Holy Week & Easter 2015

Happy Easter! Even though Easter Sunday was over a week ago, it will still be the Easter season for a few more weeks. So we can keep celebrating!

We had a packed Holy Week and Easter this year, but it was so good and fruitful. Bryan was off of work for Holy Thursday and Good Friday, so we were able to prepare and celebrate all together the whole time!

James & Daddy ready for Holy Thursday!

Holy Thursday started out like any other day. It was gloomy, and actually started snowing in the evening before Mass. We did work around the house and ran some quick errands before taking a ride to Red Rocks to try and get James to nap quickly before Mass. Red Rocks, despite the rain/snow/gloom, was so beautiful. We have to go back when we can get out of the car and walk around. But it was good preparation for the Mass ahead, as we got to see God's glory in the beauty of nature. Holy Thursday falls in the middle of Holy Week and, even though we focus so much on Jesus' Passion and death, Holy Thursday is a true celebration and a really positive recognition of the priesthood that Jesus established.

I would say that we totally lucked out with Holy Thursday Mass at our parish. Most churches have Mass for Holy Thursday around 7pm, which would be pushing it for James' bedtime (and patience!), but our parish had Mass at 5:30pm. We lasted the whole Mass with just a little fussiness at the end, but overall, James did great! We were home in time for bed without much meltdown.

Good Friday was much more solemn in tone, even though the weather had significantly improved. We did not have much planned for this day, mostly since the Good Friday service is at 3pm, right in the middle of the day. We went to that and, again, James did pretty well. Holy Saturday was also a pretty somber day. We hung around the house, played with James, and did some prepping to host Easter dinner at our apartment. We went to bed eager for the next day's festivities!

Easter morning came with a visit from the Easter Bunny for all three of us, and donuts for Bryan & me! After giving up donuts for Lent, I was so excited for my donut! We got ready quickly to go to Mass at the Cathedral at 10:30am. I am so glad that we decided to do that! It was so beautiful! We made sure to get there extra early to get a parking spot and a seat, because we figured it would be crowded. We were right. When we got there, the earlier Mass was getting out, so we were able to nab a parking spot in the lot next to the Cathedral. That was just the first of many Easter blessings! Inside the church, the pews were already filling up, but we saw a spot that was partially blocked by a large column. Do you know who doesn't care about the view? James!

Bryan and I could see the altar perfectly, so we just put James' car seat next to us behind the column. The church got so packed, however, that we ended up moving it out of the way to make (very tight) room for 3 more people! It was standing room only by the time Mass started. Mass was absolutely beautiful. The music was perfect for Easter, and the Mass was celebrated by Archbishop Aquila! We were able to say hi to him quickly after Mass before he had to get to another obligation. Christmas and Easter are two of the busiest days of the year for priests.

When we got home from Mass, we made a delicious Easter brunch (since we had only eaten donuts earlier...) and then we had to get ready for company! We had Bryan's teammates as well as a dear friend from college over for the afternoon. We played cards, everyone got to play with James, we ate lots of food, enjoyed some Easter wine & dessert, and all around celebrated Jesus' Resurrection. It was a beautiful, warm day and even though we weren't with our extended families, we were blessed to spend the day with each other and wonderful friends.

I hope you continue to celebrate Easter with some special treats and prayers of thanksgiving! I know we are! God bless you!