My oldman dragged me out to a farm in Iowa when I was six or seven.
They were tearing down the old barn and my dad wanted wood from this particular stable. We grabbed a pick up truck from one of his train yards and off we went.
My dad was from Iowa and was a devout Catholic. He liked to call himself a Judeo-Christian.
My dad was also in the first ordained Permanent Diaconate class in the Chicago Archdiocese.
We went to get this wood to make a cross for The Easter Triduum. When we got home my dad went right to work.
The pieces of wood were massive and rough. I could barely pick them up. When it was finally set together it was over seven feet tall.
Big Don then carefully measured lines and drew 500 little circles on his cross. All perfectly aligned in rows of seven with three holes left on the top. The Trinity….
He took his drill and made 500 holes deep enough to slip a nail in easily.
500 holes for 500 parishioners to place a nail in the cross.
He had a peach basket that he brought home from Iowa filled with large nails.
My dad carried the cross on Good Friday and laid it next to the altar. He turned around and told everyone to come up and grab a nail and place it in the cross.
I was only a kid, but I could see how powerful this was for everyone in the church.
My dad told me years later he was worried about the reaction from the old school Pastor, but afterwards the old school Pastor was ecstatic. Whenever my dad told this story I could see his joy.
Every Holy Week I think about that trip to Iowa and the cross my dad and I built for our parish. I think about the symbolism and the experience my dad gave those people.
“Place a nail in the Cross!”
May my Jewish friends experience a loving and Holy Passover tonight.
To my Christian brothers and sisters… remove the nail OUT of the cross that you carry and take comfort in the mystery of Our Faith.
