Wednesday in the Fourth Week of Lent

We pray through a Lenten reflection on the Sanctus and what it means to join the worship of heaven at Mass. We unpack the biblical meaning of holy so we can approach Jesus as both friend and the thrice-holy Almighty.
• opening Lent prayers and daily offering through the Immaculate Heart of Mary
• what the Sanctus is and how it echoes Isaiah, Revelation and Palm Sunday
• the meaning of kadosh as consecrated and set apart
• why “holy, holy, holy” signals God’s complete otherness and glory
• holding together friendship with Jesus and awe before Almighty God
If you found this time of prayer and reflection fruitful and would like more opportunities to grow in your faith this land, consider joining the Cristeros and purchasing our Lenten Reflection booklet, now available on Amazon.com.
The Cristeros app is available on the Apple app and Google Play Store.
More information on the Cristeros can be found at theCristeros.org.

Transcript

What The Sanctus Is

Holy In Hebrew Means Set Apart

Friend Of God Or Almighty Lord

Closing Prayer And Ways To Join

SPEAKER_00 0:03

Wednesday in the fourth week of Lent. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. O God, come to my assistance. O Lord, make haste to help me. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day, in union with the holy sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, for the remission of my sins, for the intentions of my family and friends, and in particular for the intentions of the Holy Father. Amen. Sanctus. At the end of the preface comes another angelic hymn. Taken from Isaiah 6, Revelation 4, and Matthew 21, it gives us a chance to participate in the heavenly and angelic worship of God as well as the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. With the angels and those who knew Jesus as the new high priest come to save his people from sin, we can adore him as the thrice holy one, truly God and truly man. A better understanding of the word holy will naturally be helpful here. Holy sanctus has roots back to the Hebrew word kadosh. This word means consecrated, set aside, separate, different, distinct. To call something holy, then is to say it is different from the mundane and profane. It is set aside and different, other than. Additionally, Hebrew did not have a way to express comparatives, such as holier, and superlatives, such as holiest. It would instead repeat a word for emphasis, holy, holy, holy. By proclaiming God and here, Jesus, as holy, holy, holy, then, the angels, the Jerusalem pilgrims, and now we are saying that God and Jesus are not only the holiest, but the most other, the most different, the most set aside and consecrated. This should impress upon us how exalted God is. He is not simply one God among a pantheon. He is not simply of our own inventing and making. He is totally above and beyond us, even if he has gone through the effort of becoming like us in all things but sin. He is the holy, holy, holy one. And yet, how often we settle for a God who is familiar, who is just like a buddy. Yes, Jesus has not called us slaves but friends. That is true, but that should never make us forget that He is also the Almighty God, wonderful and awesome to behold, tremendous and terrible in power. Truly, then, we not only call him holy at this moment, but also the Blessed One who comes in the name of the Lord, Blessed One being another title for God in the Scriptures, as a further reminder not only of his priesthood, but also of his omnipotence. Do you ever think of God as your friend? What about as your God, or as Almighty, wonderful in power and unsurpassable? All that I have, and all that I am, I give to your hands, Jesus, through the heart of Mary, your blessed mother. Amen. Sacred heart of Jesus, have mercy on us. Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. If you found this time of prayer and reflection fruitful and would like more opportunities to grow in your faith this land, consider joining the Cristeros and purchasing our Lenten Reflection booklet, now available on Amazon.com. The Cristeros app is available on the Apple app and Google Play Store. More information on the Cristeros can be found at theCristeros.org.