Conspiracy theories →

Conspiracies exist; this I know, for the Bible tells me so.

Tomorrow, the Wednesday of Holy Week, has traditionally been known as Spy Wednesday. Unlike Maundy Thursday or Good Friday, the adjective here requires no explanation. Judas was the spy, and it was on this day that he steeled himself to hand Jesus over to the chief priests and elders.

In the end, the conspiracy that Judas set in motion both succeeded in its aim — Jesus was tried, sentenced to death and crucified — and failed, not only because Christ rose from the grave on Easter Sunday but because Judas cracked under pressure.

We are an Easter people →

Growing up in Michigan, just a mile or so inland from the shore of Lake Michigan, Easter, even when it came early, was always heralded by signs of spring. Here in Huntington, Indiana, on the Monday of Holy Week in April 2020, the crocuses have come and (mostly) gone, the grape hyacinths are up, and the daffodils are in full bloom.

But what I really look forward to seeing are the forsythia.

How the story ends →

With its mix of joy and sorrow, celebration of Christ’s kingship and anticipation of his death, Palm Sunday has always been a bittersweet start to Holy Week, but never more so than this year. The images of priests and bishops celebrating Mass in empty churches, reading St. Matthew’s Passion with only one person responding as the crowd, drove home the unusual nature of what we will experience over the coming week.

The responsorial psalm for today — Psalm 22 — foreshadows Christ’s passion, especially those final moments on the cross before he delivers up his spirit. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

The Jesus Prayer →

Over the last few weeks, I have mentioned on more than one occasion “The Ladder of Divine Ascent” by St. John Climacus. It’s a work of great spiritual insight, originally written for monks, but read every Lent by many Eastern Catholics and Orthodox. I’ve read it a few times myself and have returned to it this year after several years away.

I read Step 28 today. It’s a chapter on prayer, and I was struck, as I have been in previous readings, by how simple and straightforward St. John’s advice is.