Question of the Week
The crowd waved palm branches and sang “Hosanna” as Jesus entered Jerusalem. A few days later, another crowd will shout “Crucify him.” What does this say about the human heart? Since Jesus knew this would happen, what does it tell us about his love for us?
Passion (Palm) Sunday, Tenebrae, & the Triduum
This last Sunday of Lent is called Passion Sunday or Palm Sunday, since the liturgy begins with the blessings of palms and the remembrance of Christ’s entrance into Jerusalem. It helps us transition to the most significant week of our liturgical year, rightfully called Holy Week. This week culminates in the great celebration called the Triduum, which begins in the evening on Holy Thursday and ends with Easter Sunday.
If you have never experienced all three days of the Triduum, I cannot encourage you enough to join in. We also will be having a Tenebrae service on Wednesday of Holy Week that will help us remember the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. Historically, this service would be prayed the night before Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. It would start in darkness except for fifteen lit candles on the altar. Interestingly, these candles in the mounts are called a “hearse.” What? Isn’t that what we today call the wagon or car that transports the bodies of our deceased? Yes! In earlier days, the hearse was the instrument made of wood or metal set up to carry the body or the pall (white garment) that went over the body. It often had spikes around it to hold candles, and the combination of the metal frame and the candles made it resemble the farming instrument called a harrow. A harrow would rake the ground and stir it up. Truly the death of Jesus was a harrowing experience—even the earth shook! The word “harrow” in Old English was related to the French word “herse.” It is the Latin root that connects both of these ideas as well as this ancient liturgy.
As fifteen psalms and hymns are chanted, the candles are extinguished one by one to remember Christ’s death. Tenebrae ends in total darkness and the trembling of the earth, where all those attending strike the pews with their books or stomp the ground with their feet to remember this convulsion of the earth as Christ died and descended into Sheol.
I would also urge everyone to come if you can. The service will last about 90 minutes, and the prayer helps us enter with Jesus into his suffering and death. It offers a beautiful preparation for the Triduum that begins the following day.
School Gala Update & Annual School Fund
The school gala was great fun and incredibly successful in raising needed funds. I do not have the exact numbers as of writing this article, but as far as I can see, we met the matching anonymous gift of $50,000 and then some! Our school continues to expand and grow slowly. We have a wonderful group of young, talented, faithful, and united teachers and support staff who are doing great work along with Mr. Joey McCoy, our dean of students, and Mr. Michael Sauter, our headmaster. Our students are incredible. It is one of the great joys of my priesthood to serve them and their parents!
Given the growing needs of our school, with the advice of our finance council and staff, we are starting an Annual School Fund that will directly support school operations and expenses. We have received another large anonymous gift of up to $100,000 to start the fund! Our goal will be to match it by the end of the fiscal year. A mailing will be sent out about this soon. We are also hoping to network with alumni and others who love our school but are not necessarily parishioners. If anyone would like to join in this effort, or support the school in other ways besides finances, please call me or Mr. Sauter.
We have needs for teacher aides and tutors. We also have some job openings at the preschool and upper school levels. I even hope to jump in next year to teach chemistry or even coach a tennis team in the upper school if the young people are up for it. There is also some discussion about offering pickleball for our students. It sounds like fun, and there is a lot more to come from our school.
Congratulations to our upper school students who put on a great performance of a play written by Mr. Sauter, called “The Wedding Trumps the Funeral.” Also, congratulations to our Robotics Team as they prepare to compete at the national level!
We premiered a great video about our school at the gala that I would like everyone to see. Watch it below or look for it on our Facebook and YouTube pages. Have a blessed Holy Week!