A Three-Day Journey Begins

Holy Thursday is the day of gifts given and gifts taken away. ~ Joan Chittister

I continue to read Chittister’s The Liturgical Year. It is fascinating to me and I am learning new things. This quote struck me as painfully beautiful. I love Holy Thursday and look forward to tomorrow night’s liturgy. Two years ago I was one of the parishioners asked to have my feet washed. I remember feeling like it completed my journey of the missioning service and the welcoming home.

I always feel the contradictory emotions of this first Triduum experience. A joyous supper with 12 of his closest friends seems like a celebration, but Jesus knew how it would soon all fall apart. There were lots of clues even in today’s readings about what is to come. When the altar is stripped bare tomorrow night and the silence begins, I know that something is happening…something just beyond our grasp. We have just received a marvellous gift in Jesus’ teachings on servant leadership and a hint of what is to come, and the gift will soon be snatched away as he is arrested and deserted by the very people with whom he broke bread.

Soon the silence will be deafening; the bareness blinding. What has just happened? Hearing the story again should shock us into reality. When have I betrayed Jesus? Am I following at a distance or do I stand with him? Do I accept the gift offered—or do I reject it? Do I long to have my feet washed by Christ or do I prefer to sit in the pew content to watch but not be transformed?

These holy days give life to our journey but we cannot just go through them with a humdrum routine. We must be ready to do all in remembrance of the One who laid down His life for us. Chittister ends the chapter on Holy Thursday by saying: No footwashing, no conversion. No Eucharistic celebration, no new life. Which is why we go away in silence to think about it.

At the end of tomorrow’s service I have lots to think about. How about you? What will the first day of the Triduum make you think about?

Peace,

Suzanne