Monday of Holy Week
I had a dream the other night. It was strange because I usually don’t remember dreams, but I remember this one like it really happened. I got a phone call to come and do a communion service at another parish. I should have known better, but I said I’d do it. It was one of those last minute things where I pretty much had to hang up the phone and go straight there. I didn’t have time to prepare anything or even look at the readings for the day.
When I got there, it was almost time for the service to start. I went into the sacristy and they didn’t have any albs or dalmatics. They had this huge closet full of vestments but nothing that I needed. The only thing I found was one, old, faded green dalmatic. Since it was past time to start, I went ahead and put it on and went out into the church where they had already started without me. I got there just in time to read the gospel.
I gave some kind of homily that wasn’t very good. And that’s all I remember.
But the dream made me think. There’s nothing worse than to be in a situation where you’re not prepared, especially in front of a bunch of people. The thing I remember most vividly about my dream was how uncomfortable I was. It was my fault. I should have said no if I didn’t have time to get ready to do it right.
It’s Lent. We have six weeks to prepare for the celebration of Christ’s death and resurrection. As of today, we have less than a week left. Am I ready? Are you ready? We’ve had five weeks. What is there left for us to do? Have we spent more time planning the Easter dinner than we’ve spent preparing ourselves?
What about that day that will come for each of us when we stand face-to-face with Jesus? Will we be ready for that? We don’t know when it will be. We just know that it’s coming. On the other hand, we’ve had our whole lives to get ready.
With Lent, we know exactly how much time we have to prepare. This year, Easter is March 27. Next year it’s . We know that. But I’m afraid that a lot of us, especially me, are procrastinators. We put things off.
The good thing is that we still have a few days. What can we do this week to get ready for Easter? One good place to start would be right here, tomorrow. It works out that this year we have Eucharistic Adoration during Holy Week. We can spend as much time as we like in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. What an opportunity to just sit and talk with God about whatever’s on our mind. Better yet, we can sit quietly and listen to what He has to say to us.
We also have the usual Holy Week opportunities to worship. Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil on Saturday evening are all at the same time, 7:00. That’s so people like me can remember. Also, don’t forget the pot-luck dinner on Thursday. Supper and the Last Supper, without even having to move your car. And, they’re both free!
So you don’t get bored, Deacon Mike, Father Gary, and I will each be preaching one night. I’m not going to tell you who does what, because I want it to be a surprise. Really, I don’t want you staying home on my night.
Seriously there’s a reason they call this Holy Week. It’s nice to have new clothes for Easter. We want to have a nice Easter meal. There’s shopping to do and egg to color, and egg hunts to go to, but it’s more important for all of us to remember what this season is all about and to do our best to keep Holy Week holy.
When I got there, it was almost time for the service to start. I went into the sacristy and they didn’t have any albs or dalmatics. They had this huge closet full of vestments but nothing that I needed. The only thing I found was one, old, faded green dalmatic. Since it was past time to start, I went ahead and put it on and went out into the church where they had already started without me. I got there just in time to read the gospel.
I gave some kind of homily that wasn’t very good. And that’s all I remember.
But the dream made me think. There’s nothing worse than to be in a situation where you’re not prepared, especially in front of a bunch of people. The thing I remember most vividly about my dream was how uncomfortable I was. It was my fault. I should have said no if I didn’t have time to get ready to do it right.
It’s Lent. We have six weeks to prepare for the celebration of Christ’s death and resurrection. As of today, we have less than a week left. Am I ready? Are you ready? We’ve had five weeks. What is there left for us to do? Have we spent more time planning the Easter dinner than we’ve spent preparing ourselves?
What about that day that will come for each of us when we stand face-to-face with Jesus? Will we be ready for that? We don’t know when it will be. We just know that it’s coming. On the other hand, we’ve had our whole lives to get ready.
With Lent, we know exactly how much time we have to prepare. This year, Easter is March 27. Next year it’s . We know that. But I’m afraid that a lot of us, especially me, are procrastinators. We put things off.
The good thing is that we still have a few days. What can we do this week to get ready for Easter? One good place to start would be right here, tomorrow. It works out that this year we have Eucharistic Adoration during Holy Week. We can spend as much time as we like in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. What an opportunity to just sit and talk with God about whatever’s on our mind. Better yet, we can sit quietly and listen to what He has to say to us.
We also have the usual Holy Week opportunities to worship. Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil on Saturday evening are all at the same time, 7:00. That’s so people like me can remember. Also, don’t forget the pot-luck dinner on Thursday. Supper and the Last Supper, without even having to move your car. And, they’re both free!
So you don’t get bored, Deacon Mike, Father Gary, and I will each be preaching one night. I’m not going to tell you who does what, because I want it to be a surprise. Really, I don’t want you staying home on my night.
Seriously there’s a reason they call this Holy Week. It’s nice to have new clothes for Easter. We want to have a nice Easter meal. There’s shopping to do and egg to color, and egg hunts to go to, but it’s more important for all of us to remember what this season is all about and to do our best to keep Holy Week holy.
posted by Mike at 10:10 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home