April 9

Easter Sunday

Most glorious Lord of life that on this day

Didst make Thy triumph over death and sin,

And having harrowed hell didst bring away

Captivity thence captive us to win;

This joyous day, dear Lord, with joy begin

And grant that we, for whom Thou didst die

Being with Thy dear blood clean washed from sin,

May live forever in felicity.

And that Thy love we weighing worthily,

May likewise love Thee for the same again;

And for Thy sake that all like dear didst buy,

With love may one another entertain.

So let us love, dear love, like as we ought,

Love is the lesson which the Lord us taught.

–“Easter”, Edmund Spenser (1553-1598)

April 8

Holy Saturday

I am not moved to love Thee, O my Lord,

By any longing for Thy Promised Land;

Nor by the fear of hell am I unmanned

To cease from my transgressing deed or word.

‘Tis Thou Thyself dost move me, — Thy blood poured

Upon the cross from nailed foot and hand;

And all the wounds that did Thy body brand;

And all Thy shame and bitter death’s award.

Yea, to Thy heart am I so deeply stirred

That I would love Thee were no heaven on high,

That I would fear, were hell a tale absurd!

Such my desire, all questioning grows vain;

Though hope deny me hope I still should sigh,

And as my love is now, it should remain.

-To Christ Crucified (16th or 17th C.),

Translated from the Spanish by Thomas Walsh

April 7

Good Friday

Jesus:

O Mother dear, didst thou but hear

My plaint of desolation,

Thy tender heart would burst apart

With grief of separation!

I am not stone, yet all alone

I hush My soul’s outcrying, --

Alone to tread the wine-press red,

To bear the pain of dying.

My lips are dumb, the night has come;

Ah! Solace I might borrow

Had I but thee to bide with Me

In this wild waste of sorrow.

Mary:

“Gentle moon and start of midnight,

Golden apples born of sunshine,

Precious pearls and jewels rare, --

All things glorious, all things shining,”

Thus the sorrowing Mother spake;

“E’en ye bright, transfigured faces,

Mourn with me for Jesus’ sake.

“Sparkle, gleam, and glow no longer:

Only moan and mourn for Him.

Shine not, shine not, weep forever,

Till your thousand eyes are dim;

For the mighty One has fallen,

And my Beautiful is slain;

In the dense wood pierced, my Shepherd, --

Weep ye, weep ye for my pain!

O most oppressed of all oppressed,

Heart of my heart, my all, my Son!

Grief’s keenest sword doth pierce my breast:

I die with Thee, my only one!

Alas! the pain is all too great,

Since, living, still I share Thy fate.

“Yes, mine Thou wert to bear and rear

Through life and light, and pain and loss;

And now, ten thousand times more dear,

I yield Thee to the cruel cross!”

-“Dialogue at the Cross,” Frederick Spee, S. J. (1591-1635)

translated from the German by Mary E. Mannix

April 6

"Are you capable of risking your life for someone? Do it for Christ."

- St. John Paul II

April 5

"You learn to speak by speaking, to study by studying, to run by running, to work by working, and just so, you learn to love by loving. All those who think to learn in any other way deceive themselves.”

-St. Francis de Sales