Praying Lent: Preparing for Holy Thursday

Abstract

Text from the first four paragraphs of "Praying Lent: Preparing for Holy Thursday"|As we prepare to celebrate this wonderful liturgy we begin by entering into a new movement. As this liturgy begins, Lent has ended. Our 40 days of Lent helped us "prepare to celebrate the Paschal My stery with mind and heart renewed." Now we come to three liturgies which help us experience what is offered us in the new Passover. Each liturgy helps us enter more d eeply into the mystery and meaning. Holy Thursday evening takes us to the heart of the gift and to our mission. |The Elect and the Children. We begin with the Catechumens and Candidates with whom we have been journeying all year. If there are no persons preparing for full communion with us in our parish, or if we have not been aware of them, this is the time to become conscious of an d sensitive to the Elect, in our community, our city and around the world. Through the rites of Acceptance and Election, our brothers and sisters have grown to "hun ger" for communion with us. We have welcomed them, blessed them, anointed them, and cared for them as our own. For the last three weeks we have prayed for th em and supported them in the temptations that come at the end of a long journey. |Each Sunday, as we dismisse d them after the homily and before the "Prayer of the Faithf ul," we told them that we "longed for the day" when we could be with them at the table of the Lord. Throughout the year, our care for them helps us understand who we are, the way a good teacher learns more about a subject through the process of education.|We remember our children, wh om we are continually forming in the life of our faith community. All our community's "religio us education" comes to a special focus for our youngest members.