Lk 24:41 “Their joy was so great that they still could not believe it,”

MASS

Thursday of the Octave of Easter, April 28th.

We hear the Gospel, Luk 24:39 Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see . . .

This morning, in the appearance to the eleven Apostles, the conversation is a flowing and  , good humouredly exchange of Jesus and the disciples.

The preamble of the distress and anguish moves to a very different mood.

Sometimes people speak their opposite meaning, uplifted to say, “I don’t believe it.”

(NJB Lk 24:41) “Their joy was so great that they still could not believe it", the resonating and reverberating response.   Casually Jesus goes on

Jesus and the Apostles are in communion of faith and love and joy.

As we offer this Mass, we enter the same communion of ‘the Mystery of Faith’ as we proclaim it in the Eucharist Prayer. 

The Amplified Bible

Harmony 178. The appearance to the astonished disciples (Thomas absent) with a commission and their failure to convince Thomas

Mar 16:14	Luk 24:36-43	Joh 20:19-25
14  Afterward He appeared to the Eleven [apostles themselves] as they reclined at table; and He reproved and reproached them for their unbelief (their lack of faith) and their hardness of heart, because they had refused to believe those who had seen Him and looked at Him attentively after He had risen [from death].	36  Now while they were talking about this, Jesus Himself took His stand among them and said to them, Peace (freedom from all the distresses that are experienced as the result of sin) be to you! 37  But they were so startled and terrified that they thought they saw a spirit. 38  And He said to them, Why are you disturbed and troubled, and why do such doubts and questionings arise in your hearts? 39  See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself! Feel and handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see that I have. 40  And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. 41  And while [since] they still could not believe it for sheer joy and marveled, He said to them, Have you anything here to eat? 42  They gave Him a piece of broiled fish, 43  And He took [it] and ate [it] before them.	19  Then on that same first day of the week, when it was evening, though the disciples were behind closed doors for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, Peace to you! 20  So saying, He showed them His hands and His side. And when the disciples saw the Lord, they were filled with joy (delight, exultation, ecstasy, rapture). 21  Then Jesus said to them again, Peace to you! [Just] as the Father has sent Me forth, so I am sending you. 22  And having said this, He breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit! 23  [Now having received the Holy Spirit, and being led and directed by Him] if you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of anyone, they are retained. 24  But Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25  So the other disciples kept telling him, We have seen the Lord! But he said to them, Unless I see in His hands the marks made by the nails and put my finger into the nail prints, and put my hand into His side, I will never believe [it].

Lk 24:32. "Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us ..."

That very day, the first day of the week, two of Jesus' disciples were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus. Lk 24:1

Solemnity Easter Wednesday 27 April 2011

Community Mass highlighted a Post-it quotation from Benedict xvi
We recall  Pope Benedict's Urbi et Orbi message 
http://www.newsflash.org/2004/02/hl/hl109587.htm
Posted: Monday, April 25 
 Right down to our own time - even in these days of advanced communications technology - the faith of Christians is based on that same news, on the testimony of those sisters and brothers who saw firstly the stone that had been rolled away from the empty tomb and then the mysterious messengers who testified that Jesus, the Crucified, was risen. And then Jesus himself, the Lord and Master, living and tangible, appeared to Mary Magdalene, to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, and finally to all eleven, gathered in the Upper Room.

The resurrection of Christ is not the fruit of speculation or mystical experience: it is an event which, while it surpasses history, nevertheless happens at a precise moment in history and leaves an indelible mark upon it.


The Celebrant said, "An indelible mark is by our part in this mystery this morning here and now".

Feet washing and Happy Easter

Jesus washed their feet in the middle of the meal! (Anne Marie)

John 13 Jesus Washes the Disciples' Feet

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Anne Marie . . . >
To: Donald . . . .
Sent: Sun, 24 April, 2011 8:12:59
Subject: Feet washing and Happy Easter.

Here are some thoughts and a moving note from Sr Melissa who serves in AFRICA.

I am remembering a talk from someone a long time ago about their service to the homeless.  All of their ministry was focused on washing the feet of those who came into the centre and making sure they had clean socks and comfortable shoes.  I wish I could remember who it was.

1.    
In biblical times it was prescribed that the host of a banquet was to provide water (and a basin) so that his guests could wash their hands before sitting down to table. Although a host might also provide water for travelers to wash their own feet before entering the house, the host himself would not wash the feet of his guests. According to the Talmud the washing of feet was forbidden to any Jew except those in slavery.

2.    
In the controversies between Hillel and Shammai (cf. Shabbat 14a-b) Shammai ruled that guests were to wash their hands to correct "tumat yadayim" or "impurity of hands" (cf. Ex 30, 17 and Lv 15, 11). Priests were always to wash their hands before eating consecrated meals. The Pharisees held that all meals were in a certain sense "consecrated" because of table fellowship.

3.    
Jesus' action of washing the feet of his disciples was unusual for his gesture went beyond the required laws of hospitality (washing of hands) to what was, in appearance, a menial task. The Lord's action was probably unrelated to matters of ritual purity according to the Law.

Washing of Feet: After the homily on Holy Thursday, we imitate our master in the washing of feet. This ritual reminds us that our baptismal commitment means we are to be servants of one another. In the time of St. Ambrose in Milan, those who were baptized also had their feet washed, because of Jesus' words to Peter: "Whoever has bathed has no need except to have his feet washed" (Jn 13:10). Many scholars have seen a baptismal reference in those words.

Published: 24 April 2011
By: Sr Melissa Dwyer FdCC

Canossian Sister Melissa Dwyer with children from her village in Malawi

"If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you must wash each other's feet. I have given you an example so that you may copy what I have done to you."
- John 13:14-15

ONE of my favourite scripture passages has always been the story of the washing of the feet.

I think it's my favourite because it's a huge challenge from Jesus.

Many times when I reflect on this passage, I'm able to find myself as the Peter figure - having Jesus washing my feet and feeling ashamed that the Master, the one I love so much, is bending to wash my dirty feet.

Then comes the invitation from Jesus, to go and wash the feet of others with the same unconditional love with which He has washed mine.

I remember a few years ago on Holy Thursday night during Mass at St Stephen's Cathedral in Brisbane, Archbishop John Bathersby washed my feet.

This moment still remains with me as a big invitation to go and do likewise.

Yet for some reason this Lenten season, I have been looking at the feet of others while reflecting on this scripture passage.   

I was struck the other day as I sat in church behind a poor woman.

She had only one shoe and it was nearly finished. And her feet were really, really dirty from walking the dusty roads.

I watched as she went for communion with her one shoe. I watched as she came back with her dirty feet.

And it was like Jesus was reminding me powerfully, these are the feet you have to wash.

As I pondered how to wash the feet of this woman without her thinking I was crazy, I realised that it sometimes only takes a smile to serve others.

I couldn't speak with her because of the language; I couldn't pretend to understand her suffering; to try to give her something would have been far too condescending. So I just smiled.

And I hope this was enough.  . . . .  

Sent from my iPad

 &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

--- Forwarded Message ----
From: William . . . .
To: Donald . . . .

Sent: Saturday, 23 April 2011, 16:01
Subject: Fw: [Blog] Washing of the feet... at what juncture

Dear Father Donald,

I am caught up in Anne Marie's question, and having looked through various commentaries and texts, I come upon some interesting interpretations which I detail below. And without a knowledge of Greek I find the text of John 13:2 so variably translated. The only approach that I can manage with regard to the Greek text is in Bagster's 'The Englishman's Greek New Testament' literal translation: "And supper taking place..." which simply sets the scene! From my meandering I come away with the feeling that the washing of the feet followed the conversation at the table - whether before, during, or after the supper - rather than by way of convention, or rather lack of convention.

An interesting excursion, as always when you open up a text in your Blog!

With my love in Our Lord,

William

________

Nelson: "What was striking was that Jesus did it during, not before, the meal....The washing may follow the dispute on precedence (Luke 22:24-30)

I pondered upon this and looked up the reference in Luke: following on from the institution of the Eucharist and the questioning as to which disciple was to betray him...24 "A dispute also arose among them as to which one of them was to be regarded as the greatest". to which Jesus gave answer, concluding  27 "For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one at the table? But I am among you as one who serves." This makes me wonder - was His action not then to rise from the table to demonstrate this to them? 

________

NIV: "A menial task, normally performed by a servant. On this occasion there was no servant and no-one else volunteered. Jesus' action was during the meal, not upon arrival, done deliberately to emphasise a point. It was a lesson in humility, but it also set forth the principle of selfless service... John alone tells of this incident, but Luke says that in rebuking the disciples over a quarrel concerning who would be the greatest, Jesus said, "I am among you as one who serves" (Luke 22:27).

This again makes me wonder - was this action a reaction to the conversation that took place during the meal? 

________

NJB: verse 2 "They were at supper": variant of verse 2: "Supper was over"

This might contradict the above considerations if the Greek translation of 'during the meal' reads 'supper was over".

But this still makes me wonder if the washing of the feet followed the conversation rather than convention / lack of convention.

________

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Donald . . .
To: Anne Marie . . .
Sent: Sat, 23 April, 2011 19:35:51
Subject: Fw: [Blog] Washing of the feet... at what juncture Fwd RELAY

Dear Anne Marie,

Busy, busy Sacristan and and on to 10.30 on with Vigil with Blessing of the Easter Fire.

For the moment, our friend William, has picked up the baton of the Relay race on Supper feet washing.

Have a happy Vigil of the Resurrection and love to all.

Donald  
PS. Easter Tuesday, just chasing the Relay Race of Supper Washing of Feet John 13:2

PPS. William also "Bringing it altogether.  

<< John 13:2 >> John 13:2 Biblos Interlinear Bible

---

2   2532 2   CONJ 2   καὶ 2   kai 2   And

1173 N-GSN δείπνου deipnou supper

1096 V-PMP-GSN γινομένου ginomenou having occurred

Jesus Washes the Disciples' Feet

John 13:2

2And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him; 

Commentary on the Bible, by Adam Clarke, [1831], at sacred-texts.com 

And supper being ended - Rather, δειπνου γενομενου, while supper was preparing. To support this new translation of the words, it may be remarked that, from John 13:26, John 13:30, it appears that the supper was not then ended: nay, it is probable that it was not then begun; because the washing of feet (John 13:5) was usually practised by the Jews before they entered upon their meals, as may be gathered from Luke 7:44, and from the reason of the custom. I think that John wrote, not γενομενου, but γινομενου, as in BL. Cant. and Origen, which latter reading is approved by several eminent critics, and should be translated as above. By the supper I suppose to be meant, not only the eating of it, but the preparing and dressing of it, and doing all things necessary previously to the eating of it. The devil had, before this time of the supper, put it into Judas's heart to betray his Master. SeeMatthew 26:14, etc.; Mark 14:10, Mark 14:11; and Luke 22:3, etc. See also Bishop Pearce, from whose judicious commentary the preceding notes are principally taken.

Calmet observes that John, designing only to supply what was omitted by the other evangelists, passes over all the transactions of the Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, before the passion, and at once goes from Monday evening to Thursday evening. It is remarkable that St. John says nothing about the institution of the holy sacrament, which Matthew, Matthew 26:26, etc., Mark, Mark 14:22, etc., and Luke, Luke 22:19, etc., describe so particularly. No other reason can be assigned for this than that he found it completely done by the others, and that he only designed to supply their defects.

The devil having now put it into the heart - Judas formed his plot six days before this, on occasion of what happened at the house of Simon the leper: see Matthew 26:14. Calmet.

Joh 13:2 -

During supper (deipnou ginomenou). Correct text, present middle participle of ginomai (not genomenou, second aorist middle participle, “being ended”) genitive absolute. Joh_13:4 shows plainly that the meal was still going on. (Robertson’s Word Pictues)

Joh 13:2 -

Supper being ended (δείπνου γενομένου)

The most approved reading is γινομένου, the present participle, denoting while a supper was in progress. Hence Rev., rightly, during supper. The A.V. is wrong, even if the reading of the Received Text be retained; for in Joh_13:12 Jesus reclined again, and in Joh_13:26, the supper is still in progress. It should be, supper having begun, or having been served. It is important to note the absence of the definite article: a supper, as distinguished from the feast, which also is designated by a different word. (Vincent’s Word Studies).

JOHN 13

Parallel

NJB	NRSV	KJV+TVM	UPDV
2 They were at supper, and the devil had already put it into the mind of Judas Iscariot son of Simon, to betray him.	2 The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper	2  And2532 supper1173 being ended1096 [5637], the devil1228 having now2235 put906 [5761] into1519 the heart2588	2 And during supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas [the son] of Simon Iscariot, to betray him,

Young's Literal Translation
And supper being come, the devil already having put it into the heart of Judas of Simon, Iscariot, that he may deliver him up,

ΚΑΤΑ ΙΩΑΝΝΗΝ 13:2 Greek NT: Westcott/Hort with Diacritics
καὶ δείπνου γινομένου τοῦ διαβόλου ἤδη βεβληκότος εἰς τὴν καρδίαν ἵνα παραδοῖ αὐτὸν Ἰούδας Σίμωνος Ἰσκαριώτης,

ΚΑΤΑ ΙΩΑΝΝΗΝ 13:2 Greek NT: Greek Orthodox Church
καὶ δείπνου γινομένου, τοῦ διαβόλου ἤδη βεβληκότος εἰς τὴν καρδίαν Ἰούδα Σίμωνος Ἰσκαριώτου ἵνα αὐτὸν παραδῷ,

ΚΑΤΑ ΙΩΑΝΝΗΝ 13:2 Greek NT: Tischendorf 8th Ed. with Diacritics
καὶ δείπνου γινομένου, τοῦ διαβόλου ἤδη βεβληκότος εἰς τὴν καρδίαν ἵνα παραδοῖ αὐτὸν Ἰούδας Σίμωνος Ἰσκαριώτης,

   

John 13:2 Hebrew Bible
ויהי אחרי החל הסעודה והשטן נתן בלב יהודה בן שמעון איש קריות למסרו׃

Latin: Biblia Sacra Vulgata
et cena facta cum diabolus iam misisset in corde ut traderet eum Iudas Simonis Scariotis

Cross of Good Friday

----- Forwarded Message ----

From: Andy . . .
To: Donald . . .
Sent: Sun, 24 April, 2011 19:50:06
Subject: 

Hi Donald, 

Happy Easter.  This is an extract from our parish web site www.stbernadetteserskine.org

" The veneration of the Cross on Good Friday saw a large new cross used for the first time. It is good to have the symbol of the suffering Christ as well as that of the glorified Christ before us. (My sincere thanks must go to parishioner Gerry . . . who made the cross. It is poplar wood and made from a tree from Greyfriars church in Edinburgh . The figure of Christ on the cross came from Hayes and Finch. The cross is pictured on the parish website.)"

Andy . . . 

Erskine Easter Sanctuary

http://www.stbernadetteserskine.org/

Andy Warhol (1928-1987) blue crosses - on black plane - randomness - variety of trials

Pick up your cross

Illustration: Crosses (c. 1981-1982),
Andy Warhol (1928-1987),

Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, USA.

Text: Fr. Michael Morris, O.P.
MAGNIFICAT Holy Week 2011

Two of the most important Christian images in iconography:
the Last Supper and the cross. 

THE SEEDS OF FAITH, when planted early, can yield a late but rich harvest in the most unusual places. Andy Warhol, the King of Pop Art, the enfant terrible of Manhattan night life, a passive yet cunning recorder of all those clamouring for glamour, fame and fortune in this vale of tears, had a spiritual side that was largely unknown to the public. While the secular press would never admit that piety can still flourish among world-weary sophisticates, it is known that Warhol regularly visited his parish church in New York. St. Vincent Ferrer, that he sat there praying in the shadows, frequently worked for the poor at a soup kitchen, financed a nephew's seminary education, and cherished the Ruthenian Catholic memories of his childhood in Pittsburg. After nearly dying from gunshot wounds inflicted by a deranged member of his creative circle, Warhol embarked on a new quest in the last years of his life, reinterpreting for a contemporary audience two of the most important Christian images in iconography: the Last Supper and the cross. It is that latter symbol on which one might appropriately reflect during this Holy Week, for in all its simplicity it holds within it a multitude of sublime meanings.

In ancient times, before Christ, the cross was already imbued with a holy symbolism that permeated art and ritual. The Egyptians saw it as an emblem of the Four Elements (Earth, Fire, Water and Air). It was also a symbol of well-being and the life to come. In pre-Christian Scandinavia, the cross was seen as a symbol of worship and nothing less than the hammer of the sky god Thor. Druidic sanctuaries were often built in the form of a cross. The long base signified the path of life for the living; the three short arms radiating from it represented the three states of the spirit world, a pre-Christian equivalent of heaven, hell, and purgatory. The Hebrews took the blood of the paschal lamb and sprinkled it upon their lintels and doorposts in the form of a cross so that the Angel of Death would pass them by on that first Passover in Egypt. When the blood of a sacrificial animal was sprinkled on objects or people it was likewise done in the form of a cross. Some of these prefigurative gestures were instituted more than a thousand years before the Lamb of God, both priest and victim, was offered up for our redemption on Calvary. As the late Jesuit historian Cardinal Danielou explains it, Christ came not to abolish these ancient practices, but rather to purify them and bring them to the perfection of truth.

In art, a bold red cross on a field of white marks the Banner of the Resurrection. Christ is depicted holding it as he rises from the tomb or liberates those souls held captive in the underworld. From Constantine to the Crusades, the cross has also been used as a symbol of conquest. The glorious cross of the Second Coming is the sign of the Son of Man, the Risen Christ. As part of the "Arma Christi" it is ensign of the Saviour, the trophy of his redemptive passion and death. The cross was invented as an instrument of torture. But through Christ that suffering was transformed into the promise of resurrection. Through Christ the gibbet of death was transformed into a sceptre of dominion. When depicted as the Salvador Mundi, Christ raises his right hand in blessing and in his left he holds an orb surmounted by the cross.

An old belief held that the wood of the cross could restore the dead to life, as it had been traced to a seedling taken from the Tree of Life in Eden. Wood itself has salvific associations. The Tree of Life was wood. Noah's Ark was made of wood. The rod from which Moses parted the sea and struck water from the rock was wood. The pole on which the brazen serpent hung was wood.

In Byzantine legend the cross was a bridge or ladder by which human souls could climb toward God. Saint Irenaeus saw the cross as the purpose for the Incarnation:
"He was made flesh and nailed to the cross in a manner whereby he took the universe to himself." Likewise, Saint Cyril of Jerusalem wrote: "God stretched out his arms upon the cross to embrace the furthest bounds of the world, making Golgotha the true pole of the earth." In his Apologia, Saint Justin Martyr listed all the things he could think of that are shaped like a cross, reflections of the divine sign, from flying birds to the mast of a ship, from ploughs to anchors.

The cross contains a sacred geometry that can symbolise the Two Great Commandments. Its vertical beam reminds us to love God wholeheartedly while the horizontal beam bids us to love our neighbour as we love ourselves. The cross can also reflect the three theological virtues. In the earth the foot of the cross was well lodged. That signifies the firm foundation of Faith. The upper end of the cross represents Hope rising heavenward. The crossbeam is Love, for it embraces all, even one's enemies. This "axis mundi" becomes a sacred pole enveloping the three realms of creation:
Heaven, Earth and Hell. It has also been called the umbilical cord of the cosmos, representing intervention, mediation and communication between God and man.

Warhol's composition looks penitential with its blue crosses spread haphazardly on a black plane. Its randomness can represent the variety of trials each one of us must bear in life. Every life is filled with crosses, and if one wishes to obey the mandate given by the Saviour, we will pick one up and follow him.   

To view this masterpiece
in greater detail
www.magnificat.com