Today is a special day for me, it’s my birthday! For some reason when I tell
people my birthday is on April 1st, they smile and say, “It suits
you!” Friends in the past
have surprised me with fake cakes, gifts, etc. It’s a wonder I’m not more paranoid!
How do sisters in our monastic community celebrate a
birthday? We are remembered at the
intercessions for Lauds, get lots of cards and hugs, and get to pick either a
favorite dessert or entrée for the meal.
Having inherited my father’s sweet tooth, I pick dessert, and am most
likely to request lemon meringue pie…which I did again for today. It was delicious – thank you Sr. Sophia and Postulant Maria!
Having a birthday on April 1st has meant my birthday
has often fallen on Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Saturday
and Easter Monday. In my lifetime of 48 years, it has never
fallen on Easter Sunday, at least that I can remember. I can look forward to 2018 when
Easter will fall on April 1.
(I googled that to see if it would ever match up)
All foolishness aside - it is also Palm Sunday. When we were growing up my
mother would take the palms we got at Mass and weave or braid them and then place
them behind a crucifix or holy picture where they would stay for a year till
the next batch of palms came.
I would also tag along as she went out to bury a little piece of palm by
our house, other buildings on our farm and by one of our fields. “For prayers and protection”, she
would say. It will always be a special
memory of mine for Palm Sunday.
My prayer for you is that you are open to receiving the
grace God wants to give you as we embark on this Holy Week. It was the Passion of Jesus that saved us and it is because of his passion for
us that he was willing to undergo crucifixion and death.
May your days be truly blessed!
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