Parts of Speaking Publishing

  Love bade me welcome: yet my soul drew back,             Guilty of dust and sin. But quick-eyed Love, observing me grow slack             From my first entrance in, Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning             If I lacked anything. "A guest," I answered, "worthy to be here":             Love said, "You shall be he." "I, the unkind, ungrateful? Ah, my dear,             I cannot look on thee." Love took my hand, and smiling did reply,             "Who made the eyes but I?" "Truth, Lord; but I have marred them; let my shame             Go where it doth deserve." "And know you not," says Love, "who b...

 Maundy sounds like "mundane" or a word that sounds like something sad, depressing, morose, lamenting.  But it relates to the command to love as shown in the washing of each other's feet.  How? The Latin word for commandment is "mandatum." Over time in French and Middle Engilsh, the vowel took on a different sound.  "A new commandment I give you, that you love one another," is the core. Some of the last words to his disciples!

I just figured out why I am not a darling of the literary world.  I don't use the "f-" word and I haven't written the gritty story of my life. Or the story of my gritty life.  The "f-word" is not forthcoming. Maybe some grittiness, though. 

 The Dispatch Faith website contains an essay "The Betrayal of Judas," which deserves reading.  https://thedispatch.com/newsletter/dispatch-faith/palm-sunday-judas-jesus/ A few excerpts: After seeing Jesus condemned, Judas had a change of heart. Blood money in hand, he went to the temple and confessed his sin to the religious authorities charged with mediating mercy. “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood,”  he told them . Their response was as chilling as it was brief: “What is that to us? See to it yourself.” In short, “Not our problem. Good luck with that!” Those same religious leaders would later debate what to do with the silver Judas threw down and returned, scrupulous about its moral contamination. In seeking to avoid implicating themselves by taking back the blood money, they were legally precise, but pastorally indifferent.  For Judas, the combined weight of these two betrayals proved unbearable, so he hanged himself. ..... English writer Julian Barnes g...

 Borrowing here from website: https://www.thenivbible.com/blog/holy-week-timeline/  TUESDAY: Day of Controversy and  Parables Matthew 21:23—24:51 ;  Mark 11:27—13:37 ;  Luke 20:1—21:36 In Jerusalem, Jesus evaded the traps set by the priests. Tuesday afternoon, on the Mount of Olives overlooking Jerusalem, Jesus taught in parables and warned the people against the Pharisees. He predicted the destruction of Herod’s great temple and told his disciples about future events, including his own return. Tuesday was thus a busy day with a great deal of teaching and confrontation. This same site says that Wednesday was a day of rest. I think not, really. It's just not recorded in a way we would expect it. Judas was betraying, disciples were questioning, and I'm sure Jesus was praying as well as teaching.

“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.” From an article on the ruins of a monastery in Kayala, Egypt:    Among the finds, one mural depicts two deer surrounded by vegetal motifs within a circular decorative frame. Deer are a surprising choice. Egypt’s native large mammals lean more toward   adapted desert species   like ibex, foxes, and gazelles. However, for communities shaped by the Bible, the deer likely evoked Psalm 42:1 (above). Deer are not efficient panters like dogs: They primarily cool down through their skin and by seeking shade or water. Panting signals physical need and desperation—it signals a deer in trouble. In this context, the deer in the monastery’s mural symbolizes spiritual longing, thirst, and dependence on God. The monastery’s presence in the transitional desert–delta landscape makes the choice of deer especially evocative. For a deer, an animal of streams and shade, to be in this landscape means it has found s...