Stay Awake, Avoid Callousness toward Evil: Pope Asks the Faithful to Keep Vigil
sacramental life. On the evening of Holy Thursday, the Mass of the Lord's Supper begins the actual Triduum and recalls the institution of the sacraments of the Eucharist and Holy Orders".
Reflecting more specifically on the episode of Christ's agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, in comments in Italian the Pope noted that - not unlike the apostles who failed to hold vigil with Christ and were overcome by a "sleepiness" - "It 's our very sleepiness to the presence of God that renders us insensitive to evil: we don't hear God because we don't want to be disturbed, and so we remain indifferent to evil"
Pope Benedict said that "Jesus experienced great anguish, such suffering as to sweat blood, aware of his imminent death on the cross", but chooses to keep watch. This is "a matter of great importance for the Church" said Pope Benedict: "Jesus says to his disciples 'stay here and keep vigil', and this appeal to be vigilant concerns precisely this moment of anguish, of threat, but it also covers the entire history of the Church, it is a permanent message for all time because the disciples' sleepiness is not a problem of that one moment, rather of the whole of history, "the sleepiness" is ours, of those of us who do not want to see the full force of evil and do not want to enter into his Passion".
He concluded "The Liturgy of Good Friday invites us to share in Christ's sufferings through penance and fasting, and to receive the gift of God's love flowing from the Lord's pierced Heart. The Easter Vigil joyfully proclaims Christ's resurrection from the dead and the new life received in Baptism. By your prayers and our sharing in these liturgies, let us resolve to imitate Christ's loving obedience to the Father's saving plan, which is the source of authentic freedom and the path of eternal life".
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Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.
Keywords: Triduum, Evil, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, Easter, Pope Benedict XVI, Vatican Radion, Deacon Keith Fournier
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The Ashes
The ashes are made from the blessed palms used in the Palm Sunday celebration of the previous year. The ashes are christened with Holy Water and are scented by exposure to incense. Learn More
Stations of the Cross
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Stations of the Cross refers to the depiction of the final hours (or Passion) of Jesus, and the devotion commemorating the Passion.
Opening Prayer
ACT OF CONTRITION. O my God, my Redeemer, behold me here at Thy feet. From the bottom of my heart... Pray the Stations
Fasting & Abstinence
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'Christ Himself said that His disciples would fast once He had departed' Lk. 5:35
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