Holy Week brings to mind many childhood memories. I think back to the Holy Week I spent with my grandparents when I was 12. My grandparents were hardworking, devoted believers who had immigrated from Czechoslovakia. Their earthly world was insular; it revolved around church and family. However, their spiritual world seemed vast and just as real. The impact of mystery on a child's soul and mind is hard to quantify. I grew up believing that some things are accepted on faith.
Their Church, St Nicholas of Myra, was a Byzantine Rite Catholic church. The church was a glorious collage of icons, rich colors and stained glass. When I think of it, I can smell the incense and I can hear my grandmother chanting the rosary in Slovak.
Holy Week meant baking, lots of baking. I helped my grandma make the Pascha, or Easter bread. We made cheese and decorated it with a cross made of cloves, we dyed red eggs and we shaped butter in glass dishes. All of these delicacies were blessed by the priest on Holy Saturday. The blessed food was then eaten for a late snack on Saturday or breakfast on Easter Sunday.
Holy Week meant lots of Mass and lots of rituals. Good Friday was a day of strict fasting, no dairy and no meat. Good Friday was a somber day for technology too. There was no radio and no television. I got snagged for watching cartoons at a friends house one year. Oops!
One of my most vivid memories about Easter Sunday is my Grandpa saying grace. On Easter Sunday, you all stand to say grace. I was impressed by the solemnity and the sense of honor in this simple gesture. Another custom involves the greeting of the day. People say, "Christ has Risen." Then the other person responds, "Indeed He is risen." These gestures weave the core message of Easter into the fabric of the day. This puts me in the mind of an Easter card display I saw. There were dividers for the cards and they said "niece", "husband", "grandma" "clergy" etc and wait for it..."religious". It is a religious holiday. I have nothing against spring, but Easter IS a religious holiday.
Easter is the cornerstone of the Christian faith. When I say I am a Christian, it doesn't mean that attend a certain church and have certain friends and can remember certain scriptures. It means that I am a follower of Jesus Christ. It means that I believe He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. It means that I am called to love my enemies, care for the poor and forgive others as I would like to be forgiven. Jesus is inclusive. His circle is one where there is always a seat for someone new. During His lifetime, He ate with tax collectors, prostitutes and the unclean. As the Christian rock song says "Jesus paid much too high a price for us to pick and choose who can come. We are the body of Christ."
During this Holy Week, I reflect on the foundations of my faith with gratitude. I also understand that being a Christian is a practice, not a static label. I pray that this week refreshes my faith and opens my heart to God's grace. It is this grace and mercy, so clear on Easter Sunday, that will enable me to continue my Christian practice. I pray that God blesses all of you. May you have peace in your heart and enjoy a connection with the Divine. Have a blessed Holy Week.
Their Church, St Nicholas of Myra, was a Byzantine Rite Catholic church. The church was a glorious collage of icons, rich colors and stained glass. When I think of it, I can smell the incense and I can hear my grandmother chanting the rosary in Slovak.
Holy Week meant baking, lots of baking. I helped my grandma make the Pascha, or Easter bread. We made cheese and decorated it with a cross made of cloves, we dyed red eggs and we shaped butter in glass dishes. All of these delicacies were blessed by the priest on Holy Saturday. The blessed food was then eaten for a late snack on Saturday or breakfast on Easter Sunday.
Holy Week meant lots of Mass and lots of rituals. Good Friday was a day of strict fasting, no dairy and no meat. Good Friday was a somber day for technology too. There was no radio and no television. I got snagged for watching cartoons at a friends house one year. Oops!
One of my most vivid memories about Easter Sunday is my Grandpa saying grace. On Easter Sunday, you all stand to say grace. I was impressed by the solemnity and the sense of honor in this simple gesture. Another custom involves the greeting of the day. People say, "Christ has Risen." Then the other person responds, "Indeed He is risen." These gestures weave the core message of Easter into the fabric of the day. This puts me in the mind of an Easter card display I saw. There were dividers for the cards and they said "niece", "husband", "grandma" "clergy" etc and wait for it..."religious". It is a religious holiday. I have nothing against spring, but Easter IS a religious holiday.
Easter is the cornerstone of the Christian faith. When I say I am a Christian, it doesn't mean that attend a certain church and have certain friends and can remember certain scriptures. It means that I am a follower of Jesus Christ. It means that I believe He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. It means that I am called to love my enemies, care for the poor and forgive others as I would like to be forgiven. Jesus is inclusive. His circle is one where there is always a seat for someone new. During His lifetime, He ate with tax collectors, prostitutes and the unclean. As the Christian rock song says "Jesus paid much too high a price for us to pick and choose who can come. We are the body of Christ."
During this Holy Week, I reflect on the foundations of my faith with gratitude. I also understand that being a Christian is a practice, not a static label. I pray that this week refreshes my faith and opens my heart to God's grace. It is this grace and mercy, so clear on Easter Sunday, that will enable me to continue my Christian practice. I pray that God blesses all of you. May you have peace in your heart and enjoy a connection with the Divine. Have a blessed Holy Week.
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