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April 5, 2007
Holy Thursday
With tonight's service we begin the Paschal Triduum - three days that mark the crucial moments in the life our Lord - His Passion, Death and Resurrection. Tonight we will have the Maundy Thursday service - Washing of the Feet, The Lord's Supper, The greatest commandment of love. Tonight also is the night that commemorates the institution of the Holy Eucharist and Holy Orders. Great example of serving the Lord and His body - the Church through the ministerial priesthood. These are moments of grace and blessing. Let us participate in them with deep faith. Also the moving ceremony of the stripping of the altar and the church at the end of the service, commemorating the passion of the Lord. Tonight is the only night throughout the world the Eucharist is celebrated and have enough communion in reserve for distribution on Good Friday. On Good Friday there will be no Eucharistic celebration in any corner of the earth, commemorating the singular sacrifice that Christ paid for our sins.
On Good Friday, we commemorate the Lord's death through the devotion of the stations of the Cross at noon, followed by meditations on the last seven words of Jesus and their impact on the lives of individuals, shared through testimonials. After a small lenten lunch, we begin the Good Friday Liturgy that begins with the dramatized version of the passion narrative, then the veneration of the cross and holy communion.
On Holy Saturday, the Easter vigil service will take us through the liturgical celebration of the Paschal candle procession, commemorative of the passage of the Israelites through the red sea, and through the death of Christ, the passage from death to life, darkness to light, mortality to immortality. New fire is blessed from which the paschal candle is lit. This is followed by the Paschal Proclamation that recounts the salvation brought to us by the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This would be followed by the Liturgy of the Word. Then the Liturgy of the Baptismal vows, then the Holy Eucharist. Nothing is more important in the life of a Christian than these three days. So, please make sure to attend these momentous commemoration of our salvation.
Also today, we need to pray for the clergy and the postulants.
I'm requesting your prayers for Jean Chase who was in the ER when I saw her and is now admitted in Washington Regional. She was very much saddened by what the doctors told her and she is not sure if she will make it through to her 87th birthday. Her lungs are becoming more and more incapacitated.
Also, your prayers are requested for Ruth Casey who has had a fall and is recuperating. We need to pray for Glenn Johnston, the father of Audra Johnston who has been in the ER. Let us lift them all up to the Lord and pray for His strength and healing for them all.
Posted by frleo at April 5, 2007 9:03 PM
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