Pastor's Reflection

They were talking about the immovable obstacle. “Who shall roll back the stone for us from the door of the tomb?” (Mk. 16:3). Then, they look up and the large stone is already moved.

They enter the tomb, expecting to anoint the body of Jesus. Instead, they see an angel.

First, they see the stone moved. Second, they see an angel from heaven. They are amazed.

And then, the angel speaks. The angel announces: “Do not be amazed! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; He is not here. Behold the place where they laid Him” (Mk. 16:6).

Angels see things differently than we do. We see the obstacles, the burdens, and the immovable things. Angels see what God has already done inside the stubborn barriers. And the largest and most immovable is death itself.

But God has done something even there. Notice that the angel still refers to Jesus as “the crucified.” The Lord, in His crucifixion, has overcome the powers of sin and death. And He bears the wounds. His wounds have become pathways of grace, the means by which we now recognize Him. And so, the angel refers to Jesus as “the crucified.”

Next, the angel announces that Jesus is raised from the dead. He has won the victory in His actual body, raised now from the dead.

Third, the angel invites the women to look at the last place they wanted to see: “Behold the place where they laid Him.” And the angel urges them to not just see the place, but to “behold” it with some level of fanfare and awe.

Whatever is immovable in our life, whatever the barriers are, whatever obstacle won’t go away, Christ has dealt with it on the Cross. He has conquered it. And He invites us now, through the Sacraments, to join ourselves to Him – so that when face the most difficult burdens of life, even death itself, – we entrust ourselves to Him and the power of His Resurrection.

Together with Fr. Bordonaro, Msgr. Murray, Deacon Hasson, and our teams across the parish, may you and your families have a blessed and Happy Easter! Thank you for sharing the journey here at the Church of Saint Eleanor!

Happy Easter!
Msgr. Bransfield
Pastor

They couldn't stop replaying it all in their minds.

They thought and then they over thought. It came back in flashbacks.

From Holy Thursday to Good Friday, to Holy Saturday ...

How did it all escalate so quickly?

And they were afraid. Jesus had been put to death. As His followers, they thought they were next. Any minute the Romans would pound on the door and find them. And then ...

So, they locked the doors. That is what fear does. It locks things up. Control and fear run side by side.

And then, right in the midst of their fear, overthinking, and locks: "Jesus came and stood in their midst" (Jn 20:19).

He walks right into fear.

They didn't have to get their lives all straightened out first; they didn't have to control everything; and they didn't even have to stop overthinking. "Jesus came and stood in their midst" (Jn 20:19).

Jesus is the Risen One. He is risen from the dead. Death has no more power over Him. Christ has defeated the devil, conquered sin, and destroyed death definitively by His death and glorious resurrection.

It doesn't mean fear will automatically go away. It doesn't mean everything will be easy and work out our way. It doesn't mean we will be able to control everything. Far from it.

It means that the new creation has already begun in Christ Himself. He gives us the means to share in His new creation by holding on to Him - especially through our reception of the Sacraments.

The grace we receive from the Sacraments unfastens the locks in our lives. Locks often let go slowly. The grace of the Sacraments casts away fear. It allows us to see again the beauty of Christ and His invitation to us to share His life. During this Easter Season accept His sacred invitation and draw close to Jesus!

God bless,
Msgr. Brian Bransfield

The readings for Holy Week bring a chill as we listen. We hear Jesus speak of His most vulnerable pain. In the Gospel, we hear Him say at the Last Supper: “And yet behold, the hand of the one who is to betray me is with me on the table …” (Luke 22:21).

Jesus was betrayed. Betrayal speaks of treachery and infidelity of the willful and duplicitous attempt to destroy a friend. Betrayal is so ugly because an enemy cannot commit it. Only a trusted friend can come close enough to betray us.

Betrayal is the cruelest of life’s ingredients.

When were you betrayed? Do you speak about it? You might not, because betrayal’s poison not only destroys safe spaces but leaves the shrill, sharp and enduring lesson that no places are safe.

Betrayals, whether large or small, can haunt the heart and wound the soul. Betrayal casts off a piece of the soul into a painful orbit of secrecy and fear. If we do speak about when we were betrayed, it may be to construct a false safe place of excuses, self-blame, explanations or denial. These only deepen the hurt and deaden the soul.

If we do share the pain of a past betrayal, we might be told to simply “get over it” or “that’s life.” But you don’t and it’s not. Betrayal’s pain doesn’t age. Thirty years is the blink of an eye. Its pain does not have an expiration date. In fact, entrenched responses such as that only deepen the shame. They wreck, ruin and rewound.

Where do we go with our betrayals? We might go to a lot of places. Some people go to substances. Alcohol is the oldest medication known to man. Intoxication slowly accelerates past the pain but only deepening holes in the soul it pretends to fill.

Some people sink into activities and disappear for decades into workaholism and pleasing others. Or some others stare into a screen for years. The screen is the number one hiding place in the United States. Anything we want is a tap away at the tip of our fingers.

We can control anything on that screen, or so we think. But so often the internet and continuous channel surfing are roadmaps to deeper loneliness and isolation, of numbing muteness to feelings and daily life.

Some people let the pain do the talking. Gossip is simply the behind-the-back chatter that tries to repeatedly push someone else down so we can feel like we are on the rise. But these techniques disguised as remedies are just more numbing betrayals, tokens of cruel emotional commerce. They are more of the same.

Where do we go with our betrayals?

We must go to a truly safe and lasting place. Safe connection heals. Safety allows us to find our way through betrayal and patiently untangle the twistedness of countless maneuverings. While many good people can help us along the way, ultimately, Jesus is the only One who will understand. We need His supernatural grace to heal us.

Jesus knows. He knows what it is like to be betrayed. Judas, one of the Twelve Apostles, betrayed Jesus. And the other Apostles all deserted Him.

From the betrayal of friends, spouses, parents or our children – from the betrayal of coaches or mentors, of leaders and guides … Jesus knows those pains not from the outside like someone who has simply taken a quick tour. He knows our pain from the inside. This is Holy Week. Spend time with Jesus here at Church. Bring the hurt and the pain. He knows. His grace is waiting. We pray with Him and share our pain with Him, especially in these hours of His Passion during Holy Week. We have some key opportunities to be with Him this week:

The Mass of the Lord’s Supper takes place on Holy Thursday, April 2 at 7:00 p.m., with the Chapel of Our Lady open until 11:00 p.m.

The Commemoration of the Lord’s Sacred Passion is Good Friday, April 3 at 3:00 p.m. Stations of the Cross are at 6:30 p.m.

The Great Vigil of Easter Holy Saturday, April 4 is at 7:00 p.m.

Easter Sunday Masses are at 7:30 a.m., 9:00 a.m., 10:30 a.m. and Noon.

A blessed Holy Week –

Msgr. Brian Bransfield

Pastor