Tuesday, April 18, 2017

Journeying towards Pentecost!

Good morning all, and happy Easter! I had such a lovely Easter weekend, and am very much trying to carry forward the joy of the vigil and Easter Sunday. But as we know, Easter is a full liturgical season, and so we remain joyful for many days to come!

My Triduum was exactly as I hoped when you and I chatted about it during Tea Time last week: The Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday was moving and inspiring.I always tear up during the transfer of the Eucharist at that Mass. And then the dramatic leaving of the sanctuary by the priest and altar servers really sets the tone for the continuation of the liturgy on Good Friday. Anne came with me to the 3 pm Good Friday service at our parish, and that liturgy packs a punch every single year. When the priest and deacon lay prostrate in front of the bare altar at the start...makes me cry every time. Another reading of the Passion, the veneration of the Cross, the absence of the Eucharist in the sanctuary, all of this is so tangible for me. 8 pm on the vigil of Easter found both me AND Henry at Mass holding small taper candles. I relented and let him come with me, because he really wanted to, and I have to say, he held up his end of the bargain. No complaining about length or asking when it would be over. He did really good. And I LOVE that Mass. As usual, it was spectacular.

Easter Sunday, our house looked like a chocolate factory exploded in it. and we had family over for dinner. It was a beautiful and glorious day.

I was dreading coming back to work, but here I am, bushy tailed if not bright eyed. Fortuitously, I found out about something that really cheered my Easter spirits, and I thought I'd share it with all of you:

I talked back at the beginning of Lent about the Blessed is She devotional for that liturgical season.It was beautifully written and designed, and I got a lot out of it during Lent. Yesterday, I found out that they also have a journal for the Easter season leading up to Pentecost, called On the Way: Road to Pentecost Journal.

*bells chime*

I downloaded the e-book version real quick like the Easter bunny, since I wanted to start right away, but there is also a gorgeous print copy available (thought the numbers are low, so they may go out of stock any minute!). For the e-book, I recommend watching the video Jenna did on Facebook to explain how much to read every day (it's in the Blessed is She Facebook group, recorded on 4/17/17). The e-book lacks the journaling lines that signal the end of that day's selection, so it can be confusing as to where you should stop each time. There is also a special Facebook group devoted just to discussion of the journal during the Easter season, which I joined, and you may want to as well!

I'm very excited about this. We're almost done with our Live Today Well discussion (in fact, I just read the chapter on Confession that we're going to be addressing tomorrow!), and it's nice to have something else of the spiritual reading variety to focus on. Is anybody else reading along with Blessed is She for Easter? I'd love it if you'd let me know in the comments!

4 comments:

  1. i'm so glad someone else tears up during the Holy Week Masses! The Veneration of the Cross gets me right in the soul!

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  2. Was sick again and I missed not only Holy Week but Easter mass as well. I love how the ladies at church create a little Altar of Repose, all white with white flowers and just oozing a hyacinth fragrance. So sorry to miss that and my Florida vacation this week as well.

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    1. oh Donna! I'm so sorry! What unfortunate timing for you. :( I hope that you're feeling better now! <3

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