Friday, March 27, 2015

7 Quick Takes {Take 75) Holy Week edition!


OOhhhhh, I have so much fun stuff to report! I had Worship Committee last night, and I want to devote a whole post to that :) so look for that next Tuesday. First, I wanted to spend an entire 7 Quick Takes on Holy Week, as it deserves it, don't you think? I'm in a pretty good mood on this Lenten Friday. Fish fry at our parish tonight, I mean, !!!!!!!!!!!!!! Good stuff, right there. OK, so a parish report-in next week, but right now, Holy Week. What am I going to be up to? And what are YOU going to be up to? I want to know. :)

-1- Hope springs eternal...

I love the Liturgy of the Hours, I really do. You'd think this meant that I pray them every day, but, well... I don't. :) I have the app and everything, but fitting it into my schedule is always a challenge. I pray Morning and Evening Prayer sporadically, when I can, and I do use the app when I do that. I knew better than to make this a Lenten goal, because I was setting myself up to fail. ;-) So, what I decided to do is try to pray Morning and Evening Prayer for all of Holy Week. I'm off for part of Holy Week anyway, so I think it may actually be manageable. My plan is to start with evening prayer tomorrow, since that is the vigil of Palm Sunday, and I am SO EXCITED for Palm Sunday. We'll see how this goes. :) But speaking of Palm Sunday...

-2- Mini palm trees from Home Depot? Sounds good to me.

Our new pastor is just darling, I really like him. And for two weeks now, the sacristy has been bursting at the seams with these palmy bushes that he plans to use as decor for Palm Sunday. I can tell that he's trying not to rock the boat by making sweeping changes, but he wants to put his own stamp on things and mix things up from the way we always do things. Because...we have sorta done things exactly the same way every year for the past 10 years. ;-) So he has this new altar decor planned for Palm Sunday, and I'm curious to see how it turns out, and how open people are to it. Based upon the Worship Committee meeting last night (again, details next week) there is some definite resistance to change, so we'll see how this goes.

For my part, I'm looking forward to Palm Sunday, and the kids and I can't wait to get our palms. And the beginning of Holy Week! *swoons* So much liturgical goodness to come. Starting with...

-3- Washing of the hands? Sounds a bit like a ritual I force upon my children :)

Holy Thursday! One little tidbit that came out of our meeting is the plans for Holy Thursday. Now, I've never been to the Mass of the Lord's Supper (scandalous!) and this year, I'm going for sure, so I'm all excited. But even I know that on Holy Thursday, there is a washing of the feet ceremony. With our new pastor still just getting to know everyone, he decided to to substitute finding 12 male volunteers for this shindig in favor of a hand washing ceremony in which the entire congregation comes forward. Interesting? Yes, I suppose. Somewhat untraditional, but what do I know? :)

-4- Good old fashioned Good Friday solemnness...

I've been to the Good Friday liturgy for the past two years, and now I won't miss it. There is a Liturgy of the Word and Veneration of the Cross. Anne has gone with me the past two years, and I plan to bring her again. I'm hoping Henry will come to Holy Thursday, I'll have to find an incentive to coax him into this. :) But on Good Friday we'll be at the service at 3 pm, and then having a simple meatless dinner later. I will try to pray the Stations of the Cross with Henry before bed.

-5- Divine Mercy novena!

Good Friday is also the start date for the Divine Mercy novena, and I've created a special page with all the details! I pray this novena every year and just love it. Consider joining in! Pray More Novenas is involved this year, meaning that you can sign up to get the prayers and a reminder right in your email inbox. I'm doing that! Join me. :)

-6- A light in the darkness.

In all of my years of being Catholic, I never had ANY idea of the hidden jewel that is the Easter Vigil until a handful of years ago. Now, I will grant: the Easter Vigil can be LONG. There are nine readings, though some parishes choose not to do all of them. The shortest Easter Vigil I've ever been to was an hour and a half. Not bad at all, but I was at one that was three hours. :0 But it's SO WORTH IT. Seeing people receive the sacraments and come into the Church...I cry, even if they're strangers to me! And the fire outside that begins the liturgy? I mean, that's a real crowd pleaser. :) And having the Eucharist in the Tabernacle again after it being missing since the conclusion of Holy Thursday? That's packs a wallop, right there. Hearing the Gloria sung again for the first time since before Ash Wednesday? Oh! It's so wonderful. I can't wait to go.

-7- And finally, we eat chocolate.

Easter Sunday I'm planning for the entire family to attend morning Mass (either 8 or 10 am, that is still under negotiation :)) and we're hosting Easter dinner for our parents. Ham and chocolate for everybody! We have Easter chocolate from Henry's school sale tucked into our cupboard, and I haven't let anybody eat it, which Henry thinks is a human rights violation. But soon! I have other special treats planned for the kids' Easter baskets as well.

What are your Holy Week plans, dear reader? Do let me know! And don't forget to check out more 7 Quick Takes over at This Ain't the Lyceum! Talk to you on Monday!

4 comments:

  1. Enjoy Holy Thursday Mass. It is one of my favorites. At my parish everyone is invited to come up and have their feet washed and then wash another's feet. Most of the people at Mass participate. I've never heard of a hand washing ceremony so I'll be interested to read how yours goes.

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  2. I'm not entirely sure that your pastor can do that. Supposedly there's some sort of rubric for the whole foot washing ceremony. But I've never heard of hand washing. It was a huge stink when Pope Francis broke the rules, but he's the Pope so he can do whatever he wants in that regard.

    http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2013/03/30/church_traditionalists_livid_at_pope_foot_wash.html

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  3. Enjoy your blog very much. Sorry but hand washing for Holy Thursday is against Canon Law. Your priest could get in trouble with his Bishop. From Catholic Answers:
    Last year our priest replaced the traditional Holy Thursday foot-washing with hand-washing. When I asked him about this he said he was permitted to do either one. Is this true?
    Answer

    Your priest is confused. Hand-washing on Holy Thursday is not part of the prescribed ritual, nor is it permitted by the liturgical norms. It is an invention. The Code of Canon Law states that "in celebrating the sacraments the liturgical books approved by competent authority are to be observed faithfully; accordingly, no one is to add, omit, or alter anything in them on one’s own authority" (CIC 846 §1). This ritual is symbolic of the command of Jesus in John 13:12-15 (Last Supper). Jesus didn’t wash the disciples’ hands.

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