Two bronze deer which
allude to the initial verse of Psalm 42: “As the deer longs for streams of
water, so my soul longs for you, O God” on top of the tympanum of the Roman
Catholic Church of All Nations also known as the Basilica of the Agony
next to the Garden of Gethsemane, Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem Israel.
Welcome to "The Deacon's Door"
April 5, 2020
While we are in a
worldly turmoil due to the Corona Virus, we kick off Passion Week Sunday and
set our sights on the most significant event of the year for Christians:
Resurrection Sunday. Passion Week begins Sunday with Palm Sunday.
Each year Jesus traveled
from the Galilee area (where the vast majority of His ministry took place) to
Jerusalem for Passover. The Gospel of Matthew tells us that
Jesus left the Galilee area to the region of Judea, healing the sick along the
way. On the attached map you can see that it was a significant
distance He and his followers walked in order to attend Passover in
Jerusalem. They crossed the Jordan River
in order to avoid Samaria, where Jesus was rejected. They then crossed back over east of Jericho
and headed up to Jerusalem.
The
terrain was difficult and the journey was not easy. The “valley of the
shadow of death” reference in Psalm 23 may
well have been a section of the journey along the route between Jericho and
Jerusalem. It was an area filled with robbers and criminals, which made
it an even more difficult part of the journey.
Jesus came humbly on
the back of a servant animal, as a servant of the people. On Palm Sunday
Jesus was hailed as king, but within the next few days the mood changed and He
was rejected as messiah. He wasn’t the conquering king they expected. In fact, most Jews continue to seek the
coming of their Messiah and they will not recognize Him until His Glorious
Appearing following the Tribulation.
So, on this Palm
Sunday, why not pray for our hearts to open and our eyes to see. Jews are
not the only ones who have missed the Savior’s first coming. Many of us
today reject Him as well. We are all in need of the saving grace of Jesus,
and more now than ever as we face the fight against this deadly virus that is
spreading across the world. Let us all
pray this week for our friends and family who do not yet know Jesus. There could not be a better time to do this
than during Holy Week with Resurrection Sunday only a week away.
During our time of
isolation, consider this image that I picked up from a good friend of mine, who
is a priest in the Diocese of Sioux City. “Two men stood behind prison bars…
One looked down and saw mud, the other looked up and saw stars.” During this time of restrictions, fears and
isolation, many of us may feel like the men locked up. Which one are you? (I would think each of us find times that we
are both of these two.)
During this time of
self-isolation, look up to the stars and hope from God to comfort
us. Take part in daily prayer to God for
an end to this virus and a return to our normal way of life. With a positive attitude of Faith and Hope we
will emerge from these days stronger and with a greater appreciation and love
of God for the many blessings He showers on us each day.
We invite all of you to join
the Archbishop with prayer of the Rosary, as well as celebration of Holy Mass
each Sunday at 9:00 am. Visit https://dbqarch.org/coronavirus for more information about these
live-streamed events. Many have found
other locations on TV and/or the internet to watch the Holy Mass on
Sunday. Please continue to pray for an
end to this pandemic as well as for the safety of all of our loved ones who are
threatened by it. Other spiritual
services and opportunities will be announced on the Archdiocesan Web page, as
well as on our parish Face Book Pages, Bulletins and Web Pages. Please look for continued updates as we
travel these days together. I
look forward to continuing to reach out to you on a regular basis.
“Pax et bonum” (Peace and Goodness)
Deacon Jim Patera
319-509-1210
pateraj@msn.com
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