OUR LADY OF VICTORIES CHURCH WEEKLY BULLETIN SUNDAY AFTER THE ASCENSION (SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER) May 8, 2005 ============================================================================================= CONTENTS ============================================================================================= ARTICLEs 1. ON THE SIXTH WEEK AFTER EASTER (SUNDAY AFTER ASCENSION) 2. THE GLORIOUS FEAST OF PENTECOST ============================================================================================= OLVC SECTION Announcements for the week ============================================================================================= ARTICLE 1 ON THE SIXTH WEEK AFTER EASTER (SUNDAY AFTER ASCENSION) I seek Thy face, O Lord! from 'The Church's Year of Grace' by Dr. Parsch This Sunday occurs during the week after the feast of the Ascension and is transitional to the feast of Pentecost, which will be solemnly observed a week from today. Perhaps we may express it this way: in today’s liturgy the Ascension mystery recedes into the background as we prepare for Pentecost. In the Middle Ages this Sunday became known as Rose Sunday, because the season’s first roses were brought to church. (Rose Sunday, of Christian antiquity — in Italy, of course — was the fourth Sunday of Lent, Laetare Sunday.) Upon entering the house of God we no longer see the Paschal Candle alongside the altar. It has been removed, and will not be lighted again except at the blessing of baptismal water on the Saturday before Pentecost. On the feast of the Ascension our happiness stemmed from beholding Christ’s triumph and sensing the elevation of human nature to a new high dignity. Fervently we petitioned to live in heaven. There was no trace of sorrow or sadness over the departure of the Lord. Today, however, it is otherwise. In her heart the Church is yearning for the Lord, feels the pangs of separation. We can best sense the spirit of today’s liturgy by recalling the spirit of the small Christian community between the departure of the Lord and the descent of the Holy Ghost. a) The Church yearns for Christ (Intr., Comm.), and directs her gaze upward to her heavenly King (Grad.); b) she awaits the Holy Ghost (Gosp.) with prolonged prayer (Intr.); c) she scans the future and arouses within herself the spirit of the martyrs and confessors (Epist., Gosp.).+ The picture may represent Christ or the Christian soul. A passage in Job reads: “Will the eagle mount up at your command, and make her a nest in high places? She abides among the rocks, and dwells among cragged flints and stony hills where there is no access. From thence she looks for the prey, and her eyes behold afar off.” The Church fathers applied this passage to the Redeemer. Just as the eagle swoops down on its prey form some high crag and carries it on high, so Christ came from the heights of heaven, snatched the souls of men from the captivity of the devil through His death on the Cross, and ascends with them into heaven. Hence, the picture is most appropriate during the octave of the Ascension, when we pray in the Alleluia verse: “The Lord comes from Sinai to His sanctuary, He ascends on high, leading captivity captive, alleluia.” As individuals also we should resemble the eagle, and lift our hearts above earthly affections to God on high. Our petition on the feast is “that we too may live in heaven with our hearts.” ============================================================================================= ARTICLE 2 THE GLORIOUS FEAST OF PENTECOST from 'The Church's Year of Grace' by Dr. Parsch PENTECOST—from the Greek pentekoste, the fiftieth day—is Easter’s double as well as its “jubilee octave” (i.e., 7 x 7 weeks + 1 day). It brings the Easter season to a second climax. Pentecost, therefore, is not an independent feast—it is rather the seal or finale to Easter. If we do not overlook the fundamental differences, we might liken today’s feast to that of Epiphany; for Epiphany bears a similar relationship to Christmas as Pentecost does to Easter. The following comparison may help. At Easter, Christ, the Divine Sun, rose in splendor; it is high noon at Pentecost and He sheds upon His vineyard the bright, warm rays that redden and ripen. Another comparison. At Easter, the garden of the Church is abloom with beautiful blossoms, Christians newly baptized and confirmed. By Pentecost these blossoms have developed and have matured into fruit, and now hang heavily upon the trees. The Gardener who tends the trees is our Savior Jesus Christ; the Sun that ripens the fruit is the Holy Ghost. And a third comparison. At Easter we were born anew as children of God. Like infants we sought our Mother’s nourishing milk, the holy Eucharist; carefree and happy we grew up in our Father’s house. As we became older, Mother Church warned us that the happy time of childhood would pass. She taught us that we were strangers and pilgrims on this earth, that we must suffer and be patient (the third Sunday after Easter). Now at Pentecost we have come of age. Confirmation, the sacrament of spiritual adulthood, follows the same pattern. Already in the Old Testament, Israel observed a festival called Pentecost, or the Feast of Weeks. It was a day of thanksgiving for the wheat harvest and also the annual memorial to the promulgation of the Law on Mt. Sinai. The old foreshadowed the new, now we are observing the true harvest of souls. Pentecost marks the actual founding of the Church. On the first Pentecost the Church began to expand. Today she stands before us, vigorous and youthful, ready to continue her earthly pilgrimage that will terminate only with the end of time. Pentecost also marks the beginning of the work and activity of the Holy Ghost. Before His departure Jesus promised that He would not leave us orphans. In His place He would send the Paraclete, the Comforter, who would teach us all things, remind us of all things. In a most unique way Pentecost is the feast of the Holy Ghost; today His activity in the Church and in the souls of men should impress itself upon us anew. Give more attention to the Holy Ghost, He dwells in your soul; and since baptism, He has made your body and soul His temple, a house of God. “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? Glorify God and bear Him in your body.” What saintly lives we would lead if we would but remember that the Holy Ghost is within us! Christ is in heaven—He is our Mediator there with the Father. But on earth His Church is guided and directed by the Holy Ghost. Christ is, indeed, present in the Holy Eucharist, but He does not use His Eucharistic presence to continue the work He began in Palestine. That He leaves entirely to the Holy Ghost. In the Eucharist His only desire is to serve as sacrifice and sacrificial banquet. Yes, we may say that the holy Eucharist is really the means by which the Holy Ghost sanctifies and glorifies. The Holy Ghost is the soul of the Church. The Church is—Christ's mystical Body. In a living body there must be a soul; and the soul of the Church is the Holy Ghost. If only we would grasp this truth in all its implications! What does the soul do to your body? It gives life. As soon as the soul leaves the body, the body is dead, utterly incapable of feeling, thinking, acting in any way; in short, without a soul the body disintegrates. Now the Holy Ghost is the soul of that great Body, the Church. He is the principle of life for the Church as a single body and for every Christian as an individual cell. It is He who gives and preserves divine life in our souls; only through Him can we pray, only through Him can we act virtuously. In each church there are places where the Holy Ghost is especially active, namely, the confessional, the pulpit, the altar. Invisibly, the sacred Dove is always hovering there. 1) It is the Holy Ghost who gives the power to forgive sins. “Receive the Holy Ghost; whose sins you shall forgive, they arc forgiven them,” our Savior said on the night after His resurrection. Obviously, it is by the operation of the Holy Ghost that the priest can relieve one of the burden of sin. 2) Preaching too is the work of the Holy Ghost. By faith we know that the sermon is not the ordinary speech of man; it is God’s word. The priest lends, as It were, his tongue and his mouth to God. It is the Holy Ghost who preserves the Church free from error in her office of teaching. 3) Finally, holy Mass is the work par excellence of the Holy Ghost. Even as the incarnation of the Son of God was effected by the operation of the Holy Ghost (“conceived by the Holy Ghost”), so it is the Holy Ghost who now changes bread and wine into Christ’s sacred body and blood. For this reason the Holy Ghost is called down upon the oblation at the Offertory. In ancient liturgies the Epiclesis (i.e., “calling down” of the Holy Ghost upon the Sacrifice) formed an essential part of the consecratory prayers. Joy should fill our hearts to the very brim on the day we celebrate the feast of Pentecost. On no other occasion do we hear the words, “Wherefore the whole world rejoices with unrestrained joy” (Preface). How fortunate we Christians are! Strong and firm is our faith in the presence and power of the Holy Ghost in the Church and in the soul! We feel His presence. However, neither the Church nor we are “perfected in love.” So we must pray fervently, imploringly: “Come, Holy Ghost, fill the hearts of Thy faithful!”" To celebrate Pentecost properly and becomingly, I must be convinced that the same miracle will take place mystically in my soul as occurred on the first Christian Pentecost. In the holy Sacrifice of Mass the Holy Ghost will be poured out upon me, one of God’s predestined children.+ ============================================================================================= ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR THE WEEK ============================================================================================= NOVENA TO THE HOLY GHOST The novena to the Holy Ghost as a preparation for the great feast of Pentecost is on-going since yesterday. MAY—MONTH OF MARY After the community Rosary in the afternoon, the Litany of Loreto will be sung for the whole month of May as it is dedicated to Our Lady. OUR LADY OF VICTORIES CATHOLIC SCHOOL ENROLLMENTS The Enrollment for the School Year 2005-06 is now on-going. We are accepting students for Nursery, Kindergarten and Preparatory levels. For more info, please inquire with Ms. Marinela Montesclaros or at the church office. NO EVENING MASSES May 13-14 (Friday & Saturday) THANK YOU We would like to thank those who responded generously to the solicitation drive which we organized to help our pilgrims to the youth pilgrimage this year. Please pray for the safety of our pilgrims, most of whom are leaving today. Also, pray for our representatives to the National Baltimore and Apologetics Competition. DEADLINE FOR REGISTRATION AT THE YOUTH PILGRIMAGE IN BOHOL Today is the deadline for submission of the registration forms and waivers (for minors) . Please inquire at the table in the veranda. WOMEN’S RETREAT The deadline for submission of sign-up forms is on May 15. Note: There are only 20 slots available. Please submit your form (or your name if the form is no longer available) at the church office. Date: May 23-28, 2005 Venue: Lobo, Batangas Fee: P2,500(covers food/ board & lodging) INT’L FATIMA PILGRIMAGE (Extended deadline for reservation!): Please speak with Fr. Soliman and/or Mrs. Rose Pakilit for inquiries. For more info, visit www.sspxasia.com.