For the next day, I’m going to let "What Did You Hear" be the focus of the blog. I have two radio interviews tomorrow, a book review to finish and a trip to prepare for (24 hours in Atlanta. Atlanta peeps, I will be at the NCEA Tuesday afternoon and evening, speaking from 8-8:40. If anyone wants to say hey, drop me an email. I can wave to you from amongst the Catholic educators).

Remember: reporting, minimal discussion (especially on the footwashing thing)  and critiquing (although I usually violate that last rule right off the bat) What we’re fascinated by is Catholic celebrations around the world. So join in – no matter who you are, what you experienced, where it was. Latin/English/Spanish/Tagalag/French/Italian/Creole – whatever! Organ? Guitar? Monastery? Parish? Ecumenical? We want to hear it all…

We attended Holy Thursday liturgy at our parish. I would say that if you gathered everyone together, side by side, the church would have been 1/5 full. Katie was serving, and at one point, I was afraid she had gotten sick, because she just disappeared – turns out, duh, she was in the back ,ringing bells during the Gloria.

I have little recollection as to the music – Nothing suggested here, that’s for sure – except for Pange Lingua during the procession to the Altar of Repose at the end. In English. In discussing it with my husband afterwards, I decided that I am quite sure I have never heard a word of Latin during my six years in that parish. Footwashing was of various parishioners, young and old, male and female. There was a deacon (transitional) present who for some reason did not get to do all of his parts. The homily was centered on Holy Thursday as a time to celebrate our identity as a family of faith. No reference to the subsequent events of the Passion. I thought it was odd. Everyone was invited to process to the altar of repose which was a side altar on the Mary side. It was awkward, for the people filed out of their pews (not me, I stayed put with the two little ones) and any movement stopped fairly quickly, for the procession was just going around the church. Many, many verses of Pange Lingua, which was fine, although the stubborn determination not to sing the Latin verses that were right under the English made it necessary to repeat the English several times.

Katie and I returned around 10 for some prayer. Deciding to do this on the spur of the moment, I grabbed a copy of Mauriac’s Life of Jesus to read and ponder his chapters on Holy Thursday and Good Friday. Two other women were there – one of our parish’s candidates for Full Communion and her sponsor.

Et vous?