The Great Fast | Day 2

[0:13]At the threshold of this Holy day, let us call to mind the great realities for which we were created and toward which we are hastening. Remember, Christian soul, that thou hast this day, and every day of thy life: God to glorify, Jesus to imitate, a soul to save, a body to mortify, sins to repent of, virtues to acquire, hell to avoid, Heaven to gain, eternity to prepare for, time to profit by, neighbors to edify, the world to despise, devils to combat, passions to subdue, death, perhaps, to suffer, judgement to undergo. Having remembered our end, let us now consecrate this day to the discipline of the great fast. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. The great fast morning offering. Let us pray. Stir up in me this day O Savior, by the merits of the mystery of Thy fast in the Wilderness, the earnest desire and the effective will to choose to fast, and so repair my many falls, order my bodily appetites, and purify my mind. Unite me in the present struggle with all the Christian penitents throughout the world who will pass this day in self-denial. By this holy observance increase my hunger for the delights of the banquet of the Lamb - below under the sacramental signs, and finally above in the vision of Thy Blessed Face. Amen. In a spirit of compunction, we now take upon our lips the prayer of the penitent king, the first penitential Psalm. Psalm 6. Lord, rebuke me not in thy indignation, nor chastise me in thy wrath. Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak: heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled. And my soul is troubled exceedingly: but thou, O Lord, how long? Turn to me, O Lord, and deliver my soul: O save me for thy mercy's sake. For there is no one in death, that is mindful of thee: and who shall confess to thee in hell? I have laboured in my groanings, every night I will wash my bed: I will water my couch with my tears. My eye is troubled through indignation: I have grown old amongst all my enemies. Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity: for the Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping. The Lord hath heard my supplication: the Lord hath received my prayer. Let all my enemies be ashamed, and be very much troubled: let them be turned back, and be ashamed very speedily. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. United with the whole Church throughout the world, we pray for him who has been entrusted with the care of all Christ's flock. Let us pray for Leo, our Pope. May the Lord preserve him, and give him life, and make him blessed upon the earth, and deliver him not up to the will of his enemies. Let us pray. O God, Shepherd and Ruler of all Thy faithful people, look mercifully upon Thy servant Leo, whom Thou hast chosen as shepherd to preside over Thy Church. Grant, we beseech Thee, that by his word and example he may edify those over whom he hath charge, and together with the flock committed to him, attain everlasting life. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. As the morning advances, we place this day under the mystery of the Incarnation. The Angelus. The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary: And she conceived of the Holy Spirit. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Let us pray. Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the Incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. The cross represents a heavenly wisdom that is directly contrary to the comfort and pleasure that this world seeks. The cross, we friends of Christ, have this sign of his victory all around us. It adorns our churches and homes, we wear it as jewelry, we sign it upon our bodies every time we pray, every time we enter or leave a church. Our Lord tells us in the gospel from St. Luke today, if anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me. is the way that our Lord wants us to identify ourselves with him. It is the character, the stamp, if you will, that sets us apart as belonging to him. Now, where do we find the cross? That might sound like an impertinent question, and you might be thinking, Father, just come and live my life for a week and I'll show you the cross. I hope that what you're not thinking right now is, Father, come and meet my spouse and I'll show you the cross. Or, Father, come and try to live where I live or work where I work and I'll show you the cross. But even if that is what you're thinking, there is certainly some truth in that as well. Our life here below in this fallen world, amidst all these imperfect and weak and sinful people, surely entails many crosses. More to the point, however, is the question that our Lord puts to each of us individually today. He says that you are going to have to take up your cross today, the very one that he has custom made for you to be your own personal royal road to heaven. Your fasting and your prayer today will help you to hone your spiritual sense so that you can recognize that cross. And since the pursuit of Christian holiness entails living the mystery of the cross in one's daily life, then if someone asks you where you find your cross, then it wouldn't be ridiculous at all to answer, right there at home with my children and my spouse, or right here in the very life I am living or witnessing others live today. Next, once we've found that cross, we might ask ourselves, how do we receive it? How do we face it? How are we living it today at the beginning of another season of Lent? The goal of this holy season and of our Lenten program together is to help to face our crosses joyfully, lovingly, and courageously. This means to cling to our Blessed Lord, to trust him, to love him, to surrender to him. We can joyfully, lovingly, courageously take up the cross that our Lord has tailor made for each of us because he has already taken it up and borne it for us. This is what we contemplate so attentively during these holy days of Lent. In the art and iconography of the first three centuries of the Christian era, the cross was never represented with our Lord's body hanging from it. That wouldn't come into almost a thousand years later. In those early centuries, the cross was always a sign of victory. The Crux gemata, golden and radiant, covered in precious stones and enthroned upon a royal cushion. This is a helpful image to keep in our minds as we begin another Lent, as we take up our own daily cross and attempt to follow our Lord. Surely the cross involves suffering, and the crucifix with which we're all familiar, teaches us all we need to know about that. But the cross is also something triumphant, exalted, a sign of Christ's victory. It is his promise to us of the holiness in store for those who take up their own cross and follow him. As we follow him up Mount Calvary in this holy season, may he teach us to embrace it as he did. Joyfully, lovingly, and courageously. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.