John Janaro's Blog, page 126
April 12, 2020
Happy Easter 2020

Happy Easter! Jesus has won the victory over death.
In His risen body, He is the beginning of the New Creation, the "first-born of the dead," the Lord of history and the initiator of its transforming fulfillment in God's Kingdom of grace, justice, and goodness, of love, mercy and peace.
In all things, He is our hope! May He bring you joy this day.
Published on April 12, 2020 16:27
April 11, 2020
Jesus Offers Himself To Us This Easter

The Easter Vigil is happening NOW at St Peter's Basilica in Rome. Pope Francis, a few priests, some members of his staff, an organist and a few singers, and the Vatican Media workers - alone in the vast, cavernous church, under the immense dome.
It seems odd, this tiny gathering for an ancient ritual in an ancient building. They carefully observe the various liturgical forms as they pray in their apparent solitude.
But it is only "apparent," for in reality millions of people are praying with them and joining the celebration all over the world, using the tool of livestreaming audiovisual media. But this media connection is only a tool, that can help those who use it to remember the fundamental reality that the faithful are joined together though the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead, who dwells in God's People and unites them in Christ's Risen Body in a bond that no force in this world can break.
This is the unity that overcomes death, that draws all of history to itself, the unity of God's children in His Son Jesus, to which every human person is called, and for which their hearts long.
There is much suffering in the world this Easter, and we continue to give particular attention to the kind of suffering brought about by COVID-19 and its many associated burdens. Our concerns and prayer go out especially to the suffering and dying, to those who care for them, to everyone afflicted by the disease, to those enduring economic hardship and/or job loss, to public officials who must make difficult decisions in the face of many unknown factors, to researchers seeking effective treatments, and to everyone who struggles with additional anxiety about these many problems.
Without minimizing in any way these trials or any sufferings, we have come to the day that celebrates the victory of Jesus over death and sin, in His resurrection which is the beginning of the New Creation, the fulfillment, the inexhaustible source of meaning for all sufferings which He Himself has borne and overcome. In all our efforts and all that we endure, He is our hope.


"Spiritual communion" is not just a pious exercise, much less an act of pretending or imagining something that is not real. Christ Himself as really present in the Eucharist nourishes us when we turn to Him with this desire and love. Thus we eat and drink "spiritually" of this sacrament and receive its effects, the deepening of union with Jesus and one another in faith and charity (see St Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica III, q 80, a 1).
It occurs to me that the distinctive basis of all Eucharistic piety and devotions involves not only the Lord's substantial presence under the appearances of the accidents of bread and wine, but also that sacramental purpose of His presence which is to give Himself to us and nourish us with the entirety of Himself - body, blood, soul, and Divinity. The Eucharist is always our source of strength, where Jesus gives Himself to sustain us.
Let us remember these things on this unique Easter Sunday. Though indeed something is missing for us as embodied human beings in this world when we cannot worship together physically and receive communion sacramentally, we can still receive the graces of the Easter sacrament through our "spiritual communion." We are not willfully avoiding Mass and communion out of disobedience or laziness. We want to celebrate this holy day in union with the Church in these unprecedented and unusual circumstances. Thus, anything that helps us to open our hearts and deepen our longing for the Risen Lord has value. Even the very real sorrow we feel for "what is lacking" for us this Easter because of the phenomenon of the global pandemic can be "offered" to God to enrich the ardor of our "spiritual communion."
The experience of "what is lacking" may also serve to prompt us to share the fullness of Christ's love with those who do not know Him. As St John Paul II always said (here I paraphrase): "every human person has the right to know the fullness of the riches of Christ, because Christ has come in love for each person specifically." Those who encounter the Risen Lord are called (and empowered) to share Him with others. We are called by Easter joy to witness the truth, to share this new life, to carry out works of mercy where we will find His love ever more fully as we give ourselves away in love.

We can be certain that Jesus will not fail us.
He is Risen, Alleluia!
Published on April 11, 2020 12:59
April 10, 2020
"My Eyes Are Darkened By My Tears..."

Instead of just words for Good Friday, I want to share some music. There is a traditional practice in these days of meditating on texts from the Lamentations of Jeremiah (and here too Job), in which the suffering of Jesus is foretold and/or typified.
This particular Latin text, Caligaverunt Oculi Mei ("My Eyes Are Darkened By My Tears..." cf. Job 16:16 and Lam 1:12), is enriched by layers of repetition in the beautiful, mournful polyphonic chant of Tomás Luis de Victoria (1548-1611).
Here is the English translation:
"My eyes are darkened by my tears
For he is far from me that comforted me.
See, all you people,
if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow.
All you who pass by, behold and see
if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow."
Published on April 10, 2020 08:03
April 9, 2020
Finding Memories of My Father (Video Included!)

A year ago today we had the Mass of Christian Burial for Dad at our parish church, which has a pink cherry blossom tree near its entrance, just like the tree above that is blooming today down the road from my house. The beautiful color on these trees only lasts a few days, so last year it felt like nature was providing flowers for Dad's funeral.
This year, another of the same trees brought bouquets of reminders within reach of my "quarantine" environment.
As we prayed with the livestream of the Holy Thursday Mass from St Thomas More Cathedral earlier this evening, I remembered so many prior Sundays and Holy days in that church with my parents (then, eventually, they were the kids' grandparents too).
Then this video appeared in my Facebook memories section from 2012. Eight years ago on this day, we celebrated Dad's (Papa's) 77th birthday at our house (his actual birthday is April 6), and I posted this video restricted to just family members. Teresa — a nine year old running around with a camera — took the original. I don't know where that file is, but I copied this one and edited out the mess-ups and blurriest moments. The quality is poor, but... it's still a video!
It reminded me of a happy time in his life. I am so grateful to God for him, and I pray for him as we celebrate also this year these sacred days of the Pascal Mystery that is the hope of us all, the "passage" of Jesus from death to resurrection.
Also, look how young Josefina is!!!
Published on April 09, 2020 20:27
April 8, 2020
“Spy Wednesday”: Judas and Us

Are we really so much different from him?
Who hasn’t betrayed the Lord in some way or other, to some extent?
We betray Him too. Even if just by some lukewarm, half-baked schemes we connive in when God’s ways are incomprehensible to us, or embarrass us, or disappoint us in our narrowness...
But the decision we face is whether we’re going to give up on God, or go back to Him.
Never, never, NEVER GIVE UP!
Published on April 08, 2020 14:47
April 6, 2020
Early April Evening
An early April evening in the Valley, with hues of bright green from new leaves, blue mountains, orange and yellow on the horizon. Digital Art by JJ.

Published on April 06, 2020 20:30
April 5, 2020
Holy Week Begins: Betrayal, Abandonment, and Service

This is not to say that it was entirely unfamiliar. Certainly not. The Mass was beautiful at our Cathedral of Saint Thomas More in the Arlington, Virginia diocese. The bishop presided and gave a fine and deeply encouraging homily which we appreciated, after the long reading of the Passion of Jesus according to the Gospel of Matthew. All of these things resonated with many prior experiences of Palm Sundays in the past, as I've known since boyhood.
But it was very different too. We didn't have any palms. No palms on Palm Sunday? That was a big difference. Every year, we carry palms into the church. At the beginning of the liturgy, we celebrate Jesus's "triumphant" entry into Jerusalem, where the crowds hailed him with palm branches and cried, "Hosanna!" (the same crowds that would denounce him or go into hiding from fear by the end of the week).
But today, we had no palms in our hands. And we never went anywhere near the church building. We were at home in our living room in front of the television, "virtually participating" in the bishop's Mass via livestream on the diocese's YouTube channel. Generally speaking, "the faithful" weren't in any of the churches in the greater part of the world. Bishops and priests celebrated with a few assistants, religious sisters, and some essential personnel while Palm Sunday Mass was digitally broadcast to the rest of the people in their places of quarantine.
It's a very "strange" experience. But though it's obviously not something we would even want to become normal, as it cannot take the place of the whole human presence and physical proximity of the sacraments, I am drawn to find something "positive" and educative about these circumstances in which we find ourselves "together apart."
Jesus is still risen from the dead, and we are still members of his Church and participants in the Church's life. We remain united in the Spirit, in prayer, and in charity, while I am finding that the pastors of the Church (the ones I am blessed to know) are taking up and sharing the burdens of their people, seeking to inspire them, guide them, and pray for them with greater ardor.
I find this in my own bishop and our priests, as well as others — including some old friends who I haven't seen for a long time, who are ministering in far away places, and now I can pray with them in their churches by means of what is often a poor internet connection. It's not really the tech as such that matters; it's the creative and sometimes arduous efforts that so many are making so that we in the Church can "stay together" as much as possible in these days.
There is a desire for unity with the Lord and with one another, and special graces to express this unity through works of mercy in the ways that remain possible during the pandemic.

The Church's liturgical year still gives a constancy and unity to our lives, taking us through the perennial "remembrance" of the events of salvation that draw all of history and time into the worship of God through the definitive offering of the heart of Jesus that fills the whole world. His love gives meaning to everything. Some among us endure great suffering right now, and we are all troubled in various ways by the strange and unpredictable circumstances we are passing through. But Christ's love transforms all, and he is with us even in the most awful, incomprehensible hardships.
As I have said before, one pastor that whose ardent attention to the needs of his flock is so palpable and sustaining in these days is Pope Francis. He celebrated the Palm Sunday liturgy with a few other priests and people who assisted in essential matters in an otherwise empty Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. But the Mass was broadcast and streamed live all over the world. Estimates are that more than half a million people in Italy alone watch the Pope's daily Mass at 7:00 AM.
What mysterious graces may be at work here, in the midst of many sorrows and upheavals of these days?
Some words from the Pope's Homily for Palm Sunday:
“God saved us by serving us. We often think we are the ones who serve God. No, he is the one who freely chose to serve us, for he loved us first. It is difficult to love and not be loved in return. And it is even more difficult to serve if we do not let ourselves be served by God...
“But how did the Lord serve us? By giving his life for us... This astonishes us: God saved us by taking upon himself all the punishment of our sins. Without complaining, but with the humility, patience and obedience of a servant, and purely out of love...
“Jesus suffered betrayal... we were born to be loved and to love, and the most painful thing is to be betrayed by someone who promised to be loyal and close to us. We cannot even imagine how painful it was for God who is love.”
But Jesus “healed us by taking upon himself our infidelity and by taking from us our betrayals. Instead of being discouraged by the fear of failing, we can now look upon the crucifix, feel his embrace, and say: ‘Behold, there is my infidelity, you took it, Jesus, upon yourself. You open your arms to me, you serve me with your love, you continue to support me… And so I will keep pressing on.’”
“In today’s Gospel, Jesus says one thing from the Cross, one thing alone: 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?' (Mt 27:46). These are powerful words. Jesus had suffered the abandonment of his own, who had fled. But the Father remained for him. Now, in the abyss of solitude, for the first time he calls him by the generic name 'God.' And 'in a loud voice' he asks the most excruciating question 'why': 'Why did you too abandon me?' These words are in fact those of a Psalm (cf. 22:2); they tell us that Jesus also brought the experience of extreme desolation to his prayer. But the fact remains that he himself experienced that desolation: he experienced the utmost abandonment, which the Gospels testify to by quoting his very words: 'Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?'
“Jesus experienced total abandonment in a situation he had never before experienced in order to be one with us in everything. He did it for me, for you, to say to us: “Do not be afraid, you are not alone. I experienced all your desolation in order to be ever close to you.
“That is the extent to which Jesus served us: he descended into the abyss of our most bitter sufferings, culminating in betrayal and abandonment. Today, in the tragedy of a pandemic, in the face of the many false securities that have now crumbled, in the face of so many hopes betrayed, in the sense of abandonment that weighs upon our hearts, Jesus says to each one of us: 'Courage, open your heart to my love. You will feel the consolation of God who sustains you.'
“So, in these holy days, in our homes, let us stand before the Crucified One, the fullest measure of God’s love for us, and before the God who serves us to the point of giving his life, and let us ask for the grace to live in order to serve. May we reach out to those who are suffering and those most in need. May we not be concerned about what we lack, but what good we can do for others.”
~Pope Francis (Palm Sunday, April 5, 2020)

Published on April 05, 2020 18:28
April 3, 2020
One Year Anniversary of My Father Going Home to God
Dad passed away peacefully early in the morning on this day, one year ago, April 3, 2019.
I can't believe it's been a whole year already! We miss him very much.
I can't believe it's been a whole year already! We miss him very much.
Published on April 03, 2020 12:34
April 2, 2020
Pope Francis's Prayer to Mary, "Health of the Sick"

Published on April 02, 2020 08:01
April 1, 2020
Welcome to April 2020

Happy April 2020! Wherever this month takes us, the flowers will bloom, and Easter will come.
There is suffering and death in the world. We all have a different, more specific kind of awareness of this reality in these days as we join together in the fight for life. We are united in the effort to protect the lives of the most vulnerable among us, and (with so many unknown factors in this pandemic) to preserve our own lives and so much that is genuine and good in our societies.
We have hope, ultimately, not because of the absolute sufficiency our own power, but because God gives the measure and value to our efforts, according to love.
Death is a sorrow without parallel, but Jesus says, "I am the resurrection and the life."
Published on April 01, 2020 17:14