Holy Thursday

 

1. PRAYER

My Most Precious Lord Jesus, this night You gathered with Your Apostles to share with them Your last meal.  But this was no ordinary meal.  This was the gift of Your most Sacred Body and Blood, soon to be broken and poured out on the Cross for the salvation of the world.  

Allow me, dear Lord, to spend this night in prayer and meditation with You.  After the meal, You invited Your Apostles to join You for one hour, to stay awake and keep vigil as You prepared for Your arrest.  The Apostles fell asleep, leaving You in Your bitter agony alone.

I accept Your gentle invitation of love, dear Lord, to spend this night in vigil with You.  May I enter Your Heart as it faced the coming persecution You were to endure for my sins.  May I console Your Sacred Heart and know the love and Mercy that flowed forth.

Lord, when I face the crosses of my own life, give me Your divine courage and strength to say “Yes” to the Will of the Father.  Your love for me is abundant and is perfect in every way.  Help me to know that love, to embrace it and to allow it into my life.

I make my vigil with You this night, dear Lord.  I love You, help me to love You with all my heart.  Jesus, I trust in You.

2.  MEDITATION

https://youtu.be/y8KSid0WFwY?si=YLOq0lmV-bYMkt4Y

3.  SONG

https://youtu.be/8oRRHghUDpE?si=3IhmLabyt9EVYgxI

4.  NARRATIVE

https://www.franciscanmedia.org/franciscan-spirit-blog/lent-with-richard-rohr-unpacking-the-ritual/

As you would expect, we have three momentous readings for the day, and they are all in ritual settings. The older religions all understood the importance and power of group rituals. Without them, there is no memory, no re-creation of the founding myth for each new generation, no group cohesiveness, and no transformation of persons at the deeper levels of consciousness—and unconsciousness!

Because the message can be hardly missed in the Gospel, Jesus explicates it clearly, “As I have done, you also must do,” and then in several more repetitions (John 13:13–20). But I am going to primarily talk about the First Reading from Exodus. Here Christians might be the most ignorant. The central Passover ritual defined this people: “This shall be a memorial feast for you, which all generations shall celebrate in Yahweh’s honor as a perpetual institution” (Exodus 12:14).

“This is how you are to eat it: with your loins girt, sandals on your feet and staff in hand, you shall eat like those who are going somewhere. This is the Passover of the Lord.” —Exodus 12:11

I will only unpack the central part of the ritual, but I think your Christian imagination will take it from there. Note that it says on the tenth day of the month (“April”), they are to procure a small year-old lamb for each household. They are to keep it for four days— just enough time for the children to bond with it and for all to see its loveliness—and then “slaughter it during the evening twilight”! Then they are to take its blood and sprinkle it on the doorpost of the houses. That night they are to eat it in highly ritualized fashion, recalling their departure from Egypt and their protection by God along the way. Thank God, the Jews eventually stopped animal sacrifice, but it was meant to be a psychic shock for all as killing always is. You can see, however, that the human psyche is slowly evolving in history to identify the real problem and what it is that actually has to die.

A cultural anthropologist could explain what is happening here. The sacrificial instinct is the deep recognition that something always has to die for something bigger to be born. We started with human sacrifice (Abraham and Isaac), we moved here to animal, and we gradually get closer to what really has to be sacrificed—our own beloved ego—as protected and beloved as a little household lamb! We will all find endless disguises and excuses to avoid letting go of what really needs to be die for our own spiritual growth. And it is not other humans (firstborn sons of Egyptians), animals (lambs or goats), or even “meat on Friday” that God wants or needs. It is always our beloved passing self that has to be let go of. Jesus surely had a dozen good reasons why he should not have to die so young, so unsuccessful at that point, and the Son of God besides!

By becoming the symbolic Passover Lamb himself, plus the foot-washing servant in tonight’s Gospel, Jesus makes the movement to the human and the personal very clear and quite concrete. It is always “we,” in our youth, in our beauty, in our power and over-protectedness that must be handed over. Otherwise, we will never grow up, big enough to “eat” of the Mystery of God and Love. It really is about “passing over” to the next level of faith and life. And that never happens without some kind of “dying to the previous levels.” This is an honest day of very good ritual that gathers all the absolutely essential but often avoided messages—necessary suffering, real sharing, divine intimacy, and loving servanthood.

5.  MEDITATION

https://youtu.be/Jr0pmaF6g98?si=HtCyz8LS_OhOH44I

6.  SHARING

7. PRAYER AND INTENTIONS

Prayer of Thanksgiving for Holy Thursday

“You gave Your life to us, like the bread on the table you broke into pieces and shared.
Now anyone who holds out their hand and heart can receive it and feed.

You gave Your life to us, like the wine You poured in the cup and shared.
Now anyone who offers their lips can drink and rejoice. 

You gave us everything, O Lord Jesus,
and you offered your life like bread and wine. 
Now the entire world can taste the love of God You shared freely with all the children of the earth! 

Here we are, O Lord, holding out our hands and hearts!“

8. SONG

https://youtu.be/FmvPLDASq_w?si=RQe8HhBDfwmPji_V

Life is a box of chocolate

 

When i am down, usually a surprise springs forth to lift me up or change my perspective.  . 

Palm sunday

 

1.  PRAYER

Prayer for Humility and Praise

"Lord Jesus Christ, on this Palm Sunday, as we remember Your triumphant entry into Jerusalem, let us also remember the path that lay before You. Fill our hearts with the humility and faithfulness that You displayed. Teach us to follow Your example of selfless love, to praise You in our hearts and with our lives, as we carry our crosses daily. Hosanna in the Highest!"

2.  MEDITATION

https://youtu.be/uI0oMw-ncZo?si=vLi0o7oYuGOiMWc1

3.  SONG

https://youtu.be/mG6thyHErVc?si=wE5ehPYwRFwn1gtx

4.  NARRATIVE

Sunday, April 13, 2025

Palm Sunday

Jesus’ state was divine, yet he did not cling to equality with God, but he emptied himself. 
—Philippians 2:6–7  

Father Richard Rohr reflects on Jesus’ surrender to God through a path of descent:   

In the overflow of rich themes on Palm Sunday, I am going to direct us toward the great parabolic movement described in Philippians 2. Most New Testament scholars consider that this was originally a hymn sung in the early Christian community. To give us an honest entranceway, let me offer a life-changing quote from C. G. Jung (1875–1961):    

In the secret hour of life’s midday the parabola is reversed, death is born. The second half of life does not signify ascent, unfolding, increase, exuberance, but death, since the end is its goal. The negation of life’s fulfilment is synonymous with the refusal to accept its ending. Both mean not wanting to live, and not wanting to live is identical with not wanting to die. Waxing and waning make one curve. [1]  

The hymn from Philippians artistically, honestly, yet boldly describes that “secret hour” Jung refers to, when God in Christ reversed the parabola, when the waxing became waning. It starts with the great self-emptying or kenosis that we call the incarnation and ends with the crucifixion. It brilliantly connects the two mysteries as one movement, down, down, down into the enfleshment of creation, into humanity’s depths and sadness, and into a final identification with those at the very bottom (“took the form of a slave,” Philippians 2:7). Jesus represents God’s total solidarity with, and even love of, the human situation, as if to say, “nothing human is abhorrent to me.”  

God, if Jesus is right, has chosen to descend—in almost total counterpoint with our humanity that is always trying to climb, achieve, perform, and prove itself. This hymn says that Jesus leaves the ascent to God, in God’s way, and in God’s time. Most of us understandably start the journey assuming that God is “up there,” and our job is to transcend this world to find God. We spend so much time trying to get “up there,” we miss that God’s big leap in Jesus was to come “down here.” What freedom! And it ends up better than any could have expected. “Because of this, God lifted him up” (Philippians 2:9). We call the “lifting up” resurrection or ascension. Jesus is set as the human blueprint, the oh-so-hopeful pattern of divine transformation.   

Trust the down, and God will take care of the up. This leaves humanity in solidarity with the life cycle, and also with one another, with no need to create success stories for ourselves or to create failure stories for others. Humanity in Jesus is free to be human and soulful instead of any false climbing into “Spirit.” This was supposed to change everything, and I trust it still will.   

References:   
[1] C. G. Jung, Psychological Reflections: A New Anthology of His Writings, 1905–1961, ed. Jolande Jacobi (Princeton University Press, 1970), 323.  

Adapted from Richard Rohr, Wondrous Encounters: Scripture for Lent (St. Anthony Messenger Press, 2011), 122–124.   

5.  MEDITATION

https://youtu.be/RNeLU-5yR04?si=5b-a4G5ifReYFIjt

6.  SHARING

1. What speaks to your heaty from the reading?

2. We are in the 5th week of Lent. How might you

be changed from Ash Wednesday?

7.  PRAYER

A Palm Sunday Prayer to Rejoice in Hope

Father, Palm Sunday is a reminder of the unexpected, yet fully anticipated, King of Kings. Jesus did not look like the Messiah Your people hoped for. The way He entered the Holy City of Jerusalem on that day, riding a young donkey as a significant sign of peace and fulfillment of prophecy, did not align with their expectations of a military conqueror. Much of our daily lives don’t align with our expectations, Father. So much of our lives don’t make sense. This Palm Sunday, let us embrace the unexpected entrance of our Savior, Jesus. He is Peace. Let us apply this incredible truth to our lives. Peace mattered to Jesus. He came to bring us Peace. He is peace. Father, how quickly we forget the Peace we possess in Christ! Remind us, minute by minute, as we navigate difficult days and trying times. Father, we need Peace to live life to the full, as Jesus died for us to live.

8.  SONG

https://youtu.be/HWPv-z2gfLY?si=PUSYC4jBNT_q1hWe

How to become more nonjudgmental

 

AI Overview

To become more nonjudgmental, cultivate awareness of your judgmental thoughts, practice active listening, and focus on understanding others' perspectives rather than immediately judging them. Consider how you would feel if judged and try to empathize with others' situations. 

Here's a more detailed breakdown:

1. Recognize and Observe Your Judgments:

• Be aware of judgmental thoughts:

  Pay attention to your internal dialogue and identify when you are making judgments about others. 
• Journaling:

  Write down your judgmental thoughts to understand your patterns and triggers. 
Mindfulness:
Practicing mindfulness can help you observe your thoughts and feelings without getting carried away by them. 

2. Develop Empathy and Understanding:

Active listening:
Focus on truly hearing what others are saying without interrupting or formulating your response while they are speaking. 
Ask questions:
Seek to understand the other person's perspective by asking clarifying questions and showing genuine interest. 
Put yourself in their shoes:
Try to imagine yourself in their situation and understand their experiences and feelings. 
Assume positive intent:
When possible, try to assume that others are acting with good intentions. 

3. Challenge Your Judgments:

Reflect on your assumptions:
Question the basis of your judgments and consider whether they are based on facts or personal biases. 
Recognize that you don't know the whole story:
Remember that you don't always have all the information about someone else's life and circumstances. 
Challenge your judgmental thoughts:
When you notice a judgment, reframe it by asking yourself, "Who am I to judge?" or "What am I not understanding?". 

4. Practice Non-Judgment in Conversations:

Use "I" statements: Express your feelings and observations using "I" statements rather than making generalizations about others. 
Focus on the behavior, not the person: When addressing a behavior, focus on the specific action rather than making personal attacks. 
Be open to different perspectives: Accept that others may have different opinions and experiences than you. 

5. Reduce Exposure to Judgmental Environments: 

Limit exposure to judgmental people:
If certain individuals consistently trigger judgmental thoughts, consider reducing your contact with them.
Set boundaries:
Politely but firmly let people know when their judgmental comments are not welcome.