The Bishop’s Note
The Catholic Church’s most important week of the year, liturgically speaking, has finally arrived. In it are rep-resented the most important events to ever take place on the face of the earth: the death of Our Lord on the Cross, and His Resurrection from the dead. Christ died to re-deem us from sin, but if He did not rise again on the third day then our Faith would be in vain and we would still be in our sin. That God should become man and die for us on the Cross is the greatest act of love, as we are told in Sacred Scripture, but that God raised Himself from the dead is the greatest miracle that has ever occurred—and this miracle alone confirms the truth of every word that He ever spoke, and each doctrine that He has given to us.
This year, in Jerusalem, the Palm Sunday procession will not take place due to the conflict taking place. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where the tomb of Christ is located, has been closed for weeks. Many will look at this as a bad thing. Actually, it is good in this sense: the false worship that has taken place there for years will not take place this year, at least publicly. The empty tomb is definitive proof of the truth of the Catholic Faith. It is an insult of the greatest magnitude for a false religion to offer false worship over the tomb. We know that God only permits evil in order to bring about some greater good. The suppression of false worship is truly a great good, for false worship causes greater spiritual harm than any war causes material harm. Let that sink in.
The true Holy Week ceremonies will go on here at St. Gertrude’s and we hope to see you here. If you find yourself worrying about the state of the world and wondering what will happen as a result of the war, come to church and take part in as many ceremonies as you can. It will do you no good to sit at home watching FOX news, scrolling through Twitter feeds, or listening to the radio. That will only destroy your peace of heart and cause lost opportunities for merit. Turn it all off and let God take care of things. On your part, take care to worship God. There is a saying that holds true: “Take care to serve God and He will take care of you.” That is just another way of saying what Our Lord told us in the Scriptures: “Seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you.”
Last week’s Children’s Day of Recollection fell on the feast of the Annunciation. It was good to see so many children in attendance, and I hope they profited from it. Aside from that, everything else seems to revolve around Holy Week preparation. Fr. McKenna already left for St. Hugh’s, where he will carry out the Sacred Triduum. Fr. Simpson did Palm Sunday morning here and then left for Dallas for evening ceremonies. He will be back tomorrow and will stay with us through the beautiful ceremonies of Holy Saturday.
Well, I know I’m forgetting plenty. As always, I’ll fill you in on things as I remember them. In the mean-time, direct your thoughts to the Passion of Our Lord, and come to church as often as possible this week. We are looking forward to seeing you, and all of our guests from out of town!
– Bishop McGuire