True God and TrueMan
The Easter Triduum is an incredible celebration within our Church’s liturgical calendar. The Triduum is the time from Holy Thursday until Easter Day, which includes so many incredible elements to our faith, such as: The Institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper! The Institution of the Priesthood, Christ humbling Himself (as our example, especially for men) as a servant-leader with the washing of the feet, Christ’s Passion, Christ’s death on the cross as the Paschal Lamb – the Passover fulfillment, and tomorrow, the celebration of His Resurrection! What a rich and humbling tradition of redemption we have!
We should see Christ as our model. He is the perfection of manliness. He is all virtue. He is sacrificial, even to the point of death. He is a servant leader. It is these characteristics that we should be striving for. In the Divine Praises, we pray the following statement… “Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true man.” This verse has become the tagline for our ministry here at TrueManhood (scroll down this page to see!), and for good reason. We’re all asking the question, “what does it mean to be a real man?” The answer lies with Christ. When you get up in the morning, throughout the entire day, and again before you go to bed, I recommend that you immerse yourself in the life of Christ so that you can learn what He did while He walked this earth and also, so that you learn what He continues to do, as He sits at the right hand of the Father in Heaven. This means, first and foremost, that you are praying continually! A daily, fervent prayer life will aid you greatly. [Don’t know how to pray?… shoot me an email and we’ll chat. Dave@TrueManhood.com.] Next, I recommend that you gaze upon Christ on the cross. His sacrifice is there and present on the cross. The image of Christ on the cross reminds us of what and who He is and why He did what He did for us, all of us. Stare at Him. Unite your suffering to Him. Serve as He served. Lead as he led. Love as He loved.
I pray that your Lenten experience was fruitful this year. Be aware that you can give up things (this is called fasting) anytime (not on Sundays)… it doesn’t have to be only during Lent. Work to control your will, so that by saying ‘no’ in the little things, you can say ‘no’ to the big temptations. Practicing what the Church suggests for us during Lent is good to continue throughout the entire year.
Man up!
Play Through the Whistle
We’re into the second half of Lent, and I think some encouragement would do us all some good. In 18 days (plus Sundays – these are feast days in the liturgical calendar and do not “count” towards days of fasting) Christ’s passion, death and resurrection will be remembered. Whatever you decided to “give up” or add for Lent this year should bring you closer to this mystery of our faith. It should unite your knowledge of what Jesus went through for you and me with the physical sacrifice in which you make for Lent, thus making Lent more meaningful and more purposeful.
Lent isn’t about impressing anybody with what we give up or with what Lenten devotions we increase, it’s about personal conversion – a turning away from sin and a turning towards God. I’m struggling this Lent, anybody else? There’s a lot on my plate and my Lenten devotions have gone by the wayside multiple times. I try to remind myself that through perseverance we obtain holiness. I really need to “get back on the wagon”, so to speak, and continue persevering through my laziness and indifference. I encourage you, if you’ve let your Lenten sacrifices ride, to take the time and energy to decide if you really need(ed) the penance or not. If so, keep doing it. If not, find something else, more important for you. Have a great rest of Lent.
“Turn away from sin, and be faithful to the Gospel.”
Man up!
Opening Day (Holy Week)…Opening Day (MLB)
April 6th, 2009… opening day for two important institutions. One, as you will read quite obviously, is much more important than the other. [The other simply lasts much longer than the first.]
The first “opening day” is Monday of Holy Week– the week leading up to the Triduum and Easter Sunday. Technically, Holy Week begins on Palm Sunday. Holy week signifies a time in our lives where we remember (commemorate) Christ’s passion, death and resurrection from the dead. It’s incredibly important. Easter begs us to ask the ever-philosophical “chicken or the egg” question – is Christmas or Easter more important? I won’t get into that here. Easter, whether more/less important than Christmas, is incredibly important for us because it signifies the culmination of salvation history in Christ’s conquering of death on the cross. Christ – the ultimate servant leader. I encourage everyone to make special time this week to take part in the Triduum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday – actually one continuous liturgy). Open your heart and your mind to what God is calling you to. The end of Lent can still be a fruitful time for you. Give it a great deal and you’ll receive a great deal in return.
The other institution (although, a bit difficult to talk about following that Holy Week piece) is Major League Baseball. MLB has been a part of my life since birth. Now, I’m not trying to convince the baseball-haters of the world that baseball is a great sport – heaven knows that soccer fans won’t convince me that soccer is a great sport – I simply want to call to mind that opening day for the 2009 season is today. This marks a special day for baseball fans everywhere when we know that basketball is ending soon 🙂 and we have sunny summer days at the ballpark to look forward to. Double-plays, stolen bases and home-runs.
A thought… if the Pirates win today, I suggest that they end the season early and end their pitiful 16-year streak of playing sub-.500 baseball. It would be a great thing for us Pirates fans to have a “winning season”. Just kidding – I guess.
Either way – Man up!
