Some Greeks who had come to worship at the Passover Feast
came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee,
and asked him, “Sir, we would like to see Jesus.”
Philip went and told Andrew;
then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.
Jesus answered them,
“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies,
it remains just a grain of wheat;
but if it dies, it produces much fruit.
Whoever loves his life loses it,
and whoever hates his life in this world
will preserve it for eternal life.
Whoever serves me must follow me,
and where I am, there also will my servant be.
The Father will honor whoever serves me.
“I am troubled now. Yet what should I say?
‘Father, save me from this hour’?
But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour.
Father, glorify your name.”
Then a voice came from heaven,
“I have glorified it and will glorify it again.”
The crowd there heard it and said it was thunder;
but others said, “An angel has spoken to him.”
Jesus answered and said,
“This voice did not come for my sake but for yours.
Now is the time of judgment on this world;
now the ruler of this world will be driven out.
And when I am lifted up from the earth,
I will draw everyone to myself.”
He said this indicating the kind of death he would die.
Thank you Menagerie, your devotion to God is inspiring, God bless.
Menagerie — You do the work, and we reap the Spiritual benefits. Much appreciated. God bless! 🙏
Cecil Frances Alexander, born in Ireland, (1818-1895) wrote many beautiful hymns.
She especially loved writing poems and hymns for children, helping them understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
May these simple words, full of grace and truth, encourage your heart today.
“There is a Green Hill Far Away”
1 There is a green hill far away,
Outside a city wall,
Where the dear Lord was crucified,
Who died to save us all.
2 We may not know, we cannot tell
What pains He had to bear,
But we believe it was for us
He hung and suffered there.
3 He died that we might be forgiv’n,
He died to make us good,
That we might go at last to heav’n,
Saved by His precious blood.
4 There was no other good enough
To pay the price of sin,
He only could unlock the gate
Of heav’n and let us in.
5 Oh, dearly, dearly has He loved!
And we must love Him too
And trust in His redeeming blood
And try His works to do.
Miss Della, thank you for this lovely poem. I have sent it to my grandson in law so that my great grand-daughter may learn it by heart and bless us at table some time. Miss Menagerie, thank you also for this beautiful Easter thread !
Bless you, Vince, and may the Lord God tenderly gather all of your loved ones into His eternal kingdom!
Lord, hear our prayer…
Good Morning Miss.Della.B beautiful prayer. Miss you on open thread. Be well. Peace
Bless you, light!
Take care …
My sermon today is “Preparing for the Cross” based on events manily from the Gospel of Mark. Jesus knew what was ahead for Him, yet He continued teaching, healing, delivering, feeding – all the things about doing His Father’s business. And never wavered in His commitment to save us, knowing what lay before Him. Amazing Love!
Truly He was the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world.
Thank you Menagerie for the posts about every season. I appreciate them and you.
I’m reading Mark right now. And yes it relays all the wondrous works He did, in order to glorify God.
Amen, George!
Our finite minds will never understand God’s love for us until we see Him face to face…
(Hymn: And Can It Be, Charles Wesley)
And can it be that I should gain
An int’rest in the Savior’s blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain?
For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! how can it be
That Thou, my God, should die for me?
John Hilton wrote a piece of music, Wilt Thou Forgive, which I find to be a very inspiring song and perfect for the Lenten season
come, JESUS come!
Amen!
And soon!
Additional readings for the Fifth Sunday in Lent:
Jeremiah 31: 31-34
The New Covenant
31 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. 33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
Hebrews 5:1-10
Jesus the Great High Priest
For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. 3 Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people. 4 And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was.
5 So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him,
“You are my Son,
today I have begotten you”;
6 as he says also in another place,
“You are a priest forever,
after the order of Melchizedek.”
7 In the days of his flesh, Jesus1 offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. 8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. 9 And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, 10 being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.
Mark 10:32-45
Jesus Foretells His Death a Third Time
32 And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him, 33 saying, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. 34 And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.”
The Request of James and John
35 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” 36 And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” 37 And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” 38 Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” 39 And they said to him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized, 40 but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.” 41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. 42 And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43 But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
As we approach Easter Sunday, allow me to offer The Seven Last Statements of Christ (Les Sept Paroles du Christ – often mistranslated as “The Seven Last
Wordsof Christ”) by French composer Theodore Dubois.An excellent musical meditation for Lent, and especially on Good Friday!
The Latin text and English translation are in the score-video.
Amen and G od bless us everyone.
My loving Lord,
it’s so hard to love the world sometimes
and to love it the way Jesus did seems impossible.
Help me to be inspired by his love and
guided by his example.
Most of all, I want to accept that I can’t do it alone,
and that trying is an arrogance of self-centeredness.
I need you, dear God, to give me support in this journey.
Show me how to unlock my heart
so that I am less selfish.
Let me be less fearful of the pain and darkness
that will be transformed by you into Easter joy.
Thank you for walking us through Lenten Season with love and compassion.
You have proven there is a needed spiritual place for CTH. Peace to you Menagerie
Thank you, Miss.
I have read your Lenten posts and thought about the scriptures. Thank you for this and the times I didn’t post separately to say thank you.
Thank you Menagerie.
Today is called Passion Sunday.
Passion Sunday Passion Sunday is thus named because on this day the Pharisees and the chief priests in council came to the conclusion to put our Lord to death, because on the Friday before he raised Lazarus from the grave and they came on Saturday and told it in the temple.
The Sabbath ended at sundown among the. Jews. When the sun went down that day their Sabbath was finished. The day before Lazarus was raised from the dead. It was the first day of the month, toward evening, and they resolved to put our Lord to death. For that reason he hid himself, and to commemorate these things, toward evening, the Saturday before Passion Sunday, we veil the cross, the pictures and the images in our churches. Thus after the seven weeks of the Septuagesima season and of Lent, which typify the seven different ages of the world, we now come to the preparation for the death and funeral of our Lord.
Two weeks are devoted to his passion, because he suffered for two peoples, the Jews and the gentiles; because he was foretold to come in the two conditions of God’s people, before the law of Moses and after the giving of the law. Again, there are two weeks as there are two Testaments, one before he came and one in which he suffered. Thus there are two weeks, one before he suffered and the other in which he was put to death.
~The Festal Year, Father James Luke Meagher, 18 October 1883
Could you offer more on “the seven different ages of the world”?
Thank you for your post.
In honor of St Patrick’s Day,. Our Lady ok Knock sung by Cathy Maguire.
Beautiful.
Thank you. Beautiful. For anyone unfamiliar with Our Lady of Knock.
https://www.knockshrine.ie/history/
Oh, that more reverent words, as those from the Gospels, were publicly stated.
Who can know the power & reach of them?
The hate-filled, lurid materials that are spoken, written & acted out presently, have brought us the misery we now endure.
Thank you for publishing & disseminating the Word of the Lord.