Today is Reminiscere, the second Sunday in Lent. There are five Sundays between the inception of Lent and Palm Sunday: Invocavit, Reminiscere, Oculi, Laetare and Judica. The names come from the first word in the traditional Introit for each day. There is no cantata today, respecting the practice in Leipzig when J.S.Bach served there.
Miss Flemm of the Religious Studies Department delivers today's inspirational message. She speaks on the importance of the Easter Bunny in our lives, and offers the hopeful message that the Easter Bunny will soon arrive.
Mr. Mendelssohn has returned from sunny Florida. The Bach Chorale has no cantati to sing for the next several weeks, but is not idle. Each year, the Chorale joins forces with the Chamber Orchestra to present one of Bach's great Passions on Good Friday; this year, they will perform Bach's Passion According to St. Matthew. There is no clarinet part in the orchestra, so Roderick will sing in the Chorale.
"We're working on a Passion," says Roderick at dinner on Sunday. He sits with Molly, Megan and Anna.
"I like passion," says Megan.
"It's not that kind of passion."
Megan frowns. "There's more than one kind of passion?"
"Apparently so. This is a work of religious faith."
"Yes, I guess that is different. I usually think of passion as sexual desire, like when one of the characters I write about begs her lover to tie her to the four-paster bed and spank her bare buttocks."
Now Molly looks puzzled. "They beg for what?" Molly, it seems, has never read one of Megan's novels.
"Well, sometimes they beg to be spanked, and other times they just beg to be tied up."
"And that is an example of sexual desire?"
"For my characters it is. Of course, it's just fiction. I wouldn't dream of doing such things myself."
"I would." Everyone turns to stare at beautiful, demure Anna, who has just disclosed something interesting about herself. She blushes.
Molly's jaw drops. "Really...?"
"Well, not all the time, but..."
Megan thinks that Anna is much more interesting than she thought, and makes a mental note to spend more time with her.
