March 31-April 1, 2012
Palm/Passion Sunday
Isaiah 50:4-7 Philippians 2:6-11 Mark 14:1-15:47
A recommended technique for effective speakers is with creative, engaging, yet clear language, tell your audience what you are going to say, then say it and then remind them of what you said as part of your closing. With the start of Holy Week we have the WHOLE story of Holy Week placed before us in great detail (with the exception of Easter Sunday) by way of inviting us to live and ponder more fully the events commemorated this week, each with their own day, rituals and focus.
The story is a familiar one and while our street corners are littered with posters and banners inviting folk to Easter Services at this or that auditorium…it is THIS STORY…of Jesus saying goodbye, being betrayed, suffering and dying upon the Cross and then the wrenching wait of Holy Saturday that is actually far more worthy of our attention than the fancy flourish of next Sunday. Yes, the tomb will again be empty…but there can be no Easters without the events of this week. Anymore than there can be success in business or school without countless hours of effort and hard work, so the promise of rebirth does not come easy or without struggle and loss. Sacrifice, departure, loss, woundedness, anguish, confusion and doubt are all interwoven within the stories of this week. With Palmy flourish we share what this week is all about….and INVITE YOU to come and live it more vibrantly and deeply on Holy Thursday as YOUR feet are washed, as YOU ponder the goodbyes you have had to say and hear….on Good Friday as YOU touch the wood of the cross and remember all the times that life has struck you numb, when sickness impaled you with pain, when your personal darkness and despairs mocked your efforts to ‘move on with your life’, when friends were few and happiness seemed far away….to the endless watings of Holy Saturday, when answers don’t come quickly and we wait for things that may never be the same and we don’t understand and are confused and in chaos and pain and just want to curl up in a ball and weep. Oh yes, Easter Sunday will come…but what about the realities of life when Easter is far from near, when hope is still entombed and the stone has not been rolled away? To what do we cling when we are in the midst of our own Holy Thursdays, Good Fridays and Holy Saturdays?
Perhaps only the remembrance that Jesus himself had to experience and suffer the very things we endure…perhaps that will be the only strength available and will have to suffice…as long as we REMEMBER the stories. Our own personal Holy Weeks are NOT usually only seven days…they can last for months, years, sometimes a lifetime. The stories of this week are meant to be the lenses through which we experience our own lives…they are the paths that lead to Easter…but without which, Easter CANNOT happen. Please, listen, come, experience, ponder, feel and plant these stories deep within your souls….because in truth, Easter won’t always be enough when you are in the midst of your own Good Friday and find yourself crying out: ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’
Welcome and thank you for sharing our Palm/Passion Weekend with our Corpus Christi Community. Blessed Palm fronds may be pulled from the branches outside on the courtyard, please do not tear apart any of the decorative fronds within the building.
You are HIGHLY encouraged to come to our Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday (Easter Vigil) liturgies, ONE MASS spread out over three days (Triduum). The experience allows your experience of Easter to be that much richer and fuller. The Bulletin has the FULL schedule for this week. NEXT weekend will be CROWDED…please anticipate it and plan accordingly…and STAY HAPPY…even if you can’t get into the Grand Hall. If you encounter people you don’t know or who look like they are visitors, please…PUT ON YOUR BIGGEST SMILE AND WELCOME THEM…and make sure they want to come back to Corpus Christi!!!! The Mass schedule is the usual Sunday schedule, 8am, 10am and 12noon…but all of them will be crowded…so come early and be of good cheer! This week we are seeking and accepting donations of potted lilies, hydrangeas and other flowers/plants so that our Easter Garden and Grand Hall can bloom with color…please leave them beside the Kitchen door. Here we go….Holy Week 2012…as you enter into it, remember, you are loved. FKB
