Traditional Roman Catholic Thoughts

Traditional Roman Catholic Thoughts

Reintroducing Logic and Reason to the Age of Sentimentalism

Triduum

All of the posts under the "Triduum" category.

Consecrate Yourself to Jesus Through Mary This Lent

I do not intend to be the bearer of bad news, but Lent is only four weeks away. With that said, have you begun considering what you can do for Lent this year? If not, might I offer a suggestion?

Easter is on March 27 this year. Just two days before that, March 25, we celebrate the Feast of the Annunciation, though I am unsure how that will work liturgically as Good Friday and the Easter Triduum supercedes all other feast days. However, I believe you can still celebrate the feast day though I am open to correction by someone who knows more than I.

sacred-heart-of-jesus-_amp_-immaculate-heart-of-mary_001

I would suggest, though, that this Lent you consecrate (or reconsecrate if you’ve done so already) yourself to Jesus through Mary. You would begin on February 22 (because 2016 is a Leap Year), so you would still spend the majority of Lent performing a spiritual work.

The best method for consecrating yourself to Jesus through Mary is St. Louis de Montfort’s True Devotion to Mary. I would highly suggest a copy of this book as it is what I have used and find it very helpful as all of the material you will need is in it. The book is available from Amazon here.

In consecrating yourself to Jesus through Mary, you will be giving all of the graces and works you earn to Our Mother. Because Mary’s will and the Father’s Will are in perfect harmony and being she is the Mediatrix of all Graces, you will be able to assist better the souls to which Our Lady determines are in need of those graces. If Mary is the mold, then we should allow ourselves to be placed in her, so that we can become little saints.

Consider embarking on this noble journey to not only help the souls in Purgatory as well as souls here on Earth but in becoming the Saint that God has called you to be. As St. Louis de Montfort says, “there is no surer or easier way than Mary in uniting all men to Christ.”

Jeff January 13, 2016 1 Comment Permalink

Holy Saturday

It is now Holy Saturday, the last day in the Triduum. Jesus descended into Hell to redeem the world after His death on the cross yesterday. Jesus is not resting, He is redeeming! In some sense, today is a day of mourning. It is also a day of celebration as we know that tomorrow Christ will rise again from the dead and conquer death. Through His death and resurrection, He has redeemed the world.

Now, Jesus was placed in the tomb immediately after His death. Normally, the Jews would prepare the body with ointments and oils and herbs before burying the dead. However, since Jesus was crucified on Friday, and the Jewish Sabbath began at sundown Friday evening, there was no time to give Jesus the proper burial. He was rushed off to the tomb and laid and would be given the proper herbs and oils after the Sabbath was over.

The Jews followed the Sabbath to a t. They did not mess around. When God gave the 3rd Commandment “Thou Shalt Keep the Sabbath Day Holy”, the Jews were incredibly serious by not doing any work. As Catholic we are allowed to do some work. I for one enjoy doing yard work, and I find it relaxing. However, when I get frustrated and it starts to feel like work, I know that it is time to stop. Tomorrow, Mary and Mary Magdalene will go to prepare Jesus’ body for death properly.

Today in some regards we should consider a day of rest to some extent, as that is what the disciples and other followers of Jesus would have done today. It is not the Sabbath (ours is Sunday), so we are not required to rest all day like we are on Sunday, but it is encouraged. We can reflect on the Passion and how through Jesus’ Death and Resurrection, He has redeemed the world and allowed us access to Heaven. We should reflect more upon what it means to be Catholic as well as what it means to be a follower of Christ.

Many times we get it wrong. We get into a routine. We feel that “hey! Its okay if I do this, ya know, Jesus understands and its not a big deal”, but in reality, when we spend time to reflect on it, and ask ourselves the “what would Jesus do/think?”, we then realize, you know, this isn’t right. I need to amend my life.

Jesus died for us. Jesus also told us what we are to do and how we are to live our lives if we are to be true followers. We can give it our hardest and if we are indeed trying to follow His commandments, and when we fall we ask for forgiveness and when we sin we go to confession, we can rest assured that we are on the right path. However, if we make excuses for us and fall short, we put ourselves in a dangerous position. When we are not on the path to Christ and we die, we may end up in Hell. This is important to always keep in mind. God isn’t up in Heaven waiting for us to trip up so He can send us there. We freely choose Hell based on our actions.

God wants us to be with Him in Heaven. So, this Easter, let us take up our crosses so that we can join Jesus on Calvary. Let us know that through the Resurrected Christ, we have a shot of eternal salvation in Heaven. Let us be thankful, that Jesus is indeed the Messiah, and that through Him, we are able to conquer death and sin, and to achieve a level of holiness, never before seen.

Jeff April 7, 2012 Leave A Comment Permalink

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