A Bundle of Myrrh

April 14: Blessed Maundy Thursday. “With our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water” (Heb. 10:22), we enter the holy place with Jesus. For Jesus is our Passover Lamb who has been sacrificed for us. He reclines at table with us and feeds us with His own flesh and blood. In Christ, the Lord remembers us in mercy and remembers our sin no more; He forgives us all our iniquity. As He washes us and feeds us in love, let us love one another, just as He has loved us (John 13:34).”

Our traditional Holy Thursday feast. We’ve enjoyed this themed meal for many years now a little bit of joy during this Holy week, our kids always love it. This year I made something new, a Torta Pasqualina or Easter Pie and wow it was good. Sadly I forgot to get a picture of our table and the lovely faces around it but here’s some of our dishes.

April 10: Blessed Palm Sunday. “And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross.”

Anyone else like to grab an arm full of palms on your way out of church to take home for Holy Week? After supper tonight there will be our traditional treat, “Palm Sundaes.”

March 27: Friday, March 25, was the Feast of the Annunciation, a little Christmas in March. It’s the day we hear the glorious news that our God becomes Flesh. He became Flesh so that He could know pain and grief, carry our sins, be stricken, smitten and afflicted.

“Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel.” Isaiah 7:14

March 1: I’m really late this year but it’s finally time to make my Lenten “Plans” for the family. Thankfully since I established the habit of observing the holy days and seasons in our home years ago this isn’t too hard. What is hard is sticking to the plans. But again because I’ve been doing this for years I know 1. We won’t always stick to the plans and 2. That’s ok. I’ve finally learned to set the bar low and be alright with that.

With more kids we have and having kids that are getting older our days are really starting to fill up, but I still make it a priority to mark this penitential season in some way. The first and most important way we keep this season is by attending our Divine Services on Sunday and Vespers each Wednesday for the next 6 weeks. Another way, which is pretty easy, is visually by displaying artwork and the color of Lent (purple) and with the books on our shelf which we’ll read together through the season. I have tons of Easter books but it’s very hard to find books for Lent. Some Easter books work better than others so I pull them aside. (Harold and the Purple Crayon….I know. But PURPLE right?)

And finally during our family devotions we keep the same formula we always have, but I just insert “Lenty” things