Holy Thursday

      Today begins the three holiest days of the Liturgical calendar.  Tonight's service has always been one of my favorites.  But the last two years I have not attended.  Two years ago, twelve women in my family met at a villa in Italy and on this day I was traveling. (People do wonderful things.  One of our daughter Mary's clients, when she heard that I had lung cancer gave me enough mileage points to travel first class - the only way to travel to Europe)  Last year I was on a train to Idaho, traveling again.  This year, I'll be here at my home parish, St. Thomas.  Looking forward to this evening.

      It may be the Irish in me, but this holy day also reminds me of one of my favorite jokes.
          
              Father O'Brien had grown up in Ireland in the midst of 'the troubles' and strongly disliked the English.  Every chance he got, in his homily on the Gospel he would have some cutting remark about those peoples across the Irish Sea.  The make-up of his parish was changing and people began to complain to the Bishop.  The Bishop called him in and admonished him that he had to stop or he would take away his parish.  And said he would stop in periodically to make sure he gave no more homilies against the English.
             The Bishop did and Father O didn't. 
              But it came Holy Thursday and the Gospel was on the betrayal of Jesus.  Father O'Brien started his homily:  "Jaysus gathered the twelve around him and said 'Before the night is over, one of ya will betray me' Pater said, 'Is it I, Lord?' Jaysus said 'No, Pater'.  John asked: 'Tis it me, Lord'  'No, John' Jaysus answered.  Judas Iscariot asked:  'I say, Old Chap, is it I'."

The rest of the story......When I was a tour guide for the History Trolley Tours, there were times in the city when there was little history, so I would fill in with trivia or a little joke.  I love the story of Father O'Brien and so I would tell it.  When the tours first started, we had a brief questionnaire to get feedback on the tour and the guide.  I was written up because of that joke, there were English types on board who thought the joke was in poor taste.  Now my ancestry is much more British than Irish, I just liked the story.  Oh, well!!