Good Sunday, everyone! For those in the other side of the globe, Good Monday morning!
Weather-wise, we're having a mix of rain and light snow flurries today, cold and chilly, as has been the forecast for our area in Hampton Roads by meteorologists from different local radio/TV stations . Spring snow? Ah, where's spring? It appears that we're not done completely with winter, huh? Well, Mother Nature has her way. Nothing or no one gets in her way, btw. She always rules and reigns. Period.
This morning, my wife Freny, her sister Rose, and I attended the Palm Sunday Mass at our parish, St. Paul's. No, we didn't participate in the procession outside, which is a few blocks away from the church building. The reason? We arrived a little late at the vicinity. Besides, it was drizzling. So, as soon as we've parked our car (thank God, we found an available spot), we rushed to (get into) the church and waited for the other parishioners and our parish priest, Rev. Fr. David, for the formal start of the Mass. Inside the church, there were the faithful, like us, waiting for the rest of congregation who participated in the procession.
Here's something about Palm Sunday. It's the final preparation during Lent and marks the start of the Holy Week leading to Easter Season. The celebration on Palm Sunday begins with a presentation of what happened that first Palm Sunday. We gather outside of the church or at the front of the church. we hear the Gospel story of how Jesus rode on a donkey and entered the city of Jerusalem.
As Jesus rode along, the people gathered up branches from the trees and waved them in the air. They took their clothes and laid them down before the donkey. they cried, "Hosanna to the son of David," proclaiming Jesus as their king.
Next, we take our own palms, which are then blessed. (In some countries olive branches are used instead of palms.) We process with those branches into our church.
There is another powerful reminder of Holy Week during the Palm Sunday Mass. At the Gospel time we hear the entire story of the Passion, Suffering, and Death of Jesus. this is a good introduction to Holy Week. We pray and remember the importance of what Christ did for us and how we should respond to His love.
That's about Palm Sunday which ushers in the final week for the Elect or Catechumens (unbaptized people interested in becoming Catholics by attending Catholic teachings and informal classes, RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults) for weeks given by the church and assisted by their Catholic sponsors) who will be baptized at the Easter Vigil/Saturday.
Next topic/s: Shopping and dining. After Mass, we did go to NEX. Unexpectedly, I bought a couple of shirts that were on sale, 50% off the regular price. And additional % off for those that have a red dot on the tags. From there, we went to lunch. We went Chinese again, like last Sunday. After lunch, we drove to a closeout store where we bought books, wooden "foldable" book cases, munchies, etc. Guess what I found on the wet parking lot? Two dollar bills! Lucky me, huh? Thank God. But, I felt bad for the person who lost it. I gave that $2 to Freny. From there, we drove home. I felt so tired that I went to bed, after changing my clothes off. Headache and backache kicked in again...Rest is what I need, my dear folks and friends.
Well, this is all for now. Thanks for the company. Until next time around. Take care and have a blessed day, everyone! As always, I pray, "May God bless us all!"-chris a. quilpa, 24 Mar 2013
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