Holy Week Preparations

It is hard to believe just one more week of Lent. I can taste the ice cream and meat!

Holy Week is the holiest of all weeks and I feel the busiest of weeks also.

Saturday was our RCIA Retreat. I am the sponsor for one of our school parents coming in to the church. I was also asked to give a one hour talk for the RCIA retreat held Saturday at La Purisema Retreat Center in Hereford.

 

 

The theme given to me to speak on was -"Make Jesus Your #1 Priority". I used an email message someone sent me about "The Empty Pickle Jar". I put golf balls in the jar as the things that are our #1 priority-your faith and family.

 Next, I poured some pebbles in representing the next priorities in our life like our job and friends. Finally, I poured sand to fill in the spaces-these are the other things that matter in life.

If we started with the sand first in the jar, there would be no space for our priorities like Jesus.  I then poured some chocolate milk into the quart jar and everyone went "Oh no, Sister!" because the jar looked quite beautiful with the yellow golf balls, glass pebbles and the white sand. So I poured a little chocolate milk in and stopped. I then said, "In one's life there is always room for Chocolate" Everyone laughed and cheered and I passed out chocolate to all and then continued my talk.


Fr. Ariel, my pastor, was next and his theme was " Finding A New Identity"- Lose Yourself to find Yourself" . There were two other talks in the afternoon.

 Father "A"  told us the story of the serpent tempting Adam and Eve. He said, too bad Adam and Eve weren't Filipino as they would have eaten the snake instead of the apple!  A Filipino lady in the group agreed with him.

Palm Sunday was next and we started outside for our 7:30am Mass. As you can see the sun is shining brightly.

These were our decorations for Palm Sunday.

This truly tells you it is "PALM SUNDAY"!

In Father Ariel's homily he gave us suggestions what to do for Holy Week which he gleaned from another priest. Each idea began with one letter from HOLY WEEK! Here are a few of the suggestions: H-Halt in what you are busy with and give time to God, O-turn off the TV or IPad and spend some time in prayer, L-Listen in silence for God comes to us in the quietness, Y-Yield to God's call to us; E-erase sin and guilt by going to confession before Easter, K-Kneel in humility ( my favorite part of the suggestions).

Since I didn't have RCIA class Sunday evening I had time to bake the matzo for the school's Seder Meal on Tuesday. There will be 76 of us so I made 10 matzo bread. I have the recipe memorized after this: 1/3 cup wheat flour, 2/3 cup white flour, 1/2 cup of tonic water. Bake 15 minutes at 400 degrees, turned over and bake 3 more minutes.

Earlier in the week I made 8 lamb cakes. Instead of buying them at the store I decided it was time to buy the lamb mold and try to bake it myself. I was so pleased that they turned out. I didn't lose a single lamb's ear.

 Tomorrow I have help in frosting them. After this it is off to Tucson to attend the Chrism Mass.