kellirocha.com

Category: Writing

  • A Blessed Holy Week to You

    A Blessed Holy Week to You

    While working with the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults at St. Stanislaus, I was responsible for presenting a commentary each week. In 2020, I compiled all those essays and published them in The Commentary Project.

    The commentary for Palm Sunday was always a favorite. In honor of Holy Week, I am sharing it again here.

    May you have a blessed Holy Week and a Happy Easter Season.

    Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion

    At the Procession with Palms – Gospel: Luke 19:28-40

    1st Reading: Isaiah 50: 4-7

    Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 22: 8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24

    2nd Reading: Philippians 2: 6-11

    Gospel: Luke 22: 14-23:56

    This reading is unique among the gospel stories we hear at Mass. Unlike the rest of the gospel, the Passion narrative was told and was recorded in the complete form. The Church continues this tradition by reading the entire account and not breaking it up into smaller pieces.

    Luke’s goal was to continue to portray the life and ministry of Jesus as he had with the earlier stories, a Cliffs Notes version.

    Jesus was the one who healed. (Healing the ear of the High Priest’s servant… and He even healed the relationship between Pilate and Herod.)

    Jesus showed more concern for others than for Himself. (Remember His concern for the disciples and the weeping women.)

    Jesus offered divine love, reconciliation, and forgiveness … even from the cross.

    Jesus is still eating with sinners. His disciples are weak, fighting and unfaithful. And yet, He eagerly desired to share this meal with them before the suffering began. Remember, at this time in the Mediterranean world, the highest compliment you could bestow on a friend was to share a meal with them. The worst thing would be to betray them. Both occurred in this setting.

    The timing of this story is critical. The Feast of the Passover commemorated the Jews’ liberation from slavery. Jesus and the events of this particular Passover became the “New Covenant,” releasing all men from bondage to freedom.

    We enter the week with our eyes on Jesus, A King. Palms were used as a symbol of victory and power since the 2nd century before Christ. This was the scene for a procession of a King to his coronation. In this case, it was a crown of thorns and a throne of a cross. The way to this kingdom is the way of the cross.

    Jesus seems in complete control. He even knows how the owners of the ass will behave when the disciples untie the animal. The most important message to understand is that this is what Jesus came to do.

    “Peace in Heaven and Glory in the Highest.” Phrases familiar to us at Christmas time are meaningless without the cross. The Incarnation finds complete fulfillment in the cross of Jesus.

    I attended Catholic Masses for several years before choosing to convert. I always admired the lectors and thought, if I ever become active in this faith, I would want to do that, too.” (To be honest, I usually criticized them.) I was thrilled when Passion Sunday would come each year; here was my chance to participate. I was asked to speak out loud and proclaim the gospel myself. But at that time, the words I read had no meaning. I was more concerned with keeping up and not losing my place in the book than letting the words sink in.

    “Crucify Him!”

    We’ve all stood unconsciously and innocently with those accusers. Mere words. How naive. They were just words from many years ago spoken by others.

    I wanted to be a part of the drama. There is such vivid emotion from both the powerful and the lowly. It wasn’t until years later that I realized how much a part of the drama I was by the life I chose to live every day. I have played ALL of the roles in this scene:

    I have been Judas… I have been two-faced… sitting with a friend and betraying them when their back is turned.

    I have been Peter… I have denied my association with the Lord for fear of the repercussions.

    I have been the Chief Priests, the Temple Guards, and the Elders when I have mocked Jesus and ridiculed him by my behavior to those whom I am called to love and serve… or sat in judgment of the actions of an innocent man.

    I have been Pilate… doing things I knew were wrong… to keep the peace.

    I have been Herod, passing off the responsibility to someone else.

    I have been Barabbas, reaping the benefits of an unfortunate situation.

    I have been in the crowd… yelling, “Crucify Him!” whether with actual intent to sin or to be part of the crowd.

    I have been the Criminal, reviling Christ and denying his very existence with my conscious effort to turn away from all that I know to be right and true.

    But it is also important to remember:

    I have also been the High Priest’s servant… who has received physical healing.

    I have also been Simon… who was unknowingly part of something monumental that would change my perspective and my life forever.

    I have also been the Daughters of Jerusalem, who have wept over the horrible treatment of the poor and the oppressed and for the treatment of our Lord on that day and I, too, have been warned.

    I have also been the Criminal… the one the Lord promises forgiveness and a place in eternal life.

    I have been the Centurion who has witnessed acts of God and glorified Him in recognition.

    I have also been Joseph; I have buried friends and loved ones.

    I have also been the women, who even in their grief honored and respected the commandment they had been given.

    I can even play Jesus when I choose to do the right thing. Which character from The Passion will you choose to portray in your life?

  • Auschwitz and Birkenau

    Auschwitz and Birkenau

    I am finally sharing my thoughts on our experience of Auschwitz. I asked for prayers before we left for our trip to Poland in April, and this one brought me to tears.

    Prayers for you, Kelli, that all your expectations of this trip are met, if not exceeded. And you find that your emotions can be put into words.

    Well, the first part was answered immediately. We tried to have no expectations, and it made a big difference. Each day brought a sense of wonder and awe. And the words are still coming as we process the emotions brought on by this experience.

    Many people have asked about the trip, and I’ve stammered in my response. I did not find the words to describe the experience, at least not adequately. It’s been a few months, and I’ve had some time to process. I wanted enough time to think about it, and yet not long enough that I might forget. The primary goal of our trip was to visit and experience the Nazi Concentration Camp, Auschwitz and Auschwitz II – Birkenau, and it was the most memorable part of the entire trip.

    We were scheduled to tour Auschwitz/Birkenau on April 9, 2024, Leroy’s 57th birthday. It was the fifth day of our trip, and we were rested and in a rhythm. We had become acquainted with our fellow tourists and even formed some friendships. It was a beautiful day, and the timing was perfect.

    When you enter the main camp at Auschwitz, you go through a long, angled tunnel that simulates the entry into the gas chamber. It is as daunting as it sounds. While you are walking through, there are speakers, and the victims’ names are read in memoriam. I will never forget that sound.

    The tunnel walls were cold and bare, in stark contrast to the bright sun and warmth we walked into upon exiting. That region of Poland experienced a warm winter and an early spring, so the trees were filled with bright green leaves, and the lilacs were in bloom. Auschwitz was beautiful, and it smelled good.

    My initial impression was one of peace. The surroundings were immaculate and serene. The site of some of the most horrific crimes against humanity has been transformed into a memorial for the victims who endured those atrocities. It was not what I had anticipated. It evoked feelings of honor, privilege, awe, and gratitude that stayed with me throughout the day.

    We were assigned an outstanding tour guide. She spoke flawless English and took us through the camps, explaining everything and telling many personal stories of the prisoners who suffered there. We were with her for three hours, and she never stopped talking.

    It isn’t easy to express what it was like to walk the grounds of a facility that you’ve seen depicted in films, read about and studied for so many years. I am transported right back to the location when I see those scenes.

    I have seen pictures and videos from Auschwitz after the liberation. The piles of luggage and shoes left over from the prisoners are often shown to demonstrate the scale of the horror. We saw those things at the camp. But there was one massive pile I did not expect: a room full of hair. At this point of the tour, I became physically ill and had to leave the room.

    At some camps, the prisoners were shaved upon arrival to maintain hygiene and to prevent escape attempts. At Auschwitz, the hair was removed even from the corpses. The Nazis would bale and sell the hair to German companies as raw material to make cloth and felt. The hair remaining at the camp after the liberation weighs almost two tons and came from approximately 40,000 prisoners.

    After touring Auschwitz I (the main camp), we were transferred 3.5 kilometers to Birkenau, also known as Auschwitz II. This camp had a profound impact on me just from the sheer size. It covers almost 345 acres of land. There were rows and rows of barracks as the camp contained approximately 300 housing and administrative buildings. Construction only ceased when the front line came too close in 1944. To read my travel blog from the day of our visit and to see many of the photos, click here.

    If I had to use one word to sum up the experience, it would have to be gratitude. Every once in a while, Leroy and I will pause and say to each other, “We were there.” We walked the grounds and touched the buildings. We smelled the blooming lilacs and stood on the soil of this holy ground. By the grace of God, we were there, and it has forever transformed us. The words will always feel inadequate, but the experience will remain in my heart and soul forever.

  • Less Digital Clutter

    Less Digital Clutter

    If you receive this blog’s weekly newsletter, you know my website has been down for a few weeks while I transferred it to a new host. The wild idea came to me just before leaving for our trip in April. I was looking for the easiest way to post while we were away, and the host of my site at that time didn’t have many options. I almost tried to move it before we left. Thankfully, I didn’t think I had the time because I didn’t. This project was a lot more involved than I anticipated. It seems getting rid of digital clutter is a long, involved process.

    I started my blog in 2008 as a way to easily share the photographs I was taking of kids at high school sporting events. It evolved into a personal blog, and for several years, I posted daily. As of May 1, I had shared 3,008 posts. Averaging out the length of the posts, I’m estimating 1,052,800 words. I guess I had a lot to say.

    Transferring a blog and website is simple: download the content from the old host and upload it to the new one. It sounds easy, right? Well, not so much. Because of the number of posts on my blog, the file was 4x larger than the usual upload. Once we (chat support and I) finally managed to get it all on the new site, the posts looked terrible. There were broken links, displayed code and the photos were all messed up. It was a disaster. The thought of cleaning up each post individually was overwhelming. I cried a little, hyperventilated, ate some chocolate and went to bed. This was a catastrophe. I hardly slept that night.

    But I did sleep, and the sun came up the next day. I had the thought, what if I just started from scratch? That wasn’t unimaginable. It was the easiest way to reduce digital clutter. The most significant writing had already been published in books. Hey Kid and The Commentary Project.

    Transferring the posts since January 1, 2024, and starting fresh wouldn’t be a big deal. Would anyone even notice? Probably not. I even asked my kids if they’ve ever searched for content on my blog. They hadn’t (and neither had I.) Once I started the process, I decided not to bother with the stuff since January 1. (With the exception of the posts from our trip to Poland, Prague and Germany.) Theoretically, I still have access to most of the content if I ever want to pull it. I just can’t imagine that I will.

    So, welcome to the new and improved kellirocha.com – I have some more testing and tweaking to do. (Many of you saw my test posts that accidentally went to the social media channels.) As the site’s content grows, I can add more features. But for now, it’s up and running, and I can get back to the most essential task: writing the next 1,000,000 words.