04-26-2026

04-26-2026 - Forth Sunday of Easter

Transcript

Reading:  

1 Peter 2:24-25

Write:  

He himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross,
 so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness.
 By his wounds you have been healed.
 For you had gone astray like sheep,
 but you have now returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.

Reflect:   

Thank you for all of your prayers for the last couple of weeks. My sister finally died Thursday just before noon. The funeral will be Tuesday at ten thirty at St. Mary’s on thirty sixth and Q.

I trust you will forgive me if I have a bit shorter of a homily this weekend, but I have been rather distracted.

Jesus’ death and resurrection – as Saint Peter clearly says – establishes us in freedom and righteousness. But that is a freedom from sin, not a freedom to do whatever we want. It is a freedom to live in holiness and righteousness. This is the great gift that Jesus gives us. We had gone astray like sheep, as St. Peter says. But we return to the glory of a life lived in Christ.

I have been reading a book called “The Spirit of the Liturgy” written by Cardinal Ratzinger – of course he became Pope Benedict. He suggests in the second half of the book something that I found rather surprising from him, given how conservative he seems to have been. But it makes sense. I am not sure I want to suggest following the changes that he seems to recommend, but I present them to you for your consideration. The first quote from the book is this:

Standing is the posture of the victor. Jesus stands in God’s presence—he stands, because he has trodden death and the power of the Evil One underfoot. At the end of this struggle, he is the one who stands upright, the one who remains standing. This standing is also an expression of readiness: Christ is standing up at the right hand of God in order to meet us.

It is for us that he stands, and, in the very hour of anguish, we can be sure that he will set off and come to us, just as once he set off from the Father and came to his own across the water, when wind and waves were overpowering their boat. When we stand, we know that we are united to the victory of Christ, and when we stand to listen to the Gospel, it is an expression of reverence.

…Standing prayer is an anticipation of the future…

So he is suggesting that during this Easter season when we celebrate the victory of Christ we should stand during the Eucharistic prayers. How radical is that?

Now, as I said, I am not sure I want to promote this idea. He says in another place in the same chapter:

When a man kneels, he lowers himself, but his eyes still look forward and upward, as when he stands, toward the One who faces him. To kneel is to be oriented toward the One who looks upon us and toward whom we try to look, as the epistle to the Hebrews says, “looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith”

Apply:   

I wanted to apply these quotes – and there are many more. It is a fun and easy book to read, despite the fact that it came from one of the greatest theologians of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Again, the name of the book is “The Spirit of the Liturgy.”

What does this have to do with the selection from First Peter? We are called to live in righteousness, the righteousness won for us by Jesus on the cross. The cross is his victorious throne. The king has won! And we are called to declare our victory in Christ as well. That is what the entire Easter season is about.

In addition to talking about standing and kneeling and sitting in this chapter, he warns about something else that – quite honestly – I have been concerned about as well. This is what he wrote: “Wherever applause breaks out in the liturgy because of some human achievement, it is a sure sign that the essence of liturgy has totally disappeared and been replaced by a kind of religious entertainment.”

There seems to be a tradition, especially at St. Thomas More, to clap at the end of Mass. I can see two purposes to that, or maybe three. One: it is as Pope Benedict warns an acknowledgment of human achievement – not correct. Two: we do not come to Mass to be entertained – also not correct. Three: a time of applause could be seen as a thank you to God for what he has accomplished in bringing us into his family – I can accept that.

But I am not sure what the history is for why people clap at the end of Mass. I know this is probably going to upset some people, but I think it really should stop. We do say, “Thanks be to God” at the end of Mass already. And clapping is just… not something that is in the Catholic tradition as a close to Mass.

Well, it turns out this was not much shorter of a homily. But I think the quotes from Pope Benedict on the liturgy are well worth hearing. Jesus has been and is our victorious King. And here during this Easter season – even if we kneel during the Eucharistic Prayer, which is what is expected – we should turn the eyes of our souls to the victory that Jesus won for us on the cross. And, whether kneeling or standing, we are before the Victorious King. There is a great Easter hymn that in part goes like this: “Christ Jesus Victor, Christ Jesus ruler, Christ Jesus Lord and Redeemer…” Amen.

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