Holy Week at Home

{Documenting life during the Covid-19 Quarantine}

I'm not going to lie. I spent most of last week feeling sorry for myself, and a pretty hefty portion of the rest of the time trying to convince myself to not feel sorry for myself.

I was, to put it mildly, pretty bummed about not doing all of the things for Holy Week and Easter, most especially not getting to attend Triduum services on Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil. I was bummed that there would be no visiting. I was irked that my kids' Easter clothes are still hanging in their closets. 

While I 100% understand and support the need for social distancing and the dangers that Covid-19 presents, especially for the most vulnerable, I was still heartbroken about not receiving Jesus in the Eucharist, not worshipping with my parish, not witnessing the receipt of the Sacraments by the newest Catholics at the Vigil. 

Everyone agreed that this Lent got very Lent-y very fast. The quarantine was a twist no one saw coming. Accordingly, I was really, really perseverating on whether things would feel like Easter when we're all still trapped in this quarantine. Daily life didn't promise to look much different on the flip side. 

And as much as I tried to talk myself out of it, I kept circling around to the same thing:

I. I. I.

Me. Me. Me.

Anyone else spotting a trend here?

My mood was completely tied up in my own selfishness. I don't get to go to Mass. I don't get to receive the Eucharist. I don't get head-pats for cute pictures. I don't get to do what I want. What a spoiled brat!

Once I was able to start seeing my attitude through that lens, I started doing better. No, things this year weren't going to look the same as they have looked in years past. 

I threw myself into bolstering our Domestic Church. I decided to Make the Most of It. I made a fest that would feel festive and Easter-y.

I recognized a few things.

Easter is an undeserved gift in itself, so I don't deserve to have Easter be any particular way.

In an average year, life before Easter and after doesn't actually look that different. There is school. There is laundry. There are things going on. The trappings might be different, but the effect is the same. Day to day life. War. Quarantine. It is up to me to have Easter in my heart and to keep it there throughout the season, maybe even model that for my kids. 

We are so blessed to have been able to take the Sacraments for granted all these years.

God is with us, through all of this. He is faithful. He will not abandon us. And He will allow us to use this time for His glory, if we let Him. Even when things seem hard. Especially when things seem hard.

(I am working on being more appreciative. I really am.)

So, we streamed the services and let the kids fall asleep in their jammies.

We dyed eggs.

We prayed.

We feasted. 

I'll bust out those Easter clothes and get some cute pictures next week when we dress for Sunday Mass, even though we'll still be streaming it in our living room. 

We praise God because He is risen. He is risen, indeed.

Alleluia!

Look! I even put stuff on my mantle!