Holy Week at Home!
We are almost there! Less than two weeks! Palm Sunday is this Sunday, and then we enter Holy Week 😁
And because of the Coronavirus pandemic, we will sure have a very different Holy Week! Many Catholic families are beginning to wonder what Holy Week and Easter may look like.
As we all are, I am so sad that Holy Week and Easter Masses have been cancelled. Nothing will replace them. It seems that the Lord desires for us to grow in hunger for Him, and we are! I will try to see this as an opportunity to create a special, memorable Holy Week and Easter.
Holy Week is my favorite week of the year. It has been a week of traditions that I have been able to build for our family, introducing traditions that were new to us. I have enjoyed that so much!
I love Christmas. I truly do. I also love Easter. Both are of course essential to our faith, to our life, to our journey towards our real home in heaven.
But Easter usually gets trumped by Christmas. We lay Christmas presents and hang stockings, and that's just hard to beat in children's eyes. Of course, it's not a competition between the two holidays; they are each their own beautiful celebration.
It has been a goal of mine for our family to have beautiful, fun Easter memories that are more meaningful than just bunnies and candy. This has been a process over many years, but I am excited to share some of that with you now.
Each day through Holy Week, we like to reflect on what Jesus did that day, following in His footsteps to the cross. That is the most important thing. In our home, I try to immerse us into the scenes we read in the Bible, some things reflective and prayerful, some silly and fun.
The way that our family lives our Holy Week has been built over many years. I would not suggest taking on several new things this year. It has been a challenging time for all of us. If you feel creative, inspired and have the time and energy, perhaps take on one new tradition that speaks to you this year.
Palm Sunday
We don't do a lot to honor Palm Sunday. For us, it has been a special Mass at Church. What can replace the bagpipers at St. Luke, the procession and the real palms? That's alright. We will do our best.
We will participate in the streamed Mass and listen to the full Passion story. I bought some artificial palms to decorate, and so that the children can pretend sword fight while we try to listen to Scripture and pray. That part will be just like the real thing!
We will also wear red, and I purchased a red table runner
to lay over our family prayer altar. I have tried to create a sacred place in our living room for my morning prayer time. This has been such a blessing, as we are now participating in streamed Masses in our living room!
I will try to make some Middle Eastern food for dinner. But of course grocery items are a bit limited right now, so we will see. Perhaps falafel?
We will begin the week with a fun activity from Catholic Icing; drawing and building the city of Jerusalem as it was during the time of Jesus. Don't be fooled - big kids enjoy doing this too. So do I!
This is such a great activity. Placing the different places on the map and seeing where they are in relationship with one another makes them more real to us. Following Lacey's directions on Catholic Icing, we first draw a map of Jerusalem on a large piece of poster board. Once the map is drawn, it can be used for several years in a row if saved.
Once your map is drawn, you can then build Herod's temple, the Garden of Gethsemane, the Via Dolorosa, etc. over your map. Blocks, legos, Magnatiles, or any other building toy will work.
There are art cards for each event that takes place. We look at each piece of art and lay it on the map where the event took place. This is a great hands-on activity that helps all of us, myself included, enter deeply into these events later during Holy Week.
On Monday this year, we will also eat figs, as it is on this day that Jesus cursed the fig tree 😀(Mark 11: 12-25). We will read that account, as well as the clearing of the Temple.
This sets the scene for the week, and helps everyone to begin to understand why the Pharisees were plotting against Jesus, and why He was crucified.
I will also spend time on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday cleaning, cooking and ironing. This way, I will be more able to prayerfully enter into the Triduum.
I didn't know this growing up, but Kendra at Catholic All Year taught me that the Wednesday of Holy Week is traditionally called "Spy Wednesday," as it is the day Judas betrayed Jesus.
Kendra has a very fun activity with 30 pieces of silver for Spy Wednesday you can find here.
Our children love this activity, and never forget it. On years when we haven't done it, they sure remind me!
On the afternoon of Holy Thursday, we begin with the washing of the feet. Each person in our family washes the feet of another family member. Weather depending, this is done on the outside deck, and if it's cold, each child will have a mug of hot cocoa. We have a short discussion about the importance of serving others, and how Jesus was the greatest servant. We don't have to say much - the action speaks for itself.
I also put together some resources for families streaming Mass at home.
In our home, we will have hot cross buns for breakfast. They are small, and those who are fasting may have one for one of their smaller meals.
At about 11:00 am, the younger children will have this Good Friday lunch from Catholic Icing.
At noon, we will begin a time of quiet and prayer. We will pray the Stations of the Cross as a family. After that, we will continue with quiet and prayer until 3:00 pm. These are the hours that Jesus hung on the cross for us before His death at 3:00 pm. We will end by praying the Divine Mercy chaplet at 3:00 pm, the hour of mercy.
That night will be a simple soup dinner before we stream Mass. Since we won't be able to venerate the cross at Mass, I will place our crucifix down on our prayer altar where we will each be able to venerate it.
Holy Saturday is a day of preparation. We are excited and we are almost there, but not quite. The Lenten decorations will be put away, and the Easter ones will be put out. Easter clothes will be laid out and Easter eggs will be colored. A make ahead brunch will be prepared. Jason and I will watch the Easter Vigil streamed with our older children.
It is a joyful day, as it anticipates the true and deepest joy of Easter Sunday. The crucifixion has passed, and we know what comes next.
And because of the Coronavirus pandemic, we will sure have a very different Holy Week! Many Catholic families are beginning to wonder what Holy Week and Easter may look like.
Holy Week is my favorite week of the year. It has been a week of traditions that I have been able to build for our family, introducing traditions that were new to us. I have enjoyed that so much!
I love Christmas. I truly do. I also love Easter. Both are of course essential to our faith, to our life, to our journey towards our real home in heaven.
But Easter usually gets trumped by Christmas. We lay Christmas presents and hang stockings, and that's just hard to beat in children's eyes. Of course, it's not a competition between the two holidays; they are each their own beautiful celebration.
It has been a goal of mine for our family to have beautiful, fun Easter memories that are more meaningful than just bunnies and candy. This has been a process over many years, but I am excited to share some of that with you now.
Tracing the Steps of Jesus through Holy Week
Each day through Holy Week, we like to reflect on what Jesus did that day, following in His footsteps to the cross. That is the most important thing. In our home, I try to immerse us into the scenes we read in the Bible, some things reflective and prayerful, some silly and fun.
The way that our family lives our Holy Week has been built over many years. I would not suggest taking on several new things this year. It has been a challenging time for all of us. If you feel creative, inspired and have the time and energy, perhaps take on one new tradition that speaks to you this year.
Palm SundayWe will participate in the streamed Mass and listen to the full Passion story. I bought some artificial palms
to decorate, and so that the children can pretend sword fight while we try to listen to Scripture and pray. That part will be just like the real thing!
We will also wear red, and I purchased a red table runner
to lay over our family prayer altar. I have tried to create a sacred place in our living room for my morning prayer time. This has been such a blessing, as we are now participating in streamed Masses in our living room!I will try to make some Middle Eastern food for dinner. But of course grocery items are a bit limited right now, so we will see. Perhaps falafel?
Monday
We will begin the week with a fun activity from Catholic Icing; drawing and building the city of Jerusalem as it was during the time of Jesus. Don't be fooled - big kids enjoy doing this too. So do I!
Once your map is drawn, you can then build Herod's temple, the Garden of Gethsemane, the Via Dolorosa, etc. over your map. Blocks, legos, Magnatiles, or any other building toy will work.
There are art cards for each event that takes place. We look at each piece of art and lay it on the map where the event took place. This is a great hands-on activity that helps all of us, myself included, enter deeply into these events later during Holy Week.
On Monday this year, we will also eat figs, as it is on this day that Jesus cursed the fig tree 😀(Mark 11: 12-25). We will read that account, as well as the clearing of the Temple.
This sets the scene for the week, and helps everyone to begin to understand why the Pharisees were plotting against Jesus, and why He was crucified.
I will also spend time on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday cleaning, cooking and ironing. This way, I will be more able to prayerfully enter into the Triduum.
Spy Wednesday
I didn't know this growing up, but Kendra at Catholic All Year taught me that the Wednesday of Holy Week is traditionally called "Spy Wednesday," as it is the day Judas betrayed Jesus.
Kendra has a very fun activity with 30 pieces of silver for Spy Wednesday you can find here.
Our children love this activity, and never forget it. On years when we haven't done it, they sure remind me!
The Triduum
Holy Thursday
Holy Thursday is so beautiful, and I love celebrating it as a family. There is so much to be grateful for! We will miss the Eucharist this year, but I think it's really beautiful the way we are all becoming more aware and grateful for the gift we've received each week. For so many Christians throughout history, the Eucharist has not been available every week. For some, they would receive only once a year. And many have risked their lives to receive the Blessed Sacrament at Mass. How blessed we have been!On the afternoon of Holy Thursday, we begin with the washing of the feet. Each person in our family washes the feet of another family member. Weather depending, this is done on the outside deck, and if it's cold, each child will have a mug of hot cocoa. We have a short discussion about the importance of serving others, and how Jesus was the greatest servant. We don't have to say much - the action speaks for itself.
After the washing of the feet, we follow in Jesus' footsteps and eat food that would be similar to what Jesus may have eaten on the night of Holy Thursday.
This is one of the ways that our family tries to enter into the story of the Gospel, to follow Jesus' footsteps through Holy Week and to learn more about the culture He lived in.
I make lamb with bitter herbs, haroset and unleavened bread. Jason reads some Scripture for us at the dinner table before we eat.
Usually, we would then leave for Mass. This year, we will watch a streamed Mass from St. Luke Catholic Church. Since we will only have to get our family into the living room, we will have a little extra time.
As Jesus and the disciples left the Last Supper and walked to the Garden of Gethsemane, they sang.
We will follow in their footsteps and sing some praise and worship music before Mass begins. If your family would like to explore some praise and worship, my Spotify playlist is on the right hand column. You can find many of our favorites there.
We will be streaming Mass a lot during Holy Week, which has its challenges. Our youth minister, Amy Nash, pointed us to this funny video from Fr. Jared last night:
I also put together some resources for families streaming Mass at home.
Good Friday
Good Friday will have a more somber mood in our home. It is a day of fasting and abstinence. We will all abstain from meat, and those 14 years and older are required to skip one meal. The other two meals should be small, equalling one regular meal.In our home, we will have hot cross buns for breakfast. They are small, and those who are fasting may have one for one of their smaller meals.
At about 11:00 am, the younger children will have this Good Friday lunch from Catholic Icing.
At noon, we will begin a time of quiet and prayer. We will pray the Stations of the Cross as a family. After that, we will continue with quiet and prayer until 3:00 pm. These are the hours that Jesus hung on the cross for us before His death at 3:00 pm. We will end by praying the Divine Mercy chaplet at 3:00 pm, the hour of mercy.
That night will be a simple soup dinner before we stream Mass. Since we won't be able to venerate the cross at Mass, I will place our crucifix down on our prayer altar where we will each be able to venerate it.
Holy Saturday
Holy Saturday is a day of preparation. We are excited and we are almost there, but not quite. The Lenten decorations will be put away, and the Easter ones will be put out. Easter clothes will be laid out and Easter eggs will be colored. A make ahead brunch will be prepared. Jason and I will watch the Easter Vigil streamed with our older children.
It is a joyful day, as it anticipates the true and deepest joy of Easter Sunday. The crucifixion has passed, and we know what comes next.
The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!
The glory of God is upon us!
Easter
On Easter morning, we will get into our Sunday best. We will watch a streamed Mass, and eat a lovely brunch. We will talk with family and friends on the phone, and we will have an egg hunt. I haven't figured out our dinner yet, but I will cook us a lovely dinner. We will be together as a family, relaxing, playing games and enjoying one another.
Happy Holy Week and Easter to All of You! Our Lord is risen! You are in my prayers!
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