This is the Night

Place yourselves, for a moment, in the place of one of the apostles.

Thursday, you ate the Passover with Jesus. You sat around the table sharing the story of your people. You stood by helplessly as guards came out of nowhere and arrested him. You screamed at the injustice of the courts, and winced with Mary as he was beaten mercilessly.

Then, yesterday, you watched him struggle under the cross. You saw them murder your best friend, right in front of you, in the most painful way possible. You saw his mother scream in that guttural cry that can only come from a mother who has lost her child. You saw her kiss his lifeless feet, begging God to bring him back. You stared at the shrinking gap between the tomb wall and the huge rock, and felt your heart sink when the stone sealed off the last crack between you and him.

Flashback: Getting Our Feet Wet

Note: I've decided to spend Holy Thursday reading The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ by St. Anne Catherine Emmerich. I hope to do a review at some point, but for now I'm reposting one of my older posts, Getting Our Feet Wet. Of all the days to post it, it's most relevant today since it specifically deals with the Holy Thursday liturgy (Which, of course, I'd encourage you to go to). If you missed this one, now's your chance. If you caught it the first time around, it's worth another read since it fits for today.

I thought for today's (admittedly late) post, I'd take a closer look at one of my favorite passages from one of my favorite books of the New Testament (John); specifically, the Washing of the Feet. For those of us who have been to a Holy Thursday liturgy, we've seen this part acted out in front of us. Maybe we see it as just another "thing" that happened that night, or a weird bit of the Gospel we don't really question. Like always, though, it's possible to go much deeper. So, in that spirit, duc in altum.

Take Up Your Cross

I must apologize for the delay...things have been getting busy with class, work, etc. etc. etc. It's almost as though I do things other than sit on the computer...

Anyway, in lieu of a bunch of posts about each day of Holy Week, which would probably become stale and cliche soon (not that that's stopped me in the past), I'll be doing something different. Namely, whatever pops into my head.

Before the jump, a note: this year, be different. Last night I watched The Passion of the Christ with Campus Ministry, and realized how incredible it is to look with fresh eyes. This week, when you hear the stories you've heard since you were little, listen as though you've never heard them before. Look at them with fresh eyes...a fresh viewpoint. You'll find things you never noticed, and you will definitely be on the road to putting out into the deep.

With that, let me introduce to you something you may have seen, particularly if you are lucky enough to attend SFU. It's something that you've definitely seen if you've been in the chapel, but in all likelihood failed to notice (or at least noticed then forgot about).

It's the Second Station of the Cross.

Habemus Papam!

Alright, so I had a good post planned for today, but honestly this is much more exciting! We have a pope!

On March the 13, 2013 AD, Jorge Cardinal Bergoglio was elected as Supreme Pontiff as the Catholic Church and took the name Francis I. HOW AWESOME IS THAT!?

Anyway, he is a lot of "firsts" - First South American (or any American pope - for that matter, first modern non-European pope), first Jesuit, first Francis.

The Prodigal Son

I'm going to be honest. I thought really hard about a creative title, but I got nothing. So you get a descriptive, albeit bland title. Perhaps it's because it's the Monday after a break, and nobody feels like doing anything productive. It's been a bit of a break for writing here as well. Thanks to all those who kept with it!

Anyway, I thought I'd "go deeper" with yesterday's Gospel. I don't always do that (although it's not unheard of) but yesterday was one of the "big ones" - the prodigal son. Honestly, I've read entire books about this parable, so no blog post (however rambley) will be able to cover it. But I'll at least try to hit the big stuff.

Take and Eat: The Communion Rite

We are standing in heaven itself. The Lamb, the Son of God, the Jesus, is right in front of us. This alone should be the highest honor we ever receive...standing in God's throne room.

But for God, that isn't enough.

We must eat the Lamb.

This is part ten of my series on the Mass, Guided Missal. 

Part 1: Opening the Doors
Part 2: A Rite for Wrongs
Part 3: Word.
Part 4: I've Got Good News
Part 5: Offer It Up
Part 6: Holy, Holy, Holy
Part 7: This is My Body

Part 8: Pater Knows Best

Part 9: Mary's Little Lamb