Daughters
Walking the Via Dolorosa to Golgotha, Jesus speaks to the women,
"Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me" (Luke 23:28).
This eighth station of the Cross in time reveals to us
how we are seen in the eyes of our Suffering Savior.
In the midst of His agonizing Via Dolorosa, He claims us for His own.
We are His daughters and re-present ourselves as such
each time we encounter the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass,
where the unbloody 'Calvary of the Altar' unfolds until the end of time.
Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you were born, I consecrated you.
Jeremiah 1:6
Veronica
Our Church is a Mother, and as such, has seen to it that
Her children come into the friendship of this daughter of the Church, Saint Veronica.
As we make our pilgrimage through the sixth station of the Cross,
we find a woman who has braved the angry mob to the place where Jesus suffers.
She offers Him a cloth, a simple veil, to wipe His face~
a simple gesture of love and compassion.
In return, our Lord gifts her with an image of His face.
'Veronica' is overcome with mercy
as she sees the image of her Lord,
a true, 'forget-me-not, as a remnant of love on her veil.
'Veronica' is a name that inspires daughters
to become the very fabric of the Divine Indwelling.
As a sacristan prepares the altar for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass,
daughters of Veronica are attentive to a life of devotion and prayer,
so that out of love, they are prepared to respond where it is that
Our Lord remains with us 'always until the end of time'. Matthew 28:20
Eucharistic
In the Sacred Scriptures, in John 4:10, we discover our Lord speaking to a Samaritan woman who has lost her way, 'If you but knew the gift of God'.
As daughter sacristans, we respond to this 'gift of God' in the Eucharist,
by partaking of the life of devotion, prayer, and catechesis.
By living a Sacramental life, we grow to know Him and love Him,
so that we may serve Him in this life well,
in the hope that we may be with Him one day, in heaven.
Stewardship
The faithful steward is the servant who offers all she has for the fruits of eternal life.
Being entrusted with the work of a sacristan,
the daughters of veronica are attentive
to preparing for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
They are trained to prepare the altar, care for the sacred linens, and
attend to the Blessed Sacrament Chapel for Adoration.
Theirs is a daily spiritual work of mercy in the life of prayer,
daily examination of conscience, monthly Sacramental Confessions, monthly Adoration, and daily catechesis through spiritual reading and Sacred Scripture.
Saint Therese, the Little Flower, loved serving our Lord as a sacristan.
Seeing her reflection in the ciborium,
she knew that the Good God would soon rest there.
Written by Sharon M. Willoughby
Copyright ©2010
"Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me" (Luke 23:28).
This eighth station of the Cross in time reveals to us
how we are seen in the eyes of our Suffering Savior.
In the midst of His agonizing Via Dolorosa, He claims us for His own.
We are His daughters and re-present ourselves as such
each time we encounter the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass,
where the unbloody 'Calvary of the Altar' unfolds until the end of time.
Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you were born, I consecrated you.
Jeremiah 1:6
Veronica
Our Church is a Mother, and as such, has seen to it that
Her children come into the friendship of this daughter of the Church, Saint Veronica.
As we make our pilgrimage through the sixth station of the Cross,
we find a woman who has braved the angry mob to the place where Jesus suffers.
She offers Him a cloth, a simple veil, to wipe His face~
a simple gesture of love and compassion.
In return, our Lord gifts her with an image of His face.
'Veronica' is overcome with mercy
as she sees the image of her Lord,
a true, 'forget-me-not, as a remnant of love on her veil.
'Veronica' is a name that inspires daughters
to become the very fabric of the Divine Indwelling.
As a sacristan prepares the altar for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass,
daughters of Veronica are attentive to a life of devotion and prayer,
so that out of love, they are prepared to respond where it is that
Our Lord remains with us 'always until the end of time'. Matthew 28:20
Eucharistic
In the Sacred Scriptures, in John 4:10, we discover our Lord speaking to a Samaritan woman who has lost her way, 'If you but knew the gift of God'.
As daughter sacristans, we respond to this 'gift of God' in the Eucharist,
by partaking of the life of devotion, prayer, and catechesis.
By living a Sacramental life, we grow to know Him and love Him,
so that we may serve Him in this life well,
in the hope that we may be with Him one day, in heaven.
Stewardship
The faithful steward is the servant who offers all she has for the fruits of eternal life.
Being entrusted with the work of a sacristan,
the daughters of veronica are attentive
to preparing for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
They are trained to prepare the altar, care for the sacred linens, and
attend to the Blessed Sacrament Chapel for Adoration.
Theirs is a daily spiritual work of mercy in the life of prayer,
daily examination of conscience, monthly Sacramental Confessions, monthly Adoration, and daily catechesis through spiritual reading and Sacred Scripture.
Saint Therese, the Little Flower, loved serving our Lord as a sacristan.
Seeing her reflection in the ciborium,
she knew that the Good God would soon rest there.
Teresa Satola
Fine Sacred Art
http://web.mac.com/feldblume/teresasatola/Merchandise/Entries/2008/2/21_St._Th%C3%A9r%C3%A8se_as_a_Sacristan_files/droppedImage_1.jpg
Written by Sharon M. Willoughby
Copyright ©2010
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