Over the next few days I hope to watch this film as part of Holy Week as we walk with Christ on His journey into Jerusalem, to Calvary, the cross, and the resurrection. It is good to revisit the story with a different perspective to help us deepen our understanding of God's love for us. Now is a good time to read the different Gospel accounts of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Christ or to watch a good film which depicts the story.

Also yesterday I was in our primary school celebrating Mass with the Year 6 pupils. They have been thinking about Holy Week and Easter by imagining that they were one of the people in the story. In other words, they were trying to become caught up in the events that took place. With this in mind I told them of what happened to me a few years ago as I was watching an outdoor performance of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream.' When the workmen rehearse the play 'Pyramus and Thisby' one of the characters takes on the part of the wall. However in this particular production the actors looked out to the audience and the next thing I know I am on stage as part of the production playing the wall! It was an extraordinary experience to cross from being a spectator to being part of the drama. This is what we are called to do this week and we can do it by attending all the different liturgies that are part of the Easter Triduum (Holy Thursday to Easter Sunday). There are no spectators in liturgy only participants.

One thing I love to do each year during Holy Week is to watch the 1970's film version of 'Jesus Christ Superstar' which is brilliantly hippy. At the beginning a bus is seen in the dusty distance and as it arrives the strangest looking bunch of people jump off. Long hair, flares, lemon coloured sun glasses with the people to match! There is a lot of crazy seventies dancing with everybody doing their own thing until suddenly they begin to move as one as they take the cross off the bus. It is an extraordinary sight and very powerful. Perhaps I like that moment so much because it reminds of what happens every year on Student Cross as they make their pilgrimage to Walsingham: a disparate group of people united by an eight foot cross and a journey together. Come to think of it that is what we as a parish are called to do this week.