Author: Father Cioppi

Go out, stir things up! Luke 24:35-48

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From the Gospel today we can learn three things: That the person who stood before the Apostles in the Upper Room was real. That He revealed His wounds to them and invited them to ‘touch and see.’ That this is the Person Who wants now to have a faithful relationship with us.

The fact the all the Apostles except John offered their lives in sacrifice for the Truth is proof for us that He is alive. This means that the Seven Sacraments He gave us are effective in sharing His grace and glory with anyone who sincerely seeks Him.

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“Do not be unbelieving, but believe!” – John 20:19-31

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The readings today lead us to a God Who always desires for us to remain in communion with Him and if we sin, that we seek in sacramental ways the mercy and reconciliation necessary to achieve reunion with Him.

As Catholics, we are, a sacramental People and as Catholics we depend on these seven ‘outward signs’ as the only conduit of God’s grace. If we deny the sacraments we deny our hope for eternal life.

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“He is alive!”

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With great joy I greet you, in particular those who are ready to be baptized and confirmed! This is indeed a day of new life for us who seek His face! Alleluia!

The universal Church proclaims the kerymatic message on this ‘first day of the week.’ Jesus of Nazareth is not dead. He has been raised up! This message cannot be confined within these walls, as some would have us do. By nature, this message reverberates around the world, lighting up its darkened corners and nourishing it’s most wanting dwelling places.

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Sacred Triduum – Solemn Commemoration of the Lord’s Passion

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In the film: Passion of the Christ, when Jesus dies, a tear falls from heaven and shatters the earth. Thus a Father mourns the loss of an only Son. The Cross of Calvary penetrates the whole of Good Friday, during which we reflect on the woundedness of our Savior: “they have pierced my hands and my feet; they have numbered all my bones.”

In his wounded body we can recognize our own brokenness and so eagerly follow Jesus to the Place of the Skull, and commemorate each fall, with Mary, His sorrowful Mother who sheds tears mixed with dirt and blood.

Truly, the harsh reality of this hour accentuates not only our faults but also the woundedness of the Church immersed as she lives her passionate love for the Word made Flesh; for the Church continues, against all odds, to clarify the Truth even while it is feared by those who have lost their faith.

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“I have given you a model to follow…”

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The hour of Jesus’ agony has begun. We have gathered here tonight, as in an upper room, to commemorate our most sacred ritual of the Last Supper commingling with the sacrifice of Calvary.

Here on our Altar, Christ will be sacrificed and the Eucharist once again placed at the center of the cosmos. For Christ willed that His sacrifice be continually present as a sign of authentic unity. The Eucharist is one and the same time Christ’s sacrifice and the Church’s sacrifice, because through It Christ unites the Church with His redemptive work and invites the Church to share in His suffering.

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Sacred Triduum – Mass of Chrism

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This morning the presbyterate in Philadelphia will join Archbishop Chaput to celebrate the Mass of Chrism. Here the priests will renew their promises to be faithful to prayer, faithful to the Rites of the Church and faithful to their commitment to obedience and the celibate life.

The Archbishop then blesses the three oils used in the administration of the Sacraments: Oil of Catechumens, Oil of the Sick, and the Sacred Chrism. The Oils will be solemnly received into the Church this evening before the Mass of the Lord’s Supper.

Please pray for your priests. We depend on them!

 

Meeting Jesus on the road to Jerusalem.

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Today marks the beginning of a holy week of remembrance. Through the Scripture, Song and Sacred Ritual, we commemorate Christ’s Passion, Death and Resurrection. Our journey to God leads us now to the gates of Jerusalem where ‘Jesus emptied Himself and accepted death on a cross.’ We come to this time and place, open to the wonders of the power of Christ’s death; a power that brings new life to those who have lost hope, a home to the confused, and healing to those who suffer.

We find encouragement on this journey from the Gospels. The Pope said we should “not be men and women of sadness: a Christian can never be sad! Never give way to discouragement! Ours is not a joy that comes from having many possessions, but from having encountered a Person: Jesus, from knowing that with Him we are never alone!”

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“I will put My Spirit within you that you may live.” John 11:1-45

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Father Walter Ciszek spent 23 years in Soviet prison and work camps. Never allowed to celebrate Mass publicly, he memorized the Mass and with scraps of bread celebrated the Eucharist for himself and his cellmates. Eventually he was released and returned home to Allentown.

My dear friends, we are rapidly approaching the holiest week of the year: the inner sanctuary of our Catholic life. The Gospels are preparing us with the dominant themes in Holy Week: Light, living water and now eternal life.

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“God is rich in mercy” John 3:14-21

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The opening words of the second reading, sets the tone for our reflection on this Laetare Sunday. “God…is rich in mercy.” He gives us time to repent and believe, always one more chance to surrender to His Will. God is indeed rich in mercy.

But, we have learned that He can also be tough. He can get angry. Look at the first reading from Chronicles. Priests and people had polluted the temple in Jerusalem with infidelity. When the Lord showed them mercy, they mocked, despised and scoffed at Him. And even then, God gave them another chance through Cyrus of Persia, a person we least expect.

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“Listen for the authentic words of Christ.” John 2: 13-25

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As we begin our meditation on the Lord’s Passion and Death, we find ourselves in the desert with our spiritual ancestors. We find ourselves at the foot of the mountain of Sinai, here at the foot of the Altar. We listen as they once did to Word of God, spoken to us from human lips. We open our ears so these words can enter our heart.

However, we listen with hearts that are Christian. Our hearts have turned to Jesus and so we hear these words as a foundation of our faith in the Church. Paul says, “Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.”

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