When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, so that they might come and anoint Him. (Mark 16:1) I press my face against the pink, veined marble slab, smeared with a fragrant oil that lingers on my neck and hands. As I push myself from the …
The Garden (“Peeling Oranges” Series)
One cold morning, I wait for the American neighbors next door, who share a cab with me to school. A smoky mist rises up from their host mother’s garden, the night’s frost melting and crystalizing again in the air. It curls around laundry polls and hovers above the lemon trees, full of pocked yellow bulbs …
Peeling Oranges
During my time in Jordan, I’ve taken many photographs, images that, when I look back at them years from now, will bring back the feelings I felt in those places and with those people. When I look at this picture, for example, I’ll remember sitting in the cold, purple sand in Wadi Rum at sunset. …
Easter Sunday: Praying with Mary Magdalene
In the purple light of the morning, sitting front of the empty, open tomb, Mary Magdalene weeps in the garden alone. ‘How could they have taken my Lord? Who did this?’ She pushes herself up off the rock, wiping under her eyes with her red scarf and wrapping it more tightly around her. Once again, she …
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Holy Thursday: Praying with Jesus
Today, Catholics move into the most prayerful and solemn time of the Church year—the Triduum, which is made up of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. These days prepare us for the highest Christian holiday, Easter Sunday, which celebrates Jesus’ resurrection from the dead after his crucifixion. For each day of the Triduum, I …
JORDAN DENARI DUFFNER 