The Blessed Easter Triduum at Saint Paul's Anglican Church, Ballarat

The picture above comes from here

We have been on pilgrimage for the last six weeks.

A pilgrimage of penitence and remembrance. 

Now the climax is upon us -

The Blessed Triduum or The Great Three Days.

It began last night as we remmembered

and partially re-enacted

the last passover of Jesus of Nazareth

which he celebrated with is friends. 

The photos below were taken by my friend, Ian Hall.

 You can find more at his blog, Spiritual Journey of life.

Father Constantine - Footwashing

St Paul's Anglican Church, Humffray Street, Ballarat

Worship at the Altar of Repose

If you would like to celebrate The Blessed Triduum

with us at Saint Paul's here are the times:

Good Friday

11 a.m:   Stations of the Cross

3 p.m: Liturgy of the Passion

Saturday

8 p.m: Vigil Service at Christ Church Cathedral, Lydiard Street

Easter Sunday

8 a.m:  Lighting of the New Fire and Eucharist

10 a.m: Procession, Sung Eucharist, Renewal of Baptismal Vows

God willing, the writer will be doing the Second Reading

at this afternoon's service.

If you are there, please come up afterwards and say hello.

2014 Shrove Tuesday

The picture below is from this site

To-night we will gather to-night at The Parish Centre, St Paul's, Humffray Street, Ballarat for our annual dose of pancakes - Pancake Day or Shrove Tuesday.

To-morrow is Ash Wednesday and so continues a mindful forty days until we celebrate the Risen Christ.

On 4 March 2012, the Second Sunday in Lent, the Revd Katherine Hedderly preached at St Martin in the Fields on Sacred Space.  Below is some of what she had to say and the whole may be found here.

But what does it mean to let Jesus live in us? Perhaps this journey of Lent is about allowing God to show us – show us where we need to de-clutter our lives, make space, enlarge our hearts and deepen our understanding – so that we can flourish in the bigger picture of his love – offered to us in the sacred space of Jesus’ life and death and resurrection.

Etty Hillesum, a young Jewish woman, whose inspiring and hope filled diary and letters, written during the holocaust years before her death in Auschwitz in 1943, that we are using as inspiration for our Lent Course this year, wrote of this sacred God-filled space within, at a time when she was surrounded by the worst human suffering and evil:

‘There is a deep well inside me. And in it dwells God. Sometimes I am there too. But more often stones and grit block the well and God is buried underneath. Then he must be dug out again.’

Picture at left from this site

The Resurrection and the Life in the story of the Buxton Silver Gum

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Eucalyptus crenulata (Buxton Silver Gum)

Picture from here

It's an ill wind bushfire that blows burns nobody any good, it is said.

This story will cause a flutter of excitement in many places.  Thanks to the bushfires more was learned about this rare tree and rejuvenation of the species in its special locality is expected.  It is this sort of thing  that gives us, the human species, hope.  

In a week when Christians will be commemmorating a death on a cross and a resurrection to new life, Australia's beautiful, ancient soil has thrown up a story of continuing life in the face of adversity.  This is an impressive thing.

Good Friday in Upper Gully

Good Friday in Upper Gully is an ecumenical affair. Three churches - St Thomas (Anglican), St John the Baptist (Catholic) and the Uniting Church - join together for their Good Friday service. The service is at a different church each year. This year the service was a very special Stations of the Cross at the Uniting Church in the village of Ferntree Gully.

Miss Eagle thinks it was rather wonderful that a such a wonderful meditative exercise like the Stations of the Cross - which has been such a very, very Catholic tradition - was shared so beautifully and co-operatively by the three traditions.

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Seasons of the soul: A peak experience: the three days of Easter

As I write late on the afternoon of Maundy Thursday, it is with the anticipation of embarking on keeping alive the remembrance at the pinnacle of the Christian faith within the cycle of the liturgical year - the Easter Triduum.

The Easter Triduum refers to the three days from the evening of Thursday through to Sunday evening. It also refers to the three major events around which the community of faith gathers: the commemoration of The Last Supper on Maundy Thursday; the commemoration of the suffering and death of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ on Good Friday; and the celebration of His Resurrection on Easter Sunday. Holy Saturday, the day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, is a day of quiet and mourning remembering that this was the time that Jesus lay in the grave.

I was thinking to-day that I have kept these traditions for sixty years. Sometimes the Triduum has not been kept in its entirety when health matters have intervened. This has happened a lot over the last decade. But health has improved and I am looking forward to full participation this year.

To-night will be the washing of feet. Last year, this was done with towels and soap and bowls from our local public hospital where St Thom's has a huge and long involvement in chaplaincy and pastoral care. Great symbolism! To-morrow, we go ecumenical joining with the Catholic and Uniting Church in procession and ceremony. Sunday, St Thom's starts at 6.10am with the sun and kindling the new fire followed by breakfast followed by the great rejoicing as the purple disappears and the Gloria that hasn't been heard for six weeks rings out. "He is risen!" is the greeting of the day with the response of "He is risen indeed!". Miss E will be following this with a trip into the Hills to the tiny Quaker Meeting for Worship at Menzies Creek.

Season of the Soul: Love (III)

The Supper at Emmaus - Rembrandt - 1648

Luke 24:13-35

Love (III)
Love bade me welcome: yet my soul drew back,
Guilty of dust and sin.
But quick-eyed Love, observing me grow slack
From my first entrance in,
Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning,
If I lacked any thing.

"A guest," I answered, "worthy to be here:"
Love said, "You shall be he."
"I the unkind, ungrateful? Ah my dear,
I cannot look on thee."
Love took my hand, and smiling did reply,
"Who made the eyes but I?"

"Truth Lord, but I have marr'd them: let my shame
Go where it does deserve."
"And know you not," says Love, "who bore the blame?"
"My dear, then I will serve."
"You must sit down," says Love, "and taste my meat:"

So I did sit
and eat.

Season of the Soul: Easter-wings

Noli me tangere - Lavinia Fontana - 1581

Jesus said to her:

"Do not hold me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father;

but go to my brethren and say to them,

I am ascending to my Father and your Father;

to my God and your God."

John 20:17 (RSV)

Easter-wings
Lord, who created man in wealth and store,
Though foolishly he lost the same,
Decaying more and more,
Till he became
Most poor:
With thee
Oh let me rise
As larks, harmoniously,
And sing this day your victories:
Then shall the fall further the flight in me.

My tender age in sorrow did begin:
And still with sicknesses and shame
You did so punish sin,
That I became
Most thin.
With thee
Let me combine
And feel this day your victory:
For, if I imp my wing on thine ,
Affliction shall advance the flight in me.

George Herbert