Sanctus Simplicitus

This week's Keeping it Catholic Monday has been replaced with another 50 Days of Easter series. Keeping It Catholic Monday posts will resume after Pentecost.

First Fruits; A series of Short Meditations
By: Sister Mary Philip
Imprimatur 1918

"Simon, son of John, lovest thou Me more than these?" (St John. xxi.)

I.
Saint Peter had thrice denied his Lord and Master during the Passion, and now Our Lord gives him an opportunity of making reparation. All during the public life, even to the very night of the Last Supper, Peter had boasted that whatever the other disciples did, he at least would be true to Our Lord. We know how he fell, and how at a look
from Our Lord he went out and wept
bitterly. Do I ever boast that I am safe from such and such a fault, that in that respect at least I have no cause for fear ? If so, let me learn a lesson from St Peter. If, unhappily, I should fall, let me strive to imitate his deep and heartfelt penitence, a sorrow which he
kept up all his life.

II.
"Lovest thou Me?" I can imagine I hear
Our Lord addressing these words to me. "Lovest thou Me? Lovest thou Me sufficiently to sacrifice thyself for My sake ? Lovest thou Me when I ask thee to do some work for My sake which is naturally distasteful to thee ? Lovest thou Me in the person of My poor? Lovest thou My will above thine own ? Lovest thou Me sufficiently to follow Me, in whatsoever state of life I may call thee to? Answer Me My child, lovest thou Me?" What am I going to answer to this tender appeal of Our Lord ? Can I with truth say to Him : " Yea, Lord, Thou knowest all things, Thou knowest that I love Thee."

III.
Our Lord said to St Peter, "Lovest thou Me more than these?" I can understand
these words as addressed to myself in two ways. First, Our Lord may say to me, "Thou sayest that thou lovest Me more than others do, but where are the proofs of thy love? Where shall I find in thee the charity of My apostles, the purity of My virgins, the zeal of My confessors, the fidelity of My martyrs? Love is proved by deeds."

Secondly, Our Lord may ask : " Lovest thou Me more than these—more than thy
pleasures, more than thy convenience, more than thy life itself?"  Lord, what can I say to Thee? Indeed, indeed I do love Thee, but I cannot compare with Thy holy ones. Increase my love that with more and more truth I may be able to say to Thee, " Lord, Thou knowest all things, Thou knowest that I love Thee."

First Fruits; A Series of Short Meditations
By: Sister Mary Philip
Imprimatur 1918

"It is the Lord" (St. John, xxi. 7).

I.
"... That night they caught nothing. But when the morning was come Jesus stood on the shore." Picture the Apostles weary with their labour during the long dreary night; they had probably started off full of hope that they would have a good night's work, and they caught—nothing ! Then, with the dawn, they drew nigh to the shore and Jesus stood there to welcome them. How often in my life do I start off full of hope? But things go wrong. Darkness seems to envelop me on every side, and I do no good. I make no progress. I seem to acquire no more virtue than I ever had. I
am not more patient, or more kind and submissive. In fact "I catch nothing" of the virtues of my Lord and Master. Then after a long and weary time the light begins
to break. Jesus shows Himself and the darkness is scattered; my weariness is
changed into joy.

II.
"The disciples knew not that it was Jesus." So often is it thus with me. Our Lord is there, but a mist hides Him partly from me, and, because my faith is weak, I do not recognize Him. Yet He is there close to me. In the early morning Mass He is there, offering Himself for me; yet my distractions, my worries, my pleasures perhaps, occupy my mind, and I do not realize that He is there. In the glare of mid-day. He is in the Tabernacle waiting for me. In the evening stillness He is raised on His throne to bless and comfort me, and yet I act as though I did not know that it was He. He comes to me in joy, and I forget that it is His joy, given in love to me. He comes to me in sorrow, and I will not rouse myself to see that it is the best gift He can give me, because it means likeness to and union with Him.

Lord, how often I know Thee not. Open my eyes that I may learn to know Thee
more and more, to recognize Thee under any disguise Thou choosest to take in order to try my faith.

III.
"It is the Lord!" It was St John, the Beloved Disciple, who first recognized Our Lord. Why? St. John was pure of heart. "Blessed are the pure of heart for they shall see God." If I want to see Our Lord in all that befalls me, and under all circumstances,
I must strive to obtain cleanness of heart. In the Blessed Sacrament we recognize
Our Lord, and say with St. John, " It is the Lord," and we know that the Banquet
Jesus has prepared for us there is sweeter far than that which He gave to His Disciples on the shore that April morning, for it is the Banquet in which He gives us His own Flesh and Blood.

O Sacred Banquet, in which Christ is received, the memory of His Passion is
renewed, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us!

First Fruits; A Series of Meditations
By: Sister Mary Philip
Imprimatur 1918

I. "Jesus stood in the midst of them and saith to them : Peace be to you, it is I, fear not." Peace is the great treasure Our Lord desires to give us. At the Last Supper He had said: "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you : not as the world giveth do I give unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid " (St John xv.). And now we picture Him in His glorious, risen Life, come to bring this same gift of peace to His disciples, and not to them only, but to all—to me! Our Lord's peace is true peace, founded on distrust of self and boundless confidence in Him. Whatever my troubles, temptations, and trials may be, I can always count on Him. He will give me peace and say to me, "Let not your heart be troubled." "It is I, fear not!"

II. St Thomas was not present at this apparition on Easter Sunday evening. When he came in he was greeted with the words, "We have seen the Lord!" He would not believe, " 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." How often in the past have I imitated the incredulity and distrust of St. Thomas, and how deeply has my want of trust wounded the heart of my Lord! I have wished, how often, to lay down conditions to God. By my conduct, if not by my words, I have said to Him, " Unless I see the result of my prayers, unless I get help in the exact way I want it, I will not believe!" I will kneel before Him now and ask His pardon for my want of faith, and say to Him sincerely and from the depths of my heart: "Heart of Jesus, I trust in Thee."

III. After eight days Our Lord came and, with the utmost compassion, condescended to the weakness of St Thomas. "Put in thy finger hither, and see My hands . . . and be not faithless but believing." What could St Thomas do but fall on his knees, exclaiming, "My Lord and my God!" Then came Our Lord's gentle rebuke: "Because thou hast seen Me, Thomas, thou hast believed : blessed are they that have not seen and have believed." Here is my comfort, for I have to live by faith. I have not seen, and yet, O Lord, Thou knowest that I believe in Thee. "Thy wounds, as Thomas saw, I do not see, Yet Thee confess my Lord and God to be; Make me believe Thee, ever more and more. In Thee my hope, in Thee my love to store."

This weeks Keeping It Catholic Monday has been put aside to honor the 50 days of Easter with a new post series. Keeping It Catholic will resume once the Easter Season is over. God bless!


Catholic Life; or Feasts, Fasts and Devotions
Section titled Sunday
Imprimatur 1908 Printed by Washbourne

God Almighty in the beginning of the world appointed a Sabbath, or day of rest, to be kept once a week in memory of His having accomplished the creation of the world in six days, and His resting on the seventh; and also that man might not only give rest to his body, but especially to his soul. This is done by withdrawing from the cares and pleasures of life, and raising our thoughts to consider the eternal rest in the world to come, the means to secure it, and the evils to be avoided.

Thus, the day of rest is a remembrance of God's power and goodness, and so an excellent means of increasing our love for Him, because we cannot fail to love Him Whom we know to be the most perfect Being, to Whom all creatures owe their existence, Who is our greatest benefactor. Later on, when the sanctification of the Sabbath was included in the Ten Commandments given on Mount Sinai, Almighty God prefixed the word remember, as time had shown how apt man was to forget Him and His service, by being too fond of the perishable goods and pleasures of this life.

The last day of the week was appointed to be kept holy in the Old Law, but the Church, the beloved spouse of Christ, chose Sunday in memory of our Saviour's resurrection and the descent of the Holy Ghost, both of which happened on that day. Hence it is called the Lord's Day.

We are obliged to hear Mass every Sunday, and to abstain from servile works which are not required by necessity or charity. We ought, also, to endavour to be present at the other public devotions, such as Vespers, Sermon, Benediction, or Rosary. A part of the day might be profitably spent in reading pious books, such as the "History of the Bible," the "Lives of the Saints," the "Imitation of Christ," St. Liguori's "Way of Salvation," and the publications of the Catholic Truth Society, which may be found at most church doors. These will help us to enjoy what peace of heart which is found by those who retire from the noise and tumult of life to devote some time to their eternal interests.

There is a plenary indulgence granted in some countries to the faithful who receive Holy Communion worthily on the first Sunday of the month, and afterwards say a few Paters and Aves for the Pope's intentions.

Those who have more leisure and aptitude may further sanctify the Sunday by teaching catechism in the church, collecting for the various charities, ect. A Sunday spent thus passes sweetly, having been truly sanctified by prayer and charity, and refreshed by family reunions, rest, and innocent joys. It is a guarantee of eternal rest in the kingdom of God.

"Grant I may ever, at the morning ray,
Open with prayer the consecrated Day;
Tune Thy great praise, and
bid my soul arise,
And with the mounting sun ascend the skies;
As that advances, let my seal improve,
And glow with ardour of consummate love'
Nor cease with eve, but with the setting sun
My endless worship shall be still begun."

Example.- Rudolph de Lisele. Born A.D. 1853

If there was one specially marked characteristic about Rudolph from earliest boyhood, it was his absolute fearlessness, whether of danger, ridicule, or hardship, in the discharge of duty. Many striking instances of this better part of valour are given. Take one, there was a French man-of-war station not far from his ship in one of the harbours of the Pacific Ocean. As there was Mass on board this ship, Rudolph thought it best to take his men there rather than go on shore.

Leave was asked and obtained, so a quarter of an hour before the time, he arrived with his men. He himself was invited at once by the officers into the cabin, where they showed him every politeness. But by and by,

the quarter of an hour being expired, Rudolph looked at his watch, and said: "Ah, I see 'tis Mass-time now." These French officers were Catholics, but lived, as too many of the French in that station of life do, in total disregard of religion. So when Rudolph said "It is Mass-time," they replied, "Mass! surely you are not going to Mass?" "Yes, I am," said Rudolph, and, at once taking leave, he went off and entered the place where Mass was said. About the time of the Sanctus one of the French officers slunk in. The next Sunday two or three came in; the Sunday after the whole of the officers attended Mass from every commencement, and they continued to do so for the six weeks longer that the two men-of-war were within easy reach of each other.

Sunday Morning Storyland; Sunday Sermons for Children
By: Rev. Wilfrid J. Diamond
Imprimatur 1945

Monmouth's Escape
In England many years ago there was a general named the Duke of Monmouth. His army was hopelessly defeated in battle and Monmouth was forced to flee for his life. He hid in the fields all day and traveled every night. Finally, his enemies caught up with him. They chased him into a shepherd's hut. Instead of closing the door on poor Monmouth the shepherd did a brave thing. He changed clothes with the Duke and stepped out to meet his foes. Long and well he fought, trying to delay the soldiers until Monmouth could make his escape. He held them off with his sword, for three hours, until he fell exhausted and was killed. The Duke of Monmouth by this time was far away and safe - saved by a good shepherd.

In the war against sin, people have always been pursued by the devil. But Our Lord became a man and fought the devil for three hours on the Cross of Calvary until He too was slain. During the struggle sinful man was able to escape from the devil's power. That is why Our Lord has a perfect right to call Himself the Good Shepherd Who lays down His life for His sheep. Over and over agin He tells us that He is the Shepherd of souls. "If a man has a hundred sheep and loses one, does he not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after that which was lost?" "Other sheep I have that are not of this fold; them also must I bring."

What wonderful things our souls must be if Christ the Good Shepherd is willing to lose his life to save them. We should always keep this in mind. We have something within ourselves which is very valuable, something which we treasure and guard. To be the Shepherd of our souls Christ came down to earth. Sheep go to the shepherd for all their needs. For food - Christ has given Himself in the Eucharist to be the food of our souls. For water - our souls drink the sweet waters of Christ in Baptism. For healing - Christ heals the wounds of our souls in the sacrament of Penance. For guidance - whenever we go astray Christ draws us back to Him as the shepherd draws back his sheep with his crook. For protection - the good shepherd will lay down his life for his sheep and Christ died on the cross for us. What wonderful things Christ has done for our souls! What wonderful things our souls must be! We should treasure them and not do anything that will make them displeasing to their Shepherd.

Just as the shepherd died to save the Duke of Monmouth, so did Christ die on Calvary to save us. That is why He has a perfect right to say, "I am the Good Shepherd. I lay down my life for my sheep."

First Fruits ~ A Series of Short Meditations
By: Sister Mary Philip
Imprimatur 1918

"Stay with us, Lord, for the day is now far spent" (St. Luke, xxiv.).

I.
The two disciples are on their way to
Emmaus and are sad. Suddenly a third
traveler joins Himself to them, but "their
eyes were held so that they should not know Him." Our Lord does not reveal Himself to them yet, but He questions them as though He knew nothing of their trouble: "What are these discourses that you hold one with another and are sad?" This shows me how anxious Our Lord is that I should tell Him all my troubles, and lay before Him all my needs. He knows it all, of course, but He delights to receive my
confidence, and indeed has made my petitions the guarantee of my receiving. " Ask and you shall receive."

II.
"Ought not Christ to have suffered thesethings and so enter into His glory." Ought
not? As though the Scourging, the Crowning with Thorns, the Cross, and all His other sufferings were quite a matter of course. What a revelation these words are of Our Lord's humility! He, Who suffered solely for my sins and the sins of the world, speaks as though even for Him suffering was the only way to glory. Next time I have something to suffer I will say to myself: "Ought not I to suffer this, and so lay up merit for heaven?"

III.
When the travelers got to the cross-roads,Jesus made as if He would go farther, but the Disciples constrained Him, saying: "Stay with us, because it is towards evening and the day is now far spent. And he went in with them,"I will store up in my heart this beautiful prayer of the Disciples ; again and again I will say to Our Lord: "Stay with me, O stay with me, my Lord"; I will "constrain Him," beg Him, persuade Him. But Our Lord needs no persuasion, He is always willing to be with me, if only I desire Him. There is no moment in which I can afford to be without Him. Especially after Holy Communion I will beg Him to remain with me. I do not know how soon the evening of my life may close in upon me ; devoutly then, and with all my heart, I will say to Jesus: Stay with me. Lord, because it is towards evening, and my day may" even now be far spent.

The Liturgical Year - Paschal Time Book 1
By: Dom Gueranger Imprimatur 1927

Our neophytes closed the Octave of the Resurrection yesterday. They were before us in receiving the admirable mystery; their solemnity would finish earlier than ours. This, then, is the eighth day for us who kept the Pasch on the Sunday, and did not anticipate it on the vigil. It reminds us of all the glory and joy of that feast of feasts, which united the whole of Christendom in one common feeling of triumph. It is the day of light, which takes the place of the Jewish Sabbath. Henceforth, the first day of the week is to be kept holy. Twice has the Son of God honoured it with the manifestation of his almighty power. The Pasch, therefore, is always to be celebrated on the Sunday; and thus every Sunday becomes a sort of Paschal feast, as we have already explained in the Mystery of Easter.

Our risen Jesus gave an additional proof that he wished the Sunday to be, henceforth, the privileged day. He reserved the second visit he intended to pay to all his disciples for this the eighth day since his Resurrection. During the previous days, he has left Thomas a prey to doubt; but to-day he shows himself to this Apostle, as well as to the others, and obliges him, by irresistible evidence, to lay aside his incredulity. Thus does our Saviour again honour the Sunday. The Holy Ghost will come down from heaven upon this same day of the week, making it the commencement of the Christian Church: Pentecost will complete the glory of this favoured day.

Jesus' apparition to the eleven, and the victory he gains over the incredulous Thomas—these are the special subjects the Church brings before us to-day.

By this apparition, which is the seventh since his Resurrection, our Saviour wins the perfect faith of his disciples. It is impossible not to recognize God in the patience, the majesty, and the charity of him who shows himself to them. Here, again, our human thoughts are disconcerted; we should have thought this delay excessive; it would have seemed to us that our Lord ought to have at once either removed the sinful doubt from Thomas's mind, or punished him for his disbelief. But no: Jesus is infinite wisdom, and infinite goodness. In his wisdom, he makes this tardy acknowledgement of Thomas become a new argument of the truth of the Resurrection; in his goodness, he brings the heart of the incredulous disciple to repentance, humility, and love; yea, to a fervent and solemn retraction of all his disbelief. We will not here attempt to describe this admirable scene, which holy Church is about to bring before us. We will select, for our to-day's instruction, the important lesson given by Jesus to his disciple, and through him to us all. It is the leading instruction of the Sunday, the Octave of the Pasch, and it behooves us not to pass it by, for, more than any other, it tells us the leading characteristic of a Christian, shows us the cause of our being so listless in God's service, and points out to us the remedy for our spiritual ailments.

Jesus says to Thomas: 'Because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and have believed!' Such is the great truth, spoken by the lips of the God-Man: it is a most important counsel, given, not only to Thomas, but to all who would serve God and secure their salvation. What is it that Jesus asks of his disciple? Has he not heard him make profession that now, at last, he firmly believes? After all, was there any great fault in Thomas's insisting on having experimental evidence before believing in so extraordinary a miracle as the Resurrection? Was he obliged to trust to the testimony of Peter and the others, under penalty of offending his divine Master? Did he not evince his prudence, by withholding his assent until he had additional proofs of the truth of what his brethren told him? Yes, Thomas was a circumspect and prudent man, and one that was slow to believe what he had heard; he was worthy to be taken as a model by those Christians who reason and sit in judgment upon matters of faith. And yet, listen to the reproach made him by Jesus. It is merciful, and withal so severe! Jesus has so far condescended to the weakness of his disciple as to accept the condition on which alone he declares that he will believe: now that the disciple stands trembling before his risen Lord, and exclaims, in the earnestness of faith, `My Lord and my God!' oh! see how Jesus chides him! This stubbornness, this incredulity, deserves a punishment: the punishment is, to have these words said to him: `Thomas! thou hast believed, because thou hast seen!'

Then was Thomas obliged to believe before having seen? Yes, undoubtedly. Not only Thomas, but all the Apostles were in duty bound to believe the Resurrection of Jesus even before he showed himself to them. Had they not lived three years with him? Had they not seen him prove himself to be the Messias and the Son of God by the most undeniable miracles? Had he not foretold them that he would rise again on the third day? As to the humiliations and cruelties of his Passion, had he not told them, a short time previous to it, that he was to be seized by the Jews in Jerusalem, and be delivered to the gentiles? that he was to be scourged, spit upon, and put to death?

After all this, they ought to have believed in his triumphant Resurrection, the very first moment they heard of his Body having disappeared. As soon as John had entered the sepulchre, and seen the winding-sheet, he at once ceased to doubt; he believed. But it is seldom that man is so honest as this; he hesitates, and God must make still further advances, if he would have us give our faith! Jesus condescended even to this: he made further advances. He showed himself to Magdalen and her companions, who were not incredulous, but only carried away by natural feeling, though the feeling was one of love for their Master. When the Apostles heard their account of what had happened, they treated them as women whose imagination had got the better of their judgment. Jesus had to come in person: he showed himself to these obstinate men, whose pride made them forget all that he had said and done, sufficient indeed to make them believe in his Resurrection. Yes, it was pride; for faith has no other obstacle than this. If man were humble, he would have faith enough to move mountains.

To return to our Apostle. Thomas had heard Magdalen, and he despised her testimony; he had heard Peter, and he objected to his authority; he had heard the rest of his fellow-Apostles and the two disciples of Emmaus, and no, he would not give up his own opinion. How many there are among us who are like him in this! We never think of doubting what is told us by a truthful and disinterested witness, unless the subject touch upon the supernatural; and then we have a hundred difficulties. It is one of the sad consequences left in us by original sin. Like Thomas, we would see the thing ourselves: and that alone is enough to keep us from the fulness of the truth. We comfort ourselves with the reflection that, after all, we are disciples of Christ; as did Thomas, who kept in union with his brother-Apostles, only he shared not their happiness. He saw their happiness, but he considered it to be a weakness of mind, and was glad that he was free from it!

How like this is to our modern rationalistic Catholic! He believes, but it is because his reason almost forces him to believe; he believes with his mind, rather than from his heart. His faith is a scientific deduction, and not a generous longing after God and supernatural truth. Hence how cold and powerless is this faith! how cramped and ashamed! how afraid of believing too much l Unlike the generous unstinted faith of the saints, it is satisfied with fragments of truth, with what the Scripture terms diminished truths. It seems ashamed of itself. It speaks in a whisper, lest it should be criticized; and when it does venture to make itself heard, it adopts a phraseology which may take off the sound of the divine. As to those miracles which it wishes had never taken place, and which it would have advised God not to work, they are a forbidden subject. The very mention of a miracle, particularly if it have happened in our own times, puts it into a state of nervousness. The lives of the saints, their heroic virtues, their sublime sacrifice -- it has a repugnance to the whole thing! It talks gravely about those who are not of the true religion being unjustly dealt with by the Church in Catholic countries; it asserts that the same liberty ought to be granted to error as to truth; it has very serious doubts whether the world has been a great loser by the secularization of society.

Now it was for the instruction of persons of this class that our Lord spoke those words to Thomas: `Blessed are they who havenot seen, and have believed.' Thomas sinned in not having the readiness of mind to believe. Like him, we also are in danger of sinning, unless our faith have a certain expansiveness, which makes us see everything with the eye of faith, and gives our faith that progress which God recompenses with a super-abundance of light and joy. Yes, having once become members of the Church, it is our duty to look upon all things from a supernatural point of view. There is no danger of going too far, for we have the teachings of an infallible authority to guide us. `The just man liveth by faith.' Faith is his daily bread. His mere natural life becomes transformed for good and all, if only he be faithful to his Baptism. Could we suppose that the Church, after all her instructions to her neophytes, and after all those sacred rites of their Baptism which are so expressive of the supernatural life, would be satisfied to see them straightway adopt that dangerous system which drives faith into a nook of the heart and understanding and conduct, leaving all the rest to natural principles or instinct? No, it could not be so. Let us therefore imitate St Thomas in his confession, and acknowledge that hitherto our faith has not been perfect. Let us go to our Jesus, and say to him: `Thou art my Lord and my God! But alas! I have many times thought and acted as though thou wert my Lord and my God in some things, and not in others. Henceforth I will believe without seeing; for I would be of the number of those whom thou callest blessed!'

This Sunday, commonly called with us Low Sunday, has two names assigned to it in the Liturgy: Quasimodo, from the first word of the Introit; and Sunday in albis (or, more explicitly, in albis depositis), because on this day the neophytes assisted at the Church services attired in their ordinary dress. In the Middle Ages it was called Close-Pasch, no doubt in allusion to its being the last day of the Easter Octave. Such is the solemnity of this Sunday that not only is it of Greater Double rite, but no feast, however great, can ever be kept upon it.

At Rome, the Station is in the basilica of St Pancras, on the Aurelian Way. Ancient writers have not mentioned the reason of this Church being chosen for to-day's assembly of the faithful. It may, perhaps, have been on account of the saint's being only fourteen years old when put to death: a circumstance which gave the young martyr a sort of right to have the neophytes round him, now that they were returning to their everyday life.

Mass

The Introit repeats those beautiful words of St Peter, which were addressed, in yesterday's Epistle, to the newly baptized. They are like new-born babes, lovely in their sweet simplicity, and eager to drink from the breasts of their dear mother, the Church, the spiritual milk of faith -- that faith which will make them strong and loyal.

Introit
As new-born babes, alleluia: desire the rational milk without guile. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
Ps. Rejoice to God our helper: sing aloud to the God of Jacob. Glor, ect. As new-born, ect.

On this the last day of the great Octave, the Church, in her Collect, bids farewell to the glorious solemnities that have so gladdened us, and asks our Lord to grant that our lives and actions may ever reflect the holy influence of our Pasch.

Collect
Grant, we beseech thee, O almighty God, that we, who have clebrated the Paschal solemnity, may, by the assistance of thy divine grace, ever make the effects thereof manifest in our lives and actions. Through, ect.

Epistle
Lesson of the Epistle of St. John the Apostle. I Ch. V.
Dearly beloved: Whatsoever is born of God, overcometh the world: and this is the victory which overcometh the world, our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? This is he that came by water and blood, Jesus Christ: not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the spirit which testifieth, that Christ is the truth. And there are three who give testimony in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost. And these three are one. And there are three that give testimony on earth: the spirit, the water, and the blood, and these three are one. If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater. For this is the testimony of God which is greater, because he hath testified of his Son. He that believeth in the Son of God, hath the testimony of God in himself.

The Apostle St John here tells us the merit and power of faith: it is, says he, a victory, which conquers the world, both the world outside, and the world within us. It is not difficult to understand why this passage from St John's Epistles should have been selected for to-day's Liturgy: it is on account of its being so much in keeping with the Gospel appointed for this Sunday, in which our Lord passes such eulogy upon faith. If, as the Apostle here assures us, they overcome the world who believe in Christ, that is not sterling faith which allows itself to be intimidated by the world. Let us be proud of our faith, esteeming ourselves happy that we are but little children when there is a question of receiving a divine truth; and let us not be ashamed of our eager readiness to admit the testimony of God. This testimony will make itself heard in our hearts, in proportion to our willingness to hear it. The moment John saw the winding-bands which had shrouded the Body of his Master, he made an act of faith; Thomas, who had stronger testimony than John (for he had the word of the Apostles, assuring him that they had seen their risen Lord), refused to believe: he had not overcome the world and its reasonings, because he had not faith.

The two Alleluia Versicles are formed of two texts alluding to the Resurrection. The second speaks of the scene which took place on this day, in the cenacle.

Alleluia, alleluia.
On the day of my Resurrection, saith the Lord, I will go before you into Galilee. Alleluia.

After eight days, the doors being shut, Jesus stood in the midst of his disciples, and said: Peace be with you. Alleluia.

Gospel
The sequel of the holy Gospel according to Jon. Ch. XX.
At that time: When it was late that same day, being the first day of the week 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. And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples therefore were glad when they saw the Lord. He said therefore to them again: Peace be to you. As the Father hath sent me, I also send you. 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 sins you shall retain, they are retained. Now Thomas, one of the twelve, who is called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him: We have seen the Lord. But he said to them: Except 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. And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them. Jesus cometh, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said: Peace be to you. Then he said to Thomas: Put in thy fingers hither, and see my hands, and bring hither thy hand, and put it into my side; and be not faithless, but believing. Thomas answered and said to him: My Lord and my God! Jesus saith to him: Because thou hast seen me, Thomas, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not see, and have believed. Many other signs also did Jesus in the sight of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 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.

We have said enough about St Thomas' incredulity; let us now admire his faith. His fault has taught us to examine and condemn our own want of faith; let us learn from his repentance how to become true believers. Our Lord, who had chosen him as one of the pillars of his Church, has been obliged to treat him with an exceptional familiarity: Thomas avails himself of Jesus' permission, puts his finger into the sacred wound, and immediately he sees the sinfulness of his past incredulity. He would make atonement, by a solemn act of faith, for the sin he has committed in priding himself on being wise and discreet: he cries out, and with all the fervour of faith: My Lord and my God! Observe, he not only says that Jesus is his Lord, his Master, the same who chose him as one of his disciples: this would not have been faith, for there is no faith where we can see and touch. Had Thomas believed what his brother-Apostles had told him, he would have had faith in the Resurrection; but now he sees, he has experimental knowledge of the great fact; and yet, as our Lord says of him, he has faith. In what? In this, that his Master is God. He sees but the humanity of Jesus, and he at once confesses him to be God. From what is visible, his soul, now generous and repentant, rises to the invisible: `Thou art my God!' Now, O Thomas! thou art full of faith! The Church proposes thee to us, on thy feast, as an example of faith. The confession thou didst make on this day is worthy to be compared with that which Peter made, when he said: `Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God!' By this profession, which neither flesh nor blood had revealed to him, Peter merited to be made the rock whereon Christ built his Church: thine did more than compensate thy former disbelief; it gave thee, for the time, a superiority over the rest of the Apostles, who, so far at least, were more taken up with the visible glory, than with the invisible divinity, of their risen Lord.

The Offertory gives us another text of the Gospel relative to the Resurrection

Offertory
An angel of the Lord came down from heaven, and said to the women: He whom ye seek is risen, as he said, alleluia.

In the Secret, the Church expresses the holy enthusiasm wherewith the Paschal mystery fills her; she prays that this joy may lead her to the never-ending one of the eternal Easter.

Secret
Receive, we beseech thee, O Lord, the offerings of thy joyful Church: and as thou hast given occasion to this great joy, grant she may receive the fruits of that joy which will never end. Through, ect.

While giving the Bread of heaven to her neophytes and other children, the Church sings in her Communion Antiphon the Words spoken by Jesus to Thomas. This Apostle was permitted to touch our Lord's sacred wounds; we, by the holy Eucharist, are brought into still closer intimacy with this same Jesus: but that we may derive the profit intended by such condescension, we must have a faith lively and generous, like that which he exacted from his Apostles.

Communion
Put forth thy hand, and mark the place of the nails, alleluia: and be not incredulous, but believe. Alleluia, alleluia.

The Church concludes the prayers of her Sacrifice by asking that the divine mystery, instituted to be a support to our weakness, may give us untiring perseverance.

Post Communion
Grant, we beseech thee, O Lord our God, that the sacred mysteries thou hast give us to preserve the grace of our redemption may be our present and future remedy. Through, ect.

First Fruits ~ A Series of Short Meditations
By: Sister Mary Philip   Imprimatur 1918

The Resurrection
"He is risen, as He said'' (St Matt. xxviii.)

There has never been joy on earth to compare with that of Jesus when He rose from the grave on Easter morning. It was the day of His triumph, the day on which He proved Himself to be Conqueror and King over all, even over death itself.

Our Lord is my King and He invites me to share His joy. He asks me to forget, at
least for a time, my own troubles and worries, and to give myself up to an unselfish joy in Him. I may contemplate the exceeding beauty of my risen Lord. He is resplendent with light. His Body can never again suffer or die. Yes ! but Easter comes after Good Friday, and it is only if I am willing to share in my King's sufferings and humiliations that I can hope to share His joy and His glory. Am I willing?

Our Lord wants me to rise with Him. To rise from sin, from sloth, from tepidity. Am I lying year after year buried in self, in my own pleasures and plans, or perhaps even in my own troubles and annoyances? If so, my King asks me to begin a new life—a life lived for Him and with Him, a life devoted to His interests. Am I going to try thus to rise? St. Paul says: " If ye be risen with Christ, seek the things that are above . . , not the things that are upon the earth" (Coloss. iii.), and Our Lord Himself tells me to seek " first the Kingdom of God and His justice," and that all other things shall be given to me.

My Lord and Master, help me thus to rise
above self, above all that holds me back from
Thee, that with Thy help I may begin to live
at last wholly for Thee.

Our Lord appeared first to His Mother. She had suffered more than anyone except
Himself, and so He hastened to console her and make her a companion of His joy.
So, too, Our Lord will come to me if I suffer willingly for Him ; and the measure
of my suffering will be the measure of the consolation I shall enjoy. It is well for me
to remember this in my hours of darkness and pain. My King and my Lord, I rejoice with Thee in Thy great joy and triumph. I adore Thee, I love Thee, I offer Thee the
homage of my whole being through the hands of Thy Blessed Mother. Grant, O
my Lord, that after having suffered for Thee here I may rejoice eternally with Thee in heaven.

Hercules once stood at the crossroads wondering which way to turn. Two guides approached him. One said, "Follow me. This is the road of pleasure and the easy way." The other said, "This is the road of effort, the hard way. This is the hard way, but it leads to happiness." Hercules chose the hard road and made a wise choice, because the cross comes before the crown, the fast before the feast.

King Cyrus of Persia was leading his troops on a campaign against their enemy Media. At one point the soldiers were tired and anxious to return home. Cyrus encouraged them by saying, "If you fight the Medes now, the labor is short but the reward is long." He was right and that was the lesson we must learn this morning, that Lent comes before Easter, that the Crucifixion comes before the Resurrection, the fast before the feast- the cross before the crown.

THE LITURGICAL YEAR
BY  DOM PROSPER GUÉRANGER, Impr. 1867
PASCHAL TIME CHAPTER THE THIRD
PRACTICE DURING PASCHAL TIME  

The practice for this holy Season mainly consists in the spiritual joy, which it should produce in every soul that is risen with Jesus. This joy is a foretaste of eternal happiness, and the Christian ought to consider it a duty to keep it up within him, by ardently seeking after that life which is in our divine Head, and by carefully shunning sin which causes death. During the last nine weeks, we have mourned for our sins and done penance for them; we have followed Jesus to Calvary; but now, our holy Mother the Church is urgent in bidding us rejoice. She herself has laid aside all sorrow; the voice of her weeping is changed into the song of a delighted Spouse.

In order that she might impart this joy to all her children, she has taken their weakness into account. After reminding them of the necessity of expiation, she gave them forty days wherein to do penance; and. then, taking off all the restraint of Lenten mortification, she brings us to Easter as to a land where there is nothing but gladness, light, life, joy, calm, and the sweet hope of immortality. Thus does she produce, in those of her children who have no elevation of soul, sentiments in harmony with the great Feast, such as the most perfect feel; and by this means, all, both fervent and tepid, unite their voices in one same hymn of praise to our risen Jesus.

The great Liturgist of the 12th century, Rupert, Abbot of Deutz, thus speaks of the pious artifice used by the Church to infuse the spirit of Easter into all: ‘There are certain carnal minds, that seem unable to open their eyes to spiritual things, unless roused by some unusual excitement; and for this reason, the Church makes use of such means. Thus, the Lenten Fast. which we offer up to God as our yearly tithe, goes on till the most sacred night of Easter; then follow fifty days without so much as one single Fast.. Hence it happens, that while the body is being mortified, and is to continue to be so till Easter Night, that holy night is eagerly looked forward to even by the carnal-minded; they long for it to come; and, meanwhile, they carefully count each of the forty days, as a wearied traveler does the miles. Thus, the sacred Solemnity is sweet to all, and dear to all, and desired by all, as light is to them that walk in darkness, as a fount of living water is to them that thirst, and as “a tent which the Lord hath pitched” for wearied wayfarers.”

What a happy time was that, when, as St. Bernard expresses it, there was not one in the whole Christian army, that neglected his Easter duty, and when all, both just and sinners, walked together in the path of the Lenten observances! Alas those days are gone, and Easter has not the same effect on the people of our generation! The reason is that a love of ease and a false conscience lead so many Christians to treat the law of Lent with as much~indifference. as though there were no such law existing. Hence, Easter Comes upon them as a Feast,—it. may be as a great Feast,.......but that is all ; they experience little of that thrilling joy which fills the heart of the Church hiring this Season, and which she evinces in every thing she does. And if this be their case even on the glorious day itself, how can it be expected that they should keep up, for the whole fifty, the spirit of gladness, which is the very essence of Easter? They have not observed the fast, or the abstinence, of Lent: the mitigated form in which the Church now presents them to her children, in consideration of their weakness, was too severe for them! They sought, or they took, a total dispensation from this law of Lenten mortification, and without regret or remorse. The Alleluia returns, and it finds no response in their souls: how could it? Penance has not done its work of purification; it has not spin tualized them ; how, then, could they follow their risen Jesus, whose life is henceforth more of heaven than of earth?

But these reflections are too sad for such a Season as this: let us beseech our risen Jesus to enlighten these souls with the rays of His victory over the world and the flesh, and to raise them up to Himself. No, nothing must now distract us from joy. ‘Can the children of the Bridegroom mourn, as long as the Bridegroom is with them ?‘I Jesus is to be with us for forty days; He is to suffer no more, and die no more; let our feelings be in keeping with His: now endless glory and bliss. True, He is to leave us, He is to ascend to the right hand of His Father; but He will not leave us orphans; He will send us the divine Comforter, who will abide with us for ever.2 These sweet and consoling words must be our Easter text: ‘The children of the Bridegroom cannot mourn, as long as the Bridegroom is with us.’ They are the key to the whole Liturgy of this holy Season. We must have them ever before us, and we shall find by experience, that the joy of Easter is as salutary as the contrition and penance of Lent. Jesus on the Cross, and Jesus in the Resurrection, it is ever the same Jesus; but what He wants from us now, is that we should keep near Him, in company with His blessed Mother, His disciples, and Magdalene, who are in ecstasies of delight at His triumph, and have forgotten the sad days of His Passion.
But this Easter of ours will have an end ; the bright vision of our risen Jesus will pass away; and all that will be left to us, is the recollection of His ineffable glory, and of the wonderful familiarity wherewith He treated us. What shall we do, when He who was our very life arid light., leaves us, and ascends to heaven ? Be of good heart, Christians! you must look forward ta another Easter. Each year will give you a repetition of what you now enjoy. Easter will follow Easter, and bring you at last to that Easter in heaven, which is never to have an end, and of which these happy ones of earth are a mere foretaste. Nor is this all. Listen to the Church. In one of her Prayers she reveals to us the great secret, how we may perpetuate our Easters even here in our banishment :—‘ Grant to thy servants, 0 God, that they may keep up, by their manner of living, the Mystery they have received by believing!" So, then, the Mystery of Easter is to be ever visible on this earth; our risen Jesus ascends to heaven, hut He leaves upon us the impress of His Resurrection and we must retain it within us until He again visits us.


And how could it be that we should not retain this divine impress within us? Are not all the mysteries of our divine Master ours also? From His very first coming in the Flesh, He has made us sharers in everything He has done. He was born in Bethlehem: we were born together with Him. He Was crucified: our ‘old man was crucified with Him.’ He was buried: ‘we were buried with Him.’ And therefore, when He rose from the grave, we also re ceived the grace that we should ‘walk in the new ness of life.”

Such is the teaching of the Apostle, who thus continues: ‘We know that Christ rising again from the dead, dieth now no more; death shall no more have dominion over Him: ~or in that He died to sin, (that is, for sin,) He died once; but in that He liveth, He liveth unto God.’~ He is our head, and we are His members: we share in what is His. To die again by sin, would be to renounce Him, to separate our selves from Him, to forfeit that Death and Resurrection of His, which He mercifully willed should be ours. Let us, therefore, preserve within us that life, which is the life of’ our Jesus, and yet, which belongs to us as our own treasure; for lie won it by conquering death, and then gave it to us, with all His other merits. You, then, who before Easter were sinners, hut have now returned to the life of grace, see that you die no more; let your actions bespeak your resurrection. And you, to whom’ the Paschal Solemnity has brought growth in grace, show this increase of more abundant life by your principles and your conduct. ‘Tis thus all will ‘walk in the newness of life.’

With this, for the present, we take leave of the lessons taught us by the Resurrection of Jesus; the rest we reserve for the humble commentary we shall have to make on the Liturgy of tills holy season. We shall then see, more and more clearly, not only our duty of imitating our divine Master’s Resurrection, but the in magnificence of this grandest Mystery of the Man-God. Easter,—with its three admirable manifestations of divine love and power, the Resurrection, the Ascension, and the Descent of the Holy Ghost,— yes, Easter is the perfection of the work of our Re demption. Everything, both in the order of time and in the workings of the Liturgy, has been a pre paration for Easter. The four thousand years that followed the promise made by God to our First Parents, were crowned by the event that we are now to celebrate. All that the Church has been doing for us from the very commencement of Advent, had this same glorious event in view; and now that we have come to it, our expectations are more than realized, and the power and wisdom of God are brought before us so vividly, that our former know ledge of them seems nothing in comparison with our present appreciation and love of them. The Angels themselves are dazzled by the grand Mystery, as the Church tells us in one of her Easter Hymns, where she says: ‘The Angels gaze with wonder on the change wrought in mankind: it was flesh that sinned, and now Flesh taketh all sin away, and the God that reigns is the God made Flesh.”

Eastertide, too, belongs to what is called the Illuminative Life; nay, it is the most important part of that life, for it not only manifests, as the last four seasons of the Liturgical year have done, the humiliations and the sufferings of the Man-God: it shows Him to us in all His grand glory; it gives us to see Him expressing in His own sacred Humanity, tile highest degree of the creature’s transformation into his God. The Corning of the Holy Ghost will bring additional brightness to this Illumination; it shows us the relations that exist between the soul and the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity. And here we see the way and the progress of a faithful soul. She Was made an adopted child of the Heavenly Father; she was initiated into all the duties and mysteries of her high vocation, by the lessons and examples of the Incarnate Word; she was perfected, by the visit and indwelling of the Holy Ghost. From this there result those several Christian exercises, which produce within her an imitation of her divine Model, amid prepare her for that Union, to which she is invited by Him, who ‘gave to them that received Him, power to be made sons of God,’ by a birth that is ‘not of blood, nor of the flesh, but of God.” [St. John, i. 12,13]