Apr 9, 2025
Dear friends in Christ, This Sunday we begin our annual journey through the solemnity, betrayal, sorrow, pain, grief, and ultimate joy of Holy Week. Our week begins with a short collect as we bless the palms this Sunday: Assist us mercifully with your help, O Lord God of our salvation, that we may enter with […]
Apr 8, 2020
Dear friends in Christ, At beginning of the Great Vigil of Easter, the celebrant bids us, “the Church invites her members, dispersed throughout the world, to gather in vigil and prayer…” Perhaps there has never been a time when the church was so dispersed as at this moment. For we are dispersed not just across … Continue reading Forward Today: Dispersed, yet gathered
Apr 1, 2020
Dear friends in Christ, Itâs almost impossible for me to comprehend that next week is Holy Week. Time is all mushed together since Iâve been working at home due to the coronavirus. And none of the customary preparations for Holy Week are under way, because this will be a Holy Week unlike any other in … Continue reading Forward Today: Getting to the heart of Holy Week
Apr 17, 2019
Dear friends in Christ, We stand poised to embark on a great journey, if we will make time for it. The next three days, the church around the world observes Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Great Vigil of Easter. Taken together, these are the Triduum Sacrum, or the Three Holy Days. They draw us … Continue reading Forward Today: No matter what, God is there
Apr 10, 2019
Dear friends in Christ, This coming Sunday is Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week. I imagine regular readers of Forward Today will be in church quite a bit next week, including Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Eve. As a parish priest, I loved this time in our liturgical year. It gets right at … Continue reading Forward Today: Holy Week and the heart of Christian faith