Renew Your Faith- Celebrate Holy Week: Part III- Holy Saturday

So, here we are. Lent has ended; today is Holy Saturday.

Way back on Ash Wednesday, we talked about how the purpose of our Lenten sacrifices and practices is to be a better person on Easter Sunday than we were on Ash Wednesday.

So, how'd you do? 

Well, if you are like most of us, not so great some days, better others.

Today is a quiet day liturgically. And it should be in our homes, too. Oh, there's the pre-work for the big Easter meal, last minute stuffers for the baskets, maybe a local Easter egg hunt. But if you get caught up in the bustle you are missing out on the significance of the day.

The tabernacles of the world are empty.
There are no grand Easter candles in their ornate holders.
The red sanctuary lamp is dark.
Even the holy water fonts are dry.

That first Holy Saturday was a day of confusion and profound sadness for the followers of Jesus Christ. And these physical signs are reminders of that. They spent the day recounting how they had failed as disciples. How they betrayed their teacher. How they had abandoned him when he needed them most.

Imagine how awful they felt. It shouldn't be difficult, because we do it all the time, don't we?

We fail as disciples when we can't answer basic questions about our faith. We betray Jesus Christ when we refuse to stand up for the most vulnerable among us. We abandon Christ when we refuse to worship - in the way he asks us to- the one who has given us the life we squander. And we fail miserably when we do not stand up for the teachings of the Lord, by which we have the opportunity to lead others to Christ.

We fail as disciples. Every. Single. Day.

Tonight, in churches around the world, Catholics will gather in darkness and light a fire. And they will ponder again the reason Jesus Christ had to come into this world- and the reason he had to die...because of the sins of each one of us, personally and individually. It is a staggering weight, knowing not only did Jesus Christ die for me- he died because of me.

But we have the advantage of hindsight, hindsight allows us to look forward with hope. We know the rest of the story.

Just as on Christmas Eve, the light spreads through the darkened church as the Light of the World is born- so, too, will our church's glow in the candlelight tonight as we listen to the story of our salvation and as we await the joyous news that the Lord has conquered sin and death by rising from the dead. We will witness people commit their lives to Jesus Christ- renewing our own faith. We will ring every bell in every church and proclaim to the world: Jesus Christ is risen today!

Sure, it's fun to get all dressed up on Easter morning...but the Easter Vigil Mass is the most glorious of the entire year. Don't miss it! In case you missed it, HERE are some great Holy Saturday ideas to put Christ into Easter.

May your Holy Saturday be fruitful and blessed... and your Easter be joyous!

Renew Your Faith- Experience Holy Week: Part II- Good Friday

Nothing I write here can ever come close to helping any of us understand the true magnitude of what Jesus Christ did for us on that first Good Friday so many years ago.

But I can tell you this: When Jesus hung on the cross, his life draining from his body...he thought of you.

Let that sink in for a minute.

He was crucified for your sins.

Are you Pontius Pilate?

I used to believe Pilate got a bad rap. He was interested in Jesus, seemed to understand Jesus was somehow....special.

Pilate sought the truth.
Pilate wanted to release Jesus, and stated he found the Lord guilty of no crime deserving death.

Give Pilate a break!

But look again at what Pilate did- or, rather- failed to do. 

Pilate knew the truth- he knew Jesus was guilty of nothing.

And Pilate did nothing to save him.

Now, laying aside for the moment our 20/20 hindsight and knowledge of the scriptures, and that everything unfolded exactly as it was meant to be....think about that.

Pilate knew the truth, and did nothing to stop the evil.

How often do you do that? More often than you think.

"I don't believe in abortion, but I can't make decisions for other people."
"What's true for you isn't necessaritly true for me."
"Well, she's an adult. I can't say anything about what she does."
"It's OK, I'm mature enough to not let this get out of hand."
"What difference does it make if gays marry? I don't agree with it, but it doesn't affect me."
"God understands if I use artificial contraception."

Pilate was a moral relativist, and - thanks to what Pope Benedict XVI called "the dictatorship of relativism"- so is most of society. We've evolved to a place where objective truth no longer exists, everything is relative.

Well, that's a lie. And we all know who the Father of Lies is.

So- next time you find yourself failing to stand up for the truth against the crowd who thinks loud lies become truths, remember....you have company.

Pontius Pilate.

Awesome Things to Do with Kids on Holy Saturday!!

For those of you who don't know me, I have a BIG family. My husband of nearly 28 years and I have 7 (SEVEN) children, the oldest of whom turns 24 next week.

No. No multiples.

Yes. Every one of them was planned....by God. But that is another story for another day.

My point here is that the Easter Vigil Mass was not a part of our family until 1996, when my husband came into the church. We belonged to St Charles at the time, and the RCIA was run by the formidable Sr Mary Johnene Wellman, of happy memory.  (you can read about her HERE )  At the Easter Vigil Mass in 1996, at least 25...yes 25... people entered the Church. That's a lot of baptizing and Confirming. So there I was- 6 months pregnant with child #6, and five children ages 6 and younger....and Daddy on the opposite side of the church. It was not a fun evening for me, especially with Moose (18 months old) thoroughly enjoying dropping the hymnals flat...because he learned they make the most noise that way.

After that, we stuck to Easter Sunday Mass, followed by our special family holiday breakfast and an Easter Egg hunt in the yard (or the family room if it was too cold). It was 2005 (I believe) before we tried again- and that was a Mass that will go down in our family history. We STILL laugh about it... but again- the story will wait.

Naturally, we color Easter eggs on Holy Saturday- at one point ELEVEN DOZEN of them. Good thing I have LOTS of hard-boiled egg recipes!!!  For the record, I have no problem with the Easter Bunny- he is a fun part of growing up, like Santa and the Tooth Fairy. As long as our children know the real reason for the holiday, a fun guy dropping off candy won't doing any harm!

Today I want to give you lead time to plan an AMAZING Holy Saturday with your children- whatever their ages. During those years between Vigil Masses, we developed a set of traditions that we still continue- so we must be doing something right. My purpose was to have the children thinking less about the Easter Bunny than they were about- to borrow a phrase from the Passover ritual- why this night is different than all others.

The Blessing of the First Food of Easter. 

When Deacon Mike was at St Charles, he did this blessing, and for a couple years, we had a priest join us for these traditions ( he blessed our food then). When I worked for St John, I arranged for the blessing. Alas, it is one of those beautiful little "t" traditions that has gone kaplooie in Lima, OH. Thankfully, it is a blessing you can do at home, and without clergy. :-)

The Blessing of the First Food is an Eastern European tradition, stemming from what is called the Great Fast of Lent. During Lent, the people did not eat...get ready.... : meat, dairy, sugar or eggs. Yeah. And you thought going meatless one day a week was rough? Fruits and veggies- and not much else. So, eating those foods on Easter morning literally was a BREAK-FAST. The blessing was not only in thanksgiving, and asking to strengthen bodies through them, but to avoid illness from the shock to the system.

The woman of the home would make a special bread, called a babka or paska, it was very rich ( my recipe uses a dozen egg yolks!) Here's last years...

The babka would go into a basket lined with a special, hand-embroidered linen used ONLY  for the First Food Blessing. Also in the basket: butter, fresh eggs, cheese, meat, a candle, and...the PSANKY ( the amazing Ukranian Easter Eggs). Nowadays, you will also find children bringing their Easter Baskets (with candy) for the blessing, too.

THIS LINK will take you to a simple blessing you can use at home. Look at it ahead of time and mark the scripture passages. ALSO::::::: DO NOT MAKE THE SIGN OF THE CROSS over people or objects if you are not ordained!!!! That is a HUGE no-no, and one many Extraordinary ministers make. That is a priestly blessing- even DEACONS cannot bless by making the sign of the cross over people/objects.  The proper action is to hold your hand over the item/person, then you make the Sign of the Cross on your own person as usual.

THE FAMILY EASTER CANDLE

This is a cool and meaningful project. We did it at St John on Holy Saturday morning ( before the basket blessing) and some St Rose families even joined us.  You need:

A 3" (minimum) diameter pillar candle- preferable white or ivory, at least 6 inches tall
Whole cloves
Sharpie Markers
Scissors
rubber cement
Clip Art of Easter- related pictures:   Victory Lamb, Pelican, Cross, Lillies,  Noah's Ark, etc.  Also phrases such as "He is Risen!," and bible verses. You can find scrapbooking stickers that are appropriate, as well as scrap book paper with ornate crosses at Hobby Lobby.

With the Sharpie, make a cross, then add the numerals for the year and the alpha and omega. like this:

 The cross there is one we cut out from scrapbook paper, but you can draw yours.

Next, GROWNUPS ONLY-- Use the tip of your scissors to start small holes at each point of the cross, and one in the middle. Small holes- you will then insert a whole clove into each hole. These represent the incense. You'll want to dip the clove stem into rubber cement to help it stick.

Now decorate the candle however you like. You can see the one above is a little more simple than this one:

Sadly, neither of these photos shows a pelican, my favorite symbol. Legend has it that the pelican, if unable to find food for her young, will pierce her breast and feed them her blood. GET IT??????

The candle goes in the basket for the blessing of the food.

But THIS is the neat part!!!!!    Whenever you attend Easter Mass ( even the vigil)... light the candle for the first time from the Easter Candle at church. Catch the servers after mass, and they can help you with this one.

Then, light it every family meal throughout Easter season- all the way to Pentecost.....just like we do at church. And just like at church, the candle represents the presence of Christ- the Light of the World- in a special way. Ours stays on the table all year long.

After Pentecost, light it at special times...birthdays...anniversaries...holidays...a special guest at your table...report card day (yes, really!)....or even, just because.   During the liturgical year, the candle is lit for weddings, funerals, 1st Eucharist , Confirmation, ordination....for the really special days.

Start the Family Easter Candle tradition, and believe me- it will be special! And- as a special bonus- your children have leaned something about their faith.

Easter Story Cookies

HERE is the link for the recipe. It is self explanatory. ( This is where I use the egg white from the dozen eggs in the babka!)
Be sure you pre-mark the scriptures...and pre-measure the ingredients. It saves lots of time.

Again- my youngest is FOURTEEN and the kids still ask every year..."Are we making Easter Story Cookies?"

I have also had priests ask me if we were going to make them...and could we bring a couple to church?


So, I hope you have enjoyed reading about some of the Alderman family Holy Saturday traditions...and I really hope you will try at least one of them and that it helps your family experience the joy of Easter in a special way! While you're at it- share the link to this page so your friends can try something new with their children!

Renew Your Faith- Experience Holy Week, Part I: Holy Thursday

In our family, birthdays are never "one" day. Rather, they tend to stretch over two or more days for various reasons: work schedules, out-of-town children, and/or the general busy-ness of 21st century life. Just this weekend, we celebrated GG's 94th birthday on Saturday...and Sunday. You just can't get too much of a good thing.

Our Catholic faith gives us a good example of this. Christmas lasts for three weeks (or longer, depending on the way the days fall). The first Sunday after Christmas is the feast of the Holy Family. The second Sunday after Christmas is the Epiphany, and the third Sunday after Christmas is the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, formally ending the Christmas Season. Advent- the four Sundays prior to Christmas - are not part of Christmas, despite what society tells us with all the decor appearing around the middle of October. (Click HERE for my blog post about Advent!)

Our celebration of Easter is the same way. Despite all the bunnies and eggs and pastel-colored Peeps surrounding us in retail outlets, we are not in the Easter season, it is still Lent. And today begins the end of our Lenten season: the Triduum. Latin for "three days," it marks our remembrance of Jesus Christ's passion and death...leading up to his glorious Resurrection on Easter Sunday.

The final week of Lent is a time for the most amazing liturgical celebrations of the entire year ( at least they should be!). Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, ( if you are lucky, you'll get a Tenebrae service) Holy Saturday....all leading up to the holiest season for Christians: Easter. And- since it is so holy- we can't have Easter be just ONE day, or one week. Nope. We get FIFTY days of Easter!!! But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Log on to your local parish's web page. If the parish staff is worth their salt, they should have the homepage-(not the link for the bulletin, the actual HOME PAGE) updated with all the Holy Week Liturgies. The Facebook page and Twitter should be sending out the info every day this week. 

This is what you have to look forward to!

Holy Thursday: Mass of the Lord's Supper.... Probably my favorite Mass of the entire year, because it celebrates the institution of not ONE, but TWO sacraments. That in itself is pretty cool. One of the most moving parts of the Mass is when the priest removes his chasuble and stole and washes the feet of twelve MEN ( YES, only MEN are supposed to take part in this. The ritual specifies VIROS, which is Latin for "men"). If you see women and children up there, it is because the person who made the phone calls deliberately overlooks the sign value of the 12 being men, or simply does not know any better. Anymore, it's probably a little of both- that and the ridiculous press for so-called inclusivity. But the fact is: Jesus washed the feet of twelve MEN, and in doing so instituted the sacramental priesthood by demonstrating the servant nature of the priesthood.

By the way- if you are a man and get a phone call asking you to be one of those twelve, the proper answer is, "I would be honored. Thank you for asking me." NOT, "Oh, I could never do that!"  Remember- Peter did not want Jesus to wash his feet!

As an aside, Pope Francis going to the juvenile prison for the Holy Thursday Mass is so beautiful. His servant heart will be denounced by many.... we are already hearing it.... and others will use his compassion and humility to pass judgment on the Church as a whole and the papacy in particular.... but keep watching him. I have a feeling Pope Francis will set our hearts on fire!

The second sacrament whose institution we celebrate on Holy Thursday is the Eucharist. In this Mass, we recall the first Mass. Imagine, shortly after the multiplication of the loaves and fish, shortly after the Bread of Life discourse in  John 6... being present as Jesus Christ reaches 18 hours into the future and makes clear beyond a shadow of a doubt that the bread and wine become his Body and Blood. It happens at every Mass, and Holy Thursday, we celebrate it in a special way. After Communion should be a Eucharistic procession, taking the remaining hosts to an altar of repose outside the sanctuary. The altar is then stripped of all linens and all plants/flowers should be removed from the sanctuary. Adoration at the altar of repose for at least part of the night should be available. The tabernacle doors are left open to show that it is empty.

Why is it empty?

As a stark reminder of the events that have now been set in place... the last Supper is over. Jesus has gone out to pray- and will soon be arrested- and worse. 

So... open a new window and go to your parish website ( unless your parish actually sent out Holy Week info, ours didn't this year :-(   )   and get that schedule for the rest of Holy Week.

And BOOKMARK this blog or sign up below for updates for the rest of Holy Week and into the East Season!

Enter into the Paschal Mystery, experience the events of this Triduum in a way new to you. 

Spy Wednesday

From the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 26: 14-16
The one of the twelve- called Judas Iscariot- went to the chef priests and said, "What will you give me if I deliver him to you?" They paid him 30 pieces of silver and from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him.


Today is Spy Wednesday, traditionally the day in which Judas met with the chief priecst and set in motion the events of the Triduum (Latin for "three days" and meaning Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday).

The thirty pieces of silver represented the bounty for a wanted man- and the price of a man's life (for example, the accidental killing of another's slave) .

This is, of course, the first of many betrayals of the Lord during his Passion. First Judas. Then Peter. Then the rest of the disciples (with the exception of John) finally betray him by abandoning him.

But "WE" would never do that, would we?  We know who Christ is- we would never betray him!

We do. Every day.

We betray Christ when we allow people to speak falsehoods about his Church.
We betray Christ when -with full knowledge and consent- we break any of the Commandments (which is a mortal sin, despite one one RCIA director believes)
We betray Christ when we fail to speak up when we see others participating in objectively sinful behavior.
We betray Christ when we fail to stand up for the rights of the most helpless among us.
We betray Christ when anything in this world becomes more important to us than Jesus Christ and his desire for us to be in heaven with him.

You can find a good examination of conscience here. Look it over and get to Confession.

Remember- Judas did not repent and died. Peter repented and lived. And Peter, our first Pope, is proof that the Lord writes straight with crooked lines.

Band of Brothers

Jesus Christ Lives in Key West- A Palm Sunday Lesson

     Jesus Christ lives in Key West, Florida. Really- I know because I met him there. 

     In 2006, our entire family- all nine of us- drove to Key West for a week’s vacation right after Thanksgiving. We stayed at a property across the street from the beach and the master suite had an ocean view. It was amazing. 

     Since we had the luxury of children old enough to stay by themselves (this is a real treat for us!), Tim and I decided to have a grown-ups’ night. We ordered a movie for the offspring and pizza for their bellies and headed to downtown Key West. We dined at Margaritaville (of course), where Tim ordered the Cheeseburger in Paradise (of course). When his plate arrived, the ketchup was in reach, but Tim had to go looking for…. Yep. His lost shaker of salt. It was two tables over. We looked at each other and laughed.

     After dinner, we took a stroll. We passed a lady who was selling items she had made from palm fronds: hats, mats, stuff like that. She was very nicely dressed and sitting in one of those nice canvas folding chairs you bring to watch your kids play soccer. I admired her wares and we continued walking.

     Ahead and to our tight was an old man. He was white (just so you can draw the picture) and had salt and pepper dreadlocks. Yes. Dreadlocks on a white guy. He sat on a small campstool and wore dirty, ripped jeans and a ratty shirt. From a distance you could tell- he was not clean. He was the kind of person you knew before you got anywhere close to him—he smelled. Badly. The kind of person you don’t make eye contact with as you pass. So I cast my eyes downward as we got close.

     Then I saw it.

     Sitting on the ground in front of him was a glass coke bottle- the smaller kind that we used to get from vending machines…and in it was a rose made from a palm branch!

I fell on my knees in front of him, a sheet spread there showing his woven-palm wares, I looked in those eyes which only moments before I was determined to avoid at all costs, and asked: “How did you make that?”

     He smiled- his eyes were the most amazing shade of blue, like the most beautiful blue sky you could imagine. Before I saw them, I would have guessed that they would be clouded with cataracts, or glassy from medication- or alcohol. But they were crystal clear. And oh, so blue.

     “Would you like me to show you?”

     “Yes! Please!” And so he took me through, step by step. I told him how I liked showing my religious ed students how to make things with the Palm Sunday palms, but I wasn’t very good at it. I had directions for fancy crosses, fish and even a rose, but I could never figure out the rose from the drawings.

     “Are you going to remember how to do this on Palm Sunday?”

     “Yes. I learn best by watching. I’ll remember.” I memorized every movement of his weathered hands, took a mental picture of each step. When he finished, he handed it to me with a smile. I set it down and folded a cross from a palm that was nearby. As I handed it to him I said, “This is the only thing I know how to make without directions in front of me.” 

     We stood up and I gave him a hug and thanked him for sharing how to make the rose. My husband had been standing with a young man (who was dressed very nicely in khakis and a polo) who seemed to be there with the old man. Tim threw a few dollars in a hat that was sitting there.

     Tim and I walked away. We started crossing the street and I felt a tug on my arm. It was the old man. He looked into my soul- that’s the only way I can describe it- and told me, “Always remember- every person you meet, you could be meeting Jesus Christ.” I nodded my head and said, “I promise, I’ll remember.”

     And I always have. 

      The encounter stayed with me. Several weeks later I was with a priest friend and asked him, "Have you ever met someone and then later realize you had met Christ?" He stopped what he was doing, "Tell me what happened."

     The following Palm Sunday, I had everything ready for the children (pre-K through 8). Palms, photocopies of instructions. We talked about Palm Sunday and Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, surrounded by throngs of people hailing him as their King and Savior…the same people who just a few days later would call for his death. And I told them the story of the old man in Key West. How he had shown me how to make the palm roses---and what he had said to me.

    But I was having trouble with the rose. I was getting very frustrated, nearly to the point of tears. I recall saying something like, “I promised him. I promised him I would remember.” I felt as if I would be letting him down if I couldn’t do it. Caleb Good (8^th grade) stood by me and encouraged me-“ You can do it, take your time- you’ll remember.” Eventually, I did- and every year since, there have been as many roses as crosses on Palm Sunday around here. The palm rose the old man made me is on my night stand. Joey is really good at the roses- and makes a neat rose/ cross combination. He's a popular guy on Palm Sunday!

     So, you see? This really is a Palm Sunday story. The lesson is exactly what the old man told me- and every Palm Sunday it is renewed in my heart.  “Always remember- every person you meet, you could be meeting Jesus Christ.” 

     Even in Key West.