Picture is the White Rose Society.

For Christians all over the world, today is Palm Sunday, the beginnning of Holy Week. Honor the redemptive suffering done by the holy throughout all time for the ignorant, the sinners, the obstinate and the cruel, and honor the resurrection and triumph of The Light which heals, even if you are not a Christian.

Music for your journey here, true choral treasures...

Ezekiel 1:4-6 - As I looked, behold, a stormy wind came out of the north, and a great cloud, with brightness around it, and fire flashing forth continually, and in the midst of the fire, as it were gleaming metal. And from the midst of it came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: they had a human likeness, but each had four faces, and each of them had four wings. 

Behold, the Bridegroom comes in the middle of the night; and blessed is the servant whom He shall find watching. But unworthy is he whom He shall find in slothfulness. Beware, then, O my soul, and do not be overcome by sleep, lest you be given over to death and be shut out from the Kingdom. But return to soberness and cry aloud: "Holy, holy, holy are You, O God! Through the prayers of the Mother of God have mercy on us!"
-Eastern Orthodox Troparion

Luke 13:6-9
He spoke also this parable: A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it, and found none. And he said to the dresser of the vineyard: Behold, for these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it done therefore: why cumbereth it the ground? But he answering, said to him: Lord, let it alone this year also, until I dig about it, and dung it. And if happily it bear fruit: but if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.

Because Christ's treatment of the fig tree, the eating of figs is customary, and here are a few ways to do so:

From FishEaters:

Ways to eat Figs

At this time of year, the figs you can get will be dried. First, snip off any stems, then plump them up by letting them boil in water for 5 minutes or so, and letting them stand in the water until cool. Now, some options:

1) Slice deep crosses into the tops of 8 oz. of figs and spread open. Blend together 12 oz. of cream cheese and 4 oz. of Gorgonzola or blue cheese. Cut crosses into the figs and stuff with the cheese mixture. Top with a pecan half, chill, and serve cold.

2) Quarter figs. Cut thin slices of prosciutto in half lengthwise. Wrap each quarter in the prosciutto so it resembles a rose.  (Vegetarians or eastern orthodox still fasting from meat until Pascha,  substiture veggie "bacon".) Sprinkle with fresh lime juice and freshly ground black pepper.

3) Coarsely chop 1/2 cup pecans and mix with 8 oz. cream cheese. Slice figs in half lengthwise and spoon cheese mixture into each half.

4) Cut a slit into Calimyrna figs and stuff each with a pistachio. Slice a piece of Canadian-style bacon in half lengthwise. Top the bacon with a fresh leaf of basil, and wrap both around a fig. Place seam-side down on a jellyroll pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Bake in a pre-heated 425 degree oven for 8-10 minutes until bacon is brown.

The Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday following Palm Sunday are another traditional time of cleaning. Just as the house is cleaned during Advent in preparation for Christmas, and just as Shrovetide is spent cleaning in preparation for Lent, these days are spent in preparation of the greatest Feast of the Church year: the Feast of Easter. By Wednesday night, the house should be spotless so that the days of the Sacred Triduum (Holy Thursday, Friday, and Saturday) can be devoted to Christ's Passion.

"When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he
   will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations,
   and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep
   from the goats, and he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at
   the left. Then the King will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, O blessed
   of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the
   world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me
   drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I
   was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the
   righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or
   thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you,
   or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit
   you?' And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one
   of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.' Then he will say to those
   at his left hand, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared
   for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was
   thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me,
   naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.'
   Then they also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a
   stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?' Then he
   will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it not to one of the least
   of these, you did it not to me.' And they will go away into eternal punishment
   but the righteous into eternal life."  from Matthew 25

Matthew 26:14-16 - Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, "What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?" And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him. 

Tonight when we go to church there is a long service with many readings, and a little pitcher of olive oil is blessed in many ways. Then people come forward and are anointed with the oil. It is one of my favorite services of Holy Week, bringing the physical reality of days gone by where the holy ghost and oil were healing instruments of choice - and showing us moderns that they still are very much favored vessels of healing.

Tantum ergo Sacramentum Veneremur cernui Et antiquum documentum novo cedat ritui Praestet fides supplementum Sensuum defectui		Down in adoration falling, Lo! the sacred Host we hail, Lo! oe'r ancient forms departing Newer rites of grace prevail; Faith for all defects supplying, Where the feeble senses fail.
Genitori, Genitoque Laus et jubilatio Salus, honor, virtus quoque Sit et benedictio Procedenti ab utroque Compar sit laudatio. A-men		To the everlasting Father, And the Son Who reigns on high With the Holy Spirit proceeding Forth from each eternally, Be salvation, honor blessing, Might and endless majesty.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHi-1taeqeo

From FishEaters:
At the evening Mass, after the bells ring during the Gloria, they are rung no more until the Easter Vigil (a wooden clapper called a "crotalus" is used insead). Parents explain this to their children by saying that the all the bells fly to Rome after the Gloria of the Mass on Maundy Thursday to visit the Popes. Children are told that the bells sleep on the roof of St. Peter's Basilica, and, bringing Easter eggs with them, start their flight home at the Gloria at the Easter Vigil, when when they peal wildly.

Then comes the Washing of the Feet after the homily, a rite performed by Christ upon His disciples to prepare them for the priesthood and the marriage banquet they will offer, and which is rooted in the Old Testament practice of foot-washing in preparation for the marital embrace (II Kings 11:8-11, Canticles 5:3) and in the ritual ablutions performed by the High Priest of the Old Covenant (contrast Leviticus 16:23-24 with John 13:3-5). The priest girds himself with a cloth and washes the feet of 12 men he's chosen to represent the Apostles for the ceremony.

The rest of the Mass after the Washing of the Feet has a special form, unlike all other Masses. After the Mass, the priest takes off his chasuble and vests in a white cope. He returns to the Altar, incenses the Sacred Hosts in the ciborium, and, preceded by the Crucifer and torchbearers, carries the Ciborium to the "Altar of Repose," also called the "Holy Sepulchre," where it will remain "entombed" until the Mass of the Presanctified on Good Friday.

Then there follows the Stripping of the Altars, during which everything is removed as Antiphons and Psalms are recited. All the glorious symbols of Christ's Presence are removed to give us the sense of His entering most fully into His Passion. Christ enters the Garden of Gethsemani; His arrest is imminent. The joyful signs of His Presence won't return until Easter begins with the Easter Vigil Mass on Saturday evening.

 

Making Descansos

A Good Friday Spiritual practice

A descansos is a Spanish name word meaning rest or resting place. A descansos is usually erected at the site of tragic accident in which some ones life was cut short. To make markers on a page is a very good way of providing an outline for yourself if you want to write an autobiography.

To cleanse oneself Clarissa Pinkola Estés suggests making descansos. To make descansos means taking a look at your life and marking where the small deaths and the big deaths have taken place.

She encourages people to make a timeline of their life on big sheets of paper and to mark with a cross the places along the graph, starting with her infancy all the way to the present where parts and pieces of her self and her life have died. You mark the roads not taken, paths that were cut off, ambushes, betrayals and death.

Personally I encourage people to make descansos by sitting down and remembering the significant milestones, by celebrating joy and mourning losses. Just as our ancestors drew on the walls of caves and sat around the campfires telling stories of triumph and tragedy we can engage in the transformative process of using story to help us.
 
When we make descansos we undergo a transformative process and come to truly know ourselves and see the events in our life differently. When we gain fresh perspective we heal.

To read more about Descansos read pages 365-66
Estés, C.P. Women Who Run With The Wolves.

Holy Saturday

The Reading is from Matthew 28:1-20

After the sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the sepulcher. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone, and sat upon it. His appearance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid; for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. Lo, I have told you." So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said, "Hail! " And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and tell my brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see me."

While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sum of money to the soldiers and said, "Tell people, 'His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.' And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble." So they took the money and did as they were directed; and this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age. Amen."

 

A breath of fresh air for the modern world. Scottish monks living waaay out in the ocean.

The Monks of Papa Stronsay, Scotland

Money Really Doesn't Buy Happiness

24-Aug-2004

QUOTE: 
It may not seem like it to us, but research shows that money doesn't buy happiness. Another ongoing controversy is whether it's hard on children when their mothers work. Scientists have found this is true-but only for wealthy women!

On a scale of 1 to 7, where 1 means "not at all satisfied with my life" and 7 means "completely satisfied," the people on Forbes magazine's list of the 400 richest Americans average 5.8-the same as the Inuit people in Greenland and the cattle-herding Masai of Kenya, who live in dung huts with no electricity or running water. Calcutta's slum dwellers score only a little lower, at 4.6.

Psychologists Ed Diener and Martin E.P. Seligman analyzed more than 150 studies on wealth and happiness and found that "economic indicators have glaring shortcomings" when it comes to determining how happy people are. They report that, in many countries, "although economic output has risen steeply over the past decades, there has been no rise in life satisfaction...and there has been a substantial increase in depression and distrust...Economic success falls short as a measure of well-being, in part because materialism can negatively influence well-being, and also because it is possible to be happy without living a life of luxury."

Also, people who say they're happy usually go on, years later, to earn higher incomes than people who say they're not. We would think that being discontent would inspire people to succeed, but the opposite seems to be true.

Government policies that promote economic growth, while shortchanging workers on things like vacation time, family time and health insurance, will not produce happy citizens. Since World War II, the per capita income in the U.S. has tripled, but life satisfaction has stayed the same. The same thing has happened in Japan and Western Europe. One reason may be that a rising economy, and the aggressive advertising that accompanies it, makes people desire even more things; therefore, they remain discontented.

A new study shows that most mothers who go out to work do not harm their children's development-unless they earn a lot of money. While 90% of mothers work during their child's first nine years, only 15% put in more than 35 hours per week, but women in high powered-and high paying-jobs often work longer hours. And the study showed that an extra 20 hours of work a week among high income mothers did significant damage to their children's performance in school.

Why would this be? One reason could be that lower income mothers bring in money that buys necessities and thus is vital to family happiness, while upper income mothers mostly earn luxuries that do not make up for the lost time with their kids.