“Jesus lives, our hearts know well, nought from us his love shall sever.”
We set off into the new month of April in the heart of the most significant seven days in the church’s year – we are in Holy Week.
On the 1st we celebrate Maundy Thursday – Jesus and his apostles were gathered together for a meal, as they did every year, to celebrate the feast of the Passover; but this time it was to be so very different! Jesus uttered the words “This is My Body” and “This is My Blood” over the bread and wine that they were all to share – an act that is perpetuated every single day by a priest somewhere in the world.
This meal, the one we know as the Last Supper, was the start of the momentous story of the Passion; after the gathering in the Upper Room the tension begins to rise as we see Jesus alone in the Garden of Gethsemane, terrified because he knew what he was going to have to endure yet agreeing to go through with it in order to fulfil the Will of his Father.
The 14 Stations of the Cross take us through the events of the next three days, Good Friday through to Easter Sunday. To many such an account of betrayal, humiliation, brutality and execution would seem an utter failure but as Christians we know that it was just the opposite. Death was not the end; as on Easter morning the stone was rolled away and our Lord and Saviour rose from the tomb. He had conquered death, the way to heaven had been opened up for all mankind.
I pray that you and your loved ones have a peaceful and joyful Easter and that soon the shadow of this dreadful virus will have disappeared from our lives.
God Bless
As we make our way through the Church’s year, on the 17th February we come to another one of its most significant days – we celebrate Ash Wednesday. This marks the beginning of the 40 days of Lent, when we are reminded to reflect on how we have strayed from the right path and how we should be making an effort to get back on it in our preparation for Easter.
We all know about the tradition of giving something up for Lent; why not this year look at our Lenten observance in a different way? Instead of, or perhaps as well as, depriving ourselves of a treat, let us make an effort to do something extra to help someone who is in need. To do this brings us closer to the Lord and invites Him to come into the routine of our daily lives.
Also, what about setting time aside each day for private prayer? What about, if it is convenient, joining in the Prayer Session in church on Saturdays?
In normal times we follow the Stations of the Cross each week in church; why not take some time to follow the Stations in private prayer in your own home?
We talk about “practising” our Faith. Practice means doing something extra so that we can improve – “Practice makes Perfect”. Let us all make an extra effort to practise our Faith as we prepare ourselves for the celebration of the Resurrection of the Lord on Easter Sunday.
Keep well and keep safe.
God Bless