HOLY WEDNESDAY Communitarian celebration of reconciliation

“Christ doesn’t resign himself to the graves that we have constructed with our choices of evil and death, mistakes, sins. He invites us, almost commanding us, to go out from our grave where we are stuck because of our sins. He calls us to go out from the darkness of prison in which we are closed, contented with our false, egoistic and mediocre life:

“Go out!”.

It’s a beautiful invitation to authentic freedom, to allow ourselves to be freed from bandages of our pride. Our resurrection begins here: when we decide to obey this commandment of Jesus going toward light, life; when our masks fall down – many times we wear masks because of our sins – and we encounter again the value of our original face, created at image and similarity of God. The gesture of Jesus who  brings Lazarus back to life shows us the limits of God’s grace, of our conversion, of our change: there is no limit for God’s mercy given to all” (Pope Francis 6-4-2014)

The words of Francisco Palau to Gabriel Brunet may help us to interiorize:

1. My beloved son Biel: I have come to this mountain not only to think on my own spiritual life but also on yours.

Looking at the matters of your soul, you are going on a normal course, on the other hand, suffering and struggling amidst defeat and victories. You have (I pointed this out to you several times) a bad angel that besiege you and is very wicked; and you fight poorly because you give in to many of its insinuations. Setting aside other weaknesses, the most serious are the attacks directed against charity, this is: ill-tempered, moody, fretful, unkind, malice against the superiors, subordinates and equals, temptations against others and not against you. Consenting to temptations lead to works, words and ways of behaving that is not edifying, this does not inspire love of God and piety. This is the most serious because from it spring forth pride, lack of humility, kindness, affability, and gentleness in personal relationship. God dissimulates and overlooks all of these except the fault against malice towards the neighbours, because they are against the Holy Spirit. If your faults against charity do harm those living with you, such are lamentable and irremediable.

2 . You know all these. So let us go to the remedy. What a re your preoccupations when you are working alone? What else if not your attacks and temptations in order to conquer yourself? Concentrate and gather all your little spiritual strengths and direct them at conquering yourself; turn your ill-temper, moods, frets, unkindness and temptation against yourself. Humble the very formidable enemy that you are, with actions, works and words. Wage holy war against yourself and when you overcome the most terrible of your rivals, when you have humbled yourself, then you will be another person!

You choose:
To live in depth,
Focused on the object of your/our love
Or to live superficially.
The way you decide to live
affects us all, affects to whole Church.

Therefore, prophesy and say to them: Thus says the Lord GOD: Look! I am going to open your graves; I will make you come up out of your graves, my people, and bring you back to the land of Israel. You shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and make you come up out of them, my people!

(Ez 37, 12-14)

We give ourselves a good time for reflection

1. Take the first step and ask God to give you His light to recognize your “illness”, your “sin”.
2. Let yourself be seen, where it hurts, let Him heal your soul.
3. Forgive yourself and ask forgiveness of those you have hurt. Take advantage of the moment, you may not have another.

CHOOSE LIFE!

Together we ask forgiveness:

We ask the merciful God to purify the hearts of those of us who confess to being sinners and ask for forgiveness of our faults and weaknesses.

o That you grant us the grace of a true conversion, HEAL US, LORD.

o May we be free from all fear of compromise, MAKE US RADICAL, LORD.

o May you have mercy on our sins, HAVE MERCY ON US, LORD.

o May we always be looked upon by You, OPEN US UP TO YOU, LORD.

o May we always feel rooted in you, LORD, HAVE MERCY.

o May we act moved by the power of your grace, LORD, HAVE MERCY.

o May your forgiveness make us authentic witnesses of your love, INVITE US, LORD.

o May we look at others as you look at us, GRANT US, LORD.

As a SIGN of our desire for reconciliation with God and with our brothers and sisters, we now stand before one of the people with whom we are celebrating this moment. We look at them the way that we feel God is looking at them at this moment. In that gaze we transmit them the forgiveness, the acceptance and the mercy of God towards them. May that same gaze be directed throughout these days to each of our sisters and brothers.

Whole Heart (Hold Me Now) – Hillsong    

Hold me now
In the hands that created the heavens
Find me now
Where the grace runs as deep as Your scars
You pulled me from the clay
Set me on a rock
Called me by Your Name
And made my heart whole again
 
Lifted up
And my knees know it’s all for Your glory
That I might stand
With more reasons to sing than to fear
You pulled me from the clay
Set me on a rock
Called me by Your Name
And made my heart whole again
 

So here I stand high in surrender
I need You now
Hold my heart now and forever
My soul cries out
 

Once I was broken
But You loved my whole heart through
Sin has no hold on me
‘Cause Your grace holds me now
And that grace
Owns the ground where the grave did
Where all my shame remains
Left for dead in Your wake
You crashed those age-old gates
You left no stone unturned
You stepped out of that grave
And shouldered me all the way
 

Once I was broken
But You loved my whole heart through
Sin has no hold on me
‘Cause Your grace holds me now
Healed and forgiven
Look where my chains are now
Death has no hold on me
‘Cause Your grace holds that ground
And Your grace holds me now.