I love writing in the mornings - by the way I consider 2 a.m. to be morning, I know some folks differ in their assessment of this hour and have referred to it in other ways.
In any case I had two things on my mind when I arose today...mountain laurel and Maundy.
This is Maundy Thursday, but I realized when I woke up that I had no idea what the word Maundy meant. Some places I looked said simply "Holy." That seemed appropriate but somewhat inadequate, so I went to my pocket dictionary which I keep on my desk...it didn't have the word at all.
Dictionary.com gave me this response:
1. The sacrament of the Lord's Supper. [Obs.]
2. The ceremony of washing the feet of the poor on Maundy Thursday.
3. The alms distributed in connection with this ceremony or on Maundy Thursday.
Note: In England, the foot washing is obsolete, but the ``royal Maundy'' is distributed annually on behalf of the sovereign. Since 1890 this distribution has been made from Westminster Abbey.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Maundy
n : a public ceremony on Maundy Thursday when the monarch distributes Maundy money [syn: Maundy]
Personally, I'm still at a loss as to what the word actually means. I know Maundy Thursday is the day before Good Friday but I still found the definition for Maundy lacking - admittedly I'm not spending a great deal of time searching this out since I don't have the time and I figure someone will likely give me a better definition, should one exist, if I merely post my curiosity.
Yes, I'm that lazy.
Also on my mind this morning were the mountain laurel trees on our church property. Last year at this time I wrote about how the number of mountain laurel blooms were amazing...no one could recall the trees ever blooming with such fanciful furor.
Click to enlarge.
This year there are blooms too, but not nearly as many.
They are the same trees though and they are still beautiful.
Tomorrow night we will gather at our church to remember the night when Jesus died. It will have great meaning to me. That has not always been the case - some years Good Friday passed without me even acknowledging its existence.
Every year is different. Each season brings its own surprises.
Recognizing that may the most important thing I don't understand all day.
