The Turning Point

THIS YEAR April sees us still in Lent, with Easter right at the end. We are therefore in the midst of that transition from sorrow to joy that lies at the heart of the Christian faith. It is what a great writer has called the ‘eucatastrophe’, the good turning point when the darkness turns to dawn, when death is swallowed up in victory.



What does Anthony have to teach us on the Sundays of Passiontide and Easter? For him, the season of the Passion began on the fifth Sunday in Lent, when the verse, “Glory be to the Father, etc.” ceased to be sung at certain points in the Liturgy, and when the crosses and statues began to be veiled. The mystical significance of Christ’s suffering and death was explained in the Epistle to the Hebrews, which speaks of the High-Priesthood of our Lord. Just as, in the Old Dispensation, the High-Priest entered the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement with the blood of sacrifice, so in the New Dispensation Christ has passed beyond the veil with His own Precious Blood.





Crossing the river





This is at the heart of our Faith, and Anthony knows it well. “The human race was poor, despoiled of grace and wounded in its natural powers, and it remained so, without anyone to help it. Then Christ came and stood by, helping it by loosing its sins.” (Sermons, I, 192) A well-known image for passing from this world to the next is ‘crossing the river’ because the Israelites had to cross the river Jordan to enter the Promised Land. The Saint imagines this mortal world as one bank of the river, while the other is that of eternal life. “Between them flows an impassible river, our iniquity and misery.” But Jesus Christ is “a pontiff, a bridge-builder, for those who follow his way.” Indeed, He is actually the bridge, “from the bank of our mortality to that of his own immortality. He was like a plank laid across, for us to pass over to take possession of the good things to come.”



In this very vivid way, Anthony teaches us that it is by a Person, and not simply by a set of rules, that we are brought into union with God. Jesus Himself is the way; He is not simply the teacher of a way. We come to the Father, the source of all goodness and its completion, only through and with Jesus, our friend and brother.



On Palm Sunday, we recall our Lord’s entry into Jerusalem. In a real sense, it was a royal progress, as the prophet says, “Behold thy king will come too thee... poor and riding upon an ass.” Jesus came to His people – to Israel and to the whole human race – not in majesty but in poverty and humility. “Because Adam, in Paradise, would not serve the Lord,” says Anthony, “the Lord took the form of a servant, to serve the servant, so that henceforth the servant might not be ashamed to serve the Lord.” (Sermons, I, 218)





The donkey





Anthony often had harsh criticism for the Church leaders of his day, who were frequently drawn from wealthy and noble families, and seemed more concerned for their social position than for the Gospel. The Saint sought to put them in their place by reminding them that they were only like the donkey on which the Lord rode into Jerusalem! “Oh! Would that clergy and religious would receive, and like meek animals carry, such a king, such a rider! Then they might be worthy to enter with him the Jerusalem above.” It certainly does us no harm to think of ourselves as just the lowly beasts who carry Christ to others!



The prayer with which the Saint concludes his meditation on Palm Sunday is very beautiful, and we could well use it during Holy Week:



“We pray you, blessed Jesus: make us draw nigh to Jerusalem by your faith and love. Bring us from the village of our pilgrimage back to you. Rest upon our souls as our King, so that with the children you have chosen out of this world, your Apostles, we may be found worthy to bless, praise and glorify you in the holy city of eternal blessedness. Grant this, you to whom be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.”





Three virtues





And so we come to Easter. Our meditation is directed to the holy women, going with spices to the tomb, as they thought to give proper burial to the Lord. Instead, they found the stone rolled away, the tomb empty, and an angelic messenger who told them that the Lord was risen! The story is so familiar, so that each year we must ask ourselves how we can come to it with fresh insight, fresh devotion.



Anthony invites us to identify ourselves with the women, who personify in a way three virtues that we must cultivate. These are humility, a lack of concern for worldly values, and joyful peace of mind. True humility is self-forgetfulness, because all our attention is centred on the Lord, and on what He wants for us. What He wants for all His people is not worldly success, but simply that they love one another. And from such love, love for the Christ we see in one another, there comes both joy and peace.



Easter is essentially a festival of transition: it is the Passover, the Exodus. For as long as we live, this transition is taking place in us. When we were baptised we passed from darkness into God’s marvellous light. Our earthly existence is ‘in transit’. When we die, we shall pass from time into eternity. This could be a frightening thought, unless we remember that we do it in the company of Jesus our Lord. If we have made Him our Friend in the days of our pilgrimage, we shall not be afraid when He calls us into His presence. But if we have neglected His friendship, if (worst of all) we have rejected His friendship, then we may well fear.





New pilgrims





In England, this Eastertide, many groups of people will be entering the full communion of the Catholic Church through the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. Because they have long been Christians, followers of Jesus, this will in one way not be a big step. It will simply mark a fresh phase of their discipleship. But in another way it will be a big step. Many of them will be quite nervous about it. Thanks to the imaginative provision of the Holy Father, they are able to take this step as groups of friends, supporting one another. They know that their previous steps along the road are not being denied or devalued. They will be bringing with them spiritual treasures to share with the Church at large. Wherever you are in the world – in Australia, Canada or elsewhere – please keep these pilgrims in your thoughts and prayers through Passiontide and Easter. Their Passover is a foreshadowing of the Passover we all look forward to, into the full Communion of Saints in heaven.