The first time I decided to try going to the Catholic church (1994) I thought it would be nice to start on Easter Sunday. I didn't have any Catholic friends to warn me ahead of time... So when I showed up, dressed in my Sunday best, I was surprised and disappointed to find just a pretty much regular Mass service. It seems the real Easter spectacle took place on Saturday evening (just like the big Christmas shindig happens on Christmas Eve). You see, in the Catholic church, days are measured similarly to the ancient Hebrew tradition, in which sundown is the end of one day and the beginning of the next. So sundown today is the beginning of the Easter "vigil".-- Easter Eve.
I loved the Mass, though. So I enrolled in the adult catechism program, and the next year at the Easter vigil I became an official Catholic. I really enjoyed it, even though I didn't necessarily agree with all their teachings. I mean, I never entirely agreed with the teachings of the Church of Christ, either, even being born and raised and educated in that denomination. If you were to ask me what my religion is now, I'd be hard put to tell you. It's a curious recipe of "restoration" Christianity, Catholicism, and a big dollop of Buddhism, along with a few spoonfuls of "woo woo" spirituality.
When it comes right down to it, each and every one of us is a church unto himself. No two human beings view things exactly alike. We can't, because we can't actually get inside one another's brains and see how things look from another person's point of view. Each of us lives in a mental world of our own, which no one else can see (except God).
Anyway, here are some pictures of Easters I have known.
Mom made the suits that Ron, Morris and I are wearing. When we lived in Hunter, AR, our neighbor across the road was a very large man. When he butchered a cow, he would give us the tongue (a huge chunk of meat). When he bought a new suit, he would give his old one to mom and she would make clothes for us boys. ~ Bob
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