Lent & Holy Week: March 2012 Archives

Lazarus Saturday

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Raising of Lazarus Duccio.jpgBefore Your own death, O Christ, You raised from death Lazarus, who was four days dead, and You have shaken the dominion of death. Through the one man whom You loved, You have foretold the deliverance of all from corruption. We therefore worship You and cry: Blessed are You, O Savior!  Have mercy on us!

The observance of Lazarus Saturday is really more a Byzantine Church observance on the Saturday before Palm Sunday, but you will find it in the West, too. As the antiphon above notes, Jesus shows us what is come for us who believe in Him: triumph over death by death itself. As Jesus approaches His own death on the Cross, and then the Resurrection, we who believe in the Lord encounter the same fact.

Prayer of Intercession

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Queen Esther AdelCastagno.jpg

Lent is a perfect time to pray more intensely. It is a seen as a time for greater discipline that may also bear fruit in other times of the year. Yesterday's reading of Scripture for Mass had us focus on penance. Today, the Church gives us good example of asking God for the things we need. Queen Esther is our liturgical protagonist (aside from God, that is) in interceding for others.


What is prayer of intercession? Well, prayer of intercession is known along side other types of prayer like blessing and adoration, petition, intercession, thanksgiving and praise.


The Catechism teaches us that Jesus practiced intercessory prayer in praying to His Father for all of us. We believe this is what the Holy Spirit does for us and for the whole world. This type of prayer is practiced by priests especially when they offer the Sacrifice of the Mass and pray the Divine Office. The laity exercise the priesthood of the believers by virtue of the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation by offering a prayer for another. The saints do intercessory prayer in approaching the Throne of Grace when we ask them to. 



About the author

Paul A. Zalonski is from New Haven, CT. He is a member of the Fraternity of Communion and Liberation, a Catholic ecclesial movement and an Oblate of Saint Benedict. Contact Paul at paulzalonski[at]yahoo.com.

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This page is a archive of entries in the Lent & Holy Week category from March 2012.

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