Happy and Blessed Easter!
Alleluia, He has risen, Alleluia, He has risen indeed!
The Gospel for today was:
GospelJN 20:1-9
On the first day of the week,
Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning,
while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb.
So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them,
“They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.”
So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb.
They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first;
he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.
When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there,
and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.
Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed.
For they did not yet understand the Scripture that he had to rise from the dead.
The Gospel of the Lord! Praise to You Lord Jesus Christ!
Today we celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! In one way the day was very difficult because I missed being able to attend the Triduum in person, as did the majority of us! I especially miss being able to physically receive Jesus in Holy Communion! Yet I am grateful for the life online Mass with Spiritual Communion.
My mom and I run a home for children. So I was creative in how to help them understand that this was a special week and weekend! It made me think outside the box, so to say. While I try to take the children to as much of the Triduum as I think they can handle, this year it was online. So I got more creative at home. We colored the Stations of the Cross, for one thing. This morning I had everyone get dressed up. We didn’t have new Easter outfits as on March 18th or so I thought this would be over by Easter and I could run out and get everyone’s outfit. They wore last years Easter dress, or a hand me down, if last years didn’t fit. We took our Easter pictures, inside this year as it was sleeting outside. No we don’t always get them taken inside the church. It depends on the group of kids I have, sometimes just getting them to and trough Mass is enough, we do the pictures at home. Then we watched Mass live streamed. I have us stand, sit, kneel, etc..because it is Mass, even though we are not able to be physically in the church!
Yes, I did say when we can we take the children in the home to the Triduum. These are children in a home, some of them are not Catholic, and some are not churched. I prepare them to go to these special Masses, we don’t just show up. First of all by taking them to church, secondly by practicing quiet time at home. Research has shown that quiet every day is important to our brain, as well as spiritual growth. For the younger kids or the kids that are not used to church. I bring something, such as child appropriate spiritual books and or coloring. If the church has children’s bulletins, this is also a good choice, especially for homily time.
During this pandemic parents please remember that our children, especially those who had difficult beginnings, may have a very hard time with quarantine. Even for the child who is home schooled regularly, this quarantine is not the norm, even if they can say back to us why we are in quarantine. For some children, they have a time of returning to intense meltdowns. While we understand we have to help them to relearn to regulate their emotions. Structure and schedule in these times help. The children in the home have their regular bedtime and bedtime routine. I don’t let them sleep in. We get up and get the day started. We have regular down time and indoor and outdoor playtime in our day as well. This helps the child to know what to expect and to feel safe.
Remember Easter is not just one day! We are now in the Octave or 8 days of Easter. The Easter Season lasts until Pentecost, 50 days after Easter! So enjoy this time of celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus!
