It was so foreign to have no readings to read for the next day last night and none this morning for the day of silent waiting outside the tomb. We are reminded that Mary represented us/The Church as we await the rising of our Lord this day. The pain and anguish of his Mother watching his unimaginable suffering and death... there must have been some peace over the world after the earthquake and lightening and darkness and all that happened when he died - God died!!! He is no longer suffering the physical pain, yet we realize that he is at work now in death!
We have been Easter Vigil attenders for years, but not that many years. We started when we would share and teach with those entering the Church years ago. I LOVE to share my conversion story and LOVE, love, love The Church each and every day since... so being able to share my JOY with all entering was my happiness. Then we would attend Easter Vigil to watch them take that huge step of full communion, and got hooked on how amazing it all is!
I hear that tens of thousands are not able to enter The Church this Easter Vigil.. may they long to come in and come in with even more enthusiasm and JOY when they are able! May it bring to them the Beauty and LIFE they long to receive with their hearts, minds and souls!
One sobering thought this year with the lack of services for Easter - the Vigil is not happening in our parish or our diocese. As Pat said before he left this morning... it has been probably over 25 years that we have faithfully as a growing family attended the Vigil! Then we had a tradition of going out to Applebees for a celebratory meal - taking up tables of in these years of many families together!
https://familysoulstory.blogspot.com/p/the-amazing-story-of-13-becoming.html
We go from no readings for this day of waiting and silence outside the tomb filled with hope and longing with Mary, our Mother and His... Jesus gave her to us at the foot of the Cross yesterday and we all take her into our homes - bringing us peace, joy and love - the fruits of The Spirit of her Son, Jesus Christ! Then the Vigil is filled with so many amazing readings!!! His Word rings out to the world of The fulfillment of our Redemption and Salvation!!!
We had very fake dreams and plans to try to go up and visit with my dad outside his window, which is now even being frowned down upon... We also thought we would see our family up there for a small Easter celebration, but with the new tighter restrictions and snow coming to really make Easter a stay at home Easter... not to be.
I had a nice talk with my dad today, and he sounded pretty good... "Keep the calls coming." were his final word to me, so I know that he is lonely! To be alone now, which happened quickly and during this isolation is so very hard! "There are no activities now, we don't even go out for meals sitting one at a table. We eat alone in our room." So very hard and sad for my dad. For me it is very strange to realize that our family is only 2 - Pat and I, but for dad, who shared his life with mom for 70+ years to be alone and isolated is so gut wrenching!
https://familysoulstory.blogspot.com/p/my-most-cherished-cross-patrick-gerard.html
The 3 older girls in their first Communion pictures... the dress was one that Ruth wore in a wedding as a flower girl. We were to have 3 First communions this spring, but they either happened already and quickly or they are postponed. The Lord's timing is what we trust in these days like none other in our life-times!
I had a most beautiful thought shared with another sister yesterday on the phone... recalling how our mother LOVED her dogs! Even in these late years she would dream about having a dog. So we could envision her surrounded by bounding with JOY dogs from the past... Barney, Cody, Sugar bear, Tippy, and on and on!!! So much happiness fills me to think of mom with her beloved dogs!
She found this...This is what greets you when you get to heaven...
We both think we can see some of them in this! Mom loved her big dogs so much!!!
Therese is the gardener in Washington, and hence the Mary garden in front of their home on base. Maria shared the crucifixes that the kids did thanks to Nancy's project shared on Catholic Sprouts.
Jesus, we await your coming in glory and putting an end to death. ALL LIFE is a gift no matter how short or small and we are filled with so much hope and peace knowing that we will be united with them forever in heaven. Be with us this most different of Easters and Holy week. May we come to you in a Spiritual way as you fill us with your presence - Come Lord Jesus! Jesus, we trust in you. Amen
Another Catholic School tradition of the 8th grade class now moved to home... From Paul
Mary prepared a traditional Seder meal for the family this evening. Ruth took it to the next level by preparing some lamb. Kids (and parents) learned much about history and traditions that we heard in today’s readings. Was a great way to start the next few days in preparation for Easter.
There is no Gospel reading for Holy Saturday as we await and anticipate Our Lord's triumph over death.
Happy Feast Day
Saint Gemma Galgani (B)
1878-1903
Feast day: April 11
Patronage: students, pharmacists, tuberculosis patients, love, hope, spinal injury
Throughout her life, St. Gemma was to be favored with many mystical experiences and special graces. She wished to become a nun, but her poor health prevented her from being accepted. On June 8, 1899, Gemma received the stigmata. Gemma often saw her guardian angel, with whom she was on familiar terms and sent on errands. In January of 1903, Gemma was diagnosed as having tuberculosis. She died quietly in the company of the parish priest, on April 11 at age twenty-five.
Today is a day to sit with the silence and grief. Today is a day to feel the darkness of all the lost celebrations, the heartbreak of seeing mass graves dug in New York, the longing for the simple embrace of a friend, the emptiness at losing the tedium of going to school or the office. Easter isn’t worth anything if it doesn’t shine light into the real darkness. Today is the day when God’s flesh sat still and cold in death. Tonight, and tomorrow offer us a choice. Having been devastated by this loss, we can return to business as usual, to the anesthesia of busyness and buying, or we can commit our whole lives going forward to joining God in renewing the world with love; in dismantling the vast injustices being unmistakably exposed right now in the lives of those who can’t stay home, who have no home, who risk themselves and their families every hour so we can be comfortable. Tonight and tomorrow we will be offered a choice to blind ourselves to the darkness around us with the blue light of our technology, or to join Jesus in piercing and utterly shattering this present darkness with the light of hope, joy, and life.
Pope Francis venerates the cross April 10, 2020, during the Good Friday Liturgy of the Lord's Passion in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. Full story: https://bit.ly/2xkgSwa (CNS photo/Vatican Media)
No comments:
Post a Comment