On this most holy day, the Light, the Fire, has yet again descended at the tomb of Christ in Jerusalem.
Christ is Risen!
The Holy Fire 2012, Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem:
~Michelle
Showing posts with label Easter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Easter. Show all posts
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Christ is Risen!: The Holy Fire 2012
Today is Holy Saturday for the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic faithful who follow the old calendar.
On this most holy day, the Light, the Fire, has yet again descended at the tomb of Christ in Jerusalem.
Christ is Risen!
Wishing all of our Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic readers a blessed and holy Pascha, and sending special congratulations and thanks to all Orthodox ladies who bought veils for participation in the sacred rites of the Church today,
~Michelle
On this most holy day, the Light, the Fire, has yet again descended at the tomb of Christ in Jerusalem.
Christ is Risen!
~Michelle
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Easter is Not a Day!
Just a heads up, people. Remember when I harped on the fact that Christmas is not a day, but, rather, a season that is 12 days long?
Well..get ready, because Easter is not a day either! It is, in fact, a season in the Christian calendar that is...wait for it...seven weeks long! Add, to that, the fact that our Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic brothers and sisters have not yet celebrated their Pascha (Easter), and you will see that we have a ways to go.
As befits the enormity of the resurrection, and the conquering of death, we will be celebrating for quite a while.
This blogger, married, as she is, to a Ukrainian with Orthodox heritage, will surely have something to say next Sunday, as the Orthodox celebrate the Resurrection. Further, being the liturgy Nazi that she is, she is not likely to let any of the seven weeks go. So, friends, prepare to settle in for a full Easter Season at Liturgical time. The Resurrection is no small thing, and neither should be our jubilation.
Soon to come, a post on the history and traditions surrounding Easter eggs.
He is Risen!
~Michelle
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| Lubap, click for license |
As befits the enormity of the resurrection, and the conquering of death, we will be celebrating for quite a while.
This blogger, married, as she is, to a Ukrainian with Orthodox heritage, will surely have something to say next Sunday, as the Orthodox celebrate the Resurrection. Further, being the liturgy Nazi that she is, she is not likely to let any of the seven weeks go. So, friends, prepare to settle in for a full Easter Season at Liturgical time. The Resurrection is no small thing, and neither should be our jubilation.
Soon to come, a post on the history and traditions surrounding Easter eggs.
He is Risen!
~Michelle
Why is Ham the Traditional Easter Dinner?: Ham, Lamb, and Hot Cross Buns, Enjoy the Feast!
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| PD-USDA |
Throughout most of the centuries of Christianity, (and still
for Eastern Orthodox Christians, whose stick-to-itiveness is to be highly
commended), no meat was eaten during Lent.
Since livestock was slaughtered in the Fall, and there was no
refrigeration, any meat left over on Ash Wednesday, (at the beginning of Lent),
had to be cured if it was to be preserved.
Hence, on Easter Day, when the long 55 days of Lent were finally over
and meat could be eaten, a lovely cured ham was the natural choice.
Some, as a holdover from the Jewish Passover, feast on roast
lamb on this day. This seems most
appropriate, as Easter is the Passover of our Lord.
Hot cross buns, too, are a traditional favorite of the
season, although, strictly speaking, they are to be enjoyed on Good Friday.
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| Cjosch, click for license |
In early Protestant England, the monarchy viewed hot cross
buns as a dangerous holdover from Catholicism, as they were made from the dough
used to make communion wafers, and tried to ban them. The people, however, would have none of that,
and protested mightily. Elizabeth I
finally relented and decreed that they may be sold on Christmas and Easter.
Some believe that the tradition of hot cross buns may have
begun with the Anglo-Saxons, who baked honey cakes in celebration of the
goddess Eostre. Perhaps so, although it
is not certain, but, nevertheless, as she does best, and as it should be, the
Church claimed them, put a cross on them, and declared Jesus Lord of all. So, I’ll say it again…we can pitch all
traditions (Christmas trees, holly, etc.) that had their start elsewhere, or we
can follow the lead of the traditional church and make them our own, lest
anyone should forget who it is that had triumphed over sin and death, and
redeemed his people.
Wishing you and exquisite Easter Feast!
He is Risen!
~Michelle
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Saturday, April 7, 2012
He is Risen!~Scenes from the Easter Vigil around the World
This is the night!
Lighting the new fire:
The Exsultet (Easter Proclamation):
He is Risen!
The granddaddy of all Easter Vigils: The Holy Scepulchure, Jerusalem
Skip ahead to 4:15 if you're impatient. (You have been waiting 55 days, after all.)
Easter Vigil fireworks at Sheffield Cathedral:
He is Risen!
Death is Conquered!
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Death is Conquered!
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Have a Blessed Easter Season, Friends!
The Easter Vigil: Paschal Candle and Exultet
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| Deacon singing Exultet during the Paschal Vigil |
But, something wonderful, something indescribable, is on the horizon....and so, we wait.
Tonight is the most important service of public worship of the entire liturgical year in traditional churches.
Tonight, our Lord will rise again.
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| Pascal Candel (Christ Candle) Chris Nyborg, click for license |
At the vigil, the first "A" word will be heard, and the first Gloria sung, sing the beginning of the long Lenten period. The Christ, or Paschal, candle will be relit this night. It will be lit as the haunting ancient Exultet is sung. The Christ candle represents the light of Christ in the world, and his presence in our midst. It sits cold and flameless this day. We are alone and empty. But tonight, he lives again, and so will we.
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Thursday, April 5, 2012
Good Friday: The Seven Last Words of Christ
1.
"Father, forgive them, they know not what they
do."
Pater, dimitte illis, quia nesciunt,
quid faciunt. Lk. 23: 34
2. "This
day thou shalt be with me in Paradise."
Hodie mecum eris in Paradiso. Lk. 23: 43
3. "Woman,
behold thy son."
Mulier, ecce filius tuus. Jn. 19: 26-7
4. ""My
God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
Deus meus, Deus meus, utquid
dereliquisti me?
Mk.
15: 34 (Mt. 27: 46)
5. "I
thirst." Sitio. Jn. 19:28
6. "It
is finished." Consummatum est. Jn.: 19:28
7. "Into
thine hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit."
In manus tuas, Domine, commendo
spiritum meum. Lk. 23:
Could Ye Not Watch With Me One Hour?: The Altar of Repose
The Maundy Thursday service is over. The altar has been stripped. The crosses are now draped in black cloth. The church is dark.
Things aren't looking good for our Lord.
After celebrating the Passover with his disciples and instituting the Eucharist, he went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. He took Peter, James, and John with him and asked them to keep watch with him and pray.
They didn't do well. Three times, he found them sleeping.
If you haven't figured it out yet, liturgical Christians, (Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Anglicans, Lutherans, and others), don't just read and study about the life of Christ, we immerse ourselves, with all our senses in the sequence of the occurrences and teachings of his life. The night of Maundy Thursday is no different.
During the Maundy Thursday mass, the consecrated host (bread and wine) which has not been consumed is reserved for Holy Communion on Good Friday, when mass is not celebrated. Rather than being kept in the tabernacle, which stands empty at this time, it is carried in procession and placed upon the altar in a separate, specially adorned chapel.
At the end of this service, all of the altars, except the one which holds the reserved Sacrament, are stripped of their adornments, and left bare.
You may have heard of the tradition of parishes inviting parishioners to sign up to keep watch, in one hour increments, at the altar of repose through the night on Holy Thursday. Why do they do that?
Jesus, at the Lord's Supper told the disciples...told us..."take eat, this is my body......take, drink, this is my blood". We take the consecrated host seriously.
He also told his disciples in the garden to keep watch with him, and pray. So...we do.
As soon as the altar of repose is established, someone (sometimes several people) will take the post of watchman. Someone will be in that chapel every minute of every hour until the service begins at noon the next day, Good Friday...until...it is time for him to die. Someone will be there keeping watch and praying, ...because he asked us to.
What would I have done? What would you have done, there in the garden that night? Would we have stayed awake? Would we have watched and prayed? Greater followers of Christ did not.
What would I do now? In hindsight, knowing what I know now, knowing all that he has asked of me? What will I do when he dies before my eyes, when the Paschal candle is lit late Saturday night and we sing the first triumphant ode to the Resurrection? When he lives? Because he lives?
Will I obey? Will I do as he has asked of me? Will I take him into my very self and be Christ to the world, with his help? Will I?
That is why we keep watch and pray. Because there are questions.
Things aren't looking good for our Lord.
After celebrating the Passover with his disciples and instituting the Eucharist, he went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. He took Peter, James, and John with him and asked them to keep watch with him and pray.
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| Gethsemane, Old Tree in the Garden 1898-PD |
If you haven't figured it out yet, liturgical Christians, (Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Anglicans, Lutherans, and others), don't just read and study about the life of Christ, we immerse ourselves, with all our senses in the sequence of the occurrences and teachings of his life. The night of Maundy Thursday is no different.
During the Maundy Thursday mass, the consecrated host (bread and wine) which has not been consumed is reserved for Holy Communion on Good Friday, when mass is not celebrated. Rather than being kept in the tabernacle, which stands empty at this time, it is carried in procession and placed upon the altar in a separate, specially adorned chapel.
At the end of this service, all of the altars, except the one which holds the reserved Sacrament, are stripped of their adornments, and left bare.
You may have heard of the tradition of parishes inviting parishioners to sign up to keep watch, in one hour increments, at the altar of repose through the night on Holy Thursday. Why do they do that?
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| Mantegna Andrea, PD-OLD |
He also told his disciples in the garden to keep watch with him, and pray. So...we do.
As soon as the altar of repose is established, someone (sometimes several people) will take the post of watchman. Someone will be in that chapel every minute of every hour until the service begins at noon the next day, Good Friday...until...it is time for him to die. Someone will be there keeping watch and praying, ...because he asked us to.
What would I have done? What would you have done, there in the garden that night? Would we have stayed awake? Would we have watched and prayed? Greater followers of Christ did not.
What would I do now? In hindsight, knowing what I know now, knowing all that he has asked of me? What will I do when he dies before my eyes, when the Paschal candle is lit late Saturday night and we sing the first triumphant ode to the Resurrection? When he lives? Because he lives?
Will I obey? Will I do as he has asked of me? Will I take him into my very self and be Christ to the world, with his help? Will I?
That is why we keep watch and pray. Because there are questions.
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Maundy Thursday: To Become Christ to the World
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| Giotto, PD-OLD |
On this day in our liturgical drama, our Lord did something...does something...extraordinary. Today is Maundy Thursday, the commemoration of the Last Supper. In churches across the world, two scenes from this arrestive night will be reenacted.
We sometimes forget that this was the Passover feast, and our Lord was celebrating it. Contrary to youtube videos of late, which condemn "religion" as precluding "relationship", our Lord practiced...religion.
But he did it in an authentic way, to bring life and convey meaning.
Jesus, our Savior, our very God, got down on his knees and washed the feet of his disciples. It was a gesture of servitude. He taught us that we, miserable creatures, are no better than anyone else, and are here to serve one another.
He then instituted the Lord's supper, the Holy Eucharist and gave us the means by which we might take him into ourselves, to be Christ for the world.
It is a remarkable gift. It is an opportunity; It is a mandate. It overwhelms me; I have no words.
~~~~~
For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.~1 Corinthians 11:23-26
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| Bishop John washes the feet of Eleanor, who walks to St. Giles, Wrexham, in bare feet. Brian Roberts, click for license |
After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord--and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.
Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, `Where I am going, you cannot come.' I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."
~John 13:1-17, 31b-35
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Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Wednesday in Holy Week 2012: Throwing Stones
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| Carl Heinrich Bloch, 1834-1890, PD-OLD |
On this day, the reading concerns the agreement that Judas made with the high priests to betray Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.
I wonder if I have done that: betray him. When Sunday morning comes too early and the bed seems more comfortable than the one hour drive to church? When the Bible sits unopened on the nightstand?
In Poland, the youth throw an effigy of Judas down from the top of a church building and then drag it through town, stoning it until they reach a nearby body of water where it is drowned.
I am no fan of Judas, but, still, I cannot help but reflect on whether it is easier to throw stones at another, than to recognize betrayal in ones own actions. Today is a day to reflect, and prepare for the Triduum.
~~~~~~~~
At supper with his friends, Jesus was troubled in spirit, and declared, "Very truly, I tell you, one of you will betray me." The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he was speaking. One of his disciples-- the one whom Jesus loved-- was reclining next to him; Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. So while reclining next to Jesus, he asked him, "Lord, who is it?" Jesus answered, "It is the one to whom I give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish." So when he had dipped the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas son of Simon Iscariot. After he received the piece of bread, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, "Do quickly what you are going to do." Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. Some thought that, because Judas had the common purse, Jesus was telling him, "Buy what we need for the festival"; or, that he should give something to the poor. So, after receiving the piece of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night.When he had gone out, Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once."
~John 13: 21-32 RSV (The Roman Catholic reading today is Matt. 26:14-25)
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Monday, April 2, 2012
Tuesday in Holy Week 2012
_-_James_Tissot.jpg) |
| James Joseph Jacques Tissot [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons |
This is the first time that I have ever had to work during Holy Week. Needless to say, I am far from fond of the idea. In fact, I find it dreadful.
It is unsettling. I'm not sure what to make of it. It has thrown my cycle of observances off.
If such a relatively small change has had such a huge impact on my experience of the days leading up to the crucifixion, I can only begin to imagine what the disciples must have been going through at this point. Jesus was beginning to make clear some indication of what was ahead. They must have been in emotional chaos and confusion. What must they have been thinking?
What are we thinking at this point? Is it possible for the whole Holy Week drama to become so familiar that we are not being hit with the enormity of it? Are we ready?
Perhaps, though, these steps of our journey through the liturgical year are supposed to be unsettling...and a bit chaotic. Maybe that is the nature of the thing. Our world in being turned rather topsy turvy really. Our Lord is soon to be crucified before our very eyes of faith. We will kneel at that foot of that cross with Mother Mary and weep. The altar will be stripped. The candles will be snuffed. We will leave the church in silence. We will be alone.
I have yet to feel, after all these years, that I have made a good Lent and have gotten this Easter thing down. But maybe that is exactly the way it should be.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.
Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.
"Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say-- `Father, save me from this hour'? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name." Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again." The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, "An angel has spoken to him." Jesus answered, "This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die. The crowd answered him, "We have heard from the law that the Messiah remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?" Jesus said to them, "The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. If you walk in the darkness, you do not know where you are going. While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light."
~John 12:20-36
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Sunday, April 1, 2012
Holy Week in Two Minutes
Now this is pretty darned excellent. (Except that everywhere it says "Catholics", I would substitute: "Catholics and other Liturgical Christians"...but that's just me.) (Smiles)
The Easter Cleaning: A Borrowed Gem from Passover Tradition
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| PD-OLD |
This tradition grew, of course, out of the ritual cleaning of the home that preceded the Passover celebration in Jewish homes.
It seems fit that our "spiritual housecleaning" in the Lenten season should be accompanied by a physical housecleaning of our dwellings. It is right and good to make all things ready for the resurrection of our Lord.
Need some help getting organized? Try here.
Interesting in using natural cleaners during your Easter Cleaning? Stop Homemade by McGinnity and dig into her 6 post series on using natural cleaners.
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