{"id":51825,"date":"2020-04-24T10:16:33","date_gmt":"2020-04-24T15:16:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/?p=51825"},"modified":"2020-05-01T11:08:56","modified_gmt":"2020-05-01T16:08:56","slug":"the-three-marys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2020\/04\/24\/the-three-marys\/","title":{"rendered":"The Three Marys"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Anne McGuire<\/em><\/p>\n

A few decades ago, the Easter Vigil liturgy which I coordinated was particularly memorable ritually, musically, and spiritually. This was especially true of the proclamation of the Easter Alleluia and Gospel. A lovely college student, who was a dancer and an ASL signer, was helping in many <\/span>ministries<\/span>. During the singing of the Easter Alleluia, she brought in the incense, swinging the thurible with beauty and grace, blessing the entire space<\/span> into which the Gospel book was then processed.<\/span><\/p>\n

Days later, I ran across a couple of parishioners who had been present for the entire Triduum. One lady mentioned this censing<\/span> as a revelatory moment for her: \u201cI will never again think of the <\/span>account<\/span> of the women going to the tomb in the same way.\u201d That made me stop and re-think the Gospel passage as well. <\/span>While it was not the gospel for that particular Easter Vigil, the observation has given me new and deeper perspectives for Easter morning. I now understand something more, <\/span>something holy <\/span>about <\/span>\u201c<\/span>preparing<\/span>\u201d<\/span> and <\/span>being confronted by the stone<\/span> at the<\/span> tomb\u2019s entrance.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why did these three women, \u201cthe three Marys,\u201d show up <\/span>together<\/span> to prepare the body of Our Lord? Did they each have different spices which they brought, what they had available at home? Did they wait for one another, hoping to roll away the stone once there were enough to accomplish that task? Was the entrance clear when they arrived? These questions seem more important to me this year.<\/span><\/p>\n

The rhythms of the liturgical year have been disrupted this winter and spring. I remind ministers and students that the rhythms of our lives do not always agree with those of the liturgical seasons. Our joy at Christmas is communal, while a death or other loss can color our personal lives differently. Our communal focus on forgiveness and mercy in Lent might be overshadowed by positive highlights of a job offer, a marriage proposal, or a sudden windfall. This year, our liturgical seasons of Lent, Triduum, and Easter <\/span>have lost their communal impact. Our communal shelter-in-place drives everyone\u2019s lives. <\/span>We have lost<\/span> a true liturgical rhythm. We watch online, read the appropriate scripture passages, and perhaps sing \u2013 alone in our homes \u2013 with those we can follow online or on television. We are missing the communal rhythms<\/span> of praying<\/span>, though. <\/span><\/p>\n

I missed processing and waving palms. I missed multi-generations participating in the footwashing. I missed the communal silence as the large, bare cross was solemnly processed through our own assembly. I missed a rousing, festive singing of the Glory to God, the Easter Alleluia, the baptismal acclamations. <\/span><\/p>\n

On Easter Sunday morning, I went to church, put the Paschal Candle in place, and prayed in a dim space, in silence. And wept inside. It was not Easter. I needed two other women with me. I needed <\/span>ot<\/span>hers to put flowers in place, to turn on every light, to sing and dance with joy <\/span>together<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

I am still waiting for an Easter Sunday morning, where the three Marys come together and are greeted by an open entrance to the tomb. <\/span>The world is waiting for an Easter Sunday morning, when <\/span>we begin to return<\/span> to our liturgical rhythms. We will still pray the proper prayers, read the proper scripture, and sing appropriate songs. But our liturgical lives will resume when we have our Easter morning: meeting others at the open door of our churches, Three Marys bringing our spices, our joys and sorrows, rolling the stone<\/span> away, and entering as one Body, celebrating the presence of the Risen Christ in the rhythms of life and liturgy<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Anne McGuire is a parish liturgist and music director at St. Pius X parish in Omaha, Nebraska, whose background includes university teaching, programming at a shrine, and frequent articles on pastoral liturgy. She has a Ph. D. in theology, with an emphasis in liturgical history, from the University of Notre Dame.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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