Category Archives: Liturgy Letter Year B

Easter, Liturgy Letter Year B

Liturgy Letter Newsletter – Third Sunday of Easter 2018 (Year B)

Liturgy Letter Newsletter – Third Sunday of Easter 2018 (Year B)

Open Our Minds To the Light of Your Resurrection
“Why are we troubled? Christ suffered, Christ died, Christ is alive. Open our minds so we might understand (Luke 24:36b-48) and do right (1 John 3:1-7). Lord, please hear us when we cry out to you (Psalm 4); let us be your witnesses (Acts 3:12-19).”
– Thomas Oden, Ancient Christian Devotional
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Easter, Liturgy Letter Year B

Liturgy Letter Newsletter – Second Sunday of Easter 2018 (Year B)

Liturgy Letter Newsletter – Second Sunday of Easter 2018 (Year B)

Light and Peace
Because the good news of Easter can hardly be contained in a single day’s celebration, Easter is only the first of fifty days of Eastertide, the “Great Fifty Days” that lead up to Pentecost. This season is designed for extended celebration, for exploring the ramifications of Easter for the redemption of all creation, and for joyful Christian living … Jesus Christ’s resurrection is the central event … of all human history. Christians who make this confession are talking not about the resurrection of faith in the disciples, or of hope in the women at the tomb, or of tulips in the spring. They are confessing the real resurrection of Jesus … (more)”
-from The Worship Sourcebook, 2nd Edition.
This week’s readings:
Acts 4:32-35, Psalm 133, 1 John 1:1 – 2:2, John 20:19-31
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Easter, Feast Day, Liturgy Letter Year B

Liturgy Letter Newsletter – Easter Sunday 2018 (Year B)

Liturgy Letter Newsletter – Easter Day 2018 (Year B)

Christ is Risen!

“Jesus has risen (Acts 10:34-43)! God’s love for us is unshakeable. In the most desperate situations, he will be victorious (Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24). Let us then also walk in new life, putting away the old things (Colossians 3:1-4). Let us celebrate with the two women at the tomb Jesus’ triumph over death. He is risen, as he said (Matthew 28:1-10).” -Thomas Oden, Ancient Christian Devotional

Holy Week, Liturgy Letter Year B

Liturgy Letter Newsletter – Holy Saturday 2018 (Year B)

Liturgy Letter Newsletter – Holy Saturday 2018 (Year B)

Holy Saturday

This is officially the last day of the Lenten fast. There has been some controversy as to what exactly happened on this day, but the profound symbolism of Christ resting in the tomb while humanity waits for the resurrection runs deep in Eastern and Western Christian traditions. On this day, we wait for his resurrection and rest in prayer, by meditating on his passion, death, and descent to the dead.

Mary, the Mother of Jesus, also has been a traditional symbol connected to Holy Saturday. In Western Catholic tradition Mary represents the entire Church on Holy Saturday, “As she awaited in faith for the victorious triumph of Her Son over death on the first Holy Saturday, so we too wait with Mary on the present Holy Saturday.” This prayerful waiting has been called the “Ora della Madre” or Hour of the Mother.

God does not redeem from afar. The Word descended into our humanity; the Lord descended into the depths of our suffering; Christ descended into the very realm of death itself in order to set free its captives. There is life in the midst of death because love dwells in it. Thanks be to God.

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Good Friday, Holy Week, Liturgy Letter Year B

Liturgy Letter Newsletter – Good Friday 2018 (Year B)

Liturgy Letter Newsletter – Good Friday 2018 (Year B)

Good Friday

Good Friday is a reminder of the darkness experienced by Christ on our behalf. Out of true death, comes true life. His death and resurrection comprise the mysteries at the very heart of Christian faith. On this day, Christ became the, “…Paschal (Passover) Lamb of our salvation, by whose blood we have been purchased unto God as His own consecrated people, a holy nation, a royal priesthood. Christians today gather at the foot of the cross with Mary the Lord’s Mother, the beloved disciple John, the repentant Mary Magdalene and her several companions, the confessing Centurion and all others who have, down through the ages…(been) made holy by the redeeming act of the God who loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.”

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Holy Week, Liturgy Letter Year B

Liturgy Letter Newsletter – Maundy Thursday 2018

Liturgy Letter Newsletter – Maundy Thursday 2018

Maundy Thursday

“Maundy Thursday marks three key events in Jesus’ last week: his washing of his disciples’ feet, his institution of the Lord’s Supper, and his new commandment to love one another. This service begins the Triduum, the three-day period from sunset on Thursday to sunset on Easter Day. The name “Maundy Thursday” comes from the Latin mandatum novum, referring to the “new commandment” Jesus taught his disciples (John 13:34). In other words, this is “new commandment Thursday.” -from The Worship Sourcebook, 2nd. Edition.

On this day, Jesus commemorated the Passover meal with his disciples, an observance of God rescuing his people from slavery in Egypt. In celebrating this observance, Jesus was pointing to the new covenant he would make with God’s people, rescuing them from spiritual slavery to sin and death. Before the meal, he washed the feet of his disciples and instituted the Lord’s Supper (Communion, Eucharist, Mass). In so doing, our servant King provided a means of grace and an example for us to follow. Christian participation in these practices reflects upon the new command of Jesus to, “Love each other as I have loved you.”

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Holy Week, Liturgy Letter Year B

Liturgy Letter Newsletter – Holy Week 2018 (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday)

Liturgy Letter Newsletter – Holy Week 2018 (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday)

Passion Week: Journeying Toward the Paschal Mystery

Lent began over five weeks ago on Ash Wednesday. Over the course of this week, Christians around the world will re-enact and remember the days leading up to Christ’s death and resurrection. This journey towards the cross began on Palm Sunday with a commemoration of Jesus entry into Jerusalem on a donkey. The people who confessed and praised him as the Savior King later cry out, “…crucify him, crucify him!”

On Monday and Tuesday, Jesus returned to Jerusalem from Bethany and purified the Temple, fulfilling the prophecy from the Old Testament (ex. Malachi 3:1-5). In Jerusalem, the tension continued to mount between Jesus and the religious rulers. Wednesday of Holy week is traditionally called “Spy Wednesday” because the enemies of Jesus were watching him closely and looking for an opportunity to capture him. On this day, the adoration of Mary of Bethany is juxtaposed with the tragic betrayal of Judas.

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Lent, Liturgy Letter Year B, Palm Sunday

Liturgy Letter Newsletter – Palm Sunday 2018 (Year B)

Liturgy Letter Newsletter – Palm Sunday Sunday 2018 (Year B)

The Humility of the True King
“Jesus prepares to enter Jerusalem. He will enter majestically, hearing cries of ‘Hosanna in the highest!’ His sights are set on what he must do; his intentions are faithful to God, who sustains him. Soon the crowds will disperse, to be replaced by tormentors. Adulation will cease, and he will be faced with betrayal. Humiliation and obedience lead to death so that life may abound to God’s glory.”
“This is the day the Lord had made–let us rejoice and be glad in it (Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29)! Jesus humbled himself on the cross for us (Philippians 2:5-11). God’s help for us is all-sufficient (Isaiah 50:4-9a). Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord (Mark 11:1-11).”
-Thomas Oden, from Ancient Christian Devotional
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Lent, Liturgy Letter Year B

Liturgy Letter Newsletter – Fifth Sunday in Lent 2018 (Year B)

Liturgy Letter Newsletter – Fifth Sunday in Lent 2018 (Year B)

Fresh Faith and a Clean Heart
“The old passes away, the new emerges. The grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies. From it springs the stalk that in time produces much fruit. Death’s sting is tempered by the promise of new life. Do not cling to old ways that hinder your ability to realize the hope of the gospel. Rather, let what you glean from the past lead to fresh insight, so that you may mature in faith.”
“Create in us clean hearts, O Lord (Psalm 51:1-12); write your law on our hearts and forget our sins forever (Jeremiah 31:31-34). Christ, who was divine, took on human flesh in order to give us eternal salvation (Hebrews 5:5-10). Follow him. Walk in the light (John 12:20-33).”
-Thomas Oden, from Ancient Christian Devotional
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Lent, Liturgy Letter Year B

Liturgy Letter Newsletter – Fourth Sunday in Lent 2018 (Year B)

Liturgy Letter Newsletter – Fourth Sunday in Lent 2018 (Year B)

He Gave His Son
Give thanks to the Lord (Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22), for the power of sin was broken on the cross (Numbers 21:4-9). For God so loved the world that he gave his Son (John 3:14-21); by his grace and mercy, we are saved (Ephesians 2:1-10).
-Thomas Oden, Ancient Christian Devotional

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