“..& those who went in front & those who followed were all shouting “Hosanna! Blessings on him who comes in the name of the Lord!” ..it reminds me of my beach prayer walk retreats..we set off as 14 pilgrims on long expanse of empty beach, & the enthusiastic adventurers with designer waterproof clothing & footwear champ at the bit to be off as soon as they smell the sea & the challenge..iphones set to log every step..meanwhile pedestrians look into far distant yonder, & ask when & where it will be possible for us to take a rest, or ask permission to go half way & wait for the beach striders to return..I gently explain it is a pilgrimage, not a route march nor a saunter..[ “saunter” from latin sancta terra..holy ground ] ..& we set out, pausing to read paragraph from a book “at sea with God” listen to waves & wind..we walk & listen, as did those two disillusioned distraught disciples on road back home to Emmaus & to ordinary life again, having seen their Messiah, their only hope, put to death..& in step with a stranger a fellow pilgrim on a beach walk, as ordinary story & sharings become divine opportunities, they meet someone they & we know very well.. we go far enough before making for home together..with the empty seat on minibus now occupied.. ..as St Benedict addresses Abbot in Ch 64 of the Rule; “..so manage everything in the monastery that the strong may have ideals to inspire them & the weak may not be frightened away by excessive demands..” & so to our journey into Holy Week; we begin here & now, a journey to Easter morning together..we offer a pace & a range of opportunities to watch & walk, to listen & to pray..a pace which may well frustrate the quick eager & devout..& may give cause for concern for the slow docile & the waverer..but we need to keep together..remember at journeys end Jesus met Mary Magdalen, keen eager & first to arrive at the tomb, a beloved outsider, & he sent her back to tell the troops, the disciples, giving them the directions & coordinates to Galilee..”they [ together] will see me there” & when Peter & John, the professional insiders, doubting eye witness account of a woman of disrepute, ran to see if the evidence was authentic, young John ran ahead, broke ranks & community order, got there first &..waited..for his breathless senior to catch up & enter tomb first.. ..a week for us to keep together..a measured purposeful if not gentle pace, where the most important fellow pilgrim of ours is the weakest link..the one who could be the slowest or the fastest..he/she will be the making & the saving of us in failure disqualification betrayal disrepute & disfigurement..theirs & lets face it, more importantly, ours.. ..be sure you will be challenged to meet yourself..your real self..the self you have perhaps denied three times or thirty times in life so far..”not I Lord, surely?”.. to meet yourself on the way of the Cross this week.. ..& commit yourself now to the journey, to the prayer walk, by tracing a cross of self commitment & surrender on the palm of your hand..on Palm Sunday..