Job had health, wealth, a beautiful family, and the respect of his peers. But God allowed Satan to take it all away from him. What happens to our resurrection joy when calamity like that strikes to the heart of our lives? Just ask Job. In the midst of his pain, agony, and suffering, as he sat in a pile of ashes, he boldly proclaimed "I know that my Redeemer lives!" And that means his best days were ahead of him. That means that he will live too. That means that no matter what we face in our lives here on earth - whether we wake up on Easter morning or on the darkest of days or anything in-between, with Job we can say "I know!" And that changes everything!

While Jesus hung on the cross, darkness reigned. Covered with the sins of the world, and deemed the sinner of sinners by his Father, Jesus experience the very agonies of hell. He willingly endured that pain, beyond anything we could ever imagine, because he was committed to completing the task the Father gave him: to rescue sinners from the punishment we deserved. God bless our meditation on Jesus' suffering and death in our place for our benefit!

On Maundy (originally from the Latin word for "command") Thursday, we recall the command that the Lord gave his disciple - to love one another. We also think about how he commanded his disciples to eat his body under the bread and drink his blood with the wine. We heed his invitation to remember what he accomplished through his life and death and receive the forgiveness of our sins through the Sacrament of the Altar. Maundy Thursday marks the beginning of a service that extends over three days, focusing on the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.