holy thursday
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Holy Thursday: Night of Sacrifice And Service

With Holy Thursday, Lent ends and the Church enters into the Triduum: Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil. This is the holiest time of the year for Christians. We enter into the eternal sacrifice of Jesus Christ, celebrate the Last Supper, walk with Him through the Passion and anticipate the Resurrection.

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 sacerdotal priesthood (as distinct from the ‘priesthood of all believers’) for in this, 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.

The Holy Thursday liturgy is one of sacrifice and service. The Gospel (from the Gospel of John) tells of Jesus washing the feet of His disciples in an act of service. He then instructs them to do the same. This Gospel then comes to life: the priest washes the feet of 12 people from the church congregation. It is an act of humble service, an example of the Christian life.

The liturgy moves then to the Lord’s Supper. Jesus and his Apostles were celebrating the Jewish Passover, a night that recalls the angel of death passing over the Jews in Egyptian captivity as they prepare to flee to freedom. The unleavened bread was necessary; there was no time to wait for bread to rise with yeast. Jesus takes this covenant, the promise between God and the Jews, and transforms it into the New Covenant, the promise of salvation and the triumph over death for all who eat and drink His Body, His Blood, in faith.

The end of the Holy Thursday liturgy is sober. After Communion, the Eucharist (which usually is held in repose in the Tabernacle) is moved and the Tabernacle stands empty. By now, Christ has been betrayed by Judas and is under arrest. The empty Tabernacle reminds us that Christ has been taken away. (The faithful then spend time in Eucharistic adoration; the Eucharist is typically moved to a temporary chapel.) In this way, the faithful “keep watch” with Jesus through the night.

The altar is stripped. The church takes on an empty, somber tone. Some churches follow the tradition of covering the crucifix and statues with a purple cloth. In essence, we anticipate our Lord’s Passion and the suffering of Good Friday.

Our faith offers us such rich, bountiful liturgical celebrations in the Triduum. Catholics and non-Catholics often refer to the “smells and bells” – incense, bells, music, and there is truth to that. Catholics worship with our whole bodies. Our senses are fed; we bow and kneel. We sing and process. We eat and drink. It is not a mere cerebral experience. We are not a quiet and polite audience to a theological discourse. No: God created us body and soul, and we return that gift by worshiping Him with our whole being.

The Holy Thursday liturgy abounds with symbols, examples of sacrifice and service, and yes, “smells and bells.” It is an opportunity to worship in a manner given to us only once a year. By all means, take advantage of this time to grow closer to Christ, our Lord and Savior.

consistent prayer
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4 Ways To Keep Your Prayer Life Consistent

St. Paul says we are supposed to pray always (Always?? Really?). However, most of us struggle to keep our prayer life consistent. We go through periods of intense prayer (and let’s face it, that’s usually when we need God to “do something” for us) and times when we drift away from prayer. How can we keep our prayer lives running smoothly, in order to stay in relationship with God?

The chart below is a great one to print and tape to your bathroom mirror, your fridge, or near your computer. It “breaks down” your day of prayer into manageable pieces.

First, the morning offering. This is a traditional Catholic prayer that dedicates one’s day to God. It’s a reminder to ourselves that we want to serve God all day, in everything we do.

Next, 15 minutes (that’s it??) of spiritual reading. Of course, the Bible is terrific, but consider a book on a saint’s life, a book explaining some part of Catholic doctrine (such as a book on the Mass) or even a book you can read with your child.

The next one is probably that which we find most difficult: time spent in “mental prayer.” Part of developing a mature faith life means you spend time talking to God. You’d never consider creating a friendship with someone if you could never talk to them – we must do the same with God. Of course, it’s perfectly fine to use memorized prayers, but in order to form a healthy, rich relationship with Almighty God, we have to talk to Him. That means coming before Him with our sufferings, our joys, our praise, our gratitude. If this seems rather daunting, perhaps you can back up a step, and begin by reading a book on how and why we pray.

Finally, there is the nightly examination of conscience. Most of us know that we do an examination of conscience prior to going to Confession, but doing one every evening will truly help us become aware of our daily sins – even those small ones that we might otherwise shrug off. Now, this type of exercise is not meant to become a way to beat yourself up, but rather a way to recognize where you can daily improve your relationships with God and with other people.

With these four fairly simple steps, you can start making the ideal of “pray always” a reality.

prayer chart

Heaven
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Hoisting The World To Heaven

As easy as it is to become discouraged about the state of the world, we must remember that saints walk among us. Saints are just ordinary people who dutifully accept God’s grace, hoisting themselves and the world to heaven.

Madeleine Delbrel, a French Catholic writer and mystic, knew this. Delbrel was raised Catholic, but as a teen, lost her faith, proclaiming that “God is dead.” Later, she claimed to have re-discovered her faith in God by praying that she could believe.

Delbrel wrote:

If some have to leave the world in order to find it and raise it to heaven, others have to plunge into it so as to hoist themselves with the world to the same heaven.

I take that to mean that a few souls are called to live a monastic life: a life apart from the world, rooted in prayer and work. Their lives are continuous prayer for the salvation of all. It is a rigorous life, and not one that God calls many to.

The rest of us are “plunged” into this world. We must deal with the sins of ourselves and others writ large: provocative “entertainment,” poverty and hunger, politicians and leaders who scandalize, the complete lack of charity for those with whom we work and live, those strangers on the street. Our lives are filled with distractions; how often do we “visit” with friends and family, only to have everyone stare at their phone screens?

It is into this world we are plunged. Delbrel is reminding us that it is our calling as Catholics to hoist ourselves above all this, and bring others with us. When we lift ourselves above this world, heaven becomes more and more clear, and more and more desirable. We may wish sometimes that this was not our calling, but here is where God placed us: in this time, in this place, with these people. How will you hoist them to heaven today?