Happy Easter

Well folks, I'm going to get a little off the tri topic this Easter day. As a Christian - I prefer the Roman Catholic flavor - I am called to share my faith. So if you're interested, read on....

Holy Week is one of my favorite weeks of the year, not just because of all the unique liturgical services, but so much of my faith can be extracted from the recollection of Jesus' last days before his death by crucifixtion. And yes it is capped off by the defining moment of the Christian faith, the resurrection of Jesus from death.

For Catholics, the bulk of the year is spent in "Ordinary Time" where it can seem every Sunday is the same old thing. Then you go through forty days of fasting, praying, and examining your self. Holy Week starts with some pomp and pagentry on Palm Sunday. Red vestments, everyone waving palm branches, the procession into the church, it's quite a pregame festivity. But if you get down to it, Jesus came in to the Holy City riding a donkey, not a war charriot, or some fancy carriage. It is his way of reminding us to live a life of peace and not concern yourself with worldly possessions.

Holy Thursday is proably my favorite liturgy of the whole year. Holy Thursday is much more significant than it appears. It recounts the Last Supper where Jesus broke bread with his disciples and said: "This is my body, this is my blood, do this in memory of me." In addition to that profound proclamation, Holy Thursday also recognizes the institution of the priesthood. For the rest of us on this day, we are reminded to live a life of humility and service to others. We recall this by remembering that Jesus himself became the servant and washed the feet of his disciples. On this day we are also foreshadowing his ultimate sacrifice for us. This liturgy technically does not end for a few more days. In some churches there is a solemn procession out of the main church to an area where the consecrated bread is placed among flowers on an altar. Here the Body of Chirst will remain for adoration in the evening, just like Jesus inviting his disciples to pray with him in the garden on the evening of his betrayal. The past few years I have gone across town to the church I went to during college. The liturgy starts sometime like 7:30 at night and finishes up around 9:30. I'll grab a bite to eat somewhere and then head back to the lower hall of the church for adoration and silent reflection. I will stick around until after a short night prayer service at midnight. There are many other events and symbols of this day. Holy oils are blessed and distributed on this day from the cathedral. The altar is bare, but the priests wear white - symbolic of a holy or glorious occasions. Church bells stop ringing. I could discuss Holy Thursday for a lot longer. Maybe some day I'll come back to this, but I best be moving to Good Friday.

Good Friday is a continuation of Holy Thursday. The Passion of Christ is recalled on this most solemn day. It is a time for us to reflect on the ultimate sacrifce of Jesus on a cross. The church is usually barren of decorations. A wooden cross is brought in and you can kiss it in adoration. I have never really liked that because I worry about getting a splinter in my lip. Anyways there usually is a laundry list of prayers and intentions, sometimes sung or chanted. And finally a service to distribute the consecrated bread from Holy Thursday. The mood is somber. I will try to fast, pray, and reflect on how my life has changed because I believe that God became man, suffered, sacrificed, and died on a cross for humanity, and "in a few days" rose from the dead. Good Friday also reminds me that I have a my own cross to carry. It may get heavy at times - even Jesus had help physically carrying his cross - but I know there is hope.

Well there's a lot that goes on during Holy Saturday too, but most of things done on this day seem to stem from traditions of the early church. This liturgy is a continuation of the past two days and is usually held after sundown. Sometimes fire is brought into the church and everything becomes glorious and bright again. New Catholics are baptised into the church. But I think the significance of Saturday is usually overshadowed by the real deal on Sunday.

We all have heard about Easter. On this day we celebrate the fact that Jesus rose from the dead. Again he has shown us the way to conquer our fears. So in short, Jesus has shown us a path to get us through life here on earth. We have nothing to worry about if we follow him. If we live in Christ, we will be with him in the end.

These were some of my thoughts over the last few days. Thanks for reading this.

I'd like to mention Kewl Nitrox for posting some really good thoughts, especially his series entitled "Life is a Race." Great thoughts.