Thriving in fellowship and welcoming back insects, on Divine Mercy Sunday...

Morning all, and happy continuation of the Easter season. ;-) The Octave is over, but nevertheless, we are still celebrating Easter, and I love it. And I absolutely adore Divine Mercy Sunday. I always pray the novena leading up to it (at least, in recent years I have), and it harkens me back to 2005, when I was newly pregnant with Henry and Pope John Paul II passed away on the eve of Divine Mercy Sunday. He always emphasized this feast, and that is one of the reasons that I am so drawn to it, because I love HIM so much.

And so Divine Mercy Sunday dawned bright and beautiful in Western New York. I think about 95% of our leftover snow has finally melted. People, this is *epic*. Never in my lifetime of living in the Northeast have I ever been more happy to see spring. As the kids and I headed out for Mass, I noticed something in our small backyard. Something fragile and beautiful that I feared I'd never see again: flowers. Real ones. Growing out of THE GROUND:

See them there amongst all the dead and shriveled things? I don't know exactly what they are, they may actually be weeds, but I CARE NOT. They are pretty and colorful, and we worship them. As I was over there snapping this photo, I even saw a bee hovering nearby. A REAL LIVE BUMBLE BEE!! Normally, I steer clear of such creatures, but I practically threw this one a party:

"Welcome to our yard, dear bee! I'm so glad to see you! Go tell your friends to come pollinate as well!"

And things were looking even livelier in the front yard:

Tulips baby! They're on their way. We'll have a party for them as well.

Then we left for Mass, and I am just in love with my parish community. Mass was as beautiful as ever, I loved the first reading from the book of Acts (4:32-35). It harkens back to my parish theme: a sense of community:

"The community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything in common. With great power, the apostles bore witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great favor was accorded them all. There was no needy person among them, but those who owned property or houses would sell them, bring the proceeds of the sale, and put them at the feet of the apostles, and they were distributed to each according to need."

I just love that. Not a complete analogy, of course, but it is so soothing to me to think of all of us, our communities of faith both local and around the world, in this thing together. We're here for each other, supporting each other and doing our best to give witness to the Lord Jesus Christ.

After Mass, we sat and chatted with our friend Kendra for a bit. She has an art show coming up featuring her work, and we're planning to attend. While we discussed the details, Fr. Joe came over and sat with us. What chatted about his upcoming vacation and how he was going to a party later in the day to watch the Masters. I mean...I love this guy! He's the sort of congenial priest I could imagine inviting over for dinner with the family. He's very social and approachable, and I'm so grateful that we have him.

When we got back home, Henry went to a friend's house, so Mike and I took Anne out for a walk with her tricycle. Before she got on, Anne laid flat on the bare driveway:

"Mommy, look. The sun!"

We have been so, so deprived, my poor children. :0

How was your Divine Mercy Sunday, dear reader?