By FR. JAMES ALTMAN
Dear family, for the past full year, our One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church has been shrouded as surely as that crucifix above our Tabernacle was shrouded before Easter. Our Universal Church has been shrouded in fear and in error.
And all the remnants of the Godless scourge of fear are an abomination now.
As good Catholics you have heard of — and probably know — at least the first half of this prayer: “Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And you shall renew the face of the Earth.”
Perhaps fewer of us know the second half of this prayer:
“O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations. Through Christ Our Lord, Amen.”
Come, Holy Spirit.
If ever there was a time that we were in need of having our hearts filled with the Holy Spirit, in need of being set afire with Divine Love, of having the face of the Earth renewed, it certainly is now.
And who is supposed to be lighting that fire? It was not Jesus’ intent to go around doing all the fire-lighting. Oh no. No, no dear family. That was not Jesus’ intent. Jesus’s intent — and we do not need to guess at it — was that His apostles and His priests light the fires. But, as always, you don’t have to take my word for it.
As we look back on Holy Week and Easter, recall what happened at that very first Holy Thursday, at that very First Holy Mass of the Lord’s Supper. What happened was the institution of the Holy Orders, the priesthood. On that holy and sacred night when Jesus consecrated the bread and wine — and it became His Body and Blood — Jesus ordained His apostles/bishops/priests when He commanded them to “do this in memory of me.”
And then, lest we have any doubts about their mission in this world, we have Jesus’ Gospel Commission — His Great Commission at the Ascension:
“All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age” (Matt. 28:18-20).
Dear family, no matter what is going on around us — no matter what we saw done to us over the past year — no matter what we saw not being done — no matter what cataclysm awaits us — let us at least be crystal clear on this:
Every day since the Last Supper, Jesus Christ the Lord has commanded every bishop and every priest to be His minister of grace and to call down the Holy Spirit upon those gifts placed on the altar and to make present to you, the faithful, His sacramental grace in Baptism, Confession, Confirmation, and Holy Communion.
All of this we did at the Easter Vigil Saturday night — but none of which was done last year in so many places around the world.
Dear family, if ever there was a time that we were in need of having our hearts filled with the Holy Spirit — in need of being set afire with Divine Love — in need of having the face of the Earth renewed — it certainly is now. So let us choose to follow those shepherds who actually lead with courage and do not cower in fear.
Let us in this time of which we have been warned — warned by our Blessed Mother — warned by countless saints and countless martyrs — warned by St. Pio and Pope St. John Paul II — let us in this time be filled with the Holy Spirit. Let us be filled with the Fire of His Love. Let us be among the faithful courageous few who will faithfully serve Jesus the Lord because we know that He and He alone — not science — can renew the face of the Earth.
And let the memo go forth to every shepherd in every land that the renewal begins with uncovering our faces made in the Image and Likeness of Almighty God Himself — and gathering together here in Church — like the apostles in the Upper Room — so that we can be filled with the Fire of His Divine Love.
His Hour Had Come
Dear family and dear readers, please continue to meditate on these two readings from Holy Thursday:
1 Cor. 11:23-26: “Brothers and sisters: I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, ‘This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.”
John 13:1-15: “Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father. He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end. The devil had already induced Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, to hand him over. So, during supper, fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power and that he had come from God and was returning to God, he rose from supper and took off his outer garments. He took a towel and tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel around his waist.
“He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, ‘Master, are you going to wash my feet?’ Jesus answered and said to him, ‘What I am doing, you do not understand now, but you will understand later.’ Peter said to him, ‘You will never wash my feet.’ Jesus answered him, ‘Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me.’ Simon Peter said to him, ‘Master, then not only my feet, but my hands and head as well.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Whoever has bathed has no need except to have his feet washed, for he is clean all over; so you are clean, but not all.’ For he knew who would betray him; for this reason, he said, ‘Not all of you are clean.’ So when he had washed their feet and put his garments back on and reclined at table again, he said to them, ‘Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me “teacher” and “master,” and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do’.”
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
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