I don't believe I have ever had such an eventful Holy Week, nor such an ironic one. Eventful because I was running the entire time, ironic because it didn't exactly *feel* like Holy Week while I was going through it.
For the last 3 months, I have been preparing for Easter. Not simply personally, but planning minute details for our campus' Easter celebration: training our Liturgy team, emailing priests, printing hundreds of sheets of instructions, leading meetings. And this weekend, we reached the culmination in the Easter Vigil. I am exhausted - physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally - but it was so worth it and I would do it again in a heartbeat. As I've walked through the Triduum in such a sleep-deprived state, I have been more at peace than I have throughout the preparation process.
For the last 5 days, the 18 of us spent close to every spare moment together, setting up a beautiful yet makeshift sanctuary in our campus gym, then tearing it down and setting up for another day. We got little sleep, drank lots of caffeine, and were short on brain cells. But we did it, and I'm shocked to realize that it's over.
The number of silly things that went wrong during the liturgies are laughable - we miscounted the number of people to distribute communion, we forgot a step stool to reach the Easter candle, we left the cover on the Baptismal font, the list could go on. But through solving all those little issues, our group got stronger, and by the end, we moved automatically to fix problems. And as I reminded everyone, we did all we could, it was valid, licit, beautiful and Jesus came. What more could we ask for?? |
But other than the fact that I'm serving the Lord, my favorite part of my job is the people I work with. I'm blown away by the selflessness of our team, their willingness to work long hours, the laughter and friendship that's been growing over these months. And the fatherhood of the Friars who are present on this campus is such an example. Their witness of faith is inspiring. |
This week, I learned the importance of being a leader, and that I am capable of effective leadership. I've always been hesitant to admit that to myself, mainly for fear that I'd be asked to do more.
But now I'm in love with it.
I love being behind-the-scenes, preparing the little details that no one else knows go into an Easter Vigil. I love planning the minutiae and troubleshooting with 1 minute to come up with an answer. This discovery has energized me, and made me all the more excited to maybe do this full-time one day.
But now I'm in love with it.
I love being behind-the-scenes, preparing the little details that no one else knows go into an Easter Vigil. I love planning the minutiae and troubleshooting with 1 minute to come up with an answer. This discovery has energized me, and made me all the more excited to maybe do this full-time one day.
As I continue to recover from lost sleep and complete projects I had to delay, I am learning to view the Resurrection in a new light. It's a view from backstage, where I am the one seeing the cogs in the wheel. And just as the congregation didn't know that Communion on Holy Thursday was anything but smooth, I don't know most of the Lord's plans for my own future. If I can be the knowledgable one in one little area, certainly I can hand over control of my own life to the One who has a much better view of the whole.
The Lord is truly risen, despite my inadequacies and questions. Alleluia.
The Lord is truly risen, despite my inadequacies and questions. Alleluia.