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IN THIS ISSUE
From the Desk of
Fr. John Madigan, O.M.I.
Celebrating the 150th Anniversary of Lourdes
Spring at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows
Two Angels Speak
During that first Holy Week, what was going on in heaven?
At the back of the great throne room of heaven, two angels speak softly to each other…
Silverwing: “Why is the throne room so dark? Why is God’s light not beaming forth from the throne room? Just a moment ago the whole of Jerusalem was proclaiming His Son, the Son of David, ‘Hosanna in the highest!’ and now, there is complete silence from those people who declared Him their King. He has had to go into hiding because of the plots against His life. How can humans change so suddenly?”
Trumpetblaster: “This is part of
their free will. This is God’s greatest
gift to them, and yet they throw it
in His face and ignore all He has
given them.”
Silverwing: (Crying out softly so as not to be heard.) “Why is the throne room so empty? Why is the Light of God not shining forth and filling the entire heavens? Why is God silent?”
Trumpetblaster: “God is feeling the pain that His Son is feeling at this moment. The weight of all human race is upon His shoulders, and God is feeling that too.”
Silverwing: “But why is He allowing it to happen?”
Trumpetblaster: “It is very difficult
for us to understand what is really
happening down there. Love has
poured forth from the throne room
of heaven and has filled all of the
earth, and yet the humankind is
throwing it back at God and slapping
God in the face, and God is feeling
that at this very moment.”
We come to that Tuesday when all around was silence. We go into that Wednesday when they are searching everywhere for Him, but the hour has not yet come...
Silverwing: “And yet, the terrible silence continues in this vast throne room. Where are the archangels? Where are the voices that sing so magnificently the sweet praises of our God? Are they silenced forever? Will God continue to withdraw His light from the throne room? Will we be as cold as we feel at this moment and as empty because the presence of God is not pouring forth upon us?”
Then we reach that Thursday in which the greatest banquet of all times, the liberation of the Jewish nation, the chosen people that God chose to speak to directly and send His beloved Son…
Trumpetblaster: “Look at the eyes of Jesus as He sits there, with His most beloved companions. Very soon, even they will deny His very existence.”
Silverwing: “Why are humans so
fickle? They do not even realize that
the moment all eternity has waited
for is now happening? He’s giving them the greatest gift they could
ever have, but yet they don’t
understand what He’s talking about.
They argue with Him; saying He
should not doubt their loyalty.
Yet, in the eyes of Jesus, you see
Peter already denying Him; you can
see the kiss of Judas already on His
lips. Why did He give His love to
these people? Now, when He needs
them most, they will betray Him?”
Trumpetblaster: “Look. Look out there now on the Mount of Olives. Look at Jesus as He prays to take it away.”
Silverwing: “Will the Father not answer Him? Will the Father give Him no comfort? Has the Father abandoned Him?”
Trumpetblaster: “My friend it is very hard for us to understand what God is feeling at this moment because we cannot see the Light of God; we cannot even see God, and yet all things on the earth continue as normal. Yet, the Son of God is about to die in human flesh. Flesh He chose to take on in order to understand the human beings and to forgive the human beings of everything they have ever done.”
Silverwing: “Look, here comes Judas. Oh Father! Will You not save Your Son?”
Trumpetblaster: “He cannot, my
friend. If He intervenes now, all
generations from Adam and Eve and
onward, will be lost forever; they will
never be able to enter into eternal life.”
Silverwing: “But it’s so painful to see the heavens so dark. The beautiful music and sweet songs are gone. The heavens are still and silent. Where are the musicians? Where have the golden harp players gone? It is as if heaven has died to itself.”
Trumpetblaster: “Heaven cannot die, my friend. Heaven is only holding its breath, for the moment of greatness is to come.”
Silverwing: “How do you know these things are to happen down there? Has Lucifer won, that God is so off in the distance, so removed from the Son that He loves so much?”
Trumpetblaster: “We have to accept
that this is God’s Will - that God is
allowing the pain and suffering to
happen. Look at Judas, standing there
alone. Look at the pain in his face
and the sorrow that he must be
feeling at this moment. He cannot
undo what he has done. Yet, he has
fulfilled the part for which he was
born to carry out and to die for.”
The darkest Friday begins…
Silverwing: “Oh, look at those holy men who profess to know God’s law!”
Trumpetblaster: “But you must understand my friend, they do not accept Him, because He did not tell them that they were great in the eyes of God. No, my friend, they know not what they are doing.”
Silverwing: “I have never seen
heaven like this before. For as long as
I remember, heaven has always felt so
wonderful, so peaceful, so full of love!”
Trumpetblaster: “The love hasn’t
gone away my friend, the love is still
here, because God is still here. If He
wasn’t here, heaven would not exist.
God is within His Son at this
moment. God is walking every step
with His Son and feeling the same
pain that His Son is feeling at this
moment. He is not alone. The
Father is with Him.”
Silverwing: “There He goes before
Pilot. He, too, has been chosen for
this particular part in the world’s
fate. He cannot understand what is
really happening. He is trying to
pacify the Jewish leaders. Pilot is
trying to bring stability to the land
by killing this insurrection. Yet, even
though He has committed no crime,
Pilot condemns him!”
Trumpetblaster: “Oh, look there!
He is taking upon His shoulders that
wooden cross that weighs Him down
with all the sins of humanity.
Humankind could not do this
themselves. Only the Son of God
could intervene and do this.”
Silverwing: “Look at His poor mother, what she is going through at this moment. How could the Father allow her to go through this pain when she gave up everything for Him?”
Trumpetblaster: “Once again, my
friend, we cannot understand the
mind of God, but God must be
covering her and helping her to be
there. Otherwise she would not be
able to stand there and watch it.”
Silverwing: “Oh, the nails! Oh the sound of the hammer as it is pounded against the wood of the cross, the tree of life.”
Trumpetblaster: “There He stands
between heaven and earth, placing
Himself before His Father preventing
all of mankind from being destroyed.
Here is the destiny. Here is the
greatness for which the human body
of Jesus Christ was born and, yet, no
one understands. The human flesh
of Jesus Christ was given the choice
to say, ‘no’ and come home to His
Father. But He knew that unless He
allowed this terrible thing to happen,
the gates of heaven would be closed
for all eternity.”
Silverwing: “Oh! He’s crying out for the Father! Father, will You not
answer Him or give Him hope?!
But heaven seems to get darker each
time. Listen to the earth! It cries
out in pain for its Creator,
unleashing its rumblings upon
humanity. The earth is splitting
apart, crying aloud for its Creator
who is persecuted by the very
people that He has shown so much
love. He has offered them so much
debt in heart, mind, and soul…and
no one understands. Is God hoping,
that for a tiny glimpse of a moment,
these people will indeed change?
Yet, they continue to mock, to scorn,
and to defy everything.”
Saturday brings the dawn of darkness – a world without hope…
Silverwing: “They are taking Him down. Oh! They have pulled the nails out of His hands and feet, and that terrible thing they had put on His head. Oh, look at His mother, holding Him in her arms. How will heaven ever be the same? It’s become completely dark in here. I cannot even see my own hands! Where is God? Where is God?”
Trumpetblaster: “My friend, God is there in the arms of that mother who said yes. That the lifeless body now in her arms will triumph.”
Silverwing: “How can you say that?
How do you know what’s going to
happen next?”
Trumpetblaster: “Because I know
God always completes what He has
started. He set this plan into fashion.
He has molded and shaped it but it
could have changed at any moment
because of the free will He gave
humanity and to the body of His
beloved Son.”
Silverwing: “Oh, they’re taking him
to the tomb – the darkness, the
emptiness, the loneliness inside that
tomb. Oh, the noise of the rock as it
rolls over. Has Lucifer won? Is there
no hope that if God is depending on
human kind to fulfill the message
that He has sent to him? Who is
listening? Who is doing all the
listening now? Is it possible that
anything good can come out of this
dreadful time when heaven, itself, is
darker than the earth?”
Sunday brings the promise of eternal life…
Trumpetblaster: “Wait a moment, my friend…”
Silverwing: “Wait. Look! You see the Light coming back into the throne room. Look at it – there is God! There is God!”
God: “Hear Me, Oh Heavenly
Hosts! I command you,
archangels – go down unto the
Earth and command the Earth to
release My Son. Bring Him forth
from the dark pit that He has
gone into for Me! Sound the
trumpets! Blast the Hallelujahs!
Let the Earth shudder and shake.
Deliver up unto Me my Son in
whom I am well pleased. In
victory, He is lifted high with the
crown of glory forever. He will
be the Shining Light of the world
for all times. May this moment
be forever glorified in heaven’s
history. The triumphant crowning
of My Son who accepted My
Will to the very end. And now,
let the whole heavenly hosts
shout in Alleluias to the very end
of time. Never again will heaven
be silent, for all is completed in
My beloved Son.”
Keep His loving promise of eternal life close to you always with this beautiful Stations of the Cross Bracelet. Fourteen photo medals depicting the Stations of the Cross, hang from the charming rhodium-plated bracelet which also features a sturdy clasp. This extraordinatry piece of religious jewelry allows you to journey with Christ as He makes the ultimate sacrifice for us.