Maundy Thursday

  • Usual Thursday morning exercise.
  • Morning Prayer in the cathedral.
  • Puttered around with the cathedral altar guild directress in preparation for tonight's liturgy.
  • Worked on tying up the loose ends of a clergy deployment issue.
  • Reported to the Central Illinois Blood Bank for my 11am appointment, only to be eventually turned away because of last November's visit to Tanzania. Donating blood is complicated when one has a well-stamped passport. 
  • Resumed working on, and completed for the time being, the aforementioned clergy deployment issue.
  • Lunch from La Bamba, eaten at home.
  • Put some substantial meat on the bones of a pretty spare outline for a homily on Easter III (May 4 at St Bartholomew's, Granite City).
  • Dealt sequentially with three different administrative issues that have been in the queue for quite some time. Glad to have them checked off
  • Evening Prayer in the cathedral.
  • Puttered around with more preparations, morphing eventually into the scheduled rehearsal with those serving.
  • Presided and preached at the proper liturgy of the day. Attendance was less than stellar (probably due to nobody in particular driving the boat at the cathedral presently), but the essential work got done. It's always been my custom to quietly say something kindly and pastoral to those whose feet I wash. Tonight it was easy. I didn't know in advance who it was going to be, but when I looked at each person who sat down in front of me, it seemed like they were the very ones whose service animates the ministry of the cathedral congregation. The Mass got celebrated and the altar got stripped, of course, but it was in those moments with a pitcher and towel in my hands that Maundy Thursday "happened" for me.

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