Holy Saturday 2014

Table set up to assemble cards

On Holy Saturday, we showed up bright and early at our parish where a wonderful, devoted woman has been organizing the assembly of Easter meals for the poor and homebound for years now. She has got this project down to a science! We've been looking for a way to involve our children in service for others and are really pleased with this event, now hoping to make it a Holy Saturday tradition.

The men work in the kitchen cutting hundreds of pound of ham. The women work in the kitchen and assembly area dividing side dishes and desserts into meals.

Meanwhile, the children and some mothers work at assembling and decorating Easter prayer cards--about 1,300 of them, one for each person receiving a meal.

Older kids could glue the cards

Younger kids could decorate with stickers and crayons

Quiet little Joseph, left forgotten across the room

About twenty minutes into the event, I remembered that I had a fourth child . . . where was Joseph? He was parked in his stroller, just sitting quietly, rather far away from the table. Too bad he didn't stay so relaxed the whole time!

At noon (which we didn't miss this year!) was the blessing of Easter baskets (see here for symbolism of a traditional Polish Easter basket).

The small chapel of our parish seats about 30 people.

Our priest blessing the food

Then we came home and began dying Easter eggs!

John (7)

Mary (5)

Margaret (3)

Joseph (1)

By good deeds and sacrifices, the children had removed all the "thorns" from "Jesus' crown" throughout Lent. Today we decorated Jesus' heavenly crown with sparkles and faux gem stones, and it will serve as our centerpiece on Easter Sunday.

Holy Saturday--always a day spent bustling with preparations--ended with cleaning the house, cooking, and bathing the children so even they are sparkling for tomorrow!