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Every year in Malagá in the morning of Holy Thursday there is a ceremony known as  El Traslado del Cristo de Mena  (The Transfer of the Christ of Mena) where members of the Spanish Foreign Legion carry  El Cristo de la Buena Muerte  (The Christ of a Good Death). They sing  El Novio de la Muerte  (Death’s Bridegroom; lyrics in Spanish and English  here ) while carrying the very large and heavy crucifix. Continue at Bangor to Bobbio .

Jesus washes the feet of the Apostles Church of St Aignan, Chartres, France [ Wikipedia ] Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Note: The page above has the readings for the Chrism Mass and, below them, those for the Mass of the Lord's Supper.  Gospel   John 13:1-15 ( New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition, Canada)     Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.  The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper  Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was goin...

The question which naturally arises on this night, on the eve of Christ’s death, is where do I stand? Do I stand among the righteous, pure, self-sufficient ones or do I stand with the poor in spirit,  those captive to their woundedness, and oppressed in the face of their innate sinfulness? Do I need saved and am I humble enough to ask for help? If I can’t, then Jesus died in vain, the power of his crucifixion is wasted on me and I will be unable to rejoice on Easter Sunday. continue reading

... The Gift of Receptivity ... ...Personally, my receptivity feelers do not fire on all cylinders. Sure, I’m open to whatever God has for me as long as it is good, healthy, and includes very little discomfort. Unlike Jesus entering into Jerusalem ready to fulfill God’s Will, I spend far too much time avoiding God and his Will. Perhaps I am hoping that if I am really quiet and well-behaved, I will avoid whatever cross is lurking in my day. Ironically, my cross has become my fear of the cross. My focus is far too much on this false fear of the possible tragedy lurking around the corner, and in turn I lose sight the good things God has in store for me—in any situation.... ... Holy Thursday Blessings ... Read more ....  All Rights Reserved, Allison Gingras 2017 Reflection part of the WINE Lenten Book Club #LentenWalk

It is Holy Thursday. Tonight, churches around the entire globe will wait in  prayerful vigil, with lights dimmed, all images covered with the congregation in respectful, sombre silence. The Church is remembering the end of Jesus’s public life as a teacher and healer and walking with Him as He begins His most important work, the work of salvation in His passion, death and resurrection. Yet today’s Gospel takes us back to the beginning of Jesus’s public ministry. He has just emerged from the desert, filled by the power of the Holy Spirit, astonishing crowds with His words. As He stands on the podium in the synagogue to read from the book of Isiah, repeating the Old Testament reading which we have just heard minutes before, Jesus summarizes His entire ministry in a few short verses. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight t...

Video made at Madonna House , Combermere, Ontario, Canada I have visited the Madonna House community in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada, a number of times, in 1985 and in 2005. One of many blessings was meeting and working with a priest of Madonna House, the late Monsignor Art Bukowski, from Michigan, USA, in Kentucky during the summers of 1969 and 1970, when I was a young priest studying in the USA. He was much older than me and when I first met him he had just finished 29 years as president of Aquinas College, Grand Rapids. He later, I think, spent some time in Latin America. He died in 1989. I remember him for his quiet, missionary zeal as a priest and his driest of the dry humour. I also remember the Madonna House cross that he wore.   Monsignor Arthur F. Bukowski The video, which begins with part of the gospel for Holy Thursday, highlights the consecration of Catherine de Hueck (de HUEeck) Doherty and her husband to Jesus through Mary. This consecration comes form the ...