It is Holy Thursday.

I bring this up because I believe it’s time to be thinking of something else other than the current unpleasantness that has many of us locked in our houses and worried about this invisible enemy we’re all trying to fight off.

Since I wasn’t around for World War II, and still finding out I was alive during the Korean War, I can’t recall a time when we’ve approached such a sacred and beautiful holiday with such fear and dread.

Growing up Catholic and attending Catholic school, Holy Thursday for the most part was part of a week off from school. Because of our ages, very few of us at the time were able to piece together the significance of the day. We had learned about its significance in school before our holiday, but when you’re between the ages of 6 and 16, sometimes such lessons don’t always sink in.

Holy Thursday, of course, was the time of the Christ’s Last Supper with his apostles, and one interesting part of that event was Christ washing the feet of the apostles; an event recreated annually at Holy Thursday services across the globe that commemorate the Last Supper.

I participated in a re-creation of the event when I was in the eighth grade, when the nuns at our school appointed 12 of us to serve as apostles to have our feet washed. I remember the time, not because of the ceremony, but because several days before I jammed a toe and walked with a noticeable limp, and the sandals the nuns had us wearing didn’t help the situation.

I think of that experience now, because we are all — whether we’re suffering from COVID-19, have family and friends suffering from the virus, or wondering if we have the virus — in pain and in need of some renewal.

Just as when some medical experts talk about “the curve” when they discuss the progression of the virus, we can look to Holy Thursday and Good Friday as the curve for man’s salvation.

As we head toward the weekend, let’s look at it as a beautiful time. If you believe, you have the joy of knowing someone suffered and died for your salvation and then rose again to help you reach a new spiritual life. If you don’t believe, look upon this weekend in the spirit of renewal that spring brings each year with new growth, warmer temperatures and the promise of a more relaxed period.

If you can, get out of the house. I’m not advocating breaking any rules, but just stand outside your home and for a few minutes spend that time enjoying the warmth of the sun and the new growth around you.

And let the spirit of renewal that spring and Easter brings help you to cope and adopt a more positive attitude to help you survive the present circumstances and be ready to take on the world when the situation improves.

 

John Surratt is a staff writer for The Vicksburg Post. He can be reached at john.surratt@vicksburgpost.com.