Sunday March 28, 2021

Good morning everyone, today is Sunday March 28, 2021. It is a cloudy day for such a happy occasion because today is Palm Sunday which begins Holy Week ending on Easter. This is the week that we celebrate being Catholic or Christian the events of this week are the basis of my religion. Now to be catholic one must realize there is a lot of pain and suffering and death associated with it to ultimately be happy and joyful in the end with Jesus. All the years of catholic education were not for nothing. This week I. Will be talking about it a lot because this week and Easter mean a great deal to me. It along with being Italian are the essence of my being.

Enough theology for today, let’s talk about fun things of today. As a child as I’m sure many of you will relate on Palm Sunday you went to church early because your morning was busy, you would get your palms and make the rounds “ TO VISIT” family and close friends and wish them a Happy Palm Sunday. These visits were not long just a quick stop maybe a cup of coffee and you were on your way. The only one I really remember staying awhile at was my grandmother in Newark there we met up with my uncle my father’s brother and we would sit a that little kitchen table and have our espressos. I thought I was special to join them, then on we would go, there was a lot of cheek pinching associated with those visits. We would visit all the relatives and home we would go after all it was a holiday so there was a lot of food and a lot to do. In the afternoon I had one uncle who would sit with us all around and weave crosses out of the palms for us. That is a very big Italian tradition, in Italy towns actually have there own patterns. I don’t know if that is done anywhere else. Why did we do these visits and follow tradition out of love and respect . There is that word again it always pops up in my vocabulary. If you didn’t do it how would you know who or where you are or who. This was your family your background again to me without that you are sorely lacking something important. What stopped it, progress I guess people married, moved away, rituals like this were becoming unimportant we began to centralize around our immediate family and the extended family fell away, how sad that is. Today cousins don’t even know each other, I can still talk to a cousin I haven’t seen in 50 years and it is like we saw each other yesterday with our memories. But I guess life goes on in different ways and directions. As long as everyone is well and happy that is what is important.

Today, I want to reinvent THE VISIT virtually no matter where you are in the world imagine your bell has wrung, when you open the door there I am with an extended hand offering you a Palm and wishing you a Happy Palm Sunday.

We will talk again Til Tomorrow!