Can you imagine U.S. children under a tree, shifting as one to follow the shade, for five hours, without a break, to listen to a teacher? And then playing “school” at night? Or waiting in line for up to two hours for the chance to enter a library so they can read a book?
During the veneration, a priest or deacon holds a wooden crucifix while the faithful process to him at the foot of the sanctuary, as if to receive communion. There each person reverences the crucifix with a kiss or a bow.
Hundreds of faithful will take part in the annual Good Friday Faith Walk on April 14. The outdoor devotion will begin at various points across Anchorage with groups walking and praying the 14 Stations of the Cross. As they wind through city streets, the participants will meditate on the steps Jesus Christ took through his Passion and death on the very first Good Friday.
Except for the resurrection on Easter, Holy Thursday is possibly one of the most important, complex, and profound days of celebration in the Catholic Church. Holy Thursday celebrates the institution of the Eucharist as the true body and blood of Jesus Christ and the institution of the sacrament of the priesthood.
Under the guise of compassion, a physician assisted suicide bill (House Bill 54) has been filed by Representative Harriet Drummond in the Alaska Legislature. This so-called “Right to Die” bill is nothing less than state sponsored homicide. Homicide is the killing of one human being by another.
As we head into April, we enter what sometimes feels like the “dog days” of Lent. That phrase often describes the hottest, weariest days of summer, but it also refers to a time of sluggishness.
Due to the lack of a quorum, the Alaska Senate Health & Social Services Committee was forced to push the public testimony hearing on Senate Bill 72 to Wednesday, April 12.
The proposed law aims to establish “sexual orientation” and “gender identity or expression” to the list of protected legal classes in Alaska. It was set for public testimony on April 10 and many groups and individuals had prepared to weigh in on both sides.
Anchorage Archbishop Paul Etienne has a very active blog. This week he is sharing his Holy Week reflections and homilies as the Catholic Church begins the high holy days of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter vigil Mass on Saturday night.
Christians down through the ages, of course, know this modest parade as the celebration as Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion. We remember this singular event in Jesus life year after year by singing hymns of praise and carrying palms in procession much as the early followers of Jesus did.
Palm Sunday is April 9, the last Sunday in Lent. This day marks the beginning of Holy Week and a time when Catholics commemorate the triumphant arrival of Christ into Jerusalem, just days before his crucifixion.