on the morning of the first day of the week, God said once again: “Let there be light”. The night on the Mount of Olives, the solar eclipse of Jesus’ passion and death, the night of the grave had all passed. Now it is the first day once again – creation is beginning anew. “Let there be light”, says God, “and there was light”: Jesus rises from the grave. Life is stronger than death. Good is stronger than evil. Love is stronger than hate. Truth is stronger than lies. [This is the message of Easter - good has triumphed over evil.  Evil has been banished, and all those who cling to evil will be banished with it.  Come out of the darkness into the Light, the True Light of Jesus Christ.]  The darkness of the previous days is driven away the moment Jesus rises from the grave and himself becomes God’s pure light. But this applies not only to him, not only to the darkness of those days. [John 1:9 says that Jesus is "the true light, which enlighteneth every man that cometh into this world."] With the resurrection of Jesus, light itself is created anew. He draws all of us after him into the new light of the resurrection and he conquers all darkness. He is God’s new day, new for all of us.

But how is this to come about? How does all this affect us so that instead of remaining word it becomes a reality that draws us in? Through the sacrament of baptism and the profession of faith, the Lord has built a bridge across to us, through which the new day reaches us. The Lord says to the newly-baptized: Fiat lux – let there be light. God’s new day – the day of indestructible life, comes also to us. Christ takes you by the hand. From now on you are held by him and walk with him into the light, into real life. For this reason the early Church called baptism photismos – illumination.

Why was this? [Here the Holy Father gets to the heart of the cause of evil in the world, that fact that mankind rejects the light of Christ and chooses instead the darkness of his own understanding.]  The darkness that poses a real threat to mankind, after all, is the fact that he can see and investigate tangible material things, but cannot see where the world is going or whence it comes, where our own life is going, what is good and what is evil. The darkness enshrouding God and obscuring values is the real threat to our existence and to the world in general.  [The Holy Father is giving us a dire warning here, that because of the spiritual darkness we have chosen, the continued physical existence of our world is in peril.]  If God and moral values, the difference between good and evil, remain in darkness, then all other “lights”, that put such incredible technical feats within our reach, are not only progress but also dangers that put us and the world at risk. Today we can illuminate our cities so brightly that the stars of the sky are no longer visible. Is this not an image of the problems caused by our version of enlightenment? With regard to material things, our knowledge and our technical accomplishments are legion, but what reaches beyond, the things of God and the question of good, we can no longer identify. Faith, then, which reveals God’s light to us, is the true enlightenment, enabling God’s light to break into our world, opening our eyes to the true light.  [All of the great creations of mankind mean nothing without faith and belief in his Creator, and in fact, those manmade creations will actually lead to our destruction.]

Dear friends, as I conclude, I would like to add one more thought about light and illumination. On Easter night, the night of the new creation, the Church presents the mystery of light using a unique and very humble symbol: the Paschal candle. This is a light that lives from sacrifice. The candle shines inasmuch as it is burnt up. It gives light, inasmuch as it gives itself. Thus the Church presents most beautifully the paschal mystery of Christ, who gives himself and so bestows the great light. Secondly, we should remember that the light of the candle is a fire. Fire is the power that shapes the world, the force of transformation. And fire gives warmth. Here too the mystery of Christ is made newly visible. Christ, the light, is fire, flame, burning up evil and so reshaping both the world and ourselves. “Whoever is close to me is close to the fire,” as Jesus is reported by Origen to have said. And this fire is both heat and light: not a cold light, but one through which God’s warmth and goodness reach down to us.

The great hymn of the Exsultet, which the deacon sings at the beginning of the Easter liturgy, points us quite gently towards a further aspect. It reminds us that this object, the candle, has its origin in the work of bees. So the whole of creation plays its part. In the candle, creation becomes a bearer of light. But in the mind of the Fathers, the candle also in some sense contains a silent reference to the Church,. The cooperation of the living community of believers in the Church in some way resembles the activity of bees. It builds up the community of light. So the candle serves as a summons to us to become involved in the community of the Church, whose raison d’être is to let the light of Christ shine upon the world. 

Let us pray to the Lord at this time that he may grant us to experience the joy of his light; let us pray that we ourselves may become bearers of his light, and that through the Church, Christ’s radiant face may enter our world (cf. LG 1). Amen

Pope Benedict XVI never ceases to amaze me with the depth of his thought and clarity of vision.  He makes his statements softly and without fanfare, and we must listen carefully to what he says.   He is giving us a very urgent message here which has relevance to every man, woman and child on this earth.  It truly is a message of life and death, of physical life and death, and of even far more importance, spiritual life and death.   The world ignores this message at its own peril.

GOOD FRIDAY - THE PASSION AND DEATH OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR

Isaiah 53

1 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?

2 And he shall grow up as a tender plant before him, and as a root out of a thirsty ground: there is no beauty in him, nor comeliness: and we have seen him, and there was no sightliness, that we should be desirous of him:

3 Despised, and the most abject of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with infirmity: and his look was as it were hidden and despised, whereupon we esteemed him not.

4 Surely he hath borne our infirmities and carried our sorrows: and we have thought him as it were a leper, and as one struck by God and afflicted.

5 But he was wounded for our iniquities, he was bruised for our sins: the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by his bruises we are healed.

6 All we like sheep have gone astray, every one hath turned aside into his own way: and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

7 He was offered because it was his own will, and he opened not his mouth: he shall be led as a sheep to the slaughter, and shall be dumb as a lamb before his shearer, and he shall not open his mouth.

8 He was taken away from distress, and from judgment: who shall declare his generation? because he is cut off out of the land of the living: for the wickedness of my people have I struck him.

9 And he shall give the ungodly for his burial, and the rich for his death: because he hath done no iniquity, neither was there deceit in his mouth.

10 And the Lord was pleased to bruise him in infirmity: if he shall lay down his life for sin, he shall see a long-lived seed, and the will of the Lord shall be prosperous in his hand.

11 Because his soul hath laboured, he shall see and be filled: by his knowledge shall this my just servant justify many, and he shall bear their iniquities.

12 Therefore will I distribute to him very many, and he shall divide the spoils of the strong, because he hath delivered his soul unto death, and was reputed with the wicked: and he hath borne the sins of many, and hath prayed for the transgressors.

Today, Good Friday, is the most solemn day of the year for Christians.  Today we commemorate the crucifixion and death of our Lord and Creator, Jesus Christ, who came to this earth, taking on the form of a man, and spilling His Precious Blood to redeem us from the sure damnation that we all face.  The suffering Christ on the Cross is the picture of what love is all about - giving your life for others. 

I have posted a video below which takes scenes from Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ.  As graphic and gruesome as this video may be, it still does not show the full extent of the suffering of our Lord.  Please watch this video in prayerful meditation, and then get down on your knees and gave thanks to our most beloved Lord Jesus for his great and awesome sacrifice, offering his Life on the Cross to pay for our sins. 

Pope Benedict XVI's Palm Sunday Sermon: Jesus Christ Is the Conquerer of Death

Christ Reigning from
the Throne of the Cross

What does it mean to truly follow Christ?   Pope Benedict XVI gives great insight into this question in his sermon given on Palm Sunday.  He starts out by telling us that Christ our King is going to Jerusalem to fulfill Scripture and to be nailed to the Cross, which the Holy Father calls "the throne from which he will reign for ever, drawing to himself humanity of every age and offering to all the gift of redemption."  This is in direct contrast to what the world views as a king.  We see Christ nailed to the Cross, unable to even move, and yet the Holy Father tells us He is accomplishing the greatest work in the universe.  By His suffering, he is redeeming mankind from eternal damnation.  The Holy Father calls Christ "the conquerer of death." 

This goes against the "feel good" message that so many preach about Christ, that he came to relieve the physical suffering of humanity.  Certainly that is part of the Gospel message, but ultimately, Christ's greatest concern is not to free us from physical suffering, but from sin and eternal death.  And the only path to that redemption is through the Cross, which is Christ's throne.  Christ calls to us from the Cross, His Throne.  We must go to the Cross with Him.

As always, there is tremendous depth and meaning to the Pope's sermon.  It is worth reading and re-reading to gain all the many insights which it contains.  I have highlighted a few things that stand out to me.  I am sure there is much I have missed. 

Full Text: Pope's Homily on Palm Sunday

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Palm Sunday is the great doorway leading into Holy Week, the week when the Lord Jesus makes his way towards the culmination of his earthly existence. He goes up to Jerusalem in order to fulfil the Scriptures and to be nailed to the wood of the Cross, the throne from which he will reign for ever, drawing to himself humanity of every age and offering to all the gift of redemption. We know from the Gospels that Jesus had set out towards Jerusalem in company with the Twelve, and that little by little a growing crowd of pilgrims had joined them. Saint Mark tells us that as they were leaving Jericho, there was a “great multitude” following Jesus (cf. 10:46).

On the final stage of the journey, a particular event stands out, one which heightens the sense of expectation of what is about to unfold and focuses attention even more sharply upon Jesus. Along the way, as they were leaving Jericho, a blind man was sitting begging, Bartimaeus by name. As soon as he heard that Jesus of Nazareth was passing, he began to cry out: “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Mk 10:47). People tried to silence him, but to no avail; until Jesus had them call him over and invited him to approach. “What do you want me to do for you?”, he asked. And the reply: “Master, let me receive my sight” (v. 51). Jesus said: “Go your way, your faith has made you well.” Bartimaeus regained his sight and began to follow Jesus along the way (cf. v. 52). And so it was that, after this miraculous sign, accompanied by the cry “Son of David”, a tremor of Messianic hope spread through the crowd, causing many of them to ask: this Jesus, going ahead of us towards Jerusalem, could he be the Messiah, the new David? And as he was about to enter the Holy City, had the moment come when God would finally restore the Davidic kingdom?

The preparations made by Jesus, with the help of his disciples, serve to increase this hope. As we heard in today’s Gospel (cf. Mk 11:1-10), Jesus arrives in Jerusalem from Bethphage and the Mount of Olives, that is, the route by which the Messiah was supposed to come. From there, he sent two disciples ahead of him, telling them to bring him a young donkey that they would find along the way. They did indeed find the donkey, they untied it and brought it to Jesus. At this point, the spirits of the disciples and of the other pilgrims were swept up with excitement: they took their coats and placed them on the colt; others spread them out on the street in Jesus’ path as he approached, riding on the donkey. Then they cut branches from the trees and began to shout phrases from Psalm 118, ancient pilgrim blessings, which in that setting took on the character of messianic proclamation: “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is coming! Hosanna in the highest!” (v. 9-10). This festive acclamation, reported by all four evangelists, is a cry of blessing, a hymn of exultation: it expresses the unanimous conviction that, in Jesus, God has visited his people and the longed-for Messiah has finally come. And everyone is there, growing in expectation of the work that Christ will accomplish once he has entered the city.

But what is the content, the inner resonance of this cry of jubilation? The answer is found throughout the Scripture, which reminds us that the Messiah fulfils the promise of God’s blessing, God’s original promise to Abraham, father of all believers: “I will make of you a great nation and I will bless you ... and by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves” (Gen 12:2-3). It is the promise that Israel had always kept alive in prayer, especially the prayer of the Psalms. Hence he whom the crowd acclaims as the blessed one is also he in whom the whole of humanity will be blessed. Thus, in the light of Christ, humanity sees itself profoundly united and, as it were, enfolded within the cloak of divine blessing, a blessing that permeates, sustains, redeems and sanctifies all things.  [Without Christ, humanity has no hope.]

Here we find the first great message that today’s feast brings us: the invitation to adopt a proper outlook upon all humanity, on the peoples who make up the world, on its different cultures and civilizations. The look that the believer receives from Christ is a look of blessing: a wise and loving look, capable of grasping the world’s beauty and having compassion on its fragility. Shining through this look is God’s own look upon those he loves and upon Creation, the work of his hands. We read in the Book of Wisdom: “But thou art merciful to all, for thou canst do all things, and thou dost overlook men’s sins, that they may repent. For thou lovest all things that exist and hast loathing for none of the things which thou hast made ... thou sparest all things, for they are thine, O Lord who lovest the living” (11:23-24, 26).

Let us return to today’s Gospel passage and ask ourselves: what is really happening in the hearts of those who acclaim Christ as King of Israel? Clearly, they had their own idea of the Messiah, an idea of how the long-awaited King promised by the prophets should act. Not by chance, a few days later, instead of acclaiming Jesus, the Jerusalem crowd will cry out to Pilate: “Crucify him!”, while the disciples, together with others who had seen him and listened to him, will be struck dumb and will disperse. The majority, in fact, was disappointed by the way Jesus chose to present himself as Messiah and King of Israel. This is the heart of today’s feast, for us too. Who is Jesus of Nazareth for us? What idea do we have of the Messiah, what idea do we have of God? It is a crucial question, one we cannot avoid, not least because during this very week we are called to follow our King who chooses the Cross as his throne. We are called to follow a Messiah who promises us, not a facile earthly happiness, but the happiness of heaven, divine beatitude. So we must ask ourselves: what are our true expectations? What are our deepest desires, with which we have come here today to celebrate Palm Sunday and to begin our celebration of Holy Week?  [Here the Holy Father is speaking to those who feel that Christ's Gospel message is one of social justice, of enriching the earthly, material lives of humanity.  But as the Holy Father says, "we are called to follow our King who chooses the Cross as his throne."  Our Lord did not choose physical comfort but suffering, and if we are to follow Him, we must choose this same Cross.] 

Dear young people, present here today, this, in a particular way, is your Day, wherever the Church is present throughout the world. So I greet you with great affection! May Palm Sunday be a day of decision for you, the decision to say yes to the Lord and to follow him all the way, the decision to make his Passover, his death and resurrection, the very focus of your Christian lives. [The Holy Father is urging the young people to choose not the way of materialism, which leads to death, but the Way of the Cross, which leads to life.  To do this, we must make Christ, not the things of this world, the center of our lives.]  It is the decision that leads to true joy, as I reminded you in this year’s World Youth Day Message – “Rejoice in the Lord always” (Phil 4:4). So it was for Saint Clare of Assisi when, on Palm Sunday 800 years ago, inspired by the example of Saint Francis and his first companions, she left her father’s house to consecrate herself totally to the Lord. She was eighteen years old and she had the courage of faith and love to decide for Christ, finding in him true joy and peace.

Dear brothers and sisters, may these days call forth two sentiments in particular: praise, after the example of those who welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem with their “Hosanna!”, and thanksgiving, because in this Holy Week the Lord Jesus will renew the greatest gift we could possibly imagine: he will give us his life, his body and his blood, his love. But we must respond worthily to so great a gift, that is to say, with the gift of ourselves, our time, our prayer, our entering into a profound communion of love with Christ who suffered, died and rose for us. The early Church Fathers saw a symbol of all this in the gesture of the people who followed Jesus on his entry into Jerusalem, the gesture of spreading out their coats before the Lord. Before Christ – the Fathers said – we must spread out our lives, ourselves, in an attitude of gratitude and adoration. As we conclude, let us listen once again to the words of one of these early Fathers, Saint Andrew, Bishop of Crete: “So it is ourselves that we must spread under Christ’s feet, not coats or lifeless branches or shoots of trees, matter which wastes away and delights the eye only for a few brief hours. But we have clothed ourselves with Christ’s grace, or with the whole Christ ... so let us spread ourselves like coats under his feet ... let us offer not palm branches but the prizes of victory to the conqueror of death. Today let us too give voice with the children to that sacred chant, as we wave the spiritual branches of our soul: ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel’” (PG 97, 994). Amen!

We must forsake this world and all of its ways and cling to the Cross of our Lord, to His Throne, if we are to be saved.

Our Enemies Give Us The Victory

Today is Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week in which we commemorate the Passion of Jesus Christ when he suffered and died to redeem us from sin.  This is the holiest week of the year in the Liturgical Calendar.  Palm Sunday is that day in which Our Lord entered Jerusalem on a donkey in fulfillment of the scripture from Zachariah 9:9:  "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Sion, shout for joy, O daughter of Jerusalem: Behold thy king will come to thee, the just and saviour: he is poor, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt, the foal of an ass."  Jesus was greeted with great rejoicing by those who had just seen him raise Lazarus from the dead.  But in only a few short days, many of these same people would be shouting for his death.  But if these people had not been calling for the death of our Lord, it is possible that we would not have a Saviour.  Read on for an explanation.

The Romans force Simon of Cyrene
to assist Jesus in carrying the Cross

In meditating upon the Stations of the Cross, I have always found the 5th Station, in which the Romans force Simon of Cyrene to assist Jesus in carrying the cross, to be very ironic.  The Romans did not force Simon of Cyrene to assist Jesus out of any compassion for our Suffering Lord.  It was to keep Jesus alive long enough to get Him to Calvary where they could nail Him to a Cross and crucify Him.  Yet, it was the Romans and Jews, the ones who wanted Jesus dead and out of the way, who were the people who enabled Jesus to successfully fulfill his mission of dying on the Cross and redeeming mankind.  The Apostle Peter, who professed great love and devotion to our Lord, actually tried to stop Jesus from dying, and our Lord's response to Peter was to call him Satan.  If Peter had been successful, we would not have a Saviour. 

I always took this lesson of the assistance of Simon of Cyrene to mean that often those who declare themselves our avowed enemies and seek only our destruction can sometimes be the very ones who will give us the help we need to succeed in gaining eternal life.  Those who love us the most are sometimes the ones who are more harmful to us in the long run.

In the traditional breviary today, there is a sermon from St. Leo the Pope in which he describes this ironic scenario in which Satan, by stirring up such hatred against Jesus, actually defeated himself.  It was Satan's intense desire to destroy Jesus through the Jews that Jesus was crucified and defeated our arch enemy and redeemed us from his hands.  As St. Leo says in his sermon:

But he was undone by his own malice. For he brought upon the Son of God that death which is become life to all the sons of man. He shed that innocent blood which was to become at once the price of our redemption and the cup of our salvation.

Here is the entire sermon.  Evil can never defeat our Lord, who actually uses evil to defeat itself.

The Lesson is taken from a Sermon by St. Leo the Pope

Dearly beloved, the Solemnity of the Lord's Passion is come ; that day which we have so desired, and which same is so precious to the whole world. Shouts of spiritual triumph are ringing, and suffer not that we should be silent. Even though it be hard to preach often on the same solemnity, and do so meetly and well, a priest is not free to shirk the duty of preaching to the faithful concerning this so great mystery of divine mercy. Nay, that his subject-matter is unspeakable should in itself make him eloquent, since where enough can never be said, there must needs ever be something to say. Let human weakness, then, fall down before the glory of God, and acknowledge itself unequal to the duty of expounding the works of his mercy. Let us toil in thought, let us fail in insight, let us falter in speech ; it is good for us to feel how inadequate is the little we are able to express concerning the majesty of God.

For when the Prophet saith : Seek the Lord and his strength ; seek his face evermore : let no man thence conclude that he will ever find all that he seeketh. For if he cease his seeking, he will likewise cease to draw near. But among all the works of God which weary the stedfast gaze of man's wonder, what is there that doth at once so ravish and so exceed the power of our contemplation as the Passion of the Saviour? He it was who, to loose mankind from the bonds of the death-dealing Fall, spared to bring against the rage of the devil the power of the divine Majesty, and met him with the weakness of our lowly nature. [Christ defeated Satan not with the nature of God, but with His lowly and weak Human Nature, a most cruel defeat for the Evil One.]  For if our cruel and haughty enemy could have known the counsel of God's mercy, it had been his task rather to have softened the hearts of the Jews into meekness, than to have inflamed them with unrighteous hatred. Thus he might not have lost the thraldom of all his slaves, by attacking the liberty of the One that owed him nothing.  [If Satan had not been blinded by his hatred of God and Goodness, he would have realized that allowing Christ to live would have given him victory. Killing Christ gave the victory to our Lord.] 

He shed that innocent blood which was to become at once the price of our redemption and the cup of our salvation. [It was our enemy, who wants all of us dead, who shed the Precious Blood that gives us Life.]  Wherefore the Lord hath received that which according to the purpose of his own good pleasure he hath chosen. And such was his loving-kindness, even for his murderers, that his prayer to his Father from the Cross asked not vengeance for himself but forgiveness for them.

The next time you are on the receiving end of persecution or cruelty and hatred of any sort, remember, this may very well be what will help you to gain eternal life.