Hello and welcome to Passiontide!
Traditionally beginning on the 5th Sunday of Lent (which was yesterday) the Church enters a period of greater attention to the events leading up to Jesus’ Passion and Death. Next Sunday is Palm Sunday where we’ll hear the Passion narrative from the Gospel of Matthew (the longest Gospel of the year), so Palm Sunday can also be referred to as Passion Sunday. In the old liturgical calendar next Sunday was referred to as the Second Sunday of Passiontide. After Palm Sunday Passion Week begins, or Holy Week. As a way to help us enter more intentionally into this most sacred time some parishes will veil all the images and crucifixes in the church to reflect the somber and austere tone commensurate with the suffering of Jesus.
How are you entering with Jesus into his suffering during this time?
Try praying this beautiful prayer from the Triodion (Triduum) in the Greek Church:
Cleanse me, O merciful Savior,
by the fire of thy commandments,
and grant I may contemplate thy saving Passion
and lovingly adore it,having the Cross for my protection and defense.
by the fire of thy commandments,
and grant I may contemplate thy saving Passion
and lovingly adore it,having the Cross for my protection and defense.
Having our hearts purified the waters of our fast,
let us with faith embrace the wood of the Cross
on which Jesus was crucified and gave us the water of immortality.
———
I hope you all gave Fr. Bob a warm welcome this weekend. I’m having a great time in St. Paul, MN with my younger brother and his family and my parents. I baptized Jack my newest nephew today and it was pretty great. We were taking bets on if he’d cry when I poured the water on his head. I’m not sure who won because he cried the whole time … guess we’ll have to wait for First Communion to go double or nothing if he’ll make a face after he drinks the Blood of Christ!
AMDG,
Fr. Stephen
