First of all, I'm on Spring Break. So I could actually take the time to relax and take in all the wonderful Jesus-y things going on.
Some of these things include the wonderful and sometimes crazy specials about Jesus, His Passion, the Bible, and other Catholic things featured on the Discovery Channel and the History Channel (which I also like to call the Conspiracy Channel).
I watched three hours about the stages of Jesus' life on DC that really liked to use the words "hope" and "change" a lot. It was way too Obama-esque for me as they tended to show Jesus as a community organizer that was a politically charged genius ready to change that pesky conservative church. Not a fan of that at all.
Then of course the Conspiracy Channel had a bunch of programs about Free Masons, Templar Knights, and Banned Books of the Bible. Those are the types of programs my angry atheist aunt loves to watch and then question me endlessly about. Silly Gnostics.
But I also got to watch The Ten Commandments - the best movie ever made - and all was right and good again.
Secondly, I convinced my family and boyfriend to go down to Grand Isle with me on Holy Thursday to spend a day by the beach. (That's the picture of us by some really rough surf - it was very windy out there.) Unfortunately, I had to miss one of my favorite Masses that afternoon - a fact I didn't realize until it was too late. Then again, feet aren't really my thing anyway.
Thirdly, I had a lot of fun making my boyfriend's Easter present. I got the idea while sitting in Church before Mass on Palm Sunday reading the newspaper of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, the Clarion Herald. They have a feature called "Holy Smokes" that has a bunch of fun recipes that are relevant to the Church Season. Last week, they had a recipe for Peanut Butter Chocolate Covered Eggs. My boyfriend had given up chocolate for Lent and I knew that he loved Reese's Cups more than me, so I decided to cook some up for him. They actually turned out pretty great, which is surprising because I am usually horrible in the kitchen.
Fourthly, my family was able to attend the Easter Vigil Mass. I think its my favorite Mass of the whole week and it's something that I haven't always been able to enjoy. For the past ten years, I've been an altar server and was usually scheduled for the Christmas/Easter Catholic Mass on Easter Sunday morning (you know the one where all the Catholics come out of the woodwork, not to be seen again until Christmas Mass). I don't like that Mass. I know I'm being judgmental, but I can't help but cringe when all those part-time Catholics go up for Holy Communion. Mortal sin people!! Did CCD teach you nothing?? GAH! It's just hard to watch.
Anyways, this year I was able to attend the Mass that I really love. My church didn't go through all seven readings, but we made it through four of them and an epistle! All in the dark with only the Paschal Candle lit. Awesome. It didn't even feel like two hours long.
Basically, I think this Holy Week gets two thumbs up.
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