After the fast, the FEAST!

We awoke this morning to a chorus of Alleluias!  The stone was rolled away; He is alive!

And, after the fast, of course, we must feast.  The table is set.

We discussed the menu on The 4Real forum, but the children and I tweaked it a bit today.  To see pictures and more recipes, visit Kitchen Comforts.

A Somber Hush...

...until tomorrow.

As they..were eating,

Jesus said, "Amen I say to you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me."  They began to be distressed and to say to HIm, one by one, "Surely it is not I?" He said to them, "One of the Twelve, the one who dips with Me into the dish...It would be better for that man if he had never been born."

While they were eating, He took the bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them and said, "Take it:  This is my body." (Mark 14:18-26)

And likewise the cup, saying, "This is My blood, the new covenant, which will be shed for many for the forgiveness of sins." (Matthew 26:28)

I wonder...

I wonder how Jesus felt when the crowd wanted him to be their king?...

I wonder who the people were who shouted,"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord"?...

I wonder why Jesus the King rode on a donkey instead of a horse?...

I wonder what kind of king Jesus would be?...

I wonder what it would be like to live in Jesus' kingdom?...

--from Young Children and Worship

Not too late for journey to Jerusalem

I have been discouraged this Lent by my inability to DO all the things we usually do around here during our season of preparation.  I just haven't been able to prepare to prepare.  Sometimes, we choose our Lenten sacrifices. Sometimes, God chooses them for us.  Lent began early for me this year, shortly after the Feast of Mary, the Mother of God.  I didn't even know I was pregnant, but boy, did my body. I haven't been upright for more than a few moments at a time since.  This is my fifth autumn baby; I'm beginning to get good at giving up all eating as I know it for Lent! I'm also learning that I can be a good mom just by being, not always by doing. We've done a lot of snuggling, had a lot of heart-to-heart conversations. Still, I miss the Lenten preparations. It's the DOING that I've sacrificed.

God sends us people to help carry our crosses, too. Stephen's Godmother has come in (a bit like a lady with a magic wand) and tied purple ribbons on all our religious art. She also cooked and cleaned:-).  Everywhere we look, we see simple reminders of the season.

And early yesterday morning, I prayed for the strength to just do the important things.  Lo and behold, I finally got around to setting up the first three installments of Jesus' Journey to Jerusalem. It's all I did for the day, but it was wonderful to present "Jesus and the Children," "Bartimeus and Jesus," and "Jesus and Zaccheus" for the first time to the littlest ones.  Each of them returned to the work again and again throughout the day.One of the most beautiful things about Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (Montessori's approach to religious education) is the spiritual benefit for the catechist.  Every time I present a work, I gain a new insight into that component of our faith.   And every time I wonder aloud with my children, I understand why they are God's plan for my journey to heaven.