Easter Sunday

The tomb is found empty, except for a cloth folded up inside. One of Jesus’s followers asks to keep it. Centuries go by and the cloth is found and examined, and found to have certain stain marks. Could this actually be the burial cloth of Jesus?

A photograph was taken, and remarkably the negative image appears as a positive image on the film. Facial features can more easily be seen. The positions of blood stains map to the positions described during the crucifixion, such as the crown of thorns, scourge marks, the stab wound in the side, except for the position of the nails being in the wrist instead of the palms. This seems to make sense because the small bones of the hand would probably not be able to support the weight of a body without tearing out, while the larger bones at the wrist could be a better support. Further examination showed pollen particles within the fibers that are from the same types of plants found in Israel during that time. The cloth itself was made from materials used during that time.

Skeptics claim this cloth was an elaborate fake, but there is no evidence of paint being used on it. Carbon dating at first indicated the wrong time period, but the piece of cloth used for the carbon dating was a corner piece partially burned by a fire that almost destroyed it, so the carbon dating process was invalidated. Since scientists cannot figure out how the image got onto the cloth, it seems plausible that this cloth was irradiated at the moment of resurrection, especially since the image seems to have the 3 dimensional effect of darker areas of the image closer to the cloth. The evidence seems overwhelming that this Shroud Of Turin is authentic. Do skeptics really think that anyone knew what a negative image was in the days before cameras were invented, especially 3D effects? Of course not, so this is not likely to be a fake, it is likely to be hard evidence that the Crucifixion and Resurrection took place just as described in The Bible.

Holy Saturday

Are our souls really worth this much? What can we possibly give Him in return?

Meanwhile, while we are grieving, His spirit is busy opening the gates of Heaven, which had been closed since the Original Sin of Adam and Eve. He visits Limbo and sets those souls free at long last.

The gates of Heaven have finally been opened, and now the rest of us have a chance to pass through those gates as well.

But at this point, nobody on earth is convinced of this, so tomorrow’s event will bring the convincing.

Good Friday

(From the lyrics of Michael W. Smith)
Crucified, laid behind a stone
You lived to die rejected and alone
Like a rose trampled on the ground
You took the fall, and thought of me, above all

(From the Pieta)Be it known that the number of soldiers were 150 Those who trailed Him while He was bound were 23 The executioners of justice were 83 The blows received on His head were 150 Blows on the stomach were 108 Kicks on the shoulders were 80 He was led, bound with cords by the hair 24 times Spits in the face were 180 He was beaten on the body 6666 times Beaten on the head 110 times He was roughly pushed, and at 12 o'clock was lifted up by the hair Pricked with thorns and pulled by the beard 23 times He received 20 wounds on the head Thorns of marine junks were 72 Pricks of thorns in the head were 110 Mortal thorns in the forehead were 3 He was afterwards flogged and dressed as a mocked king Wounds in the body were 1000 The solders who led Him to Calvary were 608 Those who watched Him were 3 Those who mocked Him were 1008 The drops of blood He lost were 28,430

Holy Thursday

Jesus knows the end is near. He introduces the Eucharist at the Last Supper and then goes by Himself to a garden to ponder. The thoughts and anticipation of the horrible torture that was about to happen to Him caused Him such stress that His sweat becomes blood.

Think about it. There are few things in life as painful as being hit repeatedly with a barbed whip which rips the skin. We scream with pain when we get one thorn pierce the finger, imagine the pain of having dozens of thorns pressed down on the head. After that would come the nails being driven through the hands and feet and the legs broken, being left to hang there while being stabbed with a sword.

But there was another thing more painful. (From The Pieta) St. Bernard asked Our Lord which was His greatest unrecorded suffering, and Our Lord answered: "I had on My Shoulder, while I bore My Cross on the Way of Sorrows, a grievous Wound, which was more painful than the others, and which is not recorded by men. Honor this wound with thy devotion, and I will grant thee whatsoever thou dost ask through its virtue and merit. And in regard to all those who shall venerate this Wound, I will remit to them all their venial sins, and will no longer remember their mortal sins."

Wednesday of Holy Week

My favorite Bible passage is Matthew 25:14-30 because it tells us what is expected of us. It is interesting how the word Talent represented a form of money, but today we see that same word as a measure of our abilities, and it seems to me this was not just a coincidence for this passage…and here it is…

For it will be as when a man going on a journey called his servants and entrusted them to his property; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them; and he made five talents more. So also, he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, and I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master.’ And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, and I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master.’ He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not winnow; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! …you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. …And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.’

This should give us some idea of what Judgment Day is going to be like. If you want to know more details about Judgment Day, keep reading Matthew 25 where this left off, which is verse 31.

Tuesday of Holy Week

Do you know how many heartbeats you might have left before judgment day? How about maybe only ONE? There is no guarantee that your heart will continue to beat any further, and if it does, be thankful that a heart that continues to beat automatically is only a part of the miraculous gift of life.

The point is this. Waiting too long to make peace with The Lord is a dangerous attitude because nobody’s heart beats forever.

This is explained in Matthew 25:1-13: Then the kingdom of heaven shall be compared to ten maidens who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Behold the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those maidens rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise replied, ‘Perhaps there will not be enough for us and for you; go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast; and the door was shut. Afterward the other maidens came also, saying ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he replied, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.’

Monday of Holy Week

(From The Pieta) Our Lord told St. Gertrude that the following prayer would release 1000 souls from Purgatory each time it is said. The prayer was extended to include living sinners as well:

Eternal Father, I offer Thee the most precious blood of Thy Divine Son Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen.

This would be a good one to say whenever you are stuck in traffic, or otherwise waiting around for something to begin, for example if you arrive early for Mass or other appointments.