Hallelujah … The Power of Christ’s Blood

If we wish to understand the power of Christ’s blood, we should go back to the ancient account of its prefiguration in Egypt. “Sacrifice a lamb without blemish,” commanded Moses, “and sprinkle its blood on your doors.” If we were to ask him what he meant, and how the blood of an irrational beast could possibly save men endowed with reason, his answer would be that the saving power lies not in the blood itself, but in the fact that it is a sign of the Lord’s blood. In those days, when the destroying angel saw the blood on the doors he did not dare to enter, so how much less will the devil approach now when he sees, not that figurative blood on the doors, but the true blood on the lips of believers, the doors of the temple of Christ.

If you desire further proof of the power of this blood, remember where it came from, how it ran down from the cross, flowing from the Master’s side. The gospel records that when Christ was dead, but still hung on the cross, a soldier came and pierced his side with a lance and immediately there poured out water and blood. Now the water was a symbol of baptism and the blood, of the holy Eucharist. The soldier pierced the Lord’s side, he breached the wall of the sacred temple, and I have found the treasure and made it my own. So also with the lamb: the Jews sacrificed the victim and I have been saved by it.

“There flowed from his side water and blood.” Beloved, do not pass over this mystery without thought; it has yet another hidden meaning, which I will explain to you. I said that water and blood symbolised baptism and the holy Eucharist. From these two sacraments the Church is born: from baptism, “the cleansing water that gives rebirth and renewal through the Holy Spirit,” and from the holy Eucharist. Since the symbols of baptism and the Eucharist flowed from his side, it was from his side that Christ fashioned the Church, as he had fashioned Eve from the side of Adam. Moses gives a hint of this when he tells the story of the first man and makes him exclaim: “Bone from my bones and flesh from my flesh!” As God then took a rib from Adam’s side to fashion a woman, so Christ has given us blood and water from his side to fashion the Church. God took the rib when Adam was in a deep sleep, and in the same way Christ gave us the blood and the water after his own death.

 Do you understand, then, how Christ has united his bride to himself and what food he gives us all to eat? By one and the same food we are both brought into being and nourished. As a woman nourishes her child with her own blood and milk, so does Christ unceasingly nourish with his own blood those to whom he himself has given life. The blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, purifies us from all sin. Through him we all have access to the Father in the one Spirit. Hallelujah
 

Saint John Chrysostom

(Good Friday – 29^th March 2024 – DO)

The Lord’s Descent into the Underworld

The Lord’s Descent into the Underworld

 

Something strange is happening – there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. God has died in the flesh and hell trembles with fear.

 He has gone to search for our first parent, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, he has gone to free from sorrow the captives Adam and Eve, he who is both God and the son of Eve. The Lord approached them bearing the cross, the weapon that had won him the victory. At the sight of him Adam, the first man he had created, struck his breast in terror and cried out to everyone: “My Lord be with you all.” Christ answered him: “And with your spirit.” He took him by the hand and raised him up, saying: “Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”

 I am your God, who for your sake have become your son. Out of love for you and for your descendants I now by my own authority command all who are held in bondage to come forth, all who are in darkness to be enlightened, all who are sleeping to arise. I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be held a prisoner in hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead. Rise up, work of my hands, you who were created in my image. Rise, let us leave this place, for you are in me and I am in you; together we form only one person and we cannot be separated. For your sake I, your God, became your son; I, the Lord, took the form of a slave; I, whose home is above the heavens, descended to the earth and beneath the earth. For your sake, for the sake of man, I became like a man without help, free among the dead. For the sake of you, who left a garden, I was betrayed to the Jews in a garden, and I was crucified in a garden.

 See on my face the spittle I received in order to restore to you the life I once breathed into you. See there the marks of the blows I received in order to refashion your warped nature in my image. On my back see the marks of the scourging I endured to remove the burden of sin that weighs upon your back. See my hands, nailed firmly to a tree, for you who once wickedly stretched out your hand to a tree.

 I slept on the cross and a sword pierced my side for you who slept in paradise and brought forth Eve from your side. My side has healed the pain in yours. My sleep will rouse you from your sleep in hell. The sword that pierced me has sheathed the sword that was turned against you.

 Rise, let us leave this place. The enemy led you out of the earthly paradise. I will not restore you to that paradise, but I will enthrone you in heaven. I forbade you the tree that was only a symbol of life, but see, I who am life itself am now one with you. I appointed cherubim to guard you as slaves are guarded, but now I make them worship you as God. The throne formed by cherubim awaits you, its bearers swift and eager. The bridal chamber is adorned, the banquet is ready, the eternal dwelling places are prepared, the treasure houses of all good things lie open. The kingdom of heaven has been prepared for you from all eternity.

 

From an ancient homily for Holy Saturday (Holy Saturday – DO)

Hosanna … the Son of David! : Is 50:4-7; Phil 2:6-11; Mk 14:1—15:47 (B Lent Palm Sunday)

Hosanna … the Son of David!

Is 50:4-7; Phil 2:6-11; Mk 14:1—15:47 (B Lent Palm Sunday) 

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord” (DO)

This Sunday called Palm or Passion Sunday is the first day of Holy Week. Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday are known as the Triduum—three days of the central worship of the Church year. Today is Jesus’ triumphant entrance into Jerusalem. We hold palm branches in our hands today. We say, “Hosanna, means, Be now our Savior”. Christ’s entry into Jerusalem is the sign of our hope of entry into the heavenly Jerusalem.

But does the King of glory find a welcome entry in our home and heart? Jesus went to Jerusalem knowing well what awaited him - betrayal, rejection, and crucifixion. The people of Jerusalem, however, were ready to hail him as their Messianic King! Little did they know what it would cost this king to usher in his kingdom. Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem astride a colt was a direct fulfillment of the Messianic prophecy of Zechariah, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem. Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, and riding on a donkey and upon a colt the foal of a donkey” (Zec 9:9). Those who believe, hope, and love receive Christ’s kingdom of peace and eternal life. The colt was a sign of peace. Jesus enters Jerusalem in meekness and humility, as the Messianic King who offers victory and peace to his people. That victory and peace would be secured in the cross and resurrection which would soon take place at the time of Passover.

St. Augustine, the great 5th century church father, comments on the significance of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, “The master of humility is Christ who humbled himself and became obedient even to death, even the death of the cross. Thus, he does not lose his divinity when he teaches us humility... What great thing was it to the king of the ages to become the king of humanity? For Christ was not the king of Israel so that he might exact a tax or equip an army with weaponry and visibly vanquish an enemy. He was the king of Israel in that he rules minds, in that he gives counsel for eternity, in that he leads into the kingdom of heaven for those who believe, hope, and love. It is a condescension, not an advancement for one who is the Son of God, equal to the Father, the Word through whom all things were made, to become king of Israel. It is an indication of pity, not an increase in power.”

Psalm 24 is another prophetic passage which echoes this triumphal procession of the King of glory, “Lift up your heads, O gates! and be lifted up, O ancient doors! that the King of glory may come in” (24:9). Jesus Christ came to bring us the kingdom of God. He is the true King who offers peace, joy, and everlasting life for those who accept his kingship. Does the King of glory find a welcome entry in our heart and home? Do our walls echo with the praise of his glory?

“King and Ruler of my heart, mind, life, home. May my life become your meekness and humility” (DO)

 

 

 

The Hour of the Lord

 

  The Hour of the Lord

    Jer 31:31-34; Heb 5:7-9; Jn 12:20-33 (B Lent 5)

   “Now the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified”

 
The “hour” is prominent theme in the Gospel of John. Although the word “hour” (hōra), refers simply a chronological time of 60 minute period of time but Jesus “hour” refers to the metaphorically to the climactic event of his death and glorification.
 
When Mother Mary asked Jesus to help the wedding at Cana, he said, “My hour has not yet come” (Jn 2:4). He acknowledged his hour would come. It shaped him from the beginning. When he went up to Jerusalem privately for the Feast of Booths, he said, “My time has not yet come” (Jn 7:6). Once he began to teach publicly, it wasn’t long before “They were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him.” Why was he spared? John explains: “Because his hour had not yet come” (Jn 7:30). Again when he was in the holy city and “taught in the temple; but no one arrested him.” The evangelist John explains his invincibility: “Because his hour had not yet come” (Jn 8:20).
 
But when Jesus finally came to this prescient Passover week, he knew it and said, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” (Jn 12:23–24). When Jesus reclined with his disciples in the upper room to prepare them for his departure, he knew this was the hour (Jn 13:1). As he began his magnificent, high-priestly prayer that Thursday night, he prayed, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you” (Jn 17:1).
 
He did not run from it. He embraced it. This was His Time. It was what He was put on earth to do. He would stand against evil. We all have hours, and we have our hour. We have many times in our lives when we have to stand up for God and be whom we are. During Lent we have been asking ourselves, “Am I the person that God wants me to be? Do I try to reflect the image of God within me, or am I untrue to my very self. There are many temptations, many ways that we are tempted to hedge on our commitment to Christ.
 
St. Agnes was probably only 12 when she refused to embrace paganism and was tortured to death. Old St. Ignatius of Antioch was probably in his 70's or 80's when he would not let his friends bribe the Romans to save him from being thrown to the wild animals in the Roman Colosseum. How did she get to that point of her life that she was ready for her hour? She did it by choosing Christ at the various moments, the various hours of her life. She was prepared. Perhaps our hour will only be the sum total of the choices we have made in our lives which we present to the Lord when this life is over. The big question is: Are we ready? We are called to live and die for Christ. This is our time. This is our hour.
 
                    “The cross of the Lord is become the tree of life for us” (DO)

His Holy Cross Redeemed the World: 2 Chr 36:14-16,19-23; Ep 2:4-10; Jn 3:14-21 (B Lent 4)

His Holy Cross Redeemed the World

2 Chr 36:14-16,19-23; Ep 2:4-10; Jn 3:14-21  (B Lent 4) 

Sometimes, the fourth Sunday of Lent is called Laetare Sunday. Laetare is a Latin word meaning “rejoice.” Traditionally, every Sunday is named after the first word of the liturgy’s opening antiphon. On this Sunday, the antiphon is taken from the book of the prophet Isaiah: “Rejoice you Jerusalem” (Is 66:10). We rejoice in anticipation of the joy that will be ours at Easter.

 The evangelist John goes back to an Old Testament story in the book of Numbers 21:4-9. On their journey through the wilderness, the people of Israel murmured and complained and regretted that they had ever left Egypt. To punish them God sent a plague of deadly, fiery serpents. The people repented and cried for mercy. To heal themselves was beyond their power. Innumerable people died. Moses prayed to God for them. In answer to his intercession God appointed that a brazen serpent should be erected, and that by looking to it they should be healed.

 Similar to this, God gave his only Son to be nailed upon the Cross for the sins of the world. It is used of his being lifted up upon the Cross in two senses. William Barkley, understands that there was a double lifting up in Jesus’ life – the lifting up on the Cross (Jn 8:28); and of his being lifted up into glory at the time of his ascension into heaven (Jn 12:32; Acts 2:33; Acts 5:31; Phil 2:9). And these two are inextricably connected. The one could not have happened without the other. In the same way we obtain glory only by our Crosses.

Through the agency of the old serpent the devil, sin had entered the world, and inflicted a deadly wound on every child that is born. To heal ourselves it is impossible for us. Death, eternal death, awaited us. And, as the only means of averting it, God, in his tender mercy, sent his only Son into the world to die hanging on the Cross for us, and to save all who would look unto him for salvation. Our looking at the crucified Christ shall instantly remove the guilt of all our sins, and infuse into our souls a new and Divine life. Israel confessed their sins, and implored for mercy. Let us then direct our eyes to the Cross on which the Lord Jesus Christ is crucified for us.

 How much would one feel the great bitterness of sin, still can come to obtain deliverance from its guilt and condemnation. Let no doubt about our own unworthiness keep us away from the crucified Christ, trust in him, today salvation is ours (Is 45:22). The Lord Jesus Christ offers a full and perfect satisfaction to obtain Divine justice. Let us not prefer the darkness. Let us not keep our sins hidden, even from God. Jesus dies to reveal our sins so that we may be forgiven. This is the Good News. This is the reason for our rejoicing in this season of Lent and throughout our lives. 

“All peoples, bless our God, who gave life to our souls” (DO)

PREFIGURES OF CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

 

PREFIGURES OF CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

New Testament is the fulfilment of the Old Testament

God’s revelation throughout the Old Testament prefigures, anticipates, and announces beforehand the redemption that he would accomplish in the person of Jesus Christ his only Son incarnated. There are many prefigures of Christ in the Old Testament. Jesus is the second Adam, the perfect law keeper, Noah, Joseph, Moses etc… God announced beforehand, in type and shadow, promised and prophesied the redemption he would accomplish through his incarnate Son. How can a collection of books written over a period of a thousand years by many authors find its fulfilment in a single individual? God over history ordered events and intervened in history so as to reveal himself and his redemptive purposes to his people (ex. Ex. 7:3–5). This same God superintended the recording and interpretation of those events as he inspired individuals to compose the books (cfr. 2Tim 3:16).

First, Christ is present in the Old Testament through promise, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (Gen 3:15). Promise of the Messiah and an announcement of the work – he will accomplish.

A second way – Christ is present in the Old Testament is through prophecy which time and again heralds the coming of the Messiah, the Savior of Israel, “The Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Is 7:14).

Thirdly, Christ is present in the Old Testament in the form of types and shadows. The Old Testament types are signs that pointed believers to the reality (what theologians call the antitype) which is Christ himself. Along with people and places, a thing can also be a type of Christ. For example, the bronze serpent raised in the wilderness brought healing.

Adam is a prefigure of the Messiah. Adam and Christ are related to one another as a photographic negative to its positive print.  What Adam did, Jesus undid. Adam was the first born of physical humanity, where Jesus is the firstborn from the dead (Col 1:18). Adam was the first human to sin (well, technically he was the second), and therefore brought death to all men; Jesus was the first human sinless. Adam made men unrighteous and Jesus made men righteous through his blood.

Melchizedek king of Salem (Jerusalem) meets Abraham. He was both priest and king. Melchizedek was the temporal king of physical Jerusalem, while Jesus is the spiritual king of the spiritual Jerusalem (Jn 18:36,37). He is the prince of peace. 

Joseph is a type and shadow of Jesus Christ. Joseph and Jesus’ Brethren were indifferent toward their suffering (Gen 37:25; Mt 27:41); Joseph and Jesus were sold for the price of slaves (Gen 37:28b Mt 26:15); Joseph and Jesus were “Resurrected” out of the Pit (Gen 37:25b–28a) and Joseph and Christ offer the “Bread of Life” (Gen 47:13–19; Jn 6:35, 51).

Moses is one of the clearest parallels between the life of Jesus Christ and Moses in the Old Testament. From the event of killing of male child in Egypt to the events in the desert to the Promised land. 

Solomon is a type and shadow of Christ. He is the Son of David. God said he is his Father; he built the house of God; he is a man of peace; he has divine wisdom from God; he rules with justice and righteousness; he has a glorious, magnificent kingdom. Christ built God a house by building the universal church, which is called the temple of God. Paul says to his church of Corinth, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?” (1 Cor 3:16).

David “My servant David will be king over them; there will be one shepherd for all of them” (Ezk 37:24). It seems that God is just using the name David to refer to the Messiah, the Son of David “I, the Lord, promise that a new time will certainly come when I will raise up for them a righteous branch, a descendant of David (Jer 23:5-6).

Job is a type and shadow of Jesus Christ longed for an Advocate to plead his case:

“Surely even now my witness is in heaven, and my evidence is on high” (Job 16:19); “There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil (Job 1:1). Pilate said, “I am innocent of the blood of this just Person” (Mt 27:24).

Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth (Mt 12:40). Jesus spent three days and nights interred the heart of the earth. Both Jesus and Jonah are reminders to the Jews that God will be moving his focus away from Jerusalem.

Israel  Another  typology of Christ we consider is the nation of Israel. Matthew says that the Israel as a type of Christ. Scripture says, “Then he got up, took the child and his mother during the night, and went to Egypt. He stayed there until Herod died. In this way what was spoken by God through the prophet was fulfilled: “I called my Son out of Egypt” (Mt 2:14-15).

Passover Lamb The Jewish Passover lamb is also a type of Christ. They had the blood of a lamb sprinkled on their doorposts (Ex 12:3-14). Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Every Christian is washed in the precious blood of Christ (1 Jn 1:7-9).

Manna God sending manna from heaven to sustain Israel in the wilderness is also a type of Christ (Ex 16). And God gave us Christ, as bread from heaven, to satisfy and save all who believe in him (Jn 6:30-35).

The Bronze Snake The bronze snake that Moses erected for Israel to save them from death is a type of Christ – “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life (Num 21 = Jn 3:14).

The Rock Paul says that Moses provided water for Israel from a rock that he struck two different times—once near the beginning of their journey and again near the end (Ex 17:1-7, Num 20:2-13); “And all drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ (1 Cor 10:1-4).

High Priest In the Old Covenant, God established priests to mediate between the people and God. Jesus becomes the high priest as the sacrifice (Num Heb 4:15-16). For it is indeed fitting for us to have such a high priest: holy, innocent, undefiled, separate from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.

The Sacrificial Lamb “… stipulations about sacrificial lambs. The lamb had to be a male without defect; God would accept it as an atoning sacrifice (Lev 1:1-4) -   “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (Jn 1:29).

Tabernacle is a type of Christ. While Moses was leading Israel in the wilderness, God had them make a tabernacle (Ex 29:46). John the apostle called Christ our tabernacle, “Now the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (Jn 1:14).

The Veil in the inner sanctuary of the tabernacle and temple (often called the Holy of Holies or the Most Holy Place) separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the sanctuary. The Holy of Holies was where God’s presence dwelt. At the death of Jesus, the veil in the temple was torn into two from top to bottom (Mt 27;50-51) – meaning the veil of death and sin are destroyed between God and man. The beginning of new relationship and friendship of man began with God.

Mercy Seat which was located in the Holy of Holies, within the tabernacle and temple (Ex 25:18-22; Rom 3:25 = Heb 9:5) prefigures the merciful Christ sitting on the merciful judgment seat.

The Sabbath Day Paul argues that the Sabbath is a shadow of Christ – and now that Christ has come, believers no longer need to practice the Sabbath. Christ said, “The Sabbath was made for people, not people for the Sabbath” (Mk 2:27); “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest (Mt 11:28-30); “ The son of man is the Lord of the Sabbath” (Mt 12:8).

Lev. 16:21-22:  “And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness”.

“And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited; and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness” Who is “the live goat” today for you?

 

“The ignorance of the Bible is the ignorance of Christ” St Jerome

 

ఈశా సర్వేశ … జయహో విజయేశ్వర

 

ఈశా సర్వేశ … జయహో విజయేశ్వర

 

ఈశా సర్వేశ నిత్యనివాస విశ్వవిశేష విన్యాస

దుష్టశిక్ష శిష్టరక్ష అనాధరక్ష విశ్వసంరక్ష

 
మరణాక్రంధన ఖండిత విశిష్ట శ్రేష్ట కాంక్షిత
ఎఱ్ఱ సాగర గర్జన జల శాసన శక్తి ప్రసాద
రధ రౌద్రావేశ ఫరో శ్రేణి సంహార
విధేయ ప్రజా రక్ష క్షీరమధు ధరణి ప్రధాత
నిర్జనెడారి వలస కాంక్ష భాను తెర శీతల మేఘ
నిశి రాత్రి దీపస్థంభ విరాజిత ప్రసన్న
మన్నాభోజన శిలాజల కాంక్ష ప్రియ జన  సంరక్ష
దశాజ్ఞ నిర్దేశ నీతి ప్రియ ప్రయోజి శాశ్విత
అవివేకాంధ అవిధేయ చేతన కారక
 
శ్వేతవర్ణ దేహ దారుఢ్య విశిష్టవర నరకన్యా తనయ
కొయ్యి శ్లీవ ధారే అవిధేయ ఫల మృత్యు సంహార
పాప ఫల మృత్యు విచ్చిన్న విజేత రక్ష
గొల్గోత శిఖర హీన శ్లీవధారి దుండుగ వరపర ప్రాప్త
అభినేత్రి కరుణా కారుణ్య నేత్ర శిఖరాగ్రి
భువి పర పాతాళ మండల స్థితి లయ కారక
 
ఏలి ఏలి ఏలి లామా సభాక్తాని నివేదనా మౌని
తెలెస్తాయ్ శబ్ద మౌన ముఖ సృష్టి జీవ విముక్త
పితృ పితామహా ప్రవక్త జ్ఞాని జ్ఞానేశ్వర కాంక్ష  
భక్త విధేయ ముక్తగణకోటి శ్రేయా వాంఛ
 
 విలవిల విలవిల విరాజిత సృష్టి విలాప ముఖ హృది ఘోషే
నయనయ నయనయ నయనాధి సూర్య కాంతి హీనే    
మిళమిళ  మిళమిళ  మిళమయ గ్రహ తారకా మిళ  శోభ మూగే  
నవనవ నవనవ నవాధి చంద్ర కాంత శూన్యే
ఝణుఝణు  ఝణుఝణు ఝణు ధరణి విచ్చిదే
భళభళ భళభళ సాగర కెరట ఉగ్ర రూపే
ఝంఝం ఝంఝం ఝంఝన్య ఝనీలావేశ వాయు ప్రాణ హీనే
 
జగన్నేక పుత్ర శాశ్వితాబలిరక్ష దైవేక తనయే   
జయజయ జయజయ జయం సర్వసృష్టి రక్షకే
సర్వభూతాత్మకె సర్వవిభూతాత్మకే సర్వ ప్రాణాత్మకే
సర్వక్రియాత్మకే సర్వచింతాత్మకే సర్వశ్రేయాత్మకే
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