Holy Thursday

Today the Church begins the Triduum - the three holiest days of the Christian year - Holy Thursday - Good Friday - Holy Saturday with the Easter Vigil. Three days in which we are asked to spend extra time reflecting on our personal relationship with God. Today the focus is on the beginning of the priesthood and Holy Eucharist. Two very significant events in Christian history. The celebration focuses on Holy Thursday Mass - held in the evening - parishioners gathered with pregnant expectation - the washing of the feet of the twelve - an inspiring homily in which the faithful are filled with the joy and wonder of the mystery of the Triduum.

Jesus continues to call each of us - closer to Him - closer to His Father - closer to the Holy Spirit. Time is running short - celebrate and rejoice tonight - tomorrow - a day of sadness - guilt - repentance. How will you spend these three Holy Days?

Deacon Dale 

April Fools

 April Fool's Day - the first day of April - a day filled with pranks and hoaxes - jokes played upon friend and foe alike. Although not an official holiday - celebrated around the world - Italy - India - England - France - Australia - Brazil - Canada - the USA. A day for individuals - businesses - to prank each other - in good spirits - for fun - for laughs. The custom of marking one day - April 1st - as a day of harmless pranks - recognized everywhere - early observances - the Roman festival of Hilaria - the Holi festival of India - the Medieval Feast of Fools.

The fact that April Fool's Day falls during Holy Week - a contradiction of beliefs? How can one be frivolous and somber - spiritual at the same time?  The joke - to rejoice in - the defeat of all that is good and holy - evil pranked - April Fool - Jesus is ALIVE!  His death not a joke - His ressurection - the reality. Through GRACE - each of us - given the strength to walk this Holy Week - heads up - not down - our Saviour LIVES!  HaHa SATAN - Fooled You!

Deacon Dale 

Pointy Hats and Robes

Pointy hats and robes - startling to see - mean different things to each of us. In Monday's post I discussed the beginning of Holy Week - all the activities and celebrations to be observed during this holiest week of the year. To make a point - to startle - to open eyes - the celebration photo I selected showed a group of people clad in various colored robes - white - red - purple - all wearing pointy head coverings. As an American - at first sight - some would think that was a photo of a group that many in America find very un-Christian. That is not who those are - shown in the photo - these are people from Spain - celebrating - Semana Santa - Holy Week. Those in the garments - men who belong to various Catholic brotherhoods - deeply spiritual men - observing a tradition that dates as far back as the late 1100's - pennitents - wearing the nazareno - penitential robe - consisting of a tunic - hood with a conical tip - capirote - used to hide the face of the wearer - often with a cloak. Dating from medieval Spain - this tradition continues today - a very serious - holy time of year for the men who belong to the different brotherhoods. Processions - led through the towns - often with large statues - paso - on the shoulders of the penitents - some in chains - offering a public act of penance.  Many towns we visited - each their own giant display.

Salamanca, Spain

During this week - Jesus asks us - as individuals - to seriously reflect on our relationship with  Him - to contemplate the sacrifice He made for each of us. He does not demand we wear robes - nor chains - only to change our hearts - to be Christ like. He asks that we honestly consider -  the precious gift of salvation - at no expense to ourselves - paid in full - by the price - of His blood.

Deacon Dale 

Holy Week

Holy Week began with Sunday's observance of Palm Sunday - Passion Sunday - the Passion of Christ - now on Monday - we contemplate the mystery - the reason - the significance. One could spend a lifetime - trying to wrap their head around - understand - comprehend - what had happened. In a lifetime - not one of us would ever fully understand - instead - we spend a week steeped in prayer - contemplation - meditation - in an effort to see where we fit into the bigger picture. This week - filled with significant ceremonies - the Chrism Mass - Holy Thursday - the Last Super - washing of the feet - Good Friday - anguish - pain - blood - fear - Holy Saturday - the waiting - Easter sunrise - Resurrection - victory - salvation. How this is possible - how this was orchestrated???  Shown in picture in Spain - Sancta Semana - Holy Week - pennitents - NOT KKK - carry large shrines throughtout the city - a way of professing their Christian faith. 

Jesus calls each of us - in a special way - to walk even closer with Him this week - to experience through His eyes - ears - all that will be laid before us - for ourselves as individuals - for the larger us - as a community. With hands outstretched - He waits for us to discover - Him.

Deacon Dale 

Palm Sunday

 Palm Sunday - the beginning of Holy Week - the holiest week of the year. Today the joyful entry into Jerusalem - gathering with family - fiends - to celebrate- Holy Mass - palms waving in the air - blessed with sprinkled water - red vestments - the reading of the processional gospel - the passion - dismissal - to go - to love - to serve the Lord.

What started as a cheerful event for Jesus - turned bad - all too quickly - the dinner - Last Supper - the kiss - the betrayal - judgement - abuse - death - not a happy ending. Holy Week shocks us to the realities of life - all is not fair - all is not just - all is not plentiful - beautiful.  Sometimes life - leaves a lot to be desired - a bad taste in our mouth - unpleasant memories. As we walk this journey with Jesus - the Via Dolarosa - the agony in the garden - those final steps - we are called to remember. To re-member - to put back together - the pieces - the fragments - of our faith - into the one loving sacrifice of Our Lord. WE are called - each of us - to walk this week in the sandals of Jesus.

Deacon Dale 

Quality Versus Quantity

During Lent there are many people who get caught up in how much - how much to fast - how many things to give up - what else should I deny myself -- seeking to maximize the quantity of things they sacrifice - searching for a Holy Lent.  Fasting to an extreme where they risk damaging their health - attending every extra prayer service - every Stations of the Cross - every penitential rite - as a means of trying to purify themselves. Others look only for truly meaningful events - services to attend - quality time spent in prayer - meditation - reflection. Often chastised because they only did this or that - few events.

God asks us to seek quality not quantity. He doesn't care if we say a thousand prayers - if spoken in haste - without thought - compared to one true heartfelt conversation with Him. Spending unnecessary hours in church - when the family begs for one honest hour of your time at home. It is not how much - rather how well - honest - sincere - an effort you made. This Lent make your time - your actions - count.

Deacon Dale  

Long Distance

The term - long distance - to most people - refers to telephone calls - conversations - between two people - separated by very long distances. When I was a child - an important event - news - prompted the use - the expense - of long distance calls. There was always an extra expense involved - conversations kept to a minimum - to avoid the high expense of making such a call. Today long distance - included in most cellular phone packages - no longer carry any extra fees - expenses. Conversations may last minutes - to  hours. There is no hesitation in placing a long distance call - easy to keep in touch with family - friends.

Talking with God in prayer - even easier than making a long distance phone call. God is always available - ready in an instant - to receive your call - to listen - to converse with you. Unfortunately too many people feel that God is not available to them - unreachable - too busy to listen. The reality is that God waits - patiently - for all of us to call Him - to converse - to discuss - request - complain - share - whatever is on our heart and mind. Try calling Him today - His line is never busy.

Deacon Dale 

Feeling Sheepish

Everyone of us has had that moment - a time we would like to forget when we felt sheepish - embarrassed - bashful - having done something silly - wrong - foolish.  Trying to get that special person - to notice us - pay attention to what we were doing - hoping to impress. On other occasions - opening our mouth - putting foot in mouth - wrong on all accounts - embarrassed - sheepish. It is only human nature - to want to excel - to show off - to impress - family - friends.  It is all a part of growing up - becoming a mature individual.  A point that many of us can meditate on during this Lent - becoming the person God intended us to be 

Jesus - the Good Shepard - the One who loves us - cares for us - directs our lives - along paths of peace - joy - asks us to be like sheep. To follow - without question - to comply with His requests - to live as He asked. Not all comply - Peter - with head hung low - after denying Jesus on the Cross - asked three times - do you love me? Three times - told by Jesus - feed my sheep - feed my people. As a shepherd cares - loves - his sheep - so does Jesus love each of us. Not all will respond to His offer of love - His offer of healing - His offer of peace.  Most will accept - come into His fold.  A few - turn away - reject His offer - leaving them - only later to realize the gift they threw away - leaving them - to feel - sheepish.  This Lent - reconsider - the offer is still there 

Deacon Dale 

Negotations

It takes a specific skill to be a good negotiator - not all are qualified - able to view both sides of a discussion - argument - to control - not dominate - to bring opposing sides together - to create common ground - to achieve positive results. Labor unions - management - one eyed visions - tunnel vision - self serving.  Contracts often come to a halt - no movement either way - no progress - loss on both sides. To negotiate well - sensitivity - to both parties - vision for union - fairness the goal.  Not just about dollars - people's lives - well being - important also.

As ministers of the Gospel - God expects - Jesus - demands - His disciples - to fairness - to openness - vision - for unity.  He looks for a common union - a communion - of hearts - souls - spirits. On this fifth week of  Lent - we are called to a New Covenant - a change in hearts - to create for ourselves - others - a better world - to love - to live.  Jesus call us to the bargaining table - different - the same - will you come? 

Deacon Dale 

Rock of Ages

 The home we bought in Arizona was previously a rental home - ignored - abused - bare minimum - little maintenance.  Before it could be placed on the market for sale - a lot of work had to be done to make it clean - updated - marketable.  If we had seen it - would not have bought it.  Months later - a crew of twenty plus - hours of sweat - transformed - freshened - renewed - given new life.  What we saw when we viewed it - not at all what the neighbors described. The interior of the house was not all that was ignored - the landscaping - a jungle - the decomposed granite - decomposed - the jungle was cleared - the granite left as is - dust unto dust - very biblical. We bought it as is - potential to make it our own - huge. In the transformation of the back yard we bought rock -  lots of rock - twenty-eight tons of rock. One inch by the new pool - 3/8 inch for the main yard - 1/4 minus for the bocce court. The community where the house is located is ruled by an HOA - homeowners association - two hundred sixteen pages of rules - covenants - restrictions. Change the color of the house - ask the HOA - change the size or color of the rock - not without HOA approval. Jumping through hoops - part of belonging to an HOA - rules - mostly fair - for the benefit of all.  Approval received - the old - aged - dusty - rock - upgraded - new color - less dust - bigger stones - looking good.

Jesus wanted a leader to help Him lead His disciples - to proclaim His Gospel message - to reach the mass of people. His search led Him to Simon - Shimon - Simeon - who He named Cephas - Peter - the Rock. As He told Peter - you shall be known as Cephas - the Rock - upon whom I shall build my church - a Rock that has stood as the first leader of Jesus' Church. This Rock - this Peter - the original Rock of Ages - the same Rock who three times denied the Lord - this man known for putting his foot in his mouth - stood - solid - following Jesus - even into death. Jesus does not ask us to die for Him - He did that once - for all.  He does ask us to be solid - rock solid in our faith - to be firm in our belief in Him - to be a peg fixed firmly in place - as we seek to deepen our relationship with Him - with God - as we serve Him and His people.  Jesus asks - we respond - He hopes - we will be - rock solid - for all ages.

Deacon Dale