Preparing for the Triduum

By: Roberto Chavez

If you are anything like me, this Holy Week really snuck up this year. Lent was a bit of a blur. What are some ways to really dive into the Holy Week and prepare for the Triduum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday)?

1) Make sure you don't throw away your palm branches. These are blessed objects and should either be buried or burned. If you want to keep yours around, a good place to keep them is tucked behind a crucifix in your house or behind a holy image.

2) You still have a few days left to give you Lenten sacrifice one final effort. Even if you decided to give up chocolate and you are right now reading this while knocking back a king-sized bag of M&M's- there are still several days left of Lent to fast from chocolate (or anything else you may have set out to do).

3) Tidy up. This has become a yearly practice for me and helps me go into the Easter season feeling much less cluttered. First: Get rid of the stuff that you don't use, don't need, or don't know why you even bought it in the first place. Donate it only if it still has some usefulness left to it. Second: Delete any apps on your phone that are time wasters, offer too many reminders, or otherwise take up space and time that can be spent living outside of the digital world. Third: This one is much more of a stress reliever than I had ever imagined- click UNSUBSCRIBE from the advertising emails that clog up your email inbox... Do you need daily prayers and Scripture readings to kick off your day? Yes! Keep that one. In fact, once you clear out all of the others, this one is no longer one of 80 emails you wake up to in the morning, and the time you would spend clearing out the junk mail each morning can be spent in prayer and reflection on Scripture.

4) Enter into the Triduum by planning these next few days around the liturgies. Check the parish bulletin for Mass times, show up at least 15 minutes early (or more if you go to an especially large parish) to get a seat and spend some time in prayer. Be especially courteous and patient with your fellow parishioners- for some this may be their first-time celebrating Easter in-person in over two years.

5) Finally- take a few deep breaths and smile knowing that God loves you more than you will ever know.

Lent is Fast Approaching!

By: Roberto Chavez

Lent is fast approaching (Ash Wednesday is March 2nd!!!!)!

While we normally focus on that one thing that we give up for Lent, please remember that there is a three-prong focus to the Lenten season: Prayer, Fasting, Almsgiving.

What is a way that you want to grow in your faith this Lent?

Here are a few ways that you can deepen your spiritual journey this Lent:

1) Start with prayer- even now- is God calling you to grow in your spiritual life in a particular way?

2) Get a good Lenten prayer book. There are SO MANY out there- find one that fits you best. There are some specifically for parents, women, people who are looking to overcome addiction, and for those who are new to Lent.

3) Fasting is more than giving up one thing for Lent or eating fish on Fridays. Fasting is about letting go of those things that we don't need and letting go of bad habits (like scrolling on Facebook at 10pm instead of getting to sleep).

4) Almsgiving ties this trio together. Once you have spent some time in prayer and once you have shed away some of the things that hold you back through fasting, now it is time to truly let these things go.

5) When giving alms, remember, this is not about giving only from an excess or purging "junk" from the closets. Almsgiving is a time of generosity- not a time for junk removal. When you give food- don't just donate the lone can of bamboo shoots or the pie filling that you'll never get to. Gather some of the things that you yourself would use or appreciate. The same goes for the clothes in the closet- almsgiving isn't donated that old shirt with the barbeque stain on the front of it, it is about letting go of the clothes that still has life left in it.

6) The last thing to remember during Lent as we practice prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. This is all part of a journey of faith- we will not do this perfectly. We will struggle to keep up our fasting- especially when we drive past a Chick-fil-a on a Friday. We will struggle to pray- especially when we would rather sleep. We will struggle to give alms when we want to cling to our worldly possessions.

At the end of the day- all of this is possible, but it must start with prayer.

Imagine Peter's Mother-in-Law's House in Capernaum

Imagine yourself into the scene of first century Capernaum. It’s the time of Jesus.

Capernaum is a fisherman’s town. A small town right on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. The sea looks a little smaller than you first thought.

The shore feels a bit rocky. Waves crash. Birds sing. It’s a lively place: plenty of business there for a fisherman.

On the way back to town, you stop and make small talk with a couple friends. You hear chatter and giggling in the background: children play with a wooden spinning top.

You say, “talk to you later” and keep walking till you arrive at the doorstep of a first century home.

As you feel the wooden door on your hand, you take a step inside Peter’s mother-in-law’s house.

It’s a familiar place, isn’t it? Memories flood your mind of the conversations you’ve had there. The food you ate. That one time you drank.

Who do you imagine there with you? Your friends? Other family members?

Today the environment isn’t as warm as usual. No smell of fresh baked bread. No tidy floor. No laughter or sound of a crackling fire.

The news you hear feels upsetting, like the time you heard bad news about your mom, your close friend, your relative, your neighbor, or your co-worker. It’s sounds something like COVID.

Peter’s mother-in-law is awfully sick and in bed.

You turn to the others in the room and say, “We need to go talk to Jesus about her. She doesn’t have much time.”

You hear, “He should be leaving the synagogue right about now.”

It is just like it says in Scripture, “they interceded with him about her” (cf. Luke 4:38).

Moments later Jesus enters the home. He makes eye contact with you and listens to you before heading his way to her.

How do you envision Him?

He stands over her, rebukes the fever, and it leaves her (cf. Luke 4:39). Following her healing, she rises and tends to the needs of the community.

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We know this story about the healing of her fever falls before Jesus calls Peter to discipleship. Do you think the healing helps to build trust in their relationship?

Peter’s mother-in-law’s house is an early example of a house church. It is a place where meals are shared, prayer is taught, community life blooms, saints pray, and vocations flourish. Today pilgrims still travel to this place in Capernaum—Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection is still being remembered there. All day long pilgrim groups take turns participating in Mass there.

We know from our participation in the Mass, that participating in intercessions is a part of what we do when we gather together as a family of faith. Intercessory prayer is just one way of being a close friend of Jesus.

Practicing Catholics believe Jesus is really present, body, blood, soul, and divinity in the Eucharist. So, when a friend, family member, or co-worker cries out with a prayer intention, we can really go to Jesus and intercede. We cry out to him in our hearts, and we go in person to talk to Him because Jesus is really present in the Eucharist, hidden in the tabernacle, at our local church.