On April 2, 2016 the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton class met at Alemany High School, Mission Hills.
One of the topics from today’s class was to share an experience or two from the Easter Triduum [ the period of three days that begins with the liturgy on Holy Thursday night and ends with evening prayer on Easter Sunday] at our parish. Below are a few things that we experienced:

 (Please click here to read all of our experiences of the bi-monthly  Deacon formation classes)

From Candy:
Good Friday, a time of quiet reflection, when the Passion reaches out and consumes me, the horror of the trials, the pain and humiliation of the whipping and caning. That long walk, the weight of the cross, the pain of the crown of thrones, those who have gathered to taunt and ridicule, the pain, but never stopping, even when it seemed that the journey would never end. The torture of being nailed to the cross, the jeers of the crowd, with his Mother and the Beloved Disciples watching. I find myself in tears, running down my cheeks wanted to make these events stop, to realize that his love of me made all these events necessary, with all the honorific events there was a purpose, my heart breaks as he draws his last breath, it is done.

The wooden cross is laid before the altar, then retrieved as the hands of the community and lifted above their heads, fingers stretch out, parents lift up their children to touch the cross as it passes over their heads, arms of the strong, the hands of the weak, the cross lowered, supported to give all a chance to touch, all eyes watch the symbol of his death, reaching out to be a part of his death, each wanting to lift up the cross, knowing that this is not where the story ends.

From Jay:
The Holy Saturday service was different being an Acolyte.  Besides seeing the joy in the new members of the community, there was a special moment here. I saw a friend on crutches and noticed a number of people in wheel chairs.  They would not be able to bless themselves at the baptismal pool due to the steps.  I was able to find a small bowl, put some holy water in it from the font and take it to those who would not be able to come up themselves. The smile on their faces as I brought the holy water around almost had me in tears. I could see the gratefulness that I had thought enough of them to bring this special gift to them.

I was able to serve as an Acolyte at two Masses in the Church and one in the hall. I was also a Eucharistic Minister (EM)  for these Masses. When I  first become an EM, one presider told me that when you give the Body of Christ to the Body of Christ, do so with a smile on your face. When people see the joy that you have, they are able to take it with them.

If you have any questions about what we have experienced in the diaconate (aka “that deacon thing”), please ask us or send us an e-mail to gbmom_01_02@yahoo.com.

If you would like to attend a Diaconate Information day, please attend one of the following:

Sunday, April 24, 2016 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at St. Dominic Savio Parish, 13400 Bellflower Blvd. Bellflower, CA 90706
Sunday, October 23, 2016 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at St. John Chrysostom Parish, 546 E. Florence Ave. Inglewood, CA 90301.

If you are interested in becoming a Deacon or a Deacon Couple for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, please contact:

Diaconate Formation Office
Archdiocese of Los Angeles
3424 Wilshire Boulevard, 2nd Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90010-2241
213-637-7383

Candy & Jay Krueger,
Diaconate Formation, Year IV,
Holy Family Church, South Pasadena, CA