Tuesday After Easter 2012

Jesus Ascends into heaven

[Watercolor by James Tissot 1836-1902]

Luke 24: 44-53

Then he told them (the Apostles), 'This is what I meant when I said, while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses, in the Prophets and in the Psalms, has to be fulfilled'. He then opened their minds to understand the scriptures and he said to them, 'So you see how it is written that the Christ would suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that, in his name, repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be preached to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses to this. And now I am sending down to you what the Father has promised. Stay in the city then, until you are clothed with the power from on high.'

Then he took them (and his disciples) out as far as the outskirts of Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. Now as he blessed them, he withdrew from them and was carried up to heaven. They worshiped him and then went back to Jerusalem full of joy; and they were continually in the Temple praising God.

_________________________________________

Notes:

1) Bible verses used in this post are from The Jerusalem Bible, Copyright 1966, Doubleday and Company, Inc. Garden city, New York.

2) The image above is of a watercolor painting by French artist James Tissot (1836-1902). This faithful photographic reproduction of a original two-dimensional work of art. is in the Public Domain and was downloaded  from the personal digital collection of Dr. Ralph F. Wilson, Director of Joyful Heart Renewal Ministries.  Dr. Wilson granted Humble Blogger permission to use images from his collection in this Blog during Holy Week 2012.

Easter Monday 2012

Jesus' apostles haul in 153 fish after a night catching nothing

[Watercolor by James Tissot 1836-1902]

John 21:1-8

Later on, Jesus showed himself again to the disciples.  It was by the Sea of Tiberias, and it happened like this: Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee and two more of the disciples were together.  Simon Peter said. 'I'm going fishing'. They replied, 'We'll come with you'. They went out and got into the boat but caught nothing that night.

It was light by now and there stood Jesus on the shore, thought the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.  Jesus called out, 'Have you caught anything friends?' And when they answered 'No', he said, 'Throw the net out to starboard and you'll find something'.  So they dropped the net, and there were so many fish that they could not haul it in.  The disciple Jesus loved (John) said to Peter, 'It is the Lord'.  At these words 'It is the Lord', Simon Peter, who had practically nothing on, wrapped his cloak round him and jumped into the water.  The other disciples came on in the boat, towing the net and the fish; they were only about a hundred yards from land.

Jesus cooks breakfast for his disciples

[Watercolor by James Tissot 1836-1902]

John 21:9-14

As soon as they came ashore they saw that there was some bread there, and a charcoal fire with fish cooking on it.  Jesus said 'Bring some of the fish you have just caught'. Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net to the shore, full of big fish, one hundred and fifty-three of them; and in spite of there being so many the net was not broken.  Jesus said to them, 'Come and have breakfast', None of the disciples was bold enough to ask, 'Who are you?'; they knew quite well it was the Lord.  Jesus then stepped forward, took the bread and gave it to them, and the same with the fish. This was the third time that Jesus showed himself to the disciples after rising from the dead.

____________________________________

Notes:

1) Bible verses used in this post are from The Jerusalem Bible, Copyright 1966, Doubleday and Company, Inc. Garden city, New York.

2) The images above are of watercolor paintings by French artist James Tissot (1836-1902). These faithful photographic reproductions of original two-dimensional works of art. are in the Public Domain and were downloaded  from the personal digital collection of Dr. Ralph F. Wilson, Director of Joyful Heart Renewal Ministries.  Dr. Wilson granted Humble Blogger permission to use images from his collection in this Blog during Holy Week 2012

Easter Sunday 2012

Jesus Rises from the Dead

[Watercolor by James Tissot 1836-1902]

The Angel tells the Holy Women that Jesus has risen

[Watercolor by James Tissot 1836-1902]

Mark 16:1-8

When the Sabbath was over, Mary of Magdala, Mary the mother of James, and Salome, brought spices with which to go and anoint him.  And very early in the morning on the first day of the week they went to the tomb, just as the sun was rising.

They had been saying to one another, 'Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?'  But when they looked they could see that the stone, which was very big, had already been rolled back. On entering the tomb they saw a young man in a white robe seated on the right-hand side, and they were struck with amazement.  But he said to them, 'There is no need for alarm.  You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified:  he has risen, he is not here.  See, here is the place where they laid him.  But you must go and tell his disciples and Peter, "He is going before you to Galilee; it is there you will see him, just as he told you".'  And the women came out and ran away from the tomb because they were frightened out of their wits; and they said nothing to a soul, for they were afraid...

_______________________________________

Notes:

1) Bible verses used in this post are from The Jerusalem Bible, Copyright 1966, Doubleday and Company, Inc. Garden city, New York.

2) The images above are of watercolor paintings by French artist James Tissot (1836-1902). These faithful photographic reproductions of original two-dimensional works of art. are in the Public Domain and were downloaded  from the personal digital collection of Dr. Ralph F. Wilson, Director of Joyful Heart Renewal Ministries.  Dr. Wilson granted Humble Blogger permission to use images from his collection in this Blog during Holy Week 2012.

Holy Saturday 2012

Mary of Magdala and Mary the Mother of 
Joset watch at the tomb of Jesus
[Watercolor by James Tissot 1836-1902]

Mark 15:42-47

It was now (Friday) evening and since it was preparation Day, that is the vigil of the Sabbath, there came Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council who himself lived in the hope of seeing the kingdom of God, and he boldly went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.  Pilate, astonished that he should have died so soon, summoned the centurion and enquired if he was already dead.  having been assured of this by the centurion, he granted the corpse to Joseph who bought a shroud, took Jesus down from the cross, wrapped him in the shroud and laid him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock.  He then rolled a stone against the entrance to the tomb.  Mary of Magdala and Mary the mother of Joset were watching and took note of where he was laid.

Roman Soldiers watch over the tomb where Jesus was laid
[Watercolor by James Tissot 1836-1902]

______________________________________

Notes:

1) Bible verses used in this post are from The Jerusalem Bible, Copyright 1966, Doubleday and Company, Inc. Garden city, New York.

2) The images above are of watercolor paintings by French artist James Tissot (1836-1902). These faithful photographic reproductions of original two-dimensional works of art. are in the Public Domain and were downloaded  from the personal digital collection of Dr. Ralph F. Wilson, Director of Joyful Heart Renewal Ministries.  Dr. Wilson granted Humble Blogger permission to use images from his collection in this Blog during Holy Week 2012

Good Friday 2012

What Jesus saw from the Cross

[Watercolor by James Tissot 1836-1902]

Mark 15: 33-39

When the sixth hour came (noon) there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour (3 pm). And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, , 'Eloi, Eloi lama sabachthani?' which means 'My God, my God, why have you deserted me?'  When some of those who stood by heard this, they said, 'Listen he is calling on Elijah' Someone ran and soaked a sponge in vinegar and,  putting it on a reed, gave it him to drink saying, 'Wait and see if Elijah will come to take him down'.  But Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last.  And the veil of the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom.  The centurion, who was standing in front of him had seen how he had died, and he said, 'In truth this man was a son of God'.

__________________________________________

Notes: 

1) Bible verses used in this post are from The Jerusalem Bible, Copyright 1966, Doubleday and Company, Inc. Garden city, New York.

2) The image above is of a watercolor painting by French artist James Tissot (1836-1902). This faithful photographic reproduction of an original two-dimensional work of art is in the Public Domain and was downloaded from the personal digital collection of Dr. Ralph F. Wilson, Director of Joyful Heart Renewal Ministries.  Dr. Wilson granted Humble Blogger permission to use images from his collection in this Blog during Holy Week 2012

Holy Thursday 2012

Judas leads the armed men toward the 

Garden of Gethsemane and Jesus

[Watercolor by James Tissot 1836-1902]

Mark 14:43-44

Even while he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, came up with a number of men armed with swords and clubs, sent by the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. Now the traitor had arranged a signal with them, 'The one I kiss,' he said 'he is the man.  Take him in charge, and see he is well guarded when you lead him away.'

Judas betrays Jesus with a kiss

[Watercolor by James Tissot 1836-1902]

Mark 14:45-47

So when (Judas) the traitor came, he went straight up to Jesus and said, 'Rabbi!' and kissed him. The others seized him and took him in charge. Then one of the bystanders drew his sword and struck out at the high priest's servant, and cut off his ear.

Jesus' apostles and followers desert Him

[Watercolor by James Tissot 1836-1902]

Mark 14:48-51

Then Jesus spoke. 'Am I a brigand' he said 'that you had to set out to capture me with swords and clubs?  I was among you teaching in the Temple day after day and you never laid hands on me.  But this is to fulfil the scriptures.' And they all deserted him and ran away.

_____________________________________

Notes: 

1) Bible verses used in this post are from The Jerusalem Bible, Copyright 1966, Doubleday and Company, Inc. Garden city, New York.

2) The images above are of watercolor paintings by French artist James Tissot (1836-1902), These faithful photographic reproductions of original two-dimensional works of art. are in the Public Domain and were downloaded  from the personal digital collection of Dr. Ralph F. Wilson, Director of Joyful Heart Renewal Ministries.  Dr. Wilson granted Humble Blogger permission to use images from his collection in this Blog during Holy Week 2012

Palm Sunday 2012

The Procession of Jesus in The Temple
[Watercolor by James Tissot 1836-1902]

Mark 11:1-11

When they were approaching Jerusalem, in sight of Bethphage and Bethany, close by the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples and said to them 'Go off to the village facing you, and as soon as you enter it you will find a tethered colt that no one has yet ridden.  Untie it and bring it here. If anyone says to you, "What are you doing?" say, "The Master needs it and will send it back here directly",' They went off and found a colt tethered near a door in the open street.  As they untied it, some men standing there said, 'What are you doing, untying that colt?' They gave the answer Jesus had told them, and the men let them go. They they took the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on its back, and he sat on it. Many people spread their cloaks on the road, others greenery which they had cut in the fields.  And those who went in front and those who followed were all shouting, ' Hosanna! Blessings on him who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessings on the coming kingdom of our father David!  Hosanna in the highest heavens!'  He entered Jerusalem and went into the Temple.  He looked all round him, but as it was now late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve

_______________________________________

Notes:

1) Bible verses used in this post are from The Jerusalem Bible, Copyright 1966, Doubleday and Company, Inc. Garden city, New York.

2) The image above and others in this Holy Week 2012 series of Blog Posts, are of watercolor paintings by James Jacques Joseph Tissot, French impressionist painter and illustrator (1836-1902) I downloaded the images of Tissot's paintings from a digital collection assembled by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson, Director of Joyful Heart Renewal Ministries He generously granted me permission to download and use the images in this Blog.  The images are in Public Domain so there are no copyright issues. 

3) James Tissot: "During the mid-1880s, Tissot experienced a religious revelation which led him to spend the rest of his life illustrating the Bible. He traveled to the Middle East in 1886, 1889, and 1896 to make studies of the landscape and people. His series of 365 gouache (watercolor) illustrations showing the life of Christ were shown to critical acclaim and enthusiastic audiences in Paris (1894-5), London (1896) and New York (1898-9), before being bought by the Brooklyn Museum in 1900. They were published in a French edition in 1896-7 and in an English one in 1897-8. Tissot spent the last years of his life working on paintings of subjects from the Old Testament (Jewish Museum, New York). Although he never completed the series, he exhibited 80 of them in Paris in 1901 and engravings after them were published in 1904. Tissot died in Doubs, France in 1902, while living in the Château de Buillon, which he had inherited from his father in 1888"  (The biographical text between quotes  is from Wikipedia )

Detail of a self-portrait of  James Tissot on silk (1898)
[Image is in Public Domain downloaded from Wikipedia]

Ash Wednesday 2012

Ash Wednesday begins today for (us) Catholics.  Many will attend Mass in a Catholic Church and receive ashes on the forehead as shown on this young woman below.  The ashes are obtained from burning the previous year's dried palm branches (left over from Palm Sunday and/or from parishioner's homes) and are blessed by the priest.  The ashes are applied by the priest and/or a lay person with a thumb dipped in the container of ashes while saying one of three prayers:

1) Remember, O man, that you are dust, and unto dust you shall return. (Genesis 3:19)
2) Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel. (Mark 1:15)
3) Repent, and hear the good news.

Usually a perfect cross is not the final result as shown here.  More like a black smudge. Brave individuals will wear the ashes the entire day at their place of business or school as a sign of humility and sacrifice at the start of the 40 day Lenten period.  In former years, the practice was so common that few questions would be asked of the ash wearer.  Today, the wearer would receive a few strange looks and possibly lots of questions.

A young woman with a cross of ashes applied to her forehead

[Photo by Jennifer Balaska, on Ash Wednesday 2/25/09 and released into public domain via wikipedia.org ]