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"The one day of the school year when “how was your day” was not met with a vague “fine,” was the day before Ash Wednesday. New Orleans has its Mardi Gras, but St. Thomas More School had it’s burning of the palms and burying the Alleluia rock. There are few things that brighten a child’s school day like being part of building an outdoor fire and then shoveling a bit in the dirt.
Now, these several years later, I got to revisit that once again with a handful of children on a smaller scale. That last Sunday before Lent, the children loudly sang Alleluia while circling their hands in the ASL sign for Alleluia. Then we took our carefully decorated rock lettered, A-L-L-E-L-U-I-A, tucked it inside a papered box, and set it by the altar. Later in the courtyard, the children gathered round as we watched flames lick at the edges of the dried palms, leap upward with smoke spiraling into the air. Impressive!
That afternoon, on the back deck, I sifted the cold ashes twice through a sieve, added a drop of olive oil and stirred it into a dark fine ash that we used to mark foreheads on Ash Wednesday.
This Sunday, we will come full circle. The same children will greet people by handing out palms as we gather for Passion Sunday. I hope they remember six weeks ago, connect the dots, and begin to understand this story we tell once again, because it needs to be told over and over, the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Now is our time, now is our turn in the great long telling of the story, and we get to be a part of that.
Whatever your plans are for Holy Week and Easter, I commend them to you and pray God’s blessing on our worldwide remembrance and celebration. I pray it be more than remembering; I pray it be empowering. I pray it is more than celebrating; I pray it is a way of living and being.
The Path that We Are On is not yet ended. Easter is the destination, but it is also our embarkation. We need time after Easter to let its Meaning percolate in our thoughts, let its Cause ripen in our hearts, let its Energy enliven our being.
To that end, I will be sending out a series of weekly SCRIBBLES after Easter. ENCOUNTERS WITH THE RISEN LORD invites you to stay with the mystery and take the time to linger in the presence of the Risen Lord. I have offered this in various settings in the past. For some it has become a yearly ritual. This year, I am simply sending it out to all those on my SCRIBBLES e-list. It is my great hope that it will enrich your experience of faith and bless you with the joy and peace that Christ offers you.
Thank you to the Pacific Northwest...
Thank you to Fr. Bill Heric for hosting, to Fr. Bob Camuso for inviting, and to the good folks at NE Seattle Catholic Community for my time with them at St. Brigid's. We had a rollicking time going through the stories of Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and Bathsheba on a rainy Sunday evening. It really was lively, a lot of fun and quite thought provoking! (WHY THESE WOMEN has a way of bringing that out 😉
The following weekend I partnered with my dear friend, Scott Ward, the artist for my children's book. First, he invited me to present again from WHY THESE WOMEN at his home church of First Congregational in Bellingham, WA . Then together we presented TERRANCE McPHEE and the TOY EATING TREE at Village Books in Fairhaven. I cannot say enough about the joy it has been to work with this creative and generous artist. Thank you, Scott.
And it's always fun when your audience gets involved as when Ronin and Ashwin helped me make the paper airplanes and set them sailing into the audience! Thank you, fellow readers and future aviators!
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