Mrs. Mulvanerty's Update
August 18, 2024
March 29, 2026
Dear SKS,
When my children were little -- and even not so little -- they loved dying Easter eggs! Despite the egg and vinegar smell in the kitchen, there was always a bit of joyful chaos in the process of watching the HAAS color tablets dissolve, bending our copper "dippers," and getting into it. We'd end up with a blend of eggs reflecting my children's personalities -- the "perfectionists" with the bright colors, precise half-and-half or wax crayon designs, as well as the creatives who were "multiple dunkers", believing that if one color is good, five colors are better. They would end up with eggs that looked like a weird, brownish camouflage mix—and fingertips stained for days, but we would all be thrilled with their masterpieces.
I was curious today about the tradition of egg dying today, and here's what I learned. In the early days of the Church, eggs were one of the many foods forbidden during the forty days of Lent. But, as nature would have it, the chickens didn't stop laying! To keep the eggs from going to waste, people would hard-boil them to preserve them. To distinguish these "special" holy eggs from the regular ones, they began dying them in bright colors—usually red to represent the blood of Christ. When Easter Sunday finally arrived, the fast was broken, and the eggs were brought out as a joyful, colorful treat.
Additionally, the egg has long been a symbol of the Resurrection. Just as a chick breaks out of the hard shell to start a new life, the egg represents the sealed tomb of Jesus and his triumphant emergence on Easter morning. It’s a tangible --and edible way to celebrate the promise of new beginnings!
Similar to that 40 day "egg-fast", your students have spent these forty days of Lent preparing for Easter. It has been very moving for me to watch how reflective and prayerful they have been as they reflected on Jesus's sacrifice -- and GREAT LOVE for us.
There have been some powerful moments on campus:
Morning prayers: Many of our students wrote and shared their own personal prayers during morning announcements.
Lenten Promises: Take a walk down the halls, and you'd see even our youngest students' plans for Lent.
A slowed down, teaching version of weekly stations: Middle school students learned a bit about the history of the stations of the cross, the meaning and reflection on each station, and how to spend some time in quiet reflection.
- Student-led reflections: Our 5th grade students brought a live version of the Stations of the Cross to our lower school students. (You can watch them here!)They also learned about the Last Supper, sharing a Last Supper Meal together in the Parish Center
The 8th Grade Living Stations: A beautiful reflection of the final steps of Christ. If you missed it, you can view it here!
You can see many of these activities pictured below in our weekly highlights!
This Easter, as we dye our eggs, fill baskets with chocolate, or scramble through the yard on an egg hunt, let’s follow our students' lead in remembering that God is love, plain and simple. And that love is worth celebrating!
Holy Week Schedule
As we enter into Holy Week, here is the schedule of the upcoming services to attend as a community:
Holy Thursday - Mass of the Lord's Supper 7:00 PM
Good Friday - Veneration of the Cross 3:00 PM
Holy Saturday - Easter Vigil 7:00 PM
Easter Sunday - Celebration of the Resurrection 8:00 AM, 9:30 AM and 11:00 AM
Wishing you all a deeply meaningful Holy Week and a very Happy Easter! May your hearts (and your eggs) be full of color and light!
G.B.Y.*,
Mrs. Mulvanerty
*God Bless You!
PS - because of Easter, this will be my last update until April 12.
