Yesterday, Jesus was betrayed at the garden after having instituted the means for His legacy to live on. Today, Jesus was killed by means of crucifixion. His death darkened the skies and shook the Earth, tearing the veil that separated the section of the temple that contained the Holiest of Holies from where the laity gathered. His body will be placed into a tomb and, due to the Sabbath, no one will find His tomb empty until Sunday morning, Easter. This is the Triduum, the three day celebration of Jesus's death and resurrection.
As Catholics, we commemorate Jesus's crucifixion and death through fasting and a service at 1pm, the approximate time of Jesus's death. The fasting is only for healthy adults and still allows one full mean and two smaller meals. There are, however, no snacks or desserts, and the Lenten tradition of not eating meat (other than seafood or eggs) on Fridays holds true for those meals. When I was younger, I felt that these allowances made the day of fasting a bit too lax, but I have since realized that there is nothing stopping anyone from making stronger concessions. Meanwhile, these concessions are still enough to serve as a reminder of Christ's sacrifice for us.
Even this minor type of fasting makes things taste better. We celebrate tomorrow and Sunday with some traditional foods that I look forward to every year, and I must admit that the fasting magnifies their already wonderful flavors. Hunger truly is the best sauce (Benjamin Franklin says "pickle," but it means the same thing).
This also helps put in mind the fact that many people in our world, our country, our state, even our county do not eat as well as we do. This temporary hunger which we "suffer" through on this day is nothing when compared to the daily hunger that so many people around our world face. I am not saying this as a means of causing guilt (although we should take more responsibility in this matter), but to remind us of the good things that we have. So often we focus on the negative, what's been taken from us or what is short of our expectations. We need to give equal time (if not a greater portion) to focusing on the blessings given to us.
We need to make ourselves worthy of Christ's sacrifice for us.
As Catholics, we commemorate Jesus's crucifixion and death through fasting and a service at 1pm, the approximate time of Jesus's death. The fasting is only for healthy adults and still allows one full mean and two smaller meals. There are, however, no snacks or desserts, and the Lenten tradition of not eating meat (other than seafood or eggs) on Fridays holds true for those meals. When I was younger, I felt that these allowances made the day of fasting a bit too lax, but I have since realized that there is nothing stopping anyone from making stronger concessions. Meanwhile, these concessions are still enough to serve as a reminder of Christ's sacrifice for us.
Even this minor type of fasting makes things taste better. We celebrate tomorrow and Sunday with some traditional foods that I look forward to every year, and I must admit that the fasting magnifies their already wonderful flavors. Hunger truly is the best sauce (Benjamin Franklin says "pickle," but it means the same thing).
This also helps put in mind the fact that many people in our world, our country, our state, even our county do not eat as well as we do. This temporary hunger which we "suffer" through on this day is nothing when compared to the daily hunger that so many people around our world face. I am not saying this as a means of causing guilt (although we should take more responsibility in this matter), but to remind us of the good things that we have. So often we focus on the negative, what's been taken from us or what is short of our expectations. We need to give equal time (if not a greater portion) to focusing on the blessings given to us.
We need to make ourselves worthy of Christ's sacrifice for us.
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