The Donkey When fishes flew and forests walked And figs grew upon thorn, Some moment when the moon was blood Then surely I was born. With monstrous head and sickening cry And ears like errant wings, The devil’s walking parody On all four-footed things. The tattered outlaw of the earth, Of ancient crooked will; Starve, scourge, deride me: I am dumb, I keep my secret still. Fools! For I also had my hour; One far fierce hour and sweet: There was a shout about my ears, And palms before my feet.
From the discourse "On the Palm Branches" by Saint Andrew of Crete Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; blessed is the King of Israel. Let us go together to meet Christ on the Mount of Olives. Today he returns from Bethany and proceeds of his own free will towards his holy and blessed passion, to consummate the mystery of our salvation. He who came down from heaven to raise us from the depths of sin, to raise us with himself, we are told in Scripture, above every sovereignty, authority and power, and every other name that can be named, now comes of his own free will to make his journey to Jerusalem. He comes without pomp or ostentation. As the psalmist says: He will not dispute or raise his voice to make it heard in the streets. He will be meek and humble, and he will make his entry in simplicity. Let us run to accompany him as he hastens towards his passion, and imitate those who met him then, not by covering his path with garments, olive branches or palms, but by doing all we can to prostrate ourselves before him by being humble and by trying to live as he would wish. Then we shall be able to receive the Word at his coming, and God, whom no limits can contain, will be within us. In his humility Christ entered the dark regions of our fallen world and he is glad that he became so humble for our sake, glad that he came and lived among us and shared in our nature in order to raise us up again to himself. And even though we are told that he has now ascended above the highest heavens – the proof, surely, of his power and godhead – his love for man will never rest until he has raised our earthbound nature from glory to glory, and made it one with his own in heaven. So let us spread before his feet, not garments or soulless olive branches, which delight the eye for a few hours and then wither, but ourselves, clothed in his grace, or rather, clothed completely in him. We who have been baptized into Christ must ourselves be the garments that we spread before him. Now that the crimson stains of our sins have been washed away in the saving waters of baptism and we have become white as pure wool, let us present the conqueror of death, not with mere branches of palms but with the real rewards of his victory. Let our souls take the place of the welcoming branches as we join today in the children’s holy song: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed is the king of Israel.
We are under 9 9nches of snow and ice. Power outages etc. I won't be able to make it to Mass. My heart aches but as they say " it is what is"
I humbly suggest that you watch Mass by the Marians of the Immaculate Conception: https://divinemercyplus.org/videos/holy-mass-live You will NOT be disappointed!
Oh how terrible! Prayers for that power to be restored. We escaped the snow, but we had torrents of rain and high winds. March is going out with a bang. Hopefully we'll have better weather for Easter Sunday.
Thank you. The plow man arrived too late for me to get to Mass. I prayed on line with a Polish Mass in Chicago. Very beautiful liturgy.
I'm blessed. Have you ever heard of Hillsdale College? In Hillsdale Mi, it's the only college in the US that does not accept govt funding. It's about 45 min from me. They have a Mass on Sunday at 5 pm that I have attended when my illness wouldn't let me go to am Mass. It's very beautiful with a lot of Latin mixed in and full of college students.
https://www.thedivinemercy.org/articles/here-are-plenary-indulgences-available-during-holy-week There are plenary indulgences available during Holy Week.
My parish was in the darkness for Mass. I was able to make it to 11am Mass in a neighboring parish...only 40 people present.
So sorry, Ann. Praying that your ache will open the door of grace. Be sure to pray for a Spiritual Communion!
