This morning I went out in the fog to cut as many nice calla lilies as I could find in my three patches, to contribute to what our Flower Lady and her team would use to decorate the church for Palm Sunday and Holy Week.

Today was Lazarus Saturday, which is like a foretaste of Christ’s own resurrection. It marks the end of Lent, and helps us remember Christ’s power over death and hell which He demonstrated at The Event of all history, which will come to us at Pascha whether we are ready or not.

I dropped off the bucket of blooms right before Divine Liturgy (Holy Communion service) in the morning. In the afternoon, people cleaned and decorated the church.

In the evening was the Vigil for Palm Sunday, a gloriously rich beginning of the feast. The callas had been added to other flowers, including something that looked like campanula, and some unusual orange woody stems with berries (?) on them.

The palm fronds were all laid out at the ready.

In the middle of the service, while the sun was still up, we processed outside and stood singing and praying for a while; I was next to the wisteria and noticed the bees buzzing and the sweetness of the flowers adding to the flavor of the Holy Spirit.

Not long after that — I am leaving out so much that was wonderful, like the flower-covered chandelier set to swinging, and special breads, but You Had to Be There — the palm fronds were given out, and once they had a branch to hold, the children found it easier to last another while.