Was there a good point made in the sermon you heard at the Mass that fulfilled your Easter Sunday Obligation? WHOOPS! You probably are in a place where you don’t have an obligation, either because the bishop dispensed it or there are no available public Masses!
However, perhaps you saw a Mass with a sermon over the interwebs. Perhaps you were at a parking lot Mass.
Was there a good point in the sermon you heard?
For my part… to an empty church. Cloths bind us around our faces now. Stones of doors close us in. We are going to rise.
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The Empty Tomb means: Be not afraid! But there was quite a bit more.
Sermon starts in the link at 25 minutes:
https://livestream.com/opwest/events/9077453/videos/204471620
From the excellent resource “Index of Live Streaming Latin Mass”, we found the livestream of a church in, I think, Kansas. That site has been so helpful, we can attend Mass anywhere in the world, and it’s been wonderful to be at a Mass where English is not spoken but the Latin unites us as Catholics so we can follow along. Anyway the Mass we attended was a Low Mass, and just beautiful. Father spoke on Mary Magdalene, and shared the story of how she saw the angel at the tomb but ignored that and continued to ask for Jesus, such that Jesus finally spoke to her. She persisted.
That Index of Masses has been so helpful since I am finding announcements of Mass AFTER the fact and keep being disappointed. On that list, there’s always a Mass going on somewhere, it’s great. Father Z thank you so much for all you have provided and do provide. It has made such a difference. Thank you for the exorcism prayer and the Mass and Podcasts, all of it. I know we say it all the time but God bless you and all the priests who have livestreamed Mass at this time.
What a blessing it has been to have these live Masses.
From our parish’s livestreamed Mass on Easter Sunday: “Alleluia. No matter what.” Pretty much summed it up for me :-)
Our pastor quoted Cardinal Sarah in noting the irony that a microscopic virus has brought the big bad world of invincibility to its knees with fear. We also have 1 parishioner who lived through the Spanish flu of 1918!
Our pastor, bless his soul, has arranged for Facebook Live streams from the tiny chapel in the Carmelite Convent that seats 4 sisters, a videographer, a deacon and the celebrant.
I believe I watched at least 3 Easter Sunday Masses and they’ve blurred in my mind. So forgive me if I expound on the most memorable Easter Vigil from my parish.
All the readings were read. All of them. Father remarked on what a great grace it was to be able to do this. The sisters all took turns in bilingual renderings of the OT and Epistle, and the Deacon read the Gospel. Father reminded us that the Beloved Disciple is likely to be John the Evangelist himself, humbly avoiding the mention of his own name.
On Easter Sunday the theme was hope amidst fear and uncertainty. The triumph of light over darkness. The apostles in fear of the Jews, but Jesus and His message breaking through their defenses. “Do not be afraid!”
I have made a habit of studying (even before this debacle) the sermons of St. Alphonsus Liguori (available on Kindle $8.50) and Fr. Leonard Goffine’s “The Church’s Year” so good points abound in my sermons!
The miracle of Jesus’ resurrection happened but people did not become aware of it until sometime later. There are miracles happening now, which you may not become aware of until later.
One upside to this lockdown, I got to listen to three sermons online.
Fr Finelli had an exceptionally good sermon. Spoke about our spiritual involvement with Mass (amongst other things) while at home in isolation and how Graces flow to us despite not being physically at Mass. Beings at 46:25 mark: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFRSGCvXpGw
Not unless you count the myriad of birds singing as I read my Missal. I just couldn’t stand watching another Mass on my phone screen. Reading the Mass outside as the sun rose felt ever so much better. I’m hoping it’s ok that I did this.
Thomas Aquinas College had streamed mass online, both vigil mass and Sunday morning. Beautiful, if a little lesser than usual in pomp. I give thanks to God.
A man died and father went to his funeral. He had been an inmate for 30 years. The pictures of the man when he went in were so different than when he left. He had become more joyful. The man had told father that Jesus had come to him in prison and He visited him everyday, that changed who the man he was.
As Jesus’s followers hid in the upper room, Jesus came to them, despite the fact the doors were locked, he got in.
Now that we are all “locked in” our homes, Jesus is coming to us via various means of technology, right into our homes….Our prayers are making our homes holy places.
I was able to watch the Easter Vigil on EWTN Saturday night. Started at 2200 hours Central Time (2000 hours Pacific Time). Bishop Vann from the Diocese of Orange (I remember him when he was the Bishop of Fort Worth, since I live in Texas) did a good job tying his homily into the Focolare movement, and how Jesus Christ has risen. Alleluia!
I am sure EWTN has his homily in the archives. All seven readings were done during the Easter Vigil. Some readings were read in English, and some were read in Spanish. Two homilies were given back to back (my experience with a bilingual Mass this is common) – The rector gave a homily in Spanish, and the bishop gave his in English.
I applaud the patience to those who took the extra time to set up cameras for live streaming. This would take me a little while to figure out.
I was inspired to focus on the angel in the tomb. Angels are present throughout Salvation history. They continue working with us today, guiding, inspiring, protecting, defending. And we need to deepen out relationship with them as they help lead us to the Kingdom.