Easter Vigil Saturday
March 30, 2024
The church once again brings the life of Jesus to light! And a great light shone today at Queen of Peace Catholic Church. All the mothers and fathers, grandmothers, grandfathers, grand children and great grand children from all over the world gathered to experience the beautiful blessing of the Easter Baskets.
Father Patrick pastor of Queen of Peace Catholic Church over the past 34 years has given us the beautiful reminder of gathering in honor of a most important Catholic tradition. I could not help but reflect upon my childhood, over sixty years ago when the pastor was invited to bless our home and our food before Easter. The altar servers arrived holding brass handles all aglow covered in clear glass, they entered into our hall way at the very top floor at the request of my saintly great grand mother Stella.
I also fondly remember preparing the home made kielbasa, kishka, and (Polish Bread) babka in the company of my great grand mothers daughter Marianna. It was hard work, but alot of fun memories were shared and laughter filled every room because we were excited to welcome our resurrected Jesus on Easter Sunday! A very vivid and beautiful memory of my time together with my maternal ancestors still find their way into my heart as I remember the way Easter was celebrated by and with all of my loved ones. When I would compliment grandmother's cooking, she would also say that grandpa was in fact the much better cook hands down! He use to make the best ever beef stew with just the right amount of pepper my lips have missed tasting. I even try to make his recipe always missing the mark! As I got older I had realized it was his love placed inside of his cooking technique that gave it that extra special oomph! And I remember always being asked by grandpa to cut his hair outside in the alleyway in between our home and our next door neighbors. He loved my company and I relished being in his.
As a child I grew up with ancestors born, raised, married, and had children in Poland. They were farmers, growing vegetables, churning butter, picking fresh apples from their own orchards, carrying them into the house using one of grandmothers aprons, ready to be washed, cut, prepared for a pie. My mother would search for wild mushrooms in the black forest, and she grew her own rhubard to make rhubard tea, and in the winter she would find moss and place it in between the cracks of the cabin like structure she had lived in and was born in with the help of a midwife.
In America life was always better! According to my grandmother. And we were given a great life. The farming lifestyle kept its way in the heart and life of even this little grand daughter, who loved having real bunnies in her backyard, along with roosters, chickens they gave me a purpose, a responsibility to care for Gods creation, taking my eyes off of myself and placing them on others.
Then came the day when my bunnnies, chickens, roosters, either died or ran away, and my responsibility was taken away from me to care for God's creation. As I grew older, by the age of twelve, I can still see all of my cousins and I posing for an Easter picture outside on Easter Sunday in our old backyard, young, healthy, beautiful smiles, innocence captured in the back of my mind it remains as beautiful as it did that day long, long, ago. As children we were given the chance to remain chaste, holy, and no one over stepped their bounds, we were all in line with God and his law, and people feared God, and because of it, they never sinned against him. Halleluia for that! Oh great youth no luster can taint or remove your beauty!
I pray that you too take the time to reflect upon your fondest Easter memory!
