T-12 hours: Palm Sunday

In the last 24 hours, I went to Palm Sunday mass, picked up my mom from the airport, wrote a paper, played in my last hockey game (and got a penalty), judged 4 people in the open, visited my girl Laurie at Snap Kitchen, went grocery shopping and came back home. I am beat. 

I just pray that I made myself tired enough to get a few hours of sleep before I'm up at 4 to take a super antibacterial shower and head in for my 515 checkin. 

Palm Sunday mass gave me super intense feels. On this day in 2009, I told my grandmother that I was back going to mass. She told me that she was so pleased because she knew that the mass brought her such joy. 

That was the last time I talked to her. She died suddenly of a heart attack a few days after Easter. 

Now that I've come home to the Church, I see Holy Week as an opportunity to enter into the suffering, death and ressurection of Christ. 

Well, to be honest, it sneaks up on me. There's something about this week that penetrates through all the pain and noise that saturates our lives and makes it so clear that His sacrifice matters because you matter to Him.  

In the gospel this week, when we read the words of the chorus doubting, mocking and condemning Jesus to death, I felt the weight of the sins of my past conduct. I distinctly remembered how much I turned away from Jesus when I lived my life on my own terms. 

In a way, by getting surgery on Monday of Holy Week, I am receiving an amazing opportunity to enter into great redemptive suffering to atone for my sins, and the sins of the whole world. 

I hope I get to participate in the Triduum, but if I can't sit through the liturgy then I know that I can offer up my pain, weakness and dependence on others to unite with Him as we remember what He did for us. 

Please pray for me. My surgery is scheduled for 815 am central time tomorrow. I'll keep you posted.