Seek what is above

If then you were raised with Christ,
seek what is above,
where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

Think of what is above,
not of what is on earth.

For you have died,
and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

When Christ your life appears,
then you too will appear with him in glory.

(Colossians 3:1-4 - one of the Epistles for today)

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre

The Station Churches of Lent have come to an end, but today, on this Good Friday, it is good to call to mind yet another Church involved with stations: the Stations of the Cross, the last stations of which are within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

There, just beyond the arch to the left,
is where our Lord died.

We adore You, O Christ, and we bless You
because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi,
quia per sanctam crucem tuam redemisti mundum.

The Basilica of St. John Lateran

The Lenten march of the Station Churches has come to an end as Lent gives way to the celebration of the Triduum, but we are brought yet again to the Basilica of Saint John Lateran for it is here that the Bishop of Rome begins the celebration of the Triduum, and the end of Lent, with the celebration of Holy Thursday Mass at his Cathedral and the washing of the feet.


May our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who washed the feet of his disciples, bless you and me with abundant graces during this Triduum, so that we may follow our Lord as faithful servants.

(adapted from an earlier post)

The last two stations before the Triduum

The Church of Saint Praxedes






Yesterday's Station Church.








The Basilica of Saint Mary Major







Today's Station Church...
for the second time in the season of Lent... and it is appropriate that the Station Church circuit comes here on the day before Holy Thursday, so that we can begin our celebration of the Lord's passion, death, and resurrection with the same mind and heart as that of Mary, the Sorrowful Mother of our Lord, so that we may share in the joy of the resurrection.

The Church of Saint Praxedes

Today's Station Church.

The Lord GOD is my help

The Lord GOD has given me a well-trained tongue,
that I might know how to speak to the weary
a word that will rouse them.

Morning after morning he opens my ear that I may hear;
and I have not rebelled, have not turned back.

I gave my back to those who beat me,
my cheeks to those who plucked my beard;
my face I did not shield from buffets and spitting.

The Lord GOD is my help,
therefore I am not disgraced;

I have set my face like flint,
knowing that I shall not be put to shame.

(Today's Old Testament reading Isaiah 50:4-7)

Saint John Lateran - THE Cathedral

Today's Station Church... for the second time in the season of Lent... so we've seen it already... from its triumphant exterior...

...to its magnificent nave...

But at the far end of the church, tucked in the very center of the very back, stands a stone chair... not as ornate as one might imagine.

This is the Cathedra - the Chair of the Bishop - in the Cathedral of the Diocese of Rome.

This is the Cathedra of the Pope.

For most of us, chairs are what we use to relieve our burdens, if only for a little while.

Not this chair.

This chair is itself a burden: the most fearful burden in the world, for the man who sits in it has the burden of acting and teaching and speaking as the Vicar of Christ.

At the end of all things, when Christ takes his Judgement Seat, no one will be judged more sternly than the man who sits in this chair.



May we always pray for Benedict XVI, the Bishop of Rome: that his ministry may be faithful and full of the grace, truth, and love of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, so that at the end of all things our Lord may say to him, "Well done, good and faithful servant..."

And may you and I, by the grace of Christ, carry well the burdens God has given us to bear, so that we too may hear our Lord speak to us words of joyful greeting on the Day of Judgment.

(from an earlier post)

The Basilica of Saint John at the Latin Gate

Today's Station Church.

The Church of St. Stephen on the Caelian Hill

Also known as Santo Stefano Rotondo

Today's Station Church.

Saint Apollinaris

Today's Station Church.

Saint Marcellus

Today's Station Church.

Saint Mary in Via Lata

Today's Station Church.

Saint Chrysogonus

Today's Station Church.

The Real Lazarus Effect

There is much talk this Sunday about “The Lazarus Effect”: an anti-AIDS campaign tied directly to today’s Gospel (John 11:1-45) whereby African AIDS victims are brought back from death’s door with relatively inexpensive medications.

Helping the poor and the sick are truly great acts of mercy, which we are all obliged to do.

Yet even as we help the poor, the sick, and the dying, we need to remember that the REAL Lazarus effect involves true resurrection and the power of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Rich or poor, healthy or dying, we must heed the words of Saint Paul in today’s Epistle (Romans 8:8-11):

Those who are in the flesh
cannot please God.

But you are not in the flesh;
on the contrary, you are in the spirit,
if only the Spirit of God dwells in you.

Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ
does not belong to him.

But if Christ is in you,
although the body is dead
because of sin,
the spirit is alive
because of righteousness.

If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead
dwells in you,
the one who raised Christ from the dead
will give life to your mortal bodies also,
through his Spirit dwelling in you.


Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, be merciful to me – a sinner.

Saint Peter's Basilica

Today's Station Church (for the second time in the season of Lent).

Inside this grandest of Basilicas, tucked in a corner just inside the door all the way to the right, is one of the most famous of statues, depicting a mystery we shall celebrate in a very special way, beginning seven days from now.

Saint Nicholas "in prison"

Today's Station Church.

Saint Eusebius

Today's Station Church.

Basilica of Sts. Silvester and Martin

Also known as Saint Martin in the Hills

Today's Station Church.

Saint Paul's Outside the Walls

Today's Station Church. Traditional burial place of Saint Paul the Apostle. Mosaics of all the Popes are displayed inside.

"We fear not, though the earth be shaken"

God is our refuge and our strength,
an ever-present help in distress.

Therefore we fear not, though the earth be shaken
and mountains plunge into the depths of the sea.


(from today's Responsorial Psalm 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9)

Saint Lawrence in Damaso

Today's Station Church.

The Four Holy Crowned Ones on the Caelian Hill

Santi Quattro Coronati al Celio -dedicated to the memory of four brothers, Severus, Severinus, Carpophorus, and Victorius, all Roman officials who were scourged to death under thei ancient Roman emperor Diocletian - today's Station Church.

Live as children of light

You were once darkness,
but now you are light in the Lord.

Live as children of light,
for light produces
every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth.

Try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.

Take no part in the fruitless works of darkness;
rather expose them,
for it is shameful even to mention
the things done by them in secret;
but everything exposed by the light becomes visible,
for everything that becomes visible is light.

Therefore, it says:
“Awake, O sleeper,
and arise from the dead,
and Christ will give you light.”


(Today's Epistle: Ephesians 5:8-14)

Basilica of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem

Today's Station Church.

Six years ago today

The great Pope John Paul II entered eternity.

And in less than 30 days

he will be officially recognized

as one of the Blessed.

La Chiesa di Santa Susanna

L'odierna Chiesa Stazionale (e la parrocchia statunitense 'in urbe')