9th April 2017 - Palm Sunday 2017 - Journeying through the Stations of the Cross

On this weeks programme, to mark the beginning of Holy Week. Sr Phyllis Moynihan joins us to reflect on the Stations of the Cross. We have a brief reflection on the journey through the liturgies of Holy Week as well as some notices.

As Holy Week out ranks all other celebrations, we dont have any celestial guides or saints of the week commemorated this week.

You can listen to the podcast of this weeks full programme HERE.

Hosanna to the King of Kings!! 

Palm Sunday, or Passion Sunday as it is also called, begins Holy Week. This week is the “holy of holies” of the Christian Church Year. For today we begin our observance of the last days of our Lord’s early sojourn, “for us and for our salvation,” as He enters in the very heart of darkness, sin and death itself. The triumph of the humble King who enters Jerusalem, humble and riding on a donkey, is marked on Sunday with a triumph: shouting crowds and exuberant shouts of welcome and celebration, but in only five days, the shouts of welcome turn to shouts of anger, hate and a call for his death. “O, Dearest Jesus, what law hast Thou broken?” as the old Lutheran hymn puts it. 

Let us then fix our hearts and minds on prayerful watching and waiting during these days, as we again are led by the Holy Spirit to see in our hearts, and our minds, the evil sinful nature and the thoughts, words and deeds, which put our Lord on the Cross. And repenting of them, despairing of ourselves, we turn once more to Christ the Crucified One, on whom is placed the sins of the world: your sins, my sins. “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world!”

(Procession Gospel - Matthew 21:1-11)

When Jesus and the disciples drew near Jerusalem
and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, 
Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, 
"Go into the village opposite you, 
and immediately you will find an ass tethered,
and a colt with her.
Untie them and bring them here to me.
And if anyone should say anything to you, reply, 
'The master has need of them.'
Then he will send them at once."


This happened so that what had been spoken through the prophet 
might be fulfilled:
Say to daughter Zion,
"Behold, your king comes to you,
meek and riding on an ass,
and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden."


The disciples went and did as Jesus had ordered them.  They brought the ass and the colt and laid their cloaks over them, 
and he sat upon them.

The very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, 
while others cut branches from the trees 
and strewed them on the road.The crowds preceding him and those following
kept crying out and saying:
"Hosanna to the Son of David;
blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord;
hosanna in the highest."
And when he entered Jerusalem 
the whole city was shaken and asked, "Who is this?"
And the crowds replied, 
"This is Jesus the prophet, from Nazareth in Galilee."


Reflections on the gospel:

Sunday Reflections
Centre for Liturgy
English Dominicans

The Stations of the Cross

This week we reflect on the Stations of the Cross. The Way of the Cross is the journey through the Passion and Death of Jesus through out the first Holy Week in the city of Jerusalem. To this day Christians of all denominations will walk the ancient streets of the Old City retracing that journey from the Mount of Olives to Calvary.

You can listen to the podcast of the Stations of the Cross excerpted from the main programme HERE.

Glenstal Abbey - Holy Week Timetable

2nd April 2017 - Exploring Scripture

On this weeks programme the SS102fm team are joined by Mike Culloty to explore scripture and the books of the bible.

In addition on this weeks blog post we have our regular links to this weeks Sunday gospel as well as this weeks liturgical odds & ends.

You can listen to the podcast of this weeks full programme HERE.

Exploring Scripture

Mike Culloty takes us on a journey through the books of the bible on this weeks programme. 

For many Catholics in particular often the only exposure we have to scripture is in the readings proclaimed during liturgies that we attend. It is something which in an ecumenical sense our brothers and sisters in the reformed/protestant tradition can share with us to rediscover a more intimate relationship with scripture.

You can listen to the reflection on the Old Testament HERE.

You can listen to the reflection on the New Testament HERE.



Gospel - John 11:1-45

John Swanson - Take away the Stone 

The sisters of Lazarus sent word to Jesus, saying, "Master, the one you love is ill."When Jesus heard this he said,"This illness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it."Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.So when he heard that he was ill, he remained for two days in the place where he was.Then after this he said to his disciples, "Let us go back to Judea." 

When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.When Martha heard that Jesus was coming,she went to meet him; but Mary sat at home.Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here,my brother would not have died.But even now I know that whatever you ask of God,God will give you."Jesus said to her,"Your brother will rise."Martha said,"I know he will rise,in the resurrection on the last day."Jesus told her,"I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.Do you believe this?"She said to him, "Yes, Lord.I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God,the one who is coming into the world." 

He became perturbed and deeply troubled, and said, "Where have you laid him?"They said to him, "Sir, come and see."And Jesus wept.So the Jews said, "See how he loved him."But some of them said, "Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man have done something so that this man would not have died?" 

So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb.It was a cave, and a stone lay across it.Jesus said, "Take away the stone."Martha, the dead man's sister, said to him, "Lord, by now there will be a stench; he has been dead for four days."Jesus said to her,"Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?"So they took away the stone.And Jesus raised his eyes and said, "Father, I thank you for hearing me.I know that you always hear me; but because of the crowd here I have said this, that they may believe that you sent me."And when he had said this,He cried out in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!"The dead man came out,tied hand and foot with burial bands, and his face was wrapped in a cloth.So Jesus said to them,"Untie him and let him go." 

Now many of the Jews who had come to Maryand seen what he had done began to believe in him.

Reflections on this weeks gospel:

Word on Fire
Centre for Liturgy
English Dominicans
Sunday Reflections

WomenPreach
S+L - What does God do about evil?

Liturgical odds & ends

Liturgy of the Hours: Psalter week 1, 5th week of Lent

Saints of the Week
April 3rd - St Richard
April 4th - St Isidore of Seville
April 5th - St Vincent Ferrer
April 6th - St Paul Tinh
April 7th - St John Baptist de la Salle (First Friday)
April 8th - St Dionysius (First Saturday)