Easter Sunday

So, after Stations of the Cross Good Friday afternoon, Father Joseph gave Eli his first Catechism -- the text is half English, half Chinese, side by side. Eli wants to make his first communion, and he's been pondering the deeper theological questions for a while now, so he's really happy to get it.

Gosia loved hers as a child. I don't remember them doing that at our Church, though I wish they had. I'm glad it's moved away from a lone, stark memorization aspect of the Catechism, but Eli's looking for a place to start, something grounding. He likes reading it. He already knows most of the stuff, but in bits and pieces.

Father Joseph had been looking for an English copy for a while, and he finally ended up writing to a nun he knows in Hong Kong for one.

Eli's been reading it (he cracked it open that night) and the bishop's coming in mid-May for the first Communion, on around May 13th, the feast of Our Lady of Fatima, for whom our Church is named.

Last night was a rainy night... we drove out along the rice fields and steel shops to church for the Easter Vigil Mass.

There are some pictures of Eli during the Service of Light outside the Church, plus filling up a bottle of holy water for all our household needs.

It was a nice night for us, especially driving back on nearly empty streets, anticipating Easter.

Today, for Easter, he and I woke up for the 8:30 Mass, after which Gosia, Rhiannon and Calvin came for the Church BBQ. It was too long of a time for Calvin to be out and about, so she just came for the cook out. Every family got their own small barbecue.

Taiwan has a bunch of pretty good vegetarian soy meat stuff, and even though the concept of fake meat sometimes strikes me as silly, it was handy to put on a grill. And it makes good sandwiches.

Unfortunately, I'd thought to myself, I have enough pictures, I won't need the camera for just a barbecue -- which is why I don't have pictures of Eli and Rhiannon splashing around in Our Lady's grotto outside the church...

The apostles warned Our Lord....

Let the little children come, He says...