Olde-Schooling: Our Holy Week and Easter

Holy Week was beautiful, as it always is. My 14yo daughter mentioned how she wished that mass was always the way it is during Holy Week. What she meant of course, was that she wished that mass was always as reverent. I can't blame her. The music was lovely (of the goosebump variety), and I caught glimpses of cassocks being worn under the priests' vestments. Then there were the processions--one following Holy Thursday mass with the the Blessed Sacrament, and another after the Good Friday service, with a lovely statue of the Pietà. We belong to a nice, welcoming Italian parish, and before becoming parishioners there, we hadn't really taken part in many processions. Our church loves its processions, and we often get the opportunity to join in. What a lovely practice that is, particularly the candle-lit ones, with everyone either praying or singing a hymn. We're not super traditionalists or anything, but we are fairly traditional, and it just felt good to see that everyone, including the parishioners, had put so much time and attention to every detail--from what they were wearing, to their general behavior at mass. You could have heard a pin drop at the Good Friday service. It was solemn and beautiful. The entire week actually, was beautiful, and spiritually edifying. While I know that Jesus is still present in the Tabernacle even on weeks when less of a "fuss" is made, it still makes me sad to sometimes see the "business as usual" attitude that pervades churches everywhere, at other times of the year.

We attended Easter vigil mass on Saturday night, and it was lovely, too. A bit crazier than the preceding nights, as there were tons of people there for baptisms and confirmations. It's always so nice to see new people just entering the Church. Their enthusiasm reawakens my own. It was a very late night so I didn't make it home early enough to get a head start on cooking for Easter, but I had plenty of time to catch up on Easter morning. We went to visit my Mother and sister for Easter later in the day. My Mom made a delicious ham, a salad, and my son's favorite--rice pudding for dessert. I made roasted vegetables, scalloped potatoes au gratin, pineapple bread pudding (for those of us not eating a gluten-free diet), and mashed potatoes. Yes, I served mashed potatoes AND scalloped potatoes. Starch and more starch. I gave in to my 12yo daughter for whom mashed potatoes in a lifeline. Now I have tons of leftovers, and I couldn't be happier about that! We seldom have leftovers anymore, what with the kids eating us out of house and home. I can never count on leftovers for lunch the next day, so I made sure to make plenty this time. I'm looking forward to a day off from cooking! I try to find joy in the little things. :)

Anyway, here's a not-so-clear picture of the Easter spread. It was kind of muggy and overcast yesterday, and lack of light is not my friend when it comes to photo-taking.