This Easter we did not go to our parish church for Easter Sunday Mass. I could not bring myself to go there, due to the unpleasantness that occurred around Christmas. (See post
here.) So we went to the other Catholic Church in our village. It is a lovely church, smaller than our parish, and has a strong Irish influence as opposed to the German influence of our parish (which I have no problem with of course!). We have gone here several times since Christmas. As with most Catholic churches, there are wonderful stained glass windows. The ones at this church have a different Saint portrayed on each one. Tyler and I especially liked the window for St. Patrick. He liked the shamrock and snake (St. Francis was said to have banished snakes from Ireland, although this is thought to be symbolic); I liked the Irish harp in bright yellow glass.
I wore my "Easter Bonnet" (pictured above, with the 1960's handbag that I also carried) and
this coat. I received several nice comments from other congregants. One lady told me she had been on the lookout to see if anyone was wearing an Easter bonnet, and she was pleased to see mine!
It felt so strange not to be singing or playing. I simply sang along with the congregation. But I was okay with it. I feel that God doesn't care where I worship as long as I do! But I was moved by the Mass in general, and a special gift God provided: I can rarely sing high E's; I am an alto through and through. It can be so frustrating to have one's voice break on the high note of a piece. Easter morning I was able to sing the E. A small thing for sure, but it meant a lot to me, especially given the circumstances.