Dear Sisters and Brothers in Faith:
And now we enter the holiest time of the year for all Catholic Christian people. Beginning with Palm Sunday weekend and carrying right on through the Octave of Easter we will be celebrating the Passion, Death and Resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
On Palm Sunday weekend and Good Friday we will be hearing both St. Mark’s and St. John’s version of the Passion narrative. I don’t know about you, but I love hearing a story—happy or sad or dramatic—told in such a way as to grab my attention and hold it to the very end. I know the story of Jesus’ Passion very well because I have heard it—and proclaimed it—so many times. But this particular story grabs ahold of me each and every time I hear it or proclaim it!
I wonder, will the Gospel proclamations this week grab your attention? What about the story of the Last Supper on Holy Thursday evening? Are these narrations enough to tickle your imagination, or are they simply a test of your endurance?
When I ask the above questions I do not mean to insult you, but to challenge you to enter into this holiest time of our liturgical year with your ears wide open, ready to join Jesus and the apostles in this dramatic series of events.
I always think of our Little Black Books and their purpose of encouraging us to pray the lectio divina way. Read (or listen to a proclamation of) a Gospel passage; imagine yourself in the place of someone who is present in the story—say the apostle John or Mary Magdalene; what were they thinking? How did they interact with Jesus? Were they able to understand all that he was telling them? What would you do if you were actually present in the scene? In this way the retelling of these events becomes more than just a test of our endurance—they become real to us in new and different ways. Try it—you’ll like it!
Joanne and I extend our wishes for a happy and holy Easter to every one of you!
I hope you have a Christ-filled week!
St. Vincent de Paul, pray for us!
May the Holy Spirit always be with you.
Deacon Mike