Holy Thursday

HOLY THURSDAY is the most complex and profound of all religious observances, saving only the Easter Vigil. It celebrates both the institution by Christ himself of the Eucharist and of the institution of the priesthood. In His last supper with the disciples, a celebration of Passover, He is the self-offered Passover Victim, and every ordained priest to this day presents this same sacrifice, by Christ's authority and command, in exactly the same way. The Last Supper was also Christ's farewell to His assembled disciples, some of whom would betray, desert or deny Him before the sun rose again. On Holy Thursday there is a special Mass in Cathedral Churches, attended by as many priests of the diocese as can attend, because it is a solemn observance of Christ's institution of the priesthood. At this 'Chrism Mass' the bishop blesses the Oil of Chrism used for Baptism and Confirmation. The bishop may wash the feet of twelve of the priests, to symbolize Christ's washing the feet of his Apostles, the first priests. The Holy Thursday liturgy Mass that most of us go to, celebrated in the evening because Passover began at sundown, also shows both the worth God ascribes to the humility of service, and the need for cleansing with water (a symbol of baptism) in the Mandatum, or washing in Jesus' washing the feet of His disciples, and in the priest's stripping and washing of the altar. Cleansing, in fact, gave this day of Holy Week the name Maundy Thursday. The action of the Church on this night also witnesses to the Church's esteem for Christ's Body present in the consecrated Host in the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, carried in solemn procession to the flower-bedecked Altar of Repose, where it will remain 'entombed' until the communion service on Good Friday. No Mass will be celebrated again in the Church until the Easter Vigil proclaims the Resurrection. And finally, there is the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament by the people during the night, just as the disciples stayed with the Lord during His agony on the Mount of Olives before the betrayal by Judas. There is such an abundance of symbolism in the solemn celebration of the events of Holy Thursday layer upon layer, in fact that I can no more than hint at it in these few words. For many centuries, the Last Supper of Our Lord has inspired great works of art and literature, such as the glorious stained glass window in Chartres cathedral, Leonardo's ever popular (and much imitated) Last Supper in the 16th century, (above), and the reminiscence called Holy Thursday, by the French novelist, Franasois Mauriac, written in the 1930s.

Wednesday of Holy Week

If you had not noticed, it is Holy Week. And, not only Holy Week, but the last day before Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter -- known as the Easter Triduum. In today's liturgy we hear of Judas. We all remember him as the traitor of the twelve. He was the man of whom Jesus spoke that it would be "better for him had he never been born." About 10 years ago I read Dante's Inferno. Dante and Virgil go to the lowest of Hell, the 9th circle. Dante becomes aware of a great shape in the distance, hidden by fog. Right under his feet he notices sinners completely covered in ice, sometimes several feet deep, contorted into various positions. These souls constitute the most evil of all sinners -- the Traitors to their Benefactors. Dante and Virgil advance toward the giant mist-shrouded shape and see that it is Lucifer.

He stands on the icy lake, his torso rising above the surface. Dante sees that Lucifer has three horrible faces, one looking straight ahead and the others looking back over his shoulders. Beneath each frozen head rises a set of wings, which wave back and forth, creating the icy winds that keep the circle frozen. Each of Lucifer's mouths holds a sinner -- all Traitors to a Benefactor. Two of them, Brutus and Cassius murdered Caesar in the Senate and appear with their heads out. Judas Iscariot is lodged headfirst, only his twitching legs protrude. The mouths chew their victims, constantly tearing the traitors to pieces, but never killing them. Such is that which betrayal does in its own fashion, is it not? It is perhaps the most chilling poem I have ever read. (Yes, I know, a terrible pun..., but it did scare me as I was reading it late at night.) It was, however, not the betrayal that cost Judas his soul to be given to Lucifer. After all, even St. Peter denied Christ three times. Most of the apostles fled on Good Friday. Even the sin of betrayal of Christ could have been forgiven. What could not be forgiven was Judas' despair and loss of hope, that is, the feeling that he could never have been forgiven by God.

“A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs. It's jolted by every pebble on the road.”

When I was just a kid in high school many years ago almost everyone watched the Dean Martin Roasts. They would "roast" a guest for about one hour. I vividly recall sitting in the living room with my dad watching this particular roast of Don Rickles, when Foster Brooks came on. We were both laughing our butts off. However, Foster faded from view because of the change in public sensitivity concerning alcoholism and drunk driving. Brooks continued his career on television doing more sober characters. He died in 2001 at age 89.

I Stole This From Maureen's Blog

This appears at Maureen's Blog, http://dusup.blogspot.com/

She has some great postings and you'll love it. I stole this from Maureen because it is so good.

--Joe

Before I got married I had six theories about bringing up children; now I have six children, and no theories.

We have surveillance cameras in front of our house, and I thought you'd like to see what happened to Maureen when she first started dating Luke!

Despite the assault, the wedding is still on.

-- Joe

Snow sledding and huskies. Magdalene and Veronica are ready for the trek!

Claire and Magdalene and Veronica were lucky enough to have gone to Lake Placid yesterday. There's nothing so funny to Claire as a prat fall:

Colyn first established this website as a compendium of memories regarding family. I'll never forget the time that Al and Theresa, Cindy and Luis, and Kathleen and I went to dinner and Theresa ruined the whole dinner: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LS37SNYjg8w

Kathleen, later, showed her prowess at driving: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39qdhbkTko4&feature=related

Cindy leads the way in showing us how to get a good man: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZ0jRuASVEQ&feature=related

The ending of the Bridge Over The River Kwai is one of the best endings in the history of movies. Alec Guiness won the Academy Award for Best Actor. The movie won the Award for Best Picture. Jack Hawkins and William Holden co-stared. Enjoy!

With the Academy Awards coming up, I thought that it would be nice to view a GREAT MOVIE. David Lean, who also produced Lawrence of Arabia and Passage to India won the Academy Award for The Bridge Over The River Kwai. The movie was adapted from a novel that was based upon the very real enslavement of British prisoners of Japan during World War II in building a railway in Burma. This is a great movie and well worth your time.

According to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission:
"The notorious Burma-Siam railway, built by Commonwealth, Dutch and American prisoners of war, was a Japanese project driven by the need for improved communications to support the large Japanese army in Burma. During its construction, approximately 13,000 prisoners of war died and were buried along the railway. An estimated 80,000 to 100,000 civilians also died in the course of the project, chiefly forced labour brought from Malaya and the Dutch East Indies, or conscripted in Siam (Thailand) and Burma (Myanmar). Two labour forces, one based in Siam and the other in Burma worked from opposite ends of the line towards the centre."
The incidents portrayed in the film are mostly fictional, and though it depicts bad conditions and suffering caused by the building of the Burma Railway and its bridges, to depict the reality would have been too appalling for filmgoers. Actually, from what I've read, the conditions were very much worse than that which is shown in the film.

All is well in Malone. More on that, later.

--Joe