Friday, March 21, 2008

Good Friday, and Happy Birthday To Me

Today I mark 50 years of life, or as Colleen likes to tell me, the first 50. However today we will only note it, not celebrate it, as today is also Good Friday. For Catholics this is a day of fasting and abstinence. This is the day in which we remember the Passion of our Lord; His suffering and His death. We call it Good Friday because His suffering was, and is, in reparation for our sins. So today, we too suffer just a bit. Just one meal to sustain us and no meat. It's also a day without toil, one of reflection.

Do I lament not celebrating my 50th birthday today? Not really, being trumped by our Lord is something I can handle. Considering that Good Friday hasn't fallen on this day since 1913, and it won't happen again until the year 2228, I could allow myself to feel a bit special to have been given this tiny added sacrifice.

After Good Friday services and our one small meal, I'll sit down this evening, perhaps with a nice barleywine or Trappist beer. It will be a time to reflect further on the meaning of this day, and how that might be reflected in my 50 years. That's time well spent. The party with friends can wait. (And is indeed planned for next Friday.)




Update: I read on the Brookston Beer Bulletin that I share this birthday with brewing legend Pierre Celis.
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4 comments:

  1. AnonymousMarch 21, 2008 at 4:28 PM

    Well happy birthday anyway, David. That's some tough competition on a day like today, but a Trappist later on seems a fitting choice for the occasion.

    ReplyDelete
  2. THOMAS CIZAUSKASMarch 21, 2008 at 6:37 PM

    The Road goes ever on and on
    Down from the door where it began.
    Now far ahead the Road has gone,
    And I must follow, if I can,
    Pursuing it with eager feet,
    Until it joins some larger way
    Where many paths and errands meet.
    And whither then? I cannot say.

    Happy Birthday!

    ReplyDelete
  3. DavidMarch 21, 2008 at 8:48 PM

    Thanks friends.

    Now that the day's commitments are done, it's time I think for a bit of Westmalle.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Fredericksburg Area Brewing and Tasting SocietyMarch 23, 2008 at 9:55 AM

    Happy Birthday Dave. It looks like you survived.

    James

    ReplyDelete

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