Palm Sunday

[Andruschak]

And how did all of you spend today? I showed up at the Church at 10:30 AM, because I was one of the eight RCIA Candidates/Elects to carry in the four baskets of cut up palms. Two per basket. At 11 AM, the Priest led the procession in, the Altar Girls and Boys followed, and we brought up the rear. After the deep bow, we laid the baskets on the floor before the Altar, and went to our assigned pews. :getholy:

We had the Palm Sunday readings, followed by Dismissal of the RCIA… The main work in the RCIA class was going over the Profession of faith to be made next Saturday, and especially the Nicene Creed. This was for the Elect, mostly. I have been familiar with the Creed since childhood (Church Of England) and Confirmation (Lutheran), so had nothing to say about it this time around. The Holy Spirit still proceeds from both the Father AND the Son.

Our RCIA Instructers also reminded us that Friday was a day of fasting and abstinance, and Saturday a day of fasting.

At home now with the cats. Six days to the Easter Vigil

 

[Pacbox]

I was a reader. I read the first reading and then was the narrator in the Gospel. My mouth ended up so dry from all the reading.

Now I’m slowly working on homework and researching criminological theories. For homework.



[SIGN]Welcome Home Elect and Candidates!!![/SIGN]

I can’t wait for Easter Vigil. It’s my favorite Mass of the whole liturgical year.

 

[ora_pro_nobis]

Went to the Vigil Mass on Saturday night, spent Sunday afternoon taking holy Communion to sick people in hospital. We also took palms for them and gave some out to the nurses who were very pleased to receive them. Then back to church for evening Mass tonight. Father reminded us in his homily about the importance of going to confession regularly, but especially in this Holy week.
My prayers and best wishes to all those who are being received into the Church this coming Easter!
God bless
Pat

 

[BeeSweet]

My husband attended with our son and me today, I asked him last week if he would. He doesn’t ever attend mass with us, so it was really really important to me that we went together as a family. Today was actually the first time he’s attended mass with our son and me since Allen was born last April (we attended a Methodist service together with his grandparents Christmas eve, but he’s not been to mass with us once since Allen was born. Allen’s baptism and our marriage convalidation were done on a Saturday, and we did not attend mass together even on that day). Today was also the first time my husband witnessed a Palm Sunday mass. He made a remark about the first reading being from the book of Isaiah, and how that was interesting to him because he’s been reading the book of Isaiah. I thought that was kinda cute (but I didn’t say anything about it). He even read along in the missal, which he’s not done before, in the handful of times he has gone with me in the past.

When we left, we stopped to say hello to the priest (may God bless that man!) who married us and also baptised our son. He remarked on how good our son always is in mass. And that’s super funny, cuz I know my husband was not prepared for how wriggly that little fella is, and everything it takes to keep him distracted and quiet.

As we walked together to the car, I had a strange feeling of being “complete,” which I never have leaving mass, because I’m always alone like a single mother. I always miss my husband at mass, and especially right after. I really need Sunday to be a day for us to be together as a family, and especially attend mass together, but he usually takes the day for himself to do his own thing., thankful that I’ve got the baby out of his hair.

I’m so glad that it was on Palm Sunday that he first attended mass with us as a family. Of course, I’m praying that he will be there every Sunday with us in the near future. He’s going on Easter too, but he’s already making plans to leave for the weekend after Easter to go hiking with a friend. All things in God’s perfect time, right?

I am thankful, thankful,*** thankful*** today.

 

[jmm08]

I’m in the choir. We sang at the vigil Mass. And kneeled once.

It seems that we have so much music this year. Our choir has Palm Sunday vigil, Good Friday and Easter (12:15 PM). So we had so much music to practice. I find it difficult to keep so many different songs in the correct order the binders (one binder for the next service and the other for all the other music to practice in advance). We’ve practiced a bit, but because of the quantity of songs we haven’t gotten as good at each song as we normally get at other times of the year.

Regarding the kneeling – I’m tall. Our choir sings up front. I’d prefer a choir loft in the back, but we are up front. There are advantages to being in the front – mainly no time delay from the organ to where we might hear in the back. But there is very little room between the rows. And each row is on its own step. Since I’m tall there is no way I can kneel facing forward – I’d simply fall foward with my weight on my knees and they would reach the lower level if the chair in front wasn’t already there. And if I kneel sideways I’d better not be sitting next to somebody else or my feet will be pushing them.

It is sometimes bad enough when I sit in the congregation. When I kneel – if I’m not careful my feet may reach and knock down the kneeler in the pew behind me. And hopefully not hurt anybody. So I sometimes pause a little to make sure the kneeler behind is already down or try to keep myself forward enough not to reach that far.

Andruschak, you know I’m still fairly new to the Catholic faith. I know one of these nights coming (and I think it is Good Friday) there is a ton of kneeling and getting up again. So I hope it all goes off well and I need to remember to sit where I’ll have enough room and not kick anybody.

Somebody passed a bunch of palms back to us in the choir. And I wondered if they had been blessed because our Priest had only blessed the palms on the table just outside right before Mass. So if they were obtained before Mass began perhaps they weren’t blessed yet.

I like Palm Sunday. But I wore a purple tie and didn’t know all the purple was changed to Red. But nobody else wore red either so it didn’t matter (except I prefer to wear the correct color tie).

jmm08

 

[Kevin42]

I went to Church this morning at 10. They did the passion play, and it seems to keep getting better every year that they do it! This year was very professional and solemn. I am not going to say I cried, because I didn’t, but it was very, very moving. There were some people I did notice who seemed to be crying during it though. It is very beautiful to see people coming to love Jesus. Perfect beginning to holy week. What was especially moving was that when they were ‘crucifying’ the person playing Jesus, the little boy in front of me asked his dad why they were doing that and to make them stop. Makes a person realize how clear a child’s perception is…no wonder Jesus loved the children so much. Also, while we usually tend to have some more “modern” music for the liturgy, today they had mostly older, traditional songs! I was extremely grateful.

After that the rest of the day was kind of boring. I went to work, came home and did homework, and then went back up to work to help them out for about an hour.

 

[Rawb]

Went to Mass at 8:30, RCIA Breaking Open the Word (last one!) went home, folded my palm into a cross and tucked it above a picture I have of Mary (I don’t have a crucifix ) Went out to our front yard and clipped a few more fronds and sat around folding them into crosses because I like Palm Crosses. Then I had the idea that I should give these away to my family, so I was going to bake something to give along with a palm cross but didn’t have enough of anything, so instead I went out and found these flowers that look liked red thorns. I tucked three crosses each into the pot, attatched a prayer, and drove around giving them to my Christian family members (who are all protestant, so none of their crosses were blessed). Tomorrow morning I’ll be going to Confession at 10:00 in preparation.

I’m almost Home! (Good thing too, my arms are getting tired from swimming this here Tiber, )

 

[puzzleannie]

first communions at 2 Masses for adult confirmation candidates
RCIA class - topic was the Mass
Oblate meeting was on the agenda, which I missed after all because had to stay through the last Mass, and it is 2 hrs away.
took MIL out to lunch as she is leaving Tuesday.
nap–hey its a day of rest after all and I am very obedient.
supper of leftovers.

 

[CarolAnnSFO]

There are advantages to being in the front – mainly no time delay from the organ to where we might hear in the back. But there is very little room between the rows. And each row is on its own step. Since I’m tall there is no way I can kneel facing forward – I’d simply fall foward with my weight on my knees and they would reach the lower level if the chair in front wasn’t already there. And if I kneel sideways I’d better not be sitting next to somebody else or my feet will be pushing them.

Same thing here! Try to kneel in the choir loft, and I’d go tumbling down, four stories! :bigyikes: Kneeling sideways is only for the extremely thin. At least, the large pipe organ (the one used for Mass) is in the choir loft, so the only time delay we have is between choir/organ and the cantor/congregation singing.

At Palm Sunday Mass today, the children’s choir sang with us, and the children’s handbell choir was there, too. We also had a violinist, and drums for the one song that called for them (“Hosanna in the Highest”). One of our songs was “The Holy City”, which I love. Some of the readers were also up there with us. The choir loft was practically standing room only!

Somebody passed a bunch of palms back to us in the choir. And I wondered if they had been blessed because our Priest had only blessed the palms on the table just outside right before Mass. So if they were obtained before Mass began perhaps they weren’t blessed yet.

If you’re in the choir at my church, the only way to get palms is to take them from the table before the blessing of the palms at the beginning of Mass (we sing starting right after the blessing, when the congregation is taking palms and returning to their seats, so there is no opportunity to get palms then). Maybe they were already blessed from the earlier Mass? In any event, we just hold them out during the blessing, and asuume they’ll be blessed then.

I like Palm Sunday. But I wore a purple tie and didn’t know all the purple was changed to Red. But nobody else wore red either so it didn’t matter (except I prefer to wear the correct color tie).

Some of us wore red, but all the children in the handbell choir wore red (or pink, for some of the girls), so somebody must have mentioned the color to them.

In the evening, we had our Penance service. Some readings, and then individual confessions (I think there were about 12 priests available). The church was standing room only (and it’s a big church!) Just as well we have that Penance service; there is no way that number of people could be accommodated during the usual one hour of confessions on Saturdays.

Crazy Internet Junkies Society (Mudgie/Junkie Hybrid)
Carrier of the Angelic Sparkles Sprinkle Bag

 

[Anne1964]

Many arrived early to claim a seat as we knew there would be standing room only for Mass.

Msgr. led the procession to the outdoor altar where he blessed the palms and they were distributed to the people. He then asked us to make pathways thru the crowd for him so he could sprinkle Holy Water on us. We all waved our palms in the air while he did this.

Then we all processed back into the church while singing, and proceeded with the Palm Sunday readings. It was very moving.