Holy Week Traditions - in Alaska

So I got this from the Catholic Anchor, the official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Anchorage:

Holy Week rekindles ancient traditions

Amongst the traditions they mention are:

• Palm Sunday Procession
• Veiled Images
• Washing of the Feet - Holy Thursday
• Praying in Gethsemane - Adoration
• Veneration of the Cross

At the parishes that I belonged prior to coming to Alaska we celebrated all of these in one form or another. Lent, and especially Holy Week, is my favorite liturgical season, in major part due to these traditions. It appears that the Archdiocese is in support of these traditions and it seems that many other parishes will be celebrating through them. When I asked about one of them specifically I was told that certain things had been tried in the past and it created more discord than any benefit so the practice was abandoned. Hopefully though, our parish will end up using most of them.

My suggestion is that if you are particularly fond of a certain tradition that you politely inquire with your pastor, or whomever is in charge at your parish and suggest that your congregation and priests partake in that tradition. All we can do is ask... and then pray.

PS.
I edited this post a bit... because I didn't think that my original post was very helpful or very charitable. In the end, the purpose of this blog is to defend the Faith.

-Posted by: Joe