I would be interested to know what our readers are doing during this Holy Week -- individually and corporately.
Of course, one of the things you may be doing individually is abstaining from reading blogs, in which case you won't read this post, or from commenting on blogs, in which case you won't answer.
But for those of you who aren't under such a discipline, it would be interesting to hear from you.
I'll kick this off.
First, the personal:
I have not been as dilligent in my Lenten discipline as I had hoped to be (there, I've confessed), so have chosen to make Holy Week as as fruitful as I can.
In addition to my regular morning and evening offices, I am also saying the Litany and the Penitential Office each day and the rosary. I have also chosen to abstain from any social activity, aside from the inevitability of going to work, and am dedicating the extra time to lectio divina and St Maximos the Confessor.
Meanwhile, I have adopted a very rigorous diet: no meat or fish, or products derived therefrom, as well as dairy products. Only one meal a day and the intention of a full fast from sunset Thursday until sunset Friday.
As for the corporate side, there is sadly little to say. As there is no ACC parish in Nicosia (yet), there is nothing for me to share in. Unfortunately, I am working nights all this week, except for Friday. I will see if there are Stations of the Cross, or something else, at the RC parish on Friday evening. On Saturday, I have to work from 3 to 11, and will go straight after work to the Midnight Mass at the Maronite cathedral.
In addition to my Lenten Discipline, this week our parish will have, and I will hopefully attend: Maundy Thursday Eucharist, Good Friday Mass of the Presanctified (at Noon), Stations of the Cross (Good Friday at 7 PM), and on Easter, both Morning Prayer and Eucharist. In addition, 3 friends and I are going to do a Good Friday Service at 2:15 PM in a local Rest Home. It is designed for patients on any and all Christian denominations. We will sing some appropriate Hymns for Good Friday, read the Passion Story from the Holy Gospel, and have prayers. As we are a group of laity, of course, we can't give communion from the Reserved Sacrament. But, rest home patients are so often ignored on such days, so we feel they will be happy to have a simple service to remember the day. Brian McKee, ACC
ReplyDeleteI forgot to mention, that I am an Aspirant to be an Oblate of an Anglican Religious Community. It is my hope, if Good Friday goes well, to perhaps begin holding Evening Prayer (from the 1928 BCP) at the Rest Home one evening each week. Although I'm 43 years old, I have always loved history and get along great visiting with older people. Doing something for the spirituality of rest home patients is something I hope to do as an Oblate. I also hope to begin a Food Pantry for the needy in our parish. Brian McKee, ACC
ReplyDeleteThis week concludes my lenten program of reading religious materials at home, instead of my favorite authors (Dean Koontz, Jeff Deaver, Dickens, etc.). I tackled the Confessions of St. Augustine; The Day Christ Died, by Jim Bishop; tried and failed with C.S. Lewis' The Abolition of Man; am halfway through C.S. Lewis' Pilgrim's Regress; and am finishing 'How to Be a Successful Choir Director', by John Bertalot. I am an organist/choir director in APCK, so I thought that reading John's book would be a good thing for me to do for my choir. It's not as exciting as a really good David Baldacci book, but I've taken many good points and am putting them in practice.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit that I'm really itching to get back to my novels, but this has been a good experience in discipline - and good musicianship is in many ways about good discipline. I'm looking forward to finishing my books and taking the Holy Week journey with my parish, ending with a smashingly celebratory Easter.
Soli Deo Gloria
Bev
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ReplyDeleteI'll be at my parish for Mass Mon-Wed evening, for Maundy Thursday Mass, veremonies, and watch, and Good Friday Liturgy of the Presanctified. I'll also have my annual walk in a nearby woods from 12-3. It's a personal prayer walk I've doen every year, regardless of weather for some years now, and have usually written poetry. Beyond that, hey, it's Holy Week, but I think I'll follow Our Lord's advice and wash my dave instead of going into detail.
ReplyDeleteed
Yike!
ReplyDeleteThat should be "wash my face"
My typing leaves much to be desired.
Thanks for the correction, poetreader. I was a little bit worried!
ReplyDeletea lot of church, and a continuation of my own lenten fast (vegetarian; not hardcore enough to go vegan).
ReplyDeleteSaturday before Palm Sunday: Stations of the Cross in the Crypt Church at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.
ReplyDeletePalm Sunday: Anglican Choral Eucharist with Passion Play and scores of kids waving branches, singing Hosanna.
Wednesday: Candle-lit Meditations on Stations of the Cross in the prayer chapel of one of the other Anglican churches in the area.
Thursday: Maunday Thursday service, with Passover Seder presentation and 20 kids having first communion.
Friday: Good Friday noon service on 7 Words From The Cross at Anglican church near my office. Later, Good Friday evening service, with passion and crucifixion narration by a guy who has memorized the entire Gospel According to Saint Luke. Will exit the darkened church in tears, to the sound of a solo violin playing "What Wondrous Love is This."
Complete fast from noon Good Friday to noon Holy Saturday. Lenten discipline has been strict vegan diet since Ash Wednesday.
Early Easter feast (roast leg of lamb) after sundown Saturday (going out of town right after church on Easter, so starting Easter early).
Lenten daily reading this year: "First Fruits of Prayer; A Forty-Day Journey Through the Canon of St. Andrew" by Frederica Mathewes-Green.