We just went through the Easter Triduum and something interesting happend for me during the four liturgies that I participated in. Starting on Holy Thursday, the scriptures were opened to me in a new way. Places like Bethphage, Gabbatha, and Mt. Calvary were all places I have actually been, as opposed to geographic expressions which I simply lumped into the “Middle East.” When the gospel speaks of the Mount of Olives, the Garden of Gethsemane, and the Temple, I understand these places as concepts as they relate to other places in Jerusalem. The combination of my very much alive faith before seeing these things, combined with having actually walked the ground, is much greater than I could have imagined. As I read the scriptures, I’m looking up place names on maps, seeing where they are, and then from experience, extrapolating whether it’s a desert area or a fertile one. I’m gauging its distance from Jerusalem, and trying to imagine how much time has passed in the three year ministry so far and how much longer it will be to when the paschal mystery unfolds. To say that my faith has been enriched is an understatement. I have been given a great gift and one that will increase my own pneuma for the rest of my earthly life.
The Church Fathers often spoke in terms of the “8th day,” or the time when we can access God through the liturgy and private prayer, and surpass space and time. I found a lot of 8th day time on the ground in the Holy Land, but I also found it easier to access that day in the masses since my return. The gospel tells us that when the apostles walked with the risen Lord on the road to Ammeus, that they didn’t recognize Him, until the breaking of the bread. We have been, are, and will always be a Eucharistic people, working out our understanding of Christ in the context of the liturgy where all mystery lives on this planet. From the entrance hymn till the deacon’s dismissal, “Go in peace, to love and serve the Lord” is our call to be the hands and feet of Christ each day. It falls to us to pray for the our Church, the world, for those in need, and for ourselves that we may be deemed worthy of all that Christ promises. My short visit to the Holy Land was full and enriched by all those who I walked with, each of us on a pilgrimage to discover deeper meaning in our lives. I believe that we were all successful in that enterprise and that our shared experiences will bless all those we come into contact with.
Jesus was a real person. He walked the earth, he taught with the wisdom of God, He was obedient to His Father in heaven and in fact, perfected all humanity through his perfect ministry. He offered himself as a holy and living sacrifice for you and for me. All those since Adam now have the possibility of salvation because of His gift of his life, given for us. He awaits us in heaven with all the angels and saints and beckons us all to come to Him, to emulate his obedience, to help others on our way, and to establish an eternal friendship with Him so that at the end of time, we can live in the fullness of His presence. So let’s all make these 50 days to Pentecost really worth all the suffering we went through in Lent. The violet is gone, gold and white are our colors as we wait for red to come again and fill us with the Holy Spirit. He is risen from the dead, Halleuiah! Let’s act like we believe that for the next seven weeks.
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