“We do not pretend that life is all beauty. We are aware of darkness and sin, of poverty and pain. But we know Jesus has conquered sin and passed through his own pain to the glory of the Resurrection. And we live in the light of his Paschal Mystery – the mystery of his Death and Resurrection. We are an Easter People and Alleluia is our song!”
-St. Pope John Paul II


In my 43 years of life I have come to realize that some years are more eventful than others.  I remember very clearly turning 10 because I got to ride my bike around the block without a grown up, turning 14 because I began high school, and at 17 I started my first real job.  The year I turned 23 was especially eventful because I not only completed my first year of teaching, but I also got married. And then there was the year I turned 38, and our son Andrew Edward came into our lives.    As with any change, each new chapter brought equal amounts of excitement and what I have come to think of as growing pains as I navigated my new reality.   The start of one thing, often marked the end of another.   

And although I cannot speak for him, I have a feeling that when/if our son Andrew remembers his fifth year of life, he will see it as an eventful one.   (As his mom, I know I will.)  This year has been one of two significant firsts: the first day of school, and most recently, losing his first baby tooth. 

I was in the kitchen when he first brought the wiggly front tooth to my attention. “ Mama look!” he exclaimed. “ My tooth is loose!”  I have to admit it caught me by surprise.  I suddenly realized he was the right age for losing his tooth, but I couldn’t really believe the time was upon us already.   I faked my shock well by saying, “Wow, how exciting.”   Andrew smiled and ran into the other room.

However, as a few days passed his excitement over the loose tooth gave way to anxiety. I found that more and more of our conversations started to revolve around “the tooth.”  His many worries included swallowing it at night, it hurting when it fell out, and how he would eat without his tooth.  Eventually, his worry and anxiety became so high he didn’t want to go to bed or eat his dinner for fear of it falling out.  None of my reassurances seemed to work, and it was becoming increasingly hard to calm his fears. 

So like any modern day parent, I posted an SOS status on Facebook that read, “Looking for advice from parents. Andrew is losing a baby tooth and is looking at it every 5 seconds and afraid of it falling out. Tips for how to help children through this phase of development?  I don't think I can have another conversation about the tooth.”  

What followed was a stream of helpful advice, which included reassuring books to read to children, language to make it exciting, and ideas for how to preserve the lost tooth.  Since my friends include  educators, counselors, and seasoned parents, I was able to calm his fears,  I did this through reassuring words, watching a video entitled, “The Night Before the Tooth Fairy Came” and buying a dinosaur tooth pillow so the tooth fairy (Who he knows is Mama and Daddy by the way.)  could leave him his loot.  By the time he actually lost his tooth, which happened on a Tuesday during a snow day, he no longer felt any fear or worry.   

As I put four quarters in his dinosaur tooth pillow and reflected on the day, I came to realize that Andrew’s experience of losing his tooth is really no different from the big changes any of us experience in life.  We have to die to one part of ourselves to live to another.  

The truth that new life comes from death is the Paschal Mystery, and the heart of our Catholic faith. The term Paschal Mystery describes the redemptive work of Christ and the fact that Christ's cross and Resurrection stands at the center of the Good News that the apostles, and the Church following them, are to proclaim to the world." (CCC, 571) 

As a Church we enter most deeply into the Paschal Mystery each year during the  Easter Triduum—from the evening of Holy Thursday to the evening of Easter Sunday. Though chronologically three days, they are liturgically one day unfolding for us the unity of Christ's Paschal Mystery.   The Easter Triduum is the summit of the liturgical year and simply put (in my opinion) the most amazing, powerful, and real way to enter into our love story with the God who not only created us, but took our sins upon himself so we could live with him forever in heaven. If that isn’t the greatest love story ever told, I don’t know what is.     

If you are looking to have the most amazing experience ever as a family there are three simple ways to enter into the Paschal Mystery during the Easter Triduum, which begins on Thursday, April 14th and ends on Sunday, April 17th this year: 

  1. Attend at least one Triduum liturgy as a family:  The Triduum liturgies include Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday, veneration of the Cross on Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil Mass on Holy Saturday.   I have taken our son Andrew to all three, with the knowledge that I will need to leave early or take a “walk about” since they tend to last more than an hour.   (If you have very young children I would recommend starting with Holy Thursday as it is highly engaging and the shortest of the Triduum liturgies.) Click here to find out mass and service times for the Triduum at St. Raphael.   
  2. Quiet Time: Spend time on Good Friday (particularly between noon and 3 pm) in prayer or reflection. Consider making it a time with no television or Internet.  You could spend part of that time praying the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary or  doing stations of the cross at home.  
  3. Read Aloud: Read a part of the passion narrative during each of the three days of Triduum at home as a way to help your family enter into the three days.  A suggested reading plan is: 

There are also endless ideas for crafts, special meals, and family prayer rituals available online.  (Click here to view what creative ideas Catholic Icing has to offer.)   However your family decides to enter into the Paschal Mystery as we journey toward Easter joy, , know that Josh, Andrew and I are praying for you. Please pray for us!