On this Good Friday, I think that this expresses how I feel right now. I found it on my Facebook the other day, from years ago. I cannot recall the context of why I posted it, but I can clearly see its point right now.
At this moment in time we may feel imprisoned in our isolation, but may we always feel a sense of hope.
May you and yours be blessed as we move through this Triduum in ways we could not have imagined.
Some thoughts from me as we enter this most unusual Triduum.
Typical albergue scene. That’s my friend Deb in the albergue with the “FOOT CARE AREA.” Quite naturally, her feet are up!
When on Camino, normal – no, typical behaviors shift. Normal implies they must be the right thing to do; typical indicates what is generally done. At night as you sleep in rooms chock-a-block with wobbly bunkbeds, all sorts of noises erupt from the bodies around you – and perhaps from within you. Snoring, the expulsion of gas, mutterings from those in wild dream, or just two pilgrims who whisper into the night to one another.
Something that is highly normative on Camino is people showing their totally screwed up feet to one another. Taking your shoes off in a cafe or restaurant does not merit a raised eyebrow, it happens all the time. Blisters Continue reading
The Sacred Triduum begins today; three days connected to the death and resurrection of Christ. On this day we celebrate the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, Holy Thursday. We remember the Last Supper, and when Jesus was arrested, with his path now evident. Many of his disciples would abandon him. Part of the problem, and not an unreasonable issue, was that his followers wanted Continue reading
La Ultima Cena (The Last Supper), The Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption of the Virgin, Cusco, Peru
Today’s Gospel from Matthew reminds us of something that we all have to deal with – our denial of Christ. No, we may not be Judas Iscariot, ready to turn Christ over for 30 pieces of silver, but we all have our moments whether we can admit it or not.
No one likes to believe that we would abandon Jesus, but we all do it in various ways, often unknown to ourselves. Little acts, moments of indifference, a lack of generosity – these are all the elements of our own “surely it is not I” moments. Then of course there are the larger things
The Sacred Triduum begins tomorrow on Holy Thursday. Because this particular line of the Gospel has been on my heart all week, I am planning on trying to be more aware of my own “not I” actions. I’m not sure how I will do, but awareness is the first step. May your days of the Triduum be blessed, and may we all see more deeply into the life that God calls us to, dying to self and rising in new life.
My friend Kevin Ahern, who is a theologian and ethicist said this on Twitter on Holy Thursday. I found the photo and added the text to it as a reminder of what forms crucifixion comes in. Systematic violence is inherently challenging because it is systematic. We “need” to do this, what are the “alternatives” if we do not do this, we will “get” the bad guys, and so forth.
As Jesus Christ hung on a cross he was flanked by a cross on each side. Crucified next to him were two thieves, and to one, the one who asked for help, Christ promised heaven.
There is no reconciling or rationalizing violence and death. Even when it is done to us, did we not receive the greatest lesson in not retaliating? I get the desire to retaliate, but what about the consequences? What will we choose this Triduum? To follow the Prince of Peace, the great reconciler and restorer of order and good? Or will we follow the path of crucifixion and death? The choice is ours, even if we wait until the last minute. Yes or no? To crucify or to be crucified? Yes or no? What will we choose?
On this Holy Thursday, let us remember that where there is charity and love, God is there. God is always present, but in charity and love, the presence of God is made real. To love others, to serve others, to walk courageously with Christ, no matter what we face… this is our way of life.
However, we all fall asleep, get distracted, we can’t face the hardest truths, we do not always love as we have been loved. Yet, all it takes is one moment in which our avoidance, our fear, our absence all turns towards the One. A single yes uttered in a sea littered with the refuse of a lifetime of no no no can change everything. It does not have to happen in church, it might be a hello to a stranger, coffee for a homeless person, opening the door for that annoying neighbor and inviting them in instead of pretending not to be home. The charity and love of the word yes, typically a yes uttered in the face of resistance is the inbreaking of the divine.
The simple repeated chant of this Ubi caritas from Taize is a prayer for all of us. Where will charity and love be present today? The answer lies with each of us. Love one another, serve one another. May the blessings of Holy Thursday and the Triduum be with you all, may the eternal love of Christ guide us today and always.
Ubi caritas et amor,
ubi caritas,
Deus ibi est.
(Where there is charity and love,
God is there.)
A question has nagged me all during Lent, and now sits front and center on Good Friday. That question is: why do we kill one another?
Well, why do we kill one another? The Fifth Commandment states: “You shall not kill.” This seems very clear, but as human beings we seem to find numerous ways to rationalize a great deal of killing, and even more ways of denial when it comes to deaths we might be able to prevent. Consider how poverty, hunger, drugs, lack of medical care, human trafficking, the death penalty, torture, and war are the tip of the iceberg.
People die every day and not all of them are killed, but we will focus on those who are killed. I’m going to back up for a moment and pose my original question again: why do we kill one another?
We kill one another all the time, and seemingly with great ease. A few things that come to mind are the great bargains on the clothes we like to wear, getting good prices on flights, putting out-of-season produce on our tables, shaking our heads – whether with Continue reading
Have you ever gotten a pedicure on or near Holy Thursday because you knew that your feet would be washed at the Mass of the Lord’s Passion? Yes people, it is true, vanity reigned, and I made sure that my feet would look OK before I let someone wash them at church.
Yes, I know… when you do it, it’s one thing, and when you write about it or read about it, it is another thing. Did you hear me Continue reading
Today is a day of suffering and death. Whether we realize it or not, both suffering and death unite us; these are things we all share, whether we want to or not. And who wants to suffer or die? Or to watch those whom we love, suffer or die? And then there is betrayal.
Rich, poor, black, white, Catholic, atheist, Republican, Democrat, liberal, conservative. We all suffer, we all die. And most likely, we are all betrayed at some point in our lives; generally more than once, and in ways that shock and astound us.
What kind of God would want to come to be one of us and experience all of these things? I can’t imagine, but I am deeply grateful for a God who has done this for us. This is not about the hairshirt, making ourselves suffer, and other self-inflicted atonement related choices. I actually am not down with that, if you pardon my choice of phrase. Remember, we did discuss that at the beginning of Lent.
The two photos are from the blog, Jerusalem Hills Daily Photo, where Dina serves up photos, information, and wisdom. You can read more about what these photos are by going over there. Hint: only evidence of crucifixion. Not Jesus’ crucifixion though.)
Given that we are all faced with such things, I am grateful for a God that unites with us in suffering and death, and then offers the gift of eternal life. That all sounds nice, but the reality is that there is so much pain out there, I see it everywhere. And then I wonder , is there hope also? I can’t help but hold onto it, like a piece of styrofoam keeping me afloat on a tumultuous sea.
This day makes no sense in so many ways, no matter what I have just said. And yet, conversely, without this day, life as I understand it makes no sense at all either.
There Will Be Bread 
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