“Palm” Sunday

H & D showing off our “palms” last Sunday.

We’re beginning to get used to celebrating mass around our television each Sunday.  Although I never thought I would be able to say that, we’ve had several weeks’ practice.  I’m afraid there will be many more to come.  With some trial and error, we’ve found an online mass that works well for our family.  Our requirements were pretty basic, good sound quality, music and responses we are familiar with, ability to stream over our living room TV, and a tolerable length for some of the smaller,  more distracted Healys.  We sit, stand, kneel, pray, respond, and sing. This is definitely the most unusual worship experience any of us have encountered, but now, more than ever, we need to stay close to the Lord.

This past weekend was Palm Sunday, and it brought to mind our first Palm Sunday in Brazil.  That year we found out that, unlike in American churches where church-provided palms are blessed and distributed to the faithful, everyone had to clip palms from their own yard (or their neighbor’s yard) and bring them to church to be blessed. This year, I kind of wished we had palms in our back yard, because there wasn’t going to be a public mass or distribution of palm branches this Palm Sunday.

However, we were able to find these amazing printable palms on the internet from another Catholic mom who, upon searching for the same thing and not finding it, decided to paint, scan, and share some palms herself.  I love that even now, in the most isolated season of our entire lives, everyone is still out there, supporting one another in our faith, our families, our journey through this dark valley.  Let us not fear, but Hope in the Lord!