Anticipation

Do you know the legend of the first Easter Egg? The story goes that after the Resurrection, Mary Magdalene went to the Roman Emperor to proclaim the risen Christ. She brought an egg as a symbol of the resurrection: the hard outer shell gives way to new life within, just as the stone in front of the tomb gave way to Jesus risen from the dead.


The emperor regarded her as a fool and said, "No more could a person rise from the dead than that egg you are holding could turn red." At that moment, the egg in Mary's hand turned red!


On Saturday, we celebrated the Easter Vigil with egg dying and Chinese takeout with my parents. Max had a great time coloring eggs, especially plopping them into the cups of colored water... we had a few casualties because of his overenthusiasm, but overall he was very careful.


The Easter Vigil Mass didn't start until 8:00, so our plan was to bring Louie in his jammies so that he could sleep through it. Ha ha. The kid never closed his eyes, but even though he was exhausted, he was in a good mood and quiet for the nearly three hours we were there. Thank you Lord! And thank you, Mom, for carrying him around for a good chunk of the service- he's no light load!


The Mass began with the lighting of the new fire and the procession with the Easter candle. Paul took Max outside to watch the fire being lit, and he got to carry his very own lit candle into church. I watched for them to come into the church, waiting, waiting, until finally- the very last ones to enter- they came walking slowly down the aisle. The sight nearly took my breath away! My little baby boy suddenly looked all grown up in his suit, in a state of total concentration that I've never seen before. He carried the candle to our pew and got to light the candles of Grandma and Grandpa before being relieved of his burden. I think he was proud and terrified to be holding actual fire! (I was nothing but proud of him)



Grandpa spent most of Mass with Max, bouncing between the potty, the gathering area, and the pew, but I found out afterward that he sat Max down for each of the readings and tried to explain it in words he would understand. The reading that peaked Max's interest the most? Pharaoh's chariots being drowned in the Red Sea. "What's a chariot? Is it like a boat? Does it fly? Who rides a chariot? Does it swim? Is it like a horse?" Kudos to Grandpa for fielding those questions!

We all left feeling tired but joyful. Alleluia, Christ is risen!

He is risen indeed.