Holy Thursday started with driving someone to the airport an hour away relatively early in the morning. The Holy Thursday was wonderful, but kinda funny. Our pastor said sternly before the mass started that he wanted silence on the church campus. No chatting. Then, after the consecrated hosts were transferred into a small chapel,
ALL the smoke alarms in the church started to go off. They squawked for several minutes, a fire truck came to the campus. It was
LOUD. It reminded me of the song "Hosanna" from
Jesus Christ Superstar:
"Why waste your breath
Moaning at the crowd?
Nothing can be done to stop the shouting
If every tongue were still
The noise would still continue
The rocks and stones themselves
Would start to sing." No rocks, but the fire alarms got their say regarding "silence." I know, make a plan so God can laugh.
Good Friday was wonderful and relatively long.
Holy Saturday was windy, but we still lit the Easter Candle outside and managed to keep the smaller candles going while moving back inside. About ten people were baptized and more than twenty(?) were confirmed. Several of the teens served at all the Triduum (Holy Thursday through Easter Vigil) activities with the Easter Vigil portion starting a little before 6pm and ending around 9:30. Those teens caught a flight at the airport an hour away that departed around 5am Sunday (Easter) morning for ROME for a gathering with Pope Francis that had been scheduled months before Pope Francis became sick.
This morning, my group had a coffee donut fundraiser, so we made plans that included being at the church by 5:30 to set up for the event. The event ended around noon. I took a nap before going to the 5pm mass with the teens who were left (not heavily attended, but these are my peeps).
Fabulous, busy, stressful, active, joyful Holy Week. It was wonderful. Hoping to get to enjoy Holy Week next year without having to support as many activities.
Tomorrow, I have to be at an Azure Standard (bulk food and organic stuff mainly) in the area because the person who runs the site will be away for another event....then I pick up the person I took to the airport that evening. WHEEEEEEEE!!! This has to slow down at some point.
Everything happens at once, but I got through it.
