Posted on 03/30/2018 5:41:31 PM PDT by huckfillary
By my mother’s reckoning, Lent is over tomorrow at noon, after which we can eat meat, drink, and well, put our Lenten abstentions away for another year.
As a family, we observed three hours of silence every Good Friday from noon-3, the traditional time Our Lord and Savior was hung on the Cross. Mom maintained (and enforced) all fasting and abstinence laws from midnight Holy Thursday through Holy Saturday at noon. On Holy Thursday, all Catholic Churches in our town maintained all-night vigils with litanies and novenas. The physically able participated in the traditional Holy Thursday Seven Church Walk, during which we walked all over town to seven Catholic Churches to recite litanies and novenas and pray the Rosary. We had our Easter Baskets with Paska (bread) and undyed hard-boiled eggs blessed on Holy Saturday afternoon.
These were once time-honored Observances now all but forgotten. It dignified and strengthen our Faith, and like similar Christmas Eve Observances, harkened back to the Jewish Passover. We must never forget that Our Lord was a strictly observant Jew and student of the yeshiva. Whether we know it or not, Christians honor this Reality every Christmas and Easter.
NOTE OF HUMOR: Since Easter falls on April Fools' Day, offer your favorite target a dyed "hard-boiled egg" that isn't a hard-boiled egg.
Lenten traditions declined after they stopped putting covers over pictures and statues during the lead up to Holy Week. Remember that one? It gave a solemn look to all the chapels and churches.
So sad to see those traditions fall by the wayside.
Have ya been to a Catholic Church lately? We are still covering statues and pictures, starts on Holy Thursday until Easter Sunday. Have a blessed Easter!
You are one of the lucky ones.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.