Palm Sunday

They held the Palm Sunday procession at 5 AM, with a float of Christ on a donkey being followed by thousands of singing people.

We skipped the procession and went to 6 am Mass...couldn't get in, so said the rosary outside.
Lots of people in the square outside...most were people with kids, who leave the church when the kids get restless...little girls marching proudly showing off their pretty lace decorated sox and new shoes...little boys hitting each other over the head with the palm branches...and moms keeping an eye on them, saying their prayers.

I was a pious kid, but even I got bored after about ten minutes in church...so when I had grandchildren, I was happy that they had a crying room....Father admonished us that the crying room was so kids could pay attention, not play, but of course we let them play, while praying and on and off pointing out what was going on inside the church.

Processions and festivals are one way to teach the faith...but now the "protestants" are so pure they condemn it all as "paganism"...not seeing that these things are innate in our human nature, and we can hold a procession to celebrate Jesus or the saints, or a beauty queen (in the west) or a revolution (in more fascist countries)...

God is so high above us that it is hard for simple people (including myself) to grasp...but Jesus here working as a carpenter with a mother and father make Mama Mary and Kuya Jesus just part of the family...which is what I think God had in mind when he made men, women, sex, and kids and mixed all this stuff up with love...