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Pope Francis: "Love That Knows No Bounds"
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On Mar. 23, during his weekly catechesis, Pope Francis said, "The mystery we adore in this Holy Week is a great story of love that knows no bounds. The Passion of Jesus lasts until the end of the world, because it is a story of sharing with the suffering of all humanity and a permanent presence in the events of the personal life of every one of us."
On Holy Thursday, with the institution of the Eucharist and the washing of the feet, Jesus teaches that "the Eucharist is love that makes itself service. It is the sublime presence of Christ that wishes to appease the hunger of every man, especially the weakest. ... But in giving Himself to us as nourishment, Jesus demonstrates that we must learn to divide this sustenance with others, so that it may become a true communion of life with those who are in need. He gives Himself to us and asks us to abide with Him to do likewise."
Good Friday is the culmination of love. "A love that seeks to embrace all, excluding no one. A love that extends to every time and every place; an inexhaustible source of salvation from which every one of us sinners may draw. If God has shown His supreme love in the death of Jesus, then we too, regenerated by the Holy Spirit, can and must love each other."
And finally, Holy Saturday, the day of God's silence. "Jesus, laid in the tomb, shares with all humanity the drama of death. It is a silence that speaks and expresses love as solidarity with those abandoned forever, to those whom the Son of God reaches by filling the emptiness that only the infinite mercy of the Father can fill. ... It is the love that does not doubt, but that hopes in the word of the Lord, so as to become manifest and resplendent on Easter Day." |
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USCCB Letter to Archbishop of Brussels
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The following is an excerpt of a letter that Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky, president of USCCB, sent to Archbishop Josef De Kesel of Mechelen-Brussel, following the terrorist bombings in Belgium:
"Approaching Good Friday, seeing the news from your brave and beautiful city deepens our own meditation on the Cross. ... The Church throughout the United States feels this senseless act of violence as a tragedy in our own family. ... The terror of the Crucifixion is overcome by the hope of the Resurrection. Through unity, courage and comforting of the victims, the people of Belgium remind me of the Apostles comforted by the Risen Lord. In the face of unspeakable violence, they refused to allow fear to be their final witness. ... So too let us respond to hate with love and reject the extremists who would see us abandon our most vulnerable brothers and sisters." |
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A Consistent Ethic of Life
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Second of Two Excerpts from U.S. Bishops' Pastoral Plan for Pro-Life Activities (USCCB):
"To focus on the evil of deliberate killing in abortion and euthanasia is not to ignore the many other urgent conditions that demean human dignity and threaten human rights. Opposing abortion and euthanasia "does not excuse indifference to those who suffer from poverty, violence and injustice. Any politics of human life must work to resist the violence of war and the scandal of capital punishment. Any politics of human dignity must seriously address issues of racism, poverty, hunger, employment, education, housing and health care" (Living the Gospel of Life, no. 23). We pray that Catholics will be advocates for the weak and the marginalized in all these areas. "But being 'right' in such matters can never excuse a wrong choice regarding direct attacks on innocent human life. Indeed, the failure to protect and defend life in its most vulnerable stages renders suspect any claims to the 'rightness' of positions in other matters affecting the poorest and least powerful of the human community" (Living the Gospel of Life, no. 23)."
Special Note
WSCC has been sending you the Cornerstone Notes on a weekly basis during Lent. In the future, the WSCC Cornerstone Notes will be sent on a monthly basis.
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Easter Blessings
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We pray that you all may have a blessed Triduum and joyous Easter.
Easter blessings,
~ Sister Sharon, Jim & Theresa
The Washington State Catholic Conference (WSCC) is the public policy voice of the Catholic Bishops of Washington State.
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