The beauty of the universality of the Church is that people around the world celebrate the holiest days of the year with rich traditions that stem from a society steeped in Catholic faith. Centuries of fusing Holy Week and Easter customs to local resources and cultural traditions have produced a patchwork of unique liturgical traditions, blessings, art, recipes and more.
Juliette Totah, now 93 and living at St. Anne’s Home in San Francisco, was born in the Palestinian West Bank city of Ramallah. Like other Arab-speaking Catholics, her Easter memories and traditions remain rooted in the Holy Land.
Once upon a time, many years ago, I experienced making a private retreat at the Camaldolese hermitage in Big Sur. I was only a couple of years ordained at the time, so it was a very long time ago! Nonetheless, the memory of it is still vivid in my mind.