On This Holy Tuesday

Tuesday is a humble day of the week even during the most ordinary of times. Sunday is the Day of the Lord, a day of rest and prayer. Monday, for most of us, begins a new work week. Wednesday is Hump Day. Friday we are grateful for the weekend. Even Thursday is one day closer to that precious weekend.

So Tuesday often is lost in the shuffle, yet it is a day of great importance for Catholic Daily Devotion, and especially during Holy Week. Catholics are asked to pray the Rosary every day. Many of us, including yours truly, fail to live up to daily observance of devotion. If you are unfamiliar with the Rosary, it is a circle of beads. For each bead there is a prayer. The prayers are broken into Opening Prayers, Mysteries of the Rosary, and Closing Prayers. Each day of the week is assigned to one of three or four Mysteries, depending upon Rite. Most Catholics who adhere to the Latin Rite, have three Mysteries of the Rosary. These are the Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious Mysteries. Roman Catholic, mainstream, whatever you wish to call them, pray four Mysteries in the weekly cycle. The forth, implemented well after Vatican II, was established by Saint John Paul II in 2002. These are the Luminous Mysteries pertaining to the public life of Jesus.

Tuesdays Catholics are asked to pray the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary. Since Holy Week is all about the Passion of Jesus Christ, the Sorrowful Mysteries are even more poignant during Holy Week. While praying the Rosary might appear to be hollow repetition of the Our Father and Holy Mary, it is this repetition that keeps the mind occupied while the soul contemplates the Mysteries. The Sorrowful Mysteries of Tuesday’s Rosary are The Agony in the Garden, The Scourging at the Pillar, The Crown of Thorns, Carrying the Cross and finally Christ’s Crucifixion and Death for the forgiveness of Sins. The Sorrowful Mysteries are Christ’s Passion, our focal point in prayer.

So what happened on Holy Tuesday? Peter is astonished by the now dead fig tree that Jesus had cursed only the day before. The twelve return once more to the temple, where Jesus teaches publicly for the last time. Privately, Jesus lets it be known that soon He will die, but not before one of His chosen had betrayed Him. This revelation makes the twelve fearful and filled with dred.

Tuesday should not be overlooked nor lost in our rush toward Easter. It is a day of great importance. One that deserves reflection and prayer.

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Simple Crispy Chicken Thighs
6 bone-in Chicken Thighs
Salt to taste
Black Pepper to taste
Garlic Seasoning Blend to taste

Heat oven to 475-degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Place a wire rack inside the baking sheet. Spray with cooking spray, set aside.

Pat chicken thighs dry with paper towels. Gently lift skin, season meat under the skin with salt, pepper and garlic seasoning. Season skin and underside of the thighs with the same seasoning combination. Arrange chicken on the wire rack.

Bake chicken in the heated oven until the skin is crisp, about 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 400-degrees. Continue roasting another 15 minutes. Turn chicken over, bake another 10 minutes. Turn again, let skin continue to crisp another 5 minutes. Remove from oven, let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Great with warm buttery biscuits and corn. If desired, pull chicken from bone, split biscuits and enjoy as a simple chicken sandwich.

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For you are my hope, O Lord; my trust, O God, from my youth.