Paschal Triduum: A Personal Journey
Holy Thursday
Everything Ends this Night
We walked the green hills of Bethsaida
And sailed the blue waters of Galilee.
On the dusty roads of Samaria
We saw hope dawn in the hearts of our daughters.
In villages temporarily calmed by Roman peace
And guided by Greek insight
A rabbi unfolded scenes of a father’s love.
We saw before us
A living litany
Of new life
When lame limbs walked
Fevered brows cooled
Deaf ears heard
And eyes saw for the first time.
Our eyes saw for the first time
Our limbs moved with grace
Our fevered minds became lucid
And music filled our ears.
But everything ends this night.
The altar is laid bare.
Joy becomes sorrow
Hope withers before the emperor’s army.
Peace fades in the wake of ecclesiastical edict.
The last light goes out.
It's all over now.
Everything ends this night.
Everything ends this night.
~ CK
* * *
"In that hour Jesus said to the crowd, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I sat in the temple courts teaching, and you did not arrest me”… Then all the disciples deserted him and fled." (Matthew 26: 55, 56)
Photo: Church altar stripped for Maundy Thursday
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