Hot cross buns, white lilies too; Easter bunnies and colored eggs, are lovely reminders of the promise of Jesus, that we too will partake of resurrection.
Happy Easter from Neddy
The Passion Play which has been exhibiting on the pages of our newspapers and on the electronic screens of our world, during this Passion Week of 2005, has been truly extraordinary. Today is Maundy Thursday, the day of the Last Supper. Tomorrow comes Good Friday, the day of our Lord’s death. What has the judicial system of Caesar allowed to unravel before our eyes? What is to pass? An elderly mother is prevented by Caesar's armed officers, from placing a wet, cool cloth upon the parched lips of her dying daughter. What do our children learn? What price will we pay? Have we watched this scene before?
34: Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37: Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38: When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39: Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40: And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
41: Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44: Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
45: Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
"Vex not his ghost: O, let him pass! he hates him much That would upon the rack of this tough world Stretch him out longer." ~~William Shakespeare, "King Lear", Act V, Scene 111, Kent speaking of the dying King Lear.
Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow is a great book!
The author brings to life a forefather who left a more lasting legacy on American history than some of the men who attained the Presidency. The young Hamilton experienced a brutal childhood as an orphan in the West Indies, yet his inherent brilliance enabled him to become aide de camp to the great General George Washington, a battlefield hero, the primary author of the Federalist Papers, the catalyst for the two party political system, and the first Secretary of the Treasury. As the architect of our financial system, Hamilton's skill enabled our fledgling country to survive and prosper. Author Chernow masterfully writes the story of Alexander Hamilton as an entertaining and well-documented 700 plus page saga. Our forefathers were astonishing men, men of their times, and Ron Chernow tells us that Hamilton was one of them.
Almighty and everliving God, who, of thy tender love towards mankind, hast sent thy Son our Savior Jesus Christ to take upon him our flesh, and to suffer death upon the cross, that all mankind should follow the example of his great humility: Mercifully grant that we may both follow the example of his patience, and also be make partakers of his resurrection; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. ~~The Book of Common Prayer 1662
The Dolorous Passion of OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, from the Meditations of ANNE CATHERINE EMMERICH, was one of the key sources used by Mel Gibson in the film depiction of his vision of "The Passion of the Christ". The crucifixion as seen in the film, follows closely the visions of Sister Emmerich, recorded in the book "The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ".
The Venerable Anne Catherine Emmerich was an Augustian nun and mystic who lived in Germany between 1774 and 1824. Her visions of Biblical events were recorded by her secretary, the poet and writer Clemens Brentano. Never officially beautified or canonized by the Catholic Church, Emmerich remains a revered figure for her writings and for her alleged display of the stigmata, or bleeding from wounds in the hands and feet in the manner of Christ'’s suffering on the cross. Emmerich’'s visions included the events of the Last Supper, the Agony in the Garden, and detailed accounts of Jesus' arrest and crucifixion. Her disturbing, yet inspirational narrative of the crucifixion was more violent and detailed than the versions recorded in the Gospels, likely due to the influence of European medieval Passion Plays. Her writings have always been controversial. ~~from The Dolorous Passion
Learn About the Passion of Christ
Read it free! "The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ" by Anna Catherine Emmerich, at Project Gutenberg
"If you go back far enough, however, pedigree collapse happens to everybody. Think of your personal family tree as a diamond-shaped array imposed on the ever-spreading fan of human generations. (I told you this was cosmic.) As you trace your pedigree back, the number of ancestors in each generation increases steadily up to a point, then slows, stops, and finally collapses. Go back far enough and no doubt you would find that you and all your ancestors were descended from the first human tribe in some remote Mesopotamian village. Or, if you like, from Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.Are You Related to Yourself?
"These simple facts have given rise to some remarkable displays of statistical pyrotechnics. Demographer Kenneth Wachtel estimates that the typical English child born in 1947 would have had around 60,000 theoretical ancestors at the time of the discovery of America. Of this number, 95 percent would have been different individuals and 5 percent duplicates. (Sounds like Invasion of the Body Snatchers, but you know what I mean.) Twenty generations back the kid would have 600,000 ancestors, one-third of which would be duplicates. At the time of the Black Death, he'd have had 3.5 million--30 percent real, 70 percent duplicates. The maximum number of "real" ancestors occurs around 1200 AD--2 million, some 80 percent of the population of England."
