Annual Blessing of the Animals in Borrego Springs

Every spring, the calendar of the Christian churches comes round to the Forty Days of Lent, a time of self examination and reflection, very much like the season of Ramadan in Islam. These weeks culminate in Holy Weeks, the time from Palm Sunday, this year April 13, till Easter Sunday, April 20. Easter, coming from an Old English word for spring, is the celebration of Jesus being raised from death. But the Resurrection is preceded by several other special days. Called Maundy Thursday from the Latin mandatum or commandment, Thursday in Holy Week commemorates the last supper Jesus had with his disciples. At this meal he gave them bread and wine to share, this becoming the central sacrament of the church, holy communion or the Eucharist. Thursday also recalls Jesus' washing the feet of his friends as an act of love, a commandment he urged them to continue--their love for each other and all the world. Good Friday seems wrongly named for it is the day of Jesus' death on the cross. Yet this self giving is for Christians the ultimate sign of God's love for all humankind and the world. On the next day, Holy Saturday, towards evening, a vigil service of readings, the proclamation of the resurrection and holy communion begin the Easter celebration. Finally on Easter Sunday services of song, prayer, readings and communion feast the rising of the Lord from death, a promise to all of new life with God and each other forever.