Some Exciting "E" Stuff (Such as Easter, Eggs, the Eclipse, Etc.)

Hi there!  The last time I was here, it was Holy Saturday and I was preparing for a lovely, relatively quiet Easter celebration with son #4, his wife, his four young children, and his mother- and father-in-law.  Well, I'm back to report that we had such a blessed day.  The weather was glorious for our after-lunch Easter egg hunt and the kids played happily in the yard for hours.  We are always up for the big, wild-and-crazy celebrations with everyone who lives down here (and sometimes even the ones who don't, but travel to join us); but this more subdued, gentler version of family fun was a special treat, and we had such a wonderful time.

My darling D-I-L Braveheart and I didn't plan on twinning for Easter, but when she arrived we realized that we were wearing very similar Sunday Best finery.  The floral patterns and styles of our dresses were different, but the color palette was the same, as was the general soft flouncy-ness of the fabric (I think I just made up a word!).  We figured a picture was called for.

We all ate in the dining room, and the meal was simple but tasty.

My hubby and I long ago decided that roasted pork (seared and then slowly cooked in a proverbial vat of butter) is always a winner.  A large pork loin gives you the most bang for your buck; it can feed a small army and tastes like heaven.  On Easter, it didn’t disappoint.

I can just hear you thinking, "Did she actually share a picture of her not particularly beautiful-looking plate of food?"  Yes, yes I did!  

I said that it was a quieter Easter than usual, and it was.  But son #3 and his brood stopped by after Mass, on their way to Preciosa's college friend's house, where they were going to meet up with son #2 and his gang.  (This was before we sat down for our meal.)  Our house happened to be on their way, and they had a bit of time to kill before they were expected at their friend's gathering.  So for a little while, we had nine cousins playing together, which was fun.

Cute (while hastily arranged and very imperfect!) front-porch group pictures are becoming our jam here at Casa Papa and Grammy.

Anyway--

After lunch, we had a little Easter egg hunt for the four grandkids who were staying.

Four days after Easter, my husband and I headed north to Upstate NY, to check on our Oyster Haven rental house and get it ready for our first guests of the season.  These folks were coming from Utah for the solar eclipse, because our area of NY was going to be right along the narrow path of totality, right on the center line; and as long as the weather was clear, it promised to provide a perfect front-row seat.  

Aside from the two of us, four of my husband's siblings (along with two of their spouses) were together for the big event on April 8. We all met up at his older sister's successful brewery beforehand, where a large contingent--many of them people who'd traveled long distances (from all over the US, and even from as far away as Scotland and Ireland!)--were gathered on the grounds outside, picnicking and drinking her award-winning craft beers.

When the eclipse started, my husband and I quickly made the short drive over to the family homestead, because he wanted to monitor the video camera he'd set up to catch the whole thing for the siblings who couldn't be there to watch in person.  So the two of us watched the total eclipse of the sun from the back deck of his childhood home on Lake Champlain.

I took a before picture of my husband, when there was a crescent-moon shaped sliver of sunlight still showing:

Then a during picture, when the sun was completely blocked by the moon and it looked like nighttime (but you could still see some light over on the Vermont shore of the lake):

Then an after picture, when a crescent-moon shaped sliver of sunlight was appearing on the opposite side and instantly, the world was filled with bright daylight again.

Before the total eclipse, I took a picture with my iPhone; but it's amazing how hard it is to capture with a camera lens what you can see with the human eye.   I took the picture when there was just a sliver of sunlight that hadn't been blocked out yet.  Here's what I got: 

My sister-in-law (the brewery owner) had a friend who was able to get a pretty spectacular shot when the eclipse was total:

It was quite an experience.  I don't think I would have traveled half-way across the world to see it, like some people did...but since we had to go up to check on things at our rental anyway, we had a good excuse to make the trip from VA.  And I truly won't soon forget it!

Some things to think about, regarding this 2024 solar eclipse:

The eclipse took place on the Solemnity of the Annunciation, which was celebrated on April 8 this year because its usual date (March 25, exactly nine months before the birth of Our Lord) fell during Holy Week.  And since the week following Easter is considered a week of solemnities, it had to be moved to the first available weekday that was not a solemnity.  Monday, April 8 was that day.

What are the odds, right?

The Annunciation celebrates Mary's Fiat, Her "yes" to God, the acceptance of Her role as God's instrument in the Incarnation--and Her vital role in salvation history.  Mary's Fiat delivered a fatal blow to the devil, which is why She is often depicted crushing the head of the serpent under Her feet.  How fitting is it that this recent solar eclipse should happen on this important Marian feast day (reminiscent of the Miracle of the Sun at Fatima, is it not?). 

And there's more:  apparently, the "Devil Comet," last seen in 1954, was due to return on April 8 as well, and was going to be visible during the total eclipse.  We didn't see it.  (Did you?) But think of the symbolism there!  The Devil Comet, showing up after seven decades on the very same day that we are celebrating the Annunciation (and Mary's defeat of the devil!), during an awe-inspiring event that shows the majesty and power of God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth.  Whoah!  Coincidences?  I think not!

That's probably enough for now, I think.  I have one other "E" thing on my mind--Vitamin E, and how it (along with a lot of other vital nutrients) has been processed out of the bleached and "enriched" white flour that is on the shelves of our grocery stores (the flour with which I have always loved to bake goodies for my family!).  And how eating carbs made with this over-processed wheat flour has been detrimental to our health.  And...etc. etc. etc.  It's a long story, but I'm sure you don't want to hear all the details. Suffice it to say that my husband and I watched a three-hour-long podcast that really struck a chord with us, and we have decided to start milling our own flour at home.  We've ordered an electric flour mill and we're going to buy some wheat berries and start grinding them up.  In the next couple of weeks, I plan to start baking my own bread with this flour.  (Wish me luck!)

I foresee future blog posts about bread-baking adventures (or possibly misadventures).  So stay tuned!  :)

Happy Holy Saturday (2024)

Can I just say that I love Easter?  I mean, every Christian does, or should, I know: for He is risen!  Hallelujah!  And through His stripes we are healed!  And by His cross and resurrection, He has set us free!

What a beautiful celebration of life Easter is--of life here on earth, but more importantly, the eternal life to come.  It has become my #1 favorite holiday of the year (but ask me which is my favorite again as Christmastime approaches!).

I love everything about this holiday: the glorious spring weather, the beautiful liturgies, the pretty Easter dresses on my granddaughters, Easter baskets and Easter egg hunts...and of course, as always, I love having an excuse to host a family party at our house.

This year, our group is going to be relatively small. A college friend of two of our VA daughters-in-law has come into town with her family, so sons #2 and #3 and their families will be having a little reunion with this friend and celebrating Easter together about an hour away from us in Northern VA.  But son #4 and his four children (the triplets, 6, and their younger sister, 4) will be joining us for lunch after Mass, along with our son's wife's parents (who are local).  So we'll have ten gathered around our table.  And of course, said table is already set.  (Because there's nothing I love more than preparing for events such as this!)

My table will look even better tomorrow, when some of the people I love
most in the world are gathered around it!  I can hardly wait!

I decided to put a small Russell Stover solid chocolate bunny at the places of each of our guests, in memory of my paternal grandmother.  We always had Easter dinner at her house, and she always set an elegant table (and served leg of lamb with mint jelly, which my parents adored and I tolerated).  And Grandma always had a Russell Stover chocolate bunny on the table for each of her five grandchildren.  The ones we got in our Easter baskets were hollow, but the ones we got from Grandma were solid.  This is one of my fondest childhood memories.  (It just goes to show how easy it is to make a child happy!  It's the simplest things that mean the most.)

When the whole VA gang (more than 20 of us) is here on Easter, we don't often have a sit-down meal; it's usually buffet-style, and people just serve themselves on pretty paper plates in the kitchen and then pick a spot to sit, either at the kitchen table or in the dining room.  It's wonderfully chaotic.  I will miss the others tomorrow, chaos notwithstanding--but having just one family at a time is a rare treat, and very special, because with only four little ones involved, we can be a bit fancier.  I can break out the breakables!  

I love to set a pretty table, with a nice tablecloth.  But with so many young grandchildren always eating at my house, I have opted for this high-quality vinyl one that can be wiped down after every meal.  It looks like a real damask cloth (at least that's what I tell myself!), but it's so much less trouble to take care of.  

I was going to use cloth napkins; but Pioneer Woman's Easter napkins are just so stinkin' cute and I think they're more fun for the kids, so I decided to go with them.

I'm not doing much for dessert; everyone will be eating enough chocolate and jelly beans without Grammy adding lots of baked goods to the mix.  But I did get some delectable little cakes from our local bakery (moist yellow cake with cream on top, iced with a caramel glaze), and some adorable bunny- and egg-shaped Easter cookies from Aldi's (shortbread with Belgian chocolate and sprinkles).

Aren't these the cutest?!

The house looks festive.  We keep two small trees up throughout the year in our family room, and I like to decorate them according to the season.

This wooden basket, a gift from son #4 and his wife (picked up on their honeymoon in Malaysia) makes a lovely Easter decoration.  (When you put the handle of the basket down, it collapses and converts into a leaf-shaped tray!)  My husband got the marble eggs in Athens, back when he was flying overseas routinely in his job as an airline pilot.

We are planning a lunch of pork roast, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and rolls.  Simple but delicious (I hope!).  One of these days, I'm going to have to learn to make leg of lamb like my grandmother used to; my husband is a big fan of lamb, and he for one would be very appreciative!

I kind of miss the days when there were lots of bloggers posting regularly, and they might have a blog link-up for "Show Us Your Easter Decor," or "What I Served for Easter Dinner."  I love seeing other people's ideas for food, decorations, and entertaining.

Anyhoo--

Before I go, I'm going to treat you to a smile-inducing picture of our sweet 4-year-old granddaughters after their recent Easter show at their preschool.  These two little darlings are cousins, classmates, and BFF's.

Happy, happy Easter, dear readers!

Easter 2023

When our boys were growing up, Christmas was definitely my favorite holiday.  I loved decorating (that is, over-decorating!) the house, decking the halls if you will--the tree especially.  I loved it when it snowed, so that we could enjoy a white Christmas (and we lived in NH, so that was a lot more likely than it is down here in VA!).  I loved our Christmas Eve tradition of pizza and Christmas crackers in the dining room, with our boys drinking sparkling grape juice out of fancy wine glasses. I loved the whole magic of Santa coming and stockings hung on the mantle--and just the whole kit and caboodle: the gifts and the yummy foods, the traditional carols, the Nativity pageants, and all the beautiful trappings of the season.

Easter was always such a joyful time, too, and that holiday came in a close second for me.

But in my old age, Easter has kind of taken the top spot.  Of course, there could be no Easter Sunday without Christmas; Our Lord had to be born first, so that He could suffer and die for the salvation of mankind.  But Easter is just the pinnacle, really.  The greatest celebration of the liturgical year.  We are an Easter people, as the saying goes.

Don't get me wrong; I still love Christmas.  But once all your children are grown, married, and starting family traditions of their own, it's just different.  They will want to be in their own houses on Christmas morning when their little ones wake up, which is exactly how you wanted it when they lived under your roof and exactly how it should be. It's all good, but it's just different.  Trying to pick a time to have a family gathering gets complicated over time, as each of your children makes plans with both you and the family of their spouse.  Also, there are such high expectations for the Christmas season--not just as far as gifts go, but in other ways, too.  And yikes, can we talk about gifts!  With 20 grandchildren so far (and another one currently on the way), trying to decide what to do for all of them is tricky.  My husband and I can't be the grandparents who spoil their grandchildren rotten with lots of expensive presents, not when we have so many to think about.  In past years, we've gotten them toys.  But I think the time has come to give the more traditional, less exciting grandparent-style gifts, such as books and clothes.  Or maybe a crisp ten-dollar bill, like my husband's parents gave to each of our boys and their cousins when the number of grandchildren got out of hand.  (They eventually had 32!)

Anyway, Easter in comparison is so easy and utterly devoid of stress.  I usually make each family a relatively simple basket filled with candy and small gifts.  And I absolutely love preparing for our big brunch.  I get a kick out of setting everything up and planning the menu.  I ended up rearranging the whole breakfast nook this year, so we could use the main kitchen table for a buffet, and it worked so well that I may have to do this for all Pearl parties moving forward.

For our feast this year I decided to put together a make-your-own-breakfast-burrito bar with scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns, cheese, and other toppings.  All the girls pitched in, and we had some delicious sides: pasta salad, Caesar salad, fruit, deviled eggs, cinnamon rolls, doughnuts, coffee cake, lemon bread, croissants, mimosas...and chocolates!  No one went away hungry, that's for sure.

It wouldn't be a Pearl get-together if during the post-party clean-up, Grammy didn't find something like this.  

Do you see the nibble marks?  LOL

Every year since we moved to VA in 2017, we've had all the Pearls who live near us here over for brunch, after they've all been to Mass and the kids have found their Easter baskets.  It's becoming a tradition that means so much to me. Between 2017 and 2021, our Easter celebrations included our four oldest boys and their families, and all of our grandchildren; but son #1 moved to Iowa early in 2022, so starting last Easter, it's been the families of sons #2, #3, and #4 and their children.  (Son #5 and his wife, parents of a new baby girl who will be baptized tomorrow, live near Nashville.)  This year, we were also joined by one daughter-in-law's parents, who live in the area, and a dear college friend of two daughters-in-law, a gal who is almost like family.  So altogether we had 11 adults and 13 children, aged 8 and under.  It was wonderfully chaotic, wonderfully noisy, and just plain wonderful.

We always have an Easter egg hunt.

We don't have a huge yard here in our sweet little cookie cutter neighborhood; it's nothing more than a strip of grass along the side of our house.  But somehow, it's enough.  

I dearly hope that these crazy days spent at their Papa and Grammy's house will become part of our grandkids' Easter memories, and that they will look back fondly on them when they have families of their own.

We feel so fortunate that a goodly number of our Pearls of great price live close enough to be able to celebrate this holiday with us, and we sure do miss those who don't--they are never far from our thoughts, that's for sure. We are so blessed, this Easter and always.  Deo Gratias!

Christus resurrexit!  Resurrexit vere!

Easter Sunday Fun Day

We had the most lovely Easter; I hope you did, too!

My husband and I went to the Easter Vigil Mass, so we were free on Sunday morning to get ready for our gang to come to our house for a brunch get-together in the early afternoon. We had sons #2, #3, and #4, their wives, and the 13 children they have between them gathered under our roof (and out in our little strip of side yard), along with son #4’s in-laws and a dear family friend who went to college with two of our daughters-in-law.  So 11 adults—and 13 kids aged 7 and under!  It was the very best kind of chaos.

G-Man, 7, the oldest child of son #3 and our oldest grandson, gave a little speech he’d memorized, telling the story of Easter and it’s true meaning.  It was beautiful.

My girls and I joined forces on the food, and it was delicious and plentiful: we had quiches, bacon (6 pounds of it!), all kinds of doughnuts and pastries, pulled pork sandwiches, salads, fried chicken tenders, hash brown casserole...everyone ate their fill and was able to take home leftovers as well.

We were able to enjoy the mild, sunny, VA weather outdoors, and had we an Easter egg hunt for the little ones.

All in all, a blessed, perfect (tiring!) day.

Our youngest grandchild, #19, napping with his daddy as the festivities came to an end.  ❤️

Reflections on Our Beautiful Catholic Faith

In the most recent edition of a Catholic newspaper called The Wanderer, I read an article by Donald DeMarco entitled, "The Invulnerability of the Catholic Church."

Here is the opening paragraph of the article (along with the first sentence of the second paragraph):

"The Catholic Church is a paragon of balance. In this regard she has no peer.  There is sin, but there is forgiveness.  Punishment is tempered by mercy.  Nature is elevated by grace.  Sex is conjoined with responsibility.  Rights are counterbalanced by duties; work is counterbalanced by prayer.  Will is tethered to reason.  Where there are difficulties, there is hope. Where there is doubt, there is faith. Where there is goodness, there is love. Problems are resolved; order is maintained.

The secular world knows no such system of balance."

I read that and all I could feel was a deep gratitude that God had sent His Son into the world to establish this Church, which as those words describe has no peer.  I felt gratitude that Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, God's Only Begotten Son, died on the Cross so that our sins could be forgiven.  I felt gratitude, too, that I was fortunate enough to be exposed to our beautiful Catholic Faith from my earliest days on earth and was given the grace to believe it was the One True Faith.

I thank you, God, for the gift of Faith.  And I pray for all those unhappy souls who wander the earth searching for the Truth, searching for peace.  May they be led home to the peerless Church established by Our Lord, where all the answers to life's toughest questions can be found.

God bless you on this Holy Thursday, dear readers, as we prepare to celebrate the summit of the liturgical year, the Easter Triduum. ❤️

The Eighth Day of Easter

I can't believe it's already been a week since Easter Sunday!  So on the last day of the octave of Easer, I thought I'd share just a few images from our Easter brunch/egg hunt, when we had three of our boys and their families in attendance, with 13 children between them.

My favorite picture in that second collage just might be the one of our oldest and our fourth-born sons giving each other a goofy hug.  They’re 37 and 33, but still boys at heart.

I didn't think I was tired that day...but when I look at this picture of me with my little grandson, who is the youngest of our 17 grandchildren, all I can think is "Grammy/ReeRee looks like she needs a nap!"  (I also think, "Wow, Grammy is getting old!")

 Wearing apron. Check. Holding baby.  Check.
Business as usual in this pic!

But as my dad always used to say of getting older, "It's better than the alternative!"  So true!  (BTW: isn't that little guy ridiculously adorable?)

Happy Easter, dear readers!

Just Because: Happy Holy Saturday, 2021

Happy Holy Saturday!

This Easter is going to be so much better than it was last year, isn't it?  On Easter 2020, my husband and I got all dressed up and watched Mass on TV in our family room—just the two of us—live-streamed from the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at the University of Notre Dame.  Our little local parish church here in semi-rural VA is not nearly as spectacular as that glorious basilica...but we are just over the moon about how much more special this holiest of holidays is going to be in 2021.  We are over the moon that we are going to be in the actual presence of Our Lord at Mass in our church, that we will receive Him in the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, that we will be gathered together with our fellow parishioners, after spending so much of the past year starved of these experiences that we used to assume would always be available to us and will certainly never take for granted again!  Hallelujah!!

My husband and I are planning to go to the Easter Vigil Mass, and then on Sunday at noon we will have more than 20 loved ones at our house for an Easter brunch (I already mentioned these plans on the blog, I know!). By the way, I was asked in the comment section of that post for a couple of recipes, so here they are.  (You’re welcome! ;))

I always thought Christmas was my holiday wheelhouse...but what I am beginning to realize is that although it tends to come with a good bit less hoopla and much lower expectations of awesomeness than Christmas (just simple Easter baskets instead of major gifts, and not nearly as many decorative elements about the house), Easter might be my favorite holiday of all.  The fact that Christ rose triumphantly from the dead on Easter, and through His Crucifixion and Resurrection redeemed all of mankind is obviously the main reason; but I also love everything about Easter and the Easter season: the warmth of spring and flowers blooming; Easter egg hunts and Easter baskets; bow ties on little boys and bonnets on little girls; and bunnies, bunnies everywhere.  Oh yes, and CHOCOLATE!   Easter makes me 100% happy.  It is the most stress-free, joyful celebration of the year, IMHO.

We gave our kids/grandkids their family Easter baskets early, and the 3-and-a-1/2-year-old identical twin boys, the sons of our fourth oldest (who have a triplet sister and a younger sister), were utterly fascinated with the cheap wind-up dinosaurs we hid in plastic eggs. Like I said: there are lower expectations of awesomeness on Easter, and it costs next to nothing to give gifts that make the little ones happy.

I decorate the house for Easter, but as I said, not nearly as much as I do at Christmas. 

Just looking at that collage makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.  What's not to love about Easter?  It's just the best, in every way.  God bless us every one.  This Easter and always.

(P.S. At Christmas, I'll probably be telling you all about how I love that holiday the most!  Fickle, fickle.)

(Linking up with Rosie et. al., here.)

Easter Preparations

One of my favorite things in the whole wide world is hosting a holiday or special occasion party for as many members of my family as possible, given their various other commitments and individual circumstances.  On Easter, we are tickled that we are going to have a pretty big crew--three of our five sons, their wives, and the baker's dozen children they have between them--joining us for brunch after Easter Sunday Mass, along with one son's in-laws and another's very good family friend.  So we will have 11 adults and 13 little ones gathered together under our roof on the most important and joyful Sunday of the year.

Hallelujah!  Am I right?  Mom/Grammy/ReeRee is living her best life these days.

Along with hosting on the actual day itself, I absolutely love all the planning and ahead-of-time preparation that such an event entails.  That means that I am already looking through my favorite brunch recipes and figuring out the menu for our Easter celebration.  Even though it's still almost two weeks away.  And I don't have OCD.  I don't.  (I don't think I do, anyway.)  I just really, really like playing hostess and I don't like to leave too many tasks for the last minute because I find that too stress-inducing.

I have already made two batches of scones (using my daughter-in-law Ginger's amazingly buttery and delicious chocolate chip scone recipe, with substitutions).  They freeze beautifully, so I will just have to get them out to defrost the night before.  I made one batch of cinnamon chip with a cinnamon glaze, which I've made a number of times before.  But the second batch was an experiment that I hope will be a hit: Oreo scones.

These got a vanilla glaze and were garnished
with finely crushed Oreos.

Oreos are never a mistake, as far as I am concerned.  But we shall see!

Ginger is also bringing her family-famous homemade cinnamon rolls (dripping in cream cheese frosting), so that should take care of the sweet portion of the meal.  For the savory, I think I've decided on a sausage, egg, and cheese casserole that was my mother-in-law's go-to brunch dish, and also an onion, bacon, and mushroom strata.  I found the strata recipe in a magazine and ripped the page out; after I made it the first time, I noted in the margin that it was "awesome," and "like the best quiche ever!"  So I think that's a good choice.  I'm also going to make Ginger's cheesy hash brown casserole and lots and lots of bacon and sausage.  We'll have coffee--of course!--and a mimosa bar, because that's always fun.   (I'd make a pretty bowl of punch--but if you read this post, you understand why I'm not planning to serve punch at family parties for a while!). 

So I've got my menu figured out (at least for now; there's still plenty of time to change my mind...).  And my baby's Easter "basket" box of goodies has been shipped out to Oklahoma.  I know that's just what a 28-year-old married man needs: chocolate bunnies and jelly beans from his mommy.  Every year now I say to myself, "Making Easter baskets for my boys has to end!  They're all grown up and they don't need me to do this anymore!  And their kids don't need me to, either.  The Easter Bunny is taking very good care of them without me!"  And then this sort of thing happens...

These are ALMOST ready...

So how are your Easter preparations going so far?  (Or are you rightly in Lenten mode, focusing on prayer and sacrifice, as you should be--as I should be?  Mea culpa!)

[She signs off sheepishly.]

Easter 2020: Mass at Home (Plus a Special Blessing)

Easter 2020...it was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

In so many ways, the whole lockdown, or quarantine, or stay-at-home order (whichever you prefer to call this strange situation that is life in America these days) under which we've all been living has given families the opportunity for a kind of togetherness that they were never able to enjoy before.  Many parents are tele-working from home rather than leaving in the morning to drive or commute to their offices, and while this can create challenges as far as work productivity, I'm sure, it also means a lot more time spent at home with their offspring.  And children whose schools have been closed--possibly, in many states, even for the rest of the academic year--are being homeschooled by their parents or are participating in some sort of distance learning on their computers, or a combination of the two; I'll bet there are many parents who used to declare "I am not the type who can homeschool!" who have learned that in an emergency, they can, and they are better at it than they thought they were.

With everyone stuck at home--goodbye movie theaters, sporting events, concerts, and even play dates at the local park!--thank goodness there are all sorts of video streaming services available to us in our high-tech age to help fight off the homebound boredom!  There's always Netflix or Disney Plus to keep the troops entertained...but one cannot live by screen alone, and I've heard that giant jigsaw puzzles and good old-fashioned board games are being employed by families more than ever before in the past month or so, as the weeks stretch on and there doesn't appear to be a definite end in sight (although, God willing, there will be soon).

So there is some good to be found in these times.   There is always some good, however small, if you really look for it.

But there's also much bad.  No one wants to be forced to homeschool; that should be a choice parents make after much research and discernment.  No senior should have to miss out on prom, graduation, and a host of other social activities that are part and parcel of every high school kid's regular life in these United States (or at least were).  Working from home isn't always easy, and for some (maybe most), it isn't even an option.  Many Americans are currently jobless, and countless businesses will probably not survive the shutdown.

And the right to assemble, so long taken for granted by us all, has been stripped away because of an invisible enemy with the power to take life--but about which even the scientific experts cannot come to a unanimous agreement.  While they decide the best way to fight it, we stay locked in our houses...

Yes, there is also much bad.  And you don't even have to look that hard for it.

But I was going to talk about Easter, before I went off on that tangent.  Easter 2020, the best and the worst of it.

The worst, of course, was not being able to attend Mass or to receive Our Lord's precious Body and Blood.  And that was a uniquely painful experience for those of us Catholics who have never been denied the freedom to practice our Faith openly and regularly, without a care in the world.  Yes, it was painful.  But it was also an opportunity to embrace Christ's Cross in an intimate way during the season of Lent, and to grow closer to Him through prayer.  It seems we are always closest to God during the times in our life when we suffer most.

A dear friend from high school emailed me after my last post (when she found herself unable to leave a comment here at the blog).  Her mother was one of the most beautiful souls I have ever met, a devout Catholic woman whom I always considered to be a living saint.  It's obvious that when it comes to her daughter, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.  My friend wrote the most touching letter, first remarking that when she read that post, she sensed "a feeling of sadness and maybe some powerlessness" on my part, regarding the closure of our VA churches.  (I misspoke in that post, by the way; our bishop did actually tell the churches in the diocese to stop having public Masses before the governor's mandated closures of all "nonessential" businesses and meeting places were announced.  So I'm sorry for giving a false impression there.)  She then proceeded to tell me about some of the positive things that had happened in her faith life, in spite of the disappointments caused by all the closures and cancellations.  "For the veneration of the cross on Good Friday," she wrote, "I chose to use a small comfort cross that belonged to my late mother.  Instead of kneeling before it as I would have in church and probably should have done here at home, I held it to my heart with both hands and felt closer to the crucified Christ than I ever have before."  She also related how she'd begun new daily prayer devotions, even though "sitting quietly and clearing the thoughts racing through my brain" is not her strength.  "I'm sure I'll struggle with that again, but, at least for now, I will work hard to continue this practice in my home church."  Her home church.

I can absolutely relate to this friend's experience.  Never before have I felt as deeply and surely that the home my husband and I have created is truly a "domestic church."  And as sad and strange as this time of quarantine has been, in some ways it has made me grow in my Faith in ways I never could have imagined.  Because of the fact that I have to try so much harder to be intentional about living sacramentally these days, when the Sacraments are not available to me, I sometimes feel closer to Our Lord than ever.

Has this happened to you?  If so, leave me a comment below.  I would love to know if you also feel that when this whole scary episode is behind us, you believe you will love the Lord, and the Mass, with a renewed zeal--a zeal so intense that it feels as if your heart will burst.

I did post a picture on Instagram on Easter Sunday, with my husband and me all decked out in our Sunday Best attire for our at-home Mass (live-streamed from the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on the campus of the University of Notre Dame, which has been the "home parish" where we've chosen to "attend" 10:00 a.m. Sunday Masses during most of the lockdown).

As I shared over on the 'gram, my husband's Sunday Best included one of his iconic ties with pictures of his grandchildren on them.  For me, it included a fascinator hat that I purchased about seven years ago on a shopping trip with one girl who I knew would soon be my daughter-in-law (and another who ended up being one of them, too--although none of us could have predicted that at the time!).  I have chickened out of wearing this fancy little headpiece for four different sons' weddings in the intervening years...but I finally found a congregation small enough (just the two of us!) that I could wear it to "church" without feeling self-conscious.  I figured that since this was about the most unusual Easter Sunday I'd ever experienced in my lifetime, sporting a special Easter bonnet was in order.

In our family room, we've set up an "altar" on the mantle, with my first-class relics of  St. Therese of Lisieux and St. Catherine Laboure (both precious heirlooms inherited from my maternal grandmother), a small pair of crucifixes, a small reproduction of the Pieta, two lit pillar candles, and some saint prayer cards on display.  Even when all the Catholic church doors are opened wide once again, I don't know if I'm going to be able to dismantle that mantle.

It was a very different sort of Easter for the faithful this year, no doubt about it.  But as the Notre Dame priest reminded us in his homily that day, the Cross and the Resurrection are unbreakably intertwined; without one, there would not be the other.  So we just need to keep bearing the weight of this suffering that we didn't choose but have been forced to carry as best we can, knowing that there will one day be a glorious reward unlike anything we can imagine.  So in spite of all the reasons to be sad, given the current situation, I felt a real joy in my heart on Easter morning.  I felt keenly and humbly aware of my many blessings.  And I wanted my Easter finery to show on the outside all that I was feeling on the inside--thus the famous long-hidden-away fascinator!

At 2:00 p.m., our local VA parish had a drive-through blessing, so we headed over to join the line-up of cars in the church parking lot.  One by one we drove by our wonderful pastor, an extremely holy priest who must be missing ministering to his flock in person terribly, and he sprinkled us with holy water through our open windows as we drove past him.  He shouted the most enthusiastic Easter blessings, with a beaming smile on his face.  He tends to be a relatively shy priest, whose usual demeanor might be called "serious"; so his utterly joy-filled expression as he greeted his parishioners was both touching and inspiring and made me think, "Yes, that's right!  We ARE an Easter people, and alleluia IS our song!"  There is really no room for sadness, is there?  No matter what may come in the wake of this pandemic.  Jesus died for our sins, and now He is risen; and if we put our trust in Him, all will be well in the end.

Thank you, Lord, for the gift of Faith!  Thank you for a husband who has been the perfect partner for me and the best father for our boys!  Thank you for all my undeserved blessings, too many to count!  Thank you for my life, dear Lord, and thank you for giving yours for me, a poor sinner, so that I have the hope of spending eternal life with you in Heaven!

Easter 2020: it was the worst of times.  But as always, it was also the best.