Happy Easter!
It’s been the craziest, most intense Lent any of us have ever had to experience. We’ve had to give up things we never thought we’d have to do without. We’ve had to get creative in ways we never thought would be necessary. Hopefully, we’ve learned a thing or two in the first month of Social Distancing and Isolation.
Today I’m here to share the ways our family observed and celebrated Holy Week and the Paschal Triduum. Even though it’s over now, I think that some of these ideas could inspire you (whatever Religion you practice) to involve your family more deeply in your faith while stuck at home, as well as hopefully spark some conversation and discussion in the comments!
Palm Sunday
Originally, our pastor had organized a drive-through palm pickup at our parish parking lot on Palm Sunday, but in the end, the Bishop discouraged even that, and it was canceled. I think it could have been a cool thing, but I totally understand why it ended up not being a good idea.
To be honest, I feel like the blest palms are given too much importance. I think they tend to distract and pull focus away from the scripture readings and other liturgical elements of the day. You are absolutely allowed to disagree with me.
In any case, I was pretty sure that we had either lost or disposed of last year’s palms, and with a distractible toddler attending the livestream with us, I wanted to have something for her to wave in the air while we taught her how to say “Hosannah”.
Turns out, false alarm, we still had them. They were behind something on the mantle. If we hadn’t had them though, I would have gone outside and borrowed some palm leaves from one of the neighbors. We live in Southern California, where palms are everywhere, so this would have been easy. If you live in a part of the world that doesn’t have palm trees, then really any greenery would have worked just as well.
The one thing I wish I would have prepped in advance was to print out the Passion reading. The most moving element of Palm Sunday for me is when the congregation is asked to participate in the gospel reading of the Passion, I wasn’t able to find a version with parts on my phone quickly enough. Fortunately, you do get a second chance at this on Good Friday.
Lesson for the rest of quarantine: Be prepared
A little forethought can go a long way towards making your space more prayerful and less distracting, or more meaningful and interactive for your little kids.
Holy Thursday
We had to work on Holy Thursday, so the Triduum didn’t start for us until the evening after Mass. We watched the livestream of our parish’s Bilingual Mass.
I feel terrible admitting this, but Bilingual Masses aren’t great. They alternate between being impossible to follow completely, if you only speak one language, and being repetitive and frustrating, if you speak both. If I had my curmudgeonly way, we would have our multi-cultural Masses in Latin, so we could all misunderstand equally.
It’s what was available though. Holy Thursday is one of the few times when a parish isn’t allowed to have multiple Masses, so we have to incorporate the entire parish, and most parishes in our area serve people in at least two languages.
We could have watched an East Coast feed, but it would have been right at 5:00, when we get off work, and we wanted time to get into the right frame of mind and eat dinner beforehand.
We did not do anything special to replace the liturgical washing of the feet in our house, but I saw a friend whose husband washed the feet of his wife and children on Holy Thursday, which I also thought was a beautiful act of quiet service.
My husband and I wanted to participate in a Filippino tradition this year–Visita Iglesia–where after Holy Thursday Mass, you visit multiple churches in the area to pray before the altar of repose, where the Blessed Sacrament is kept in vigil for several hours into the night. We did a “virtual visita” by visiting multiple live streams of Adoration, and praying one Station of the Cross at each one. It was a beautiful way to prayerfully close out the night, and begin our Triduum.
Lesson for the rest of quarantine: Dress up
Before Mass, we changed into something just a little more formal. Even though we were standing in our living room with no shoes on, wearing a dress put me in the right frame of mind to appreciate the solemnity of the Mass. This is something we try to do every time we tune in.
Good Friday
Good Friday can often turn into a busy day spent mostly outside the house running around and attending multiple events. This year, it had a more quiet and prayerful atmosphere, because all our events took place on our TV.
My husband and I have been praying Morning Prayer together as a Lenten practice, and this proved to be an especially valuable and moving way to enter into the liturgical life of the church from home during Holy Week. Our Good Friday morning began slower than a typical morning because we both took the day off work, so Morning Prayer happened at 8 or so, instead of 5:30.
Our parish live streamed the Good Friday service, and the austerity of the liturgy really matched the makeshift nature of our circumstances well. We covered up the icons in our living room, and left our candle unlit. We took down the antique crucifix from our wall and taught our daughter how to venerate the cross.
Later in the afternoon, we found a Stations of the Cross for children on Formed.org (Brother Francis!) and did our best to keep our daughter engaged through the prayer and artwork.
Finally, we joined our friends for a Good Friday evening prayer service on GoToMeeting. Usually, they host this event at their retreat center, with soup, Confession, fellowship, and reflection. This year, the net was cast much wider geographically, which was neat. Video Chatting apps have their flaws, but we made the most of it, and I’m very glad that this was an option for us to participate in.
Lesson for the rest of quarantine: Be quiet
One of the beautiful things the Triduum teaches me is how to live without the noise and distraction of everyday life, even for a little while. While stuck at home, it can be more important than ever to break up the craziness with opportunities for quiet, when we can make them.
Holy Saturday
The time between the Good Friday service and the Easter Vigil has always had this quiet unease that I’ve appreciated. On one hand, it feels like you should be spending that time in productive prayer, but on the other hand, I tend to run out of structured prayers to participate in.
Don’t forget day two of your Novena to the Divine Mercy, but after that… um… get dressed for Mass?
This is where the Benedictine Way–Ora et Labora, Pray and Work–comes into the lives of the laity. I find that Holy Saturday is a good time to do work around the house, while making that work a prayer in itself. I spent the afternoon quietly checking off to-do tasks that I had left for much too long.
We spent our vigil evening “with” family. We began by praying Evening Prayer together over Facebook Messenger.
A tip for praying over video chat: Have one person lead the prayer out loud, while everyone else mutes their microphone to pray along.
We had all picked an Easter Vigil Mass in advance (at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington DC) and our parents and siblings all watched the same live stream in our own homes.
After the Mass, we called back on Facebook Messenger for a family group video chat to share the evening together and fellowship around the Resurrection.
Lesson for the rest of quarantine: Reach out
It was a small thing, but being able to share a holiday with members of my family who live far away is one silver lining that I really appreciate. Be sure to take this time to reach out to the people in your life that you get to see less often normally.
Easter Sunday
We woke the grandparents up early because they wanted to witness Agnes’ first egg hunt live. She was a pro!
We spent most of our Easter either cooking or eating. My in-laws live nearby, so we were able to exchange some roast beef and creamed corn for some ham and brussels sprouts, and in that way, all share the same meal, even though we were in different houses.
Prioritizing family takes a little bit of conscious effort right now, but in a way, can be even easier than it used to be. Call your mother!
Lesson for the rest of quarantine: Go easy on yourself
We didn’t end up watching an Easter morning Mass, and that’s okay. We barely got out of our pajamas on Easter Sunday, and we still had a great time. This is not a time to demand perfection from anything in your life.
No matter what kind of Lent I’ve had, or how much effort I put into it, the Paschal Triduum has never in my life failed to send me incredible Grace and Consolation. This year was unique and challenging in ways I couldn’t have predicted, but I still received such abundant blessings and joy through it all.
God is absolutely here in the trenches with us, feeling our sufferings, hearing our prayers, and providing us comfort. If Holy Week teaches us nothing else, it’s that Jesus knows what we’re going through, and he’s here with us.
How did your family celebrate Holy Week this year? Did you learn anything that you can apply to the rest of your life during this pandemic? Share below!
