So obviously my Holy Week was off to a holy start. ;)
Today is for playing catch up after a weekend that included my brother in law's wedding and our friends' daughter's baptism. Today's ultimate goal, though, is low to no stress. JF's allergies and asthma created a couple of incidents (hives at the rehearsal dinner and a nebulizer treatment during the wedding) so I'm ready to keep it low key.
I've even got a playlist, courtesy of my friend Katie:
Bullet journals are all the rage right now, right? So here's mine for the week, but typed out in a blog post instead of actually written in a neat bullet journal.
My hopes for the rest of the week:
Monday: light cleaning and groceries
Tuesday: catching up on laundry and doing last Sunday's Mass Box craft with the older kids.
Wednesday: hiding 30 pieces of silver (aka quarters from my Paradise Falls jar) for Resa, JP and JP and attending evening adoration with the family
Thursday: attending Holy Thursday service with the family - we haven't done this for a few years but I think the older kids will enjoy it and the younger kids will be given a low bar and fruit snacks.
Friday: bake hot cross buns in the morning, do Stations of the Cross with the kids at noon, have quiet from noon til three, attend Good Friday service
Saturday: clean the house, no tv, celebrate Travis' birthday with good friends
Sunday: 7am Mass, Easter umbrella baskets, feast and celebrate!
And really, most of it I'm not committed to, their just goals.
Cue the boiling water and the crying baby at the same time! I'm hoping you have a grace-filled, fruitful Holy Week.
Our homily was short but then the choir sang a 10 minute long meditation hymn...and all I could think was, not the week! not the week! as my two year old added her not-so-dulcet tones to the song the entire time. :|
ReplyDeleteWhen we sat for the homily on Sunday, I was praying, "Please, God, let it be short and good," and I was so thankful-in a very concise homily, our pastor talked about gluttony, the sufferings of Christ, and Downton Abbey. It was a good time :) My biggest goal for this week is figuring out what the heck we're doing for Easter (I don't really plan ahead, AND Lent kind of flew by for me haha) and washing the enormous load of dishes that has been piling up in our sink. Of course, I could have done them by now, but...hello, world of blogging ;)
ReplyDeleteI hope that your Holy Week goes well!
I want to do this on Friday... http://www.catholicicing.com/story-of-the-passion-lunch-symbolic-lunch-for-good-friday/ With a newborn in the house, I'm not sure we'll get much else done. Luckily I bought all the Easter stuff awhile ago and I hope to spread some crafts/treats through the whole season.
ReplyDeleteI think that lunch is such a clever idea. I wonder if there's a way I can adapt it so it's safe for my kids with allergies. You've got the wheels turning!
DeleteLove this post! I'm obsessed with bullet journaling. Mine isn't fancy or pretty, but oh so useful because I'm such a scatter brain. I like the idea of writing down spiritual practices in my bujo. I usually keep those to my Google Agenda as that's where I do most of my planning, and I keep my bujo for tasks. Writing it down in my journal may mean that I'm more likely to follow through.
ReplyDeleteI hope you have a blessed Holy week!
Bonnie - it is funny that you mention the part about the USCCB, because (and I am not kidding), our pastor stood up to preach the homily and his first words were "According to the new translation of the liturgy that came out within the last couple of years, we are specifically requested to give a short homily preceding the reading of the Passion, so you can thank them for that." And his homily was just a couple minutes long.
ReplyDeleteWhat?!!! Well I'm happy for you! :)
DeleteYou had me until 7am mass, lol
ReplyDeleteLOL! Our kids are super good at 7am Mass and every other time is really hit or miss. It just works for us.
DeleteWe had a short homily on Sunday, but I feel a bit frustrated with the services of the Triduum these past few years. They've gotten so long that I feel like they exclude a lot of people. Our parish is WONDERFUL and we LOVE it, but because it is so large and it takes easily 40 minutes to move that many people through the lines to venerate the Cross and receive the Eucharist on Good Friday, for example. In this stage of life with toddlers and babies (which we've been in, revolving style, for 14 years now...) I haven't felt up to doing it for the past 5 years or so. It's just too hard, particularly with my husband at work. Both the Holy Thursday Mass and Good Friday service are 3 hours, with the Vigil Mass coming in at 3.5 hours. (I don't understand how the Vigil is only 30 minutes longer than the other 2 Masses/services, but alas, it is...) I know that young families aren't the only ones that can't do this; many of the elderly parishioners aren't up to it, either. It just makes me sad and a bit left out. I have no solutions, though. It is what it is, I guess.
ReplyDeleteBut this year, we have a friend coming into the Church and have hopefully found a doable compromise. We'll go to Holy Thursday Mass, skip the service on Good Friday but go to Stations of the Cross in the evening. And we got a sitter for our youngest 2 children for the Vigil and will bring the older 3 with us to Mass. I'm feeling blessed and grateful to be able to participate to this extent this year, but I wonder what other families do? The struggle is real! I long to participate in the fullness of the Triduum.
To clarify, we bring all of our children to Mass with us every Sunday, it's just the long Vigil Mass that we are getting a sitter for our toddler and preschooler, while we bring the big 3. ;)
DeleteYikes! 3 hours on Good Friday would be insane for anyone! Perhaps your pastor would be open to not having everyone process up to venerate the cross? I've seen it before where the pastor and servers will kiss the cross, then hold it up and out for everyone to silently venerate for a few minutes. I don't know much about this practice or if it's supposed to be a thing, but I personally have found it to be a good way to facilitate large groups of people, so that the service can be a reasonable length. And, despite how I am not a fan of large numbers of Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, I want to toss that idea out there-maybe the parish needs to utilize a couple more to help facilitate lines of people who want to receive the Eucharist. Have you talked with your pastor at all about your frustrations? Because it is so sad that in this liturgical season, at the high point of the year, you and other families (and probably the old people, too) can't do 3 hours each day, so you wind up missing out on the liturgies.
DeleteWow, Lauren! That is tough! AnneMarie's idea of the general veneration might need to be adapted. I have seen something like that and then the cross is left "displayed" (not the right word maybe) so people can come forward and venerate it over the course of several hours. That would work well, but how do you even make that change?
DeleteAnd just because I've seen it done that way doesn't mean that's the proper way to even do it! hmmm....
Delete"There should be a direct order from the USCCB that all homilies on Palm Sunday must be under 10 minutes."
ReplyDeleteHa ha, my brother is a priest and he has a lot to say about priests whose Palm Sunday Homilies are more than five minutes!
My Holy Week Plans are in complete disarray because I am very sick and Beadboy3 is recovering from an infection and minor surgery and Beadboy1 is a little sick but his school nurse thinks he's very sick. I've already missed Palm Sunday Mass and the Penance Service, and I will probably have to work all day Friday.
Oh what bummer! I hope you are all well soon to celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord!
DeleteAnd your brother sounds like a reasonable man. :)