Blessing of the Food

 On April 10, 2023, I wrote a blog about a Polish tradition of bringing baskets of food to the church for the blessing of the food that will be eaten on Easter Sunday. The first time it was held in the gathering space of the church and there were about twenty-five persons in attendance. I had never heard of this tradition and thought it was a lovely thing to do on the Saturday before Easter.

I have attended two of these ceremonies and on the Internet, I learned what is placed in the basket and what they represent. Bread and butter in the shape of a cross or a lamb, sausage represents God's generosity, ham for joy and abundance, salt for God's people. There are other things that can be placed in the basket for the blessing, but I have just listed a few. The baskets are covered with a crisp white cloth and some of the cloths have fancy embroidering.

 It's amazing that this tradition has been going for many generations. One article I read mentioned that the tradition has been around since the 15th century. This year, 2025, it will take place on April 19, at 9 a.m. in the chapel at Spirit of Christ Catholic Community in Arvada. The second time I attended, there were about forty families that continue the blessing of the food on Saturday. What I noticed is that the majority of the persons are Polish, though other countries also celebrate the tradition. The parents should be complimented to see many children and young people participating in the ceremony and I am sure they will continue the beautiful tradition as they become adults.

Burning of the Palms

 After the eleven o'clock mass at Spirit of Christ Catholic Community, eight people gathered on the back patio for the burning of the palms. The ashes from the palms will then be used for Ash Wednesday when a cross will be smeared on our forehead in the sign of a cross! That will be the beginning of Lent. I was surprised that there were a few people because in years past there have been around forty or more persons at the burning. Deacon Joe Nowak was assisted by a young man who held the prayer book and Nick Roy lit the palms that had been saturated with lighter fluid. The flames burst into glorious flames in anticipation that the ashes would be used in a few days!

As the palms burn, they become ashes to remind us that "from dust you came and to dust you will return." The ashes are a sign of hope and remind us that death is not the end. Getting the ashes in the sign of the cross on our forehead reminds us that in the forty days before Easter we should strive to get closer to God. Through prayer, almsgiving and self-sacrifice we try to imitate Jesus on his painful forty-day journey before his crucifixion.

Mind vs. Heart

 As I parked my car in the church parking lot to attend the Saturday 5 p.m. mass at Spirit of Christ Catholic Community, I saw a man slowly getting out of his car. I noticed that he was bent at the waist and had trouble walking. My first thought was to see if he needed an arm to hang on to. Then I thought I was going to be late if I walked with the man, and my heart asked if it was better to be late or to help the man. I thought that if I helped him and he fell down, I would go down with him! I noticed the man had reached the row of parked cars and he was holding on to each car as he made his way to the entrance of the church. Again, the thought briefly entered my heart that I should go help the man, but I didn't.

As bent man walked holding on to each parked car, I noticed that he walked over to the handicapped area to cross over to the sidewalk. Again, my heart thought I should probably go ask if he needed help, yet my mind said, "He's almost at the door, if you were going to help you should have done it when you first saw him." I entered the church, found a place to sit and about ten minutes later the bent man walked down the aisle to a pew a few rows in front of me. 

Again, the feeling of guilt passed over me and I wished I had offered an arm to the man when I first saw him. The homily was about seeing people, really seeing them by giving eye contact. An example was when we see a homeless person at an intersection with a sign asking for help, how we look every which way and try not to see the homeless person. It's if we do not see him, he isn't there! The bottom line was that we should look at people, eye to eye, and not dismiss them because they are not invisible, though we wish they were! The words the priest was saying made me realize that I had tried not to see the bent man!

If we look at someone eye to eye, we acknowledge they are a person made in the image of God. When we do not, it is sometimes called an evil eye and that is not a good thing. It is dismissing the person as if he or she is not there. I had seen the bent man, and ignored my heart when it suggested I help, so I had not been a good person. What I do know is that the next time, if I see a similar situation as the bent man I will listen to my heart!

Later, when I was at Mother Cabrini Shrine, I saw a small sign, "Let all that you do be done in love." Corinthians 16-14. I need to remember that quote!