Holy Saturday
Tonight the Easter Vigil - the Mother of all vigils. This - not Christmas - the greatest celebration in the Christen Church. Yes - celebrating the birth of Jesus - very important - the day when God came to earth as Man - Easter - even more important - celebrating Resurrection - the day Jesus rose from the dead - giving hope to everyone that they will one day share in that resurrection - life in Heaven. Although apparently quiet and abandoned early in the day - a lot of activity going on inside. In my parish - the early morning Blessing of Easter baskets - an ancient tradition celebrated by the Polish and other Slavic peoples - followed by the final instruction and blessing of those who will be baptized and received into the Church at tonight's Vigil. The Art & Environment crew removing signs of Lent - the purple banners and replacing with signs of renewal - Easter flowers - white banners - all signs of hope. After sunset - the faithful gathering - marking the beginning of the Easter liturgies.
This day on the Camino we finalized our pilgrimage - walking almost 400 miles - by ourselves - not alone - carrying cremains of my two brothers and my deceased sister-in-laws' rosary with us. This day we head to the farthest point in Finisterre, Spain where we will say prayers and commit those cremains and rosary to the depth of the Atlantic Ocean. Jesus we trust in you - we trust that you are always with us - in life and in death - will always be with us on earth and in heaven - always.
Please do not drive your car off the edge - we are walking
Heading to the edge
Our goal in sight
Up the stairs and to the left please
At the end of the earth
Happiness
Arlene tossing the rosary into the ocean - RIP Susan - Miss You
Dale tossing the cremains into the Atlantic - RIP Dennis and Dean - Miss you
And on that day God shined His love on His Ocean of love
As we celebrate Resurrection tomorrow on this Easter Sunday - we rejoice in the fact that no matter who we are - where we are - what we have done - have not done - God loves each and every one of us. For those who believe - for those who do not believe - for those who question - Jesus is always there. Just as we wait this Vigil night with prayers - Jesus waits with His Love.
Deacon Dale
