Good Friday 2026

Jesus dies on the cross

[Image ID 262509555 © Zatletic | Dreamstime.com. 

 From National Shrine of Saint Joseph in Karlovac, Croatia]

*John 19:23-36

 [ When the soldiers had finished crucifying Jesus they took his clothing and divided it into four shares, one for each soldier. His undergarment was seamless, woven in one piece from neck to hem; so they said to one another, ‘Instead of tearing it, let’s throw dice to decide who is to have it’. In this way the words of scripture were fulfilled: 

They shared out my clothing among them. 

They cast lots for my clothes. 

This is exactly what the soldiers did. 

Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. Seeing his mother and the disciple he loved (John) standing near her, Jesus said to his mother, 'Woman, this is your son'. Then to the disciple he said, 'This is your mother'. And from that moment the disciple made a place for her in his home. 

After this, Jesus knew that everything had now been completed, and to fulfil the scripture perfectly he said:  'I am thirsty'. A jar full of vinegar stood there, so putting a sponge soaked in the vinegar on a hyssop stick they held it up to his mouth. After Jesus had taken the vinegar  he said, 

'It is accomplished'; and bowing his head he gave up his spirit." 

It was Preparation Day, and to prevent the bodies remaining on the cross during the sabbath, since that sabbath was a day of special solemnity, the Jews asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken away. Consequently the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with him and then of the other. When they came to Jesus, they found q he was already dead, and so instead of breaking his legs one of the soldiers pierced his side ,with a lance; and immediately there came out blood and water. This is the evidence of one who saw it, trustworthy evidence, and he knows he speaks the truth and he gives it so that you may believe as well. Because all this happened to fulfil the words of scripture: 

Not one bone of his will be broken

and again, in another place scripture says: 

They will look on the one whom they have pierced. ]

*Note: Scripture passage in brackets [ ] is from the  Jerusalem Bible copyright 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd and Doubleday & Company, Inc. Garden City, New York

Holy Thursday 2026

Jesus washes Peter's feet at the Last Supper

[Image ID 334122883|©Jozef Sedmak|Dreamstime.com

Sculptural group of Last Supper in the church Chiesa di San Sepolcro. Milan, Italy . Unknown artist from the 16th century.]

*John 13:1-20

[ It was before the festival of the Passover, and Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to pass from this world to the He had always loved those who were his in the world, but now he showed how perfect his love was.

They were at supper, and the devil had already put it into the mind of Judas Iscariot son of Simon, to betray him. Jesus knew that the Father had put everything into his hands, and that he had come from God and was returning to God, and he got up from table, removed his outer garment and, taking a towel, wrapped it round his waist; he then poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel he was wearing. 

He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, 'Lord, are you going to wash my feet?' Jesus answered, 'At the moment you do not know what I am doing, but later you will understand'. 'Never!' said Peter 'You shall never wash my feet.' Jesus replied, 'If I do not wash you, you can have nothing in common with me'. 'Then, Lord,' said Simon Peter 'not only my feet, but my hands and my head as well!'  Jesus said, 'No one who has taken a bath needs washing, he is clean all over.' You too are clean, though not all of you are.' He knew who was going to betray him, that is why he said 'though not all of you are'. 

When he had washed their feet and put on his clothes again he went back to the table. 'Do you understand' he said 'what I have done to you? You call me Master and Lord, and rightly; so I am. If I, then, the Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you should wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example so that you may copy what 1 have done to you. ‘I tell you most solemnly, no servant is greater than his master, no messenger is greater than the man who sent him. 

 ‘Now that you know this, happiness will be yours if you behave accordingly.  I am not speaking about all of you: I know the ones I have chosen; but what scripture says must be fulfilled: Someone who shares my table rebels’ against me. I tell you this now, before it happens, so that when it does happen you may believe that I am He. Whoever welcomes the one I send welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.’ ]

*Note: Scripture passage in brackets [ ] is from the  Jerusalem Bible copyright 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd and Doubleday & Company, Inc. Garden City, New York

Palm Sunday 2026

Jesus makes His triumphal entry into Jerusalem 

[Image ID 116093767 © Jozef Sedmak | Dreamstime.com

This fresco of the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday is by Lattanzio Gambara 1567-1573 in the Parma Cathedral in Parma Italy] 

*Matthew 21:1-11

[ When they were near Jerusalem and had come in sight of Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, ‘Go to the village facing you, and you will immediately find a tethered donkey and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, you are to say, “The Master needs them and will send them back directly”.’ This took place to fulfil the prophecy:

Say to the daughter of Zion: 

Look, your king comes to you; 

he is humble, he rides on a donkey 

and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden

So the disciples went out and did as Jesus had told them. They brought the donkey and the colt, then they laid their cloaks on their backs and he sat on them. Great crowds of people spread their cloaks on the road, while others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in his path. The crowds who went in front of him and those who followed were all shouting: 

‘Hosanna to the Son of David! 

Blessings on him who comes in the name of the Lord! 

Hosanna in the highest heavens!’ 

And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil. ‘Who is this?  people asked, and the crowds answered, ‘This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee'. ]

*Note: Scripture passage in brackets [ ] is from the  Jerusalem Bible copyright 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd and Doubleday & Company, Inc. Garden City, New York

Ash Wednesday 2026

  Image ID 87485718 © Penwin | Dreamstime.com 

Ash Wednesday is the start of Lent for Christians and lasts 40 days (including Sundays) , which is the length of time Jesus spent fasting in the wilderness preparing for his teaching and healing ministry (Matthew 4:2, Mark 1:13, Luke 4:2).  It is a time of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. 

The Ash wednesday practice of placing ashes on the forehead (observed mostly in Catholic, Episcopal, Greek Orthodox churches and in some Protestant churches) symbolizes repentance and mortality. Its Bible reference is taken from Genesis 3:13 "By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, because from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return"

The start of Lent is variable and its length is 46 days before Easter Sunday and (in the West) is based on the Gregorian calenday. The 6 Sundays during Lent are considered non-fasting and thus are not counted as days of lent.  

Easter Sunday is a moveable feast which falls on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal equinox. After the date for Easter Sunday is determined, the date for the Ash Wednesday start of lent is calculated.  Based on this formula, the earliest and lastest dates for Easter Sunday are March 22nd and April 25th respectively. [The Greek Orthodox Church calculates the date for Easter using the Julian calender. Also, Easter follows the Jewish Passover and has a later date ranging from April 4th to May 8th. 

This year, 2026, Palm Sunday (celebrating Jesus' triumphal last entry into Jerusalem) occurs on April 29 beginning Holy Week with Holy Thursday (Jesus' last supper with his apostles and his arrest) and Good Friday (Jesus' death on the cross) following and leading up to Easter (Jesus rises from the dead) on Sunday April 5th.

Groundhog Day 2026

 

(AI Generated Image) ID 426857821 © Vetre Antanaviciute-meskauskiene| Dreamstime.com

Six More Weeks

Punxsutawney Phil
woke to see his shadow then
hit the snooze button!

Aging Woes III

 

Image ID 7517299 © Interklm | Dreamstime.com 

Brain Drive (BD). Hard disk replaced with a human brain

Bad BD Sector 

Awake at 4 he

could not recall the names of 

his favorite poets!

Winter Haiku 2026

ID 2887097 © Chris Myers | Dreamstime.com

 Plunge

The Polar Vortex

left him breathless walking toward

an empty mailbox!

______________________________

Home

Awake at 3, he

visited his childhood home

in Owatonna.

______________________________

The Nest

At minus twenty

one shivers looking outside

and up at the nest

built of leaves and twigs

(and rags found at a garage),

hugging the bare branch.

No sign of life; no

protection from wind or snow;

just the nest and cold!

But at plus twenty

the nest will pop out two or

more squirrels catching

the sun while digging

through layers of hard snow for

food and signs of Spring!

______________________________

Sleepless

His Apple watch told

of a low sleep score without

knowing the reason.

______________________________

Waiting

A dream led him to

the lake shore where he inhaled

Spring's sweet aroma.

______________________________