Waiting for the Father (New Pope to say Holy Thursday Mass mainly before Muslim criminals)

Vatican News Agency ^ | March 27, 2013

[NYer]

Forty-nine young people, the inmates of the Roman borstal, Casal del Marmo, are preparing to receive an extraordinary gift. Pope Francis will go there in the afternoon of Holy Thursday, 28 March, to celebrate the Mass of the Lord's Supper. A joyful atmosphere of expectation pervades the institute. Such an important visit had certainly not been on the cards. Above all, there had been no expectation of so suddenly touching the heart of the Pope whom they do not yet know. “The young people's enthusiasm”, Liana Giambartolomei, the principal, told us, “must be linked to the very fact that they feel they will be playing the lead on a historic day. Moreover, this is exactly what Pope Francis wanted. He expressly asked us to make sure that there were no other young people here. He wants to be certain that they know he is coming solely for them, because he loves them, he carries them in his heart and considers them important, very important”. A Caritas worker in the penal institute says that one of them, having heard the news, exclaimed: “At last I shall get to meet someone who says he is my father!”.

Fr Greco, the chaplain, does not conceal the fact that he was somewhat perplexed, at least to start with, “because”, he told our paper, “only eight of our residents are Italian: six boys and two girls. The others are all foreigners. And most of them are Muslim. Then there are some who have no religious belief at all. Therefore many of them don't even know who the Pope is. For this reason too, it was far from easy to explain to them the importance of the Pope's visit”. “A young Neapolitan”, the chaplain confided, “who has been here for a while came to my help. He gathered them all together, to try to make them understand above all what the Pope's act, which is an act of love for them, actually meant. I was upset for a moment by the first looks, that were either blank or only faintly curious about my enthusiasm. Then our friend broke the silence with that most classic of Neapolitan expressions: “Maronna mia, o Papa accà!” [good heavens! The Pope here!] and he ran his hand through his hair, his face betraying emotions mingled with happiness. At that very instant all the others, seeing his amazement, realized that it must really be something very special and began to question me. Little by little, I saw their enthusiasm growing.

[nikos1121]

Plus this year you can buy Easter Items at a discount after Catholic Easter.

[Hilda]

I think both the Catholics and Orthodox should celebrate Easter on the Sunday after Passover, and use the Jewish method of figuring when Passover is. That’s when it should be anyway, and it would make both the Catholics and Orthodox change some.

[NYer]

I think in the Holy Land, either this year or next, a decision was reached to do Lent/Easter at the same time

I did not know this. You're absolutely right. It will take place this year.

Tale of two Easters: Holy Land Catholics, Orthodox to celebrate as one

They are doing this because the christian population has shrunk so much and employers will only recognize one Easter, not two. Read the article ... fascinating insight into just what I said in my previous post about intermarriage of Catholic and Orthodox families.

[NYer]

I think both the Catholics and Orthodox should celebrate Easter on the Sunday after Passover, and use the Jewish method of figuring when Passover is. That’s when it should be anyway, and it would make both the Catholics and Orthodox change some.

It may surprise you, Hilda, but the Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325) set the date of Easter as the Sunday following the paschal full moon, which is the full moon that falls on or after the vernal (spring) equinox. The paschal full moon? Because that was the date of Passover in the Jewish calendar, and the Last Supper (Holy Thursday) occurred on the Passover. Therefore, Easter was the Sunday after Passover. The Orthodox Church follows a solar calendar. Once in a blue moon (or is that a yellow sun) the two coincide. This year, for the first time ever, the Catholic and Orthodox Churches in the Middle East have agreed to celebrate Easter on the same day.

[Hilda]

I am aware of that. The differences come from figuring out when, exactly, the “paschal full moon” is. This year, Orthodox Pascha is not until May 5th, even though Passover was two days ago.