Boredom

*sigh*

When am I gonna leave this dept? it sure has been long even though its only for 3 months. So glad I'm now coming to the tail end of it and be done with it.

Just attended Holy Thursday Mass yesterday and now busy fulfilling my Catholic fasting duties and got hold of my delicious unleavened bread...

(seriously, its delicious for unleavened bread and I know this is not really good for something that is already blessed during Mass, but if you have it toasted and eat it with butter, and a bowl of egg...simply amazing! hey, i didn't have that on Good Friday, ok? i might however have that on Easter though if there's still leftovers hehe...)

...in my lunch pack. Its a custom in my parish to have unleavened bread once a year on Good Friday. I'm confused though why they say break fast with it, when our catholic fast still consists of limited morsels of food to sustain our body. Strange.

Going at RM10 per piece, this tradition derived from the time Jews take it for the Passover. Maundy Thursday falls during Passover anyway, so I see it as a beautiful continuation from our Jewish brethren in becoming part of Christian tradition.


Will be taking light vege sandwich, perhaps 2-3 pieces of crackers and milo for lunch...then unleavened bread for dinner. Yup, that's my menu for today. Hope its in keeping with the 1 and a half portion restriction. Then...its off running to Way of the Cross before Good Friday service.

Oh btw, I was txt-ing away my aunt and we were talking about genuflecting. Fancy how we actually incorporate Catholic gestures and actions into our daily life? How you ask? just watch:
1. Genuflect to mop the floor
2. Bow to pick things up from the floor
3. Kneel to take things from cupboard
4. Prostrate to sleep on the bed
5. Just hope we don't Cross † ourselves to chase away flies..hehe just kidding :o)

Anyway, its lunch time, all my Muslim colleagues are out for their Friday prayers, and I'm just typing away my blog, waiting for the 6pm chime to leave for the evening service. Got to stop at the next door's mall to go with my sister.

Oh, guess what? its pouring heavily out there! Always rains every Good Friday in keeping with the mood of the day. Or is it from the heavens?

Gtg... Bye for now!

† Pax te cum,
Lay Oblate

Easter Triduum...Here we come...

Hey...Lent was just over!

A month of abstinence from meat...
A month of abstinence from the things we normally gorge ourselves with silly
A month of discipline to make ourselves ready for the Almighty one
A month of prayers and occasional fasts...

...came to an end last night Wednesday when the final Hour of None (or Compline) resounds in the air, marking the entry into the Holiest and climactic end to our Lenten observance...the Easter Triduum.


Easter Triduum begins with Holy Thurday (Maundy) today on 9th April 2009 to commemorate on the following:
1. Our Lord's Last Supper
2. The Institution of the Holy Eucharist
3. The washing of the disciples feet
4. Blessing of unleavened bread (subject to local diocese customs)
5. Singing the Gloria with church bells clanging in the air
6. Incense, Holy water and...more incense!
7. In basilicas (or cathedrals) The Chrism Mass - blessing of the Chrism oils
8. ...And in some places, ordinations...
9. Honouring the priests who have worked so hard for bringing to us the Faith and defending Holy Mother Church in this faithless world
10. Stripping of altars, and finally, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament as we await Good Friday



Good Friday on 10th April 2009 then passes by quietly with:
1. Solemn silence and sadness
2. Reading / chanting of the Passion of Our Lord
3. No Mass, just only services for communion
4. In some places, funerary processions honouring our Lord's death
5. Solemn veneration of the Holy Cross
6. Fast and abstinence
7. Way of the Cross (Via Crucis)
8. ...haven't you noticed it always rains on Good Friday? sure adds to the mournful atmosphere...

Then there's Holy Saturday (11th April) where the much anticipated Easter Vigil begins at night to herald in Easter Sunday or Resurrection Sunday on 12th April. Since this particular service will be exceptionally long, here it is in brief:
1. Liturgy of Light
2. Blessing of Pascal candle and holy water
3. Candles, incense, kneeling, reverence and awe, the works! (mind you, our Masses today are normally simple, but this one rocks the most apart from the whole year!)
4. 8-9 readings and psalms
5. Chanting of the Exultet, Litany of the Saints
6. Renewal of baptismal vows
7. Baptism
8. Festivity and cheer for the rest of the night (or till morning for those party birds)










Finally, it'll be Easter Sunday (or Resurrection Sunday as what some would prefer to call as Easter is felt to have too close a Pagan influence on the word) The usual fare of the Mass is as usual, with the exception of a special Paschal Sequence known as the "Victimae Paschali Laudes" is recited or sung before the Gospel acclamation.

Usually by this round, everyone would be damn tired from last night (especially the priest) with direct no sleep from the night before to celebrate the 3 Easter Masses (one of the rare few times the Church allows 3 Masses in a single day)

The climax of celebrations is here...the ancient rites and ceremonies have begun.

Wishing all a Blessed Triduum and a Holy Easter this weekend!

†

† Laudetur Iesus Christus †

Doors are Open!

Yes!

Chapel doors are open today at 4:10pm on Wednesday 8 April 2009. Lots of updates from the Roman Catholic world in Asia and around the world. Devotions, prayer crusades, religious calls of prayer, you name it, we'll think of putting it in if we haven't yet.

I'm simply a self styled lay oblate here on cyber space putting up my rantings of what's going on in my world. So come on in and see what I have to say, talk, pray and muse about bringing Christ's (and my) message to the world wide web.

Happy to have you around and open to comments (that are non-flaming or prejudiced in nature)

† Yours in Christ
Lay Oblate