A Truly Blessed Easter

I can count on my hand the number of times I have cried out of happiness. There is something very genuine about bubbling into tears when you are smiling. Crying when you are upset or angry happens easily enough, but to be so incredibly happy you can’t contain it—I think it is an emotion we need to appreciate.

It is Easter Sunday and I have been at the Catholic Church in Hirakata since 10:00 a.m. It is now 3:00 and I am attending a very empty afternoon mass. It is being held in English, and is populated by me and a group of my friends from school, as well as a few Latin families from the community. The last time I attended church in English was in January, and although it feels like my English is slowly deteriorating in Japan, I am stuttering along successfully.

We are singing “Sing on the Mountain” and I am singing alongside my friend Meg. She is a good singer, and together we are filling the entire church with enormously joyous music. Normally, when I go to the Japanese mass, the voices are quiet and high pitched, and I am too concerned with deciphering Japanese text to feel confident to sing out. So now I am making the most of what I can. I am so happy I am on the verge of tears.

I arrived that morning for an appointment with my adopted father, Mr. Naganawa. He has been coaching me on reading aloud Japanese text, and I will be reading my second scripture reading to the church this coming April 26. Afterward, I intended to go out for lunch and return for the afternoon mass, but I was caught by my adopted mother, Chieko. She invited me to the Japanese mass at 11:00, and not wanting to disappoint her, I agreed.

[singlepic=342,320,240,,left]Normally, I would be opposed to going to Easter mass twice, but as we sat down and I pulled out my rosary to pray, I felt a rush of excitement. I was wearing the best clothes I own and I was sitting next to one of the nicest women I have ever met in my life. Surrounding me were religious folk who, despite growing up in a predominantly non-Christian society, are joining me to celebrate my same beliefs. I understand very little of what they say to me, but as my eyes find the cross on the altar and my hands follow the beads of my rosary in silent prayer, I was completely at peace.

[singlepic=343,320,240,,right]Peace is a funny feeling. It is not that you do not worry about the present, future or past. I am not perfect. I am young and naïve and selfish at times, but at peace suddenly all those worries mean so much less. I realized I was not alone. I may never be able to have a real conversation with the man and his wife behind me, or the woman and her children in front of me, but we were a part of the same—a lesson at church I for so long never fully grasped.

When church ended I was ushered into the dining hall of the church alongside Chieko. There was a party being thrown for everyone, with plates of sushi, sandwiches, cake and fruit filling a few dozen tables. I was joined by a few of my classmates from school and we waited as the priests said a few words. In the midst of their Easter speech we suddenly heard English as the priest addressed us personally. He thanked us. On the behalf of the church they wanted to say how much they appreciated our presence. They clapped for us and then we started to eat.[singlepic=341,320,240,,left]

The little old ladies at our table pushed plate after plate into our hands until we could not eat anymore. They handed out tissue-paper wrapped eggs as Easter presents. Singing started—Japanese psalms and then Spanish. The priest waved Meg over and had her sing several in English. It was a good time and it ended with each of us feeling especially welcomed and loved.

As the party ended, the group of us stayed alongside our priest from Mexico. We will not be seeing him again, as he is heading to Spain and then Mexico for three months. He, by far, has gone out of his way to welcome us into the parish and we were all very sad to see him go. We took photos together inside the church and we promised to see each other another time. No goodbyes.

My friends George, Zac, Brian and their friend Emma joined us for the afternoon mass. They were all dressed in their good clothes and I was so very happy to have them. Only Zac and Brian are Catholic, and so I was especially glad to have George and Emma there. I am used to spending Easter with my entire family, and surrounded for a second mass by people that care about each other was a true blessing. I have heard that friends are the family you get to choose—and it is the God spoken truth.

Mass ended and we were again treated to another party inside the church dining hall. We were served a mix of dishes and were again thanked for coming. Honestly, I am not sure how I can thank them enough.

I left the church after being there for over seven hours that day, and I rushed to the grocery store. I told my friends I would be making them Easter dinner, and so I went and bought close to $40 worth of food to feed them that evening. I planned to make all of my best dishes: apricot chicken, asparagus and pistachios, deviled eggs and a mean fruit salad. I also bought grape juice to substitute for wine (since we can’t have alcohol in the seminar houses).

[singlepic=346,320,240,,right]With two enormously large groceries bags I returned home by bus. I was stopped on the way inside by Otousan, who told me I had a package. Wow! It was amazing! My parents and my grandparents sent me a package for Easter, but it wasn’t supposed to arrive until later in the week! Here it was, Easter day exactly! It could not have been more perfect.

Inside the package they sent me peanut butter, cornbread mix, Reese’s cup peanut butter eggs, oatmeal, pop-tarts, Orbit gum, beef jerky, cereal bars, and much more. It’s wonderful! It’s like they sent me an American cupboard through the mail.

[singlepic=348,320,240,,right]George came upstairs to the kitchen and helped me fix dinner. He did a lot, and I wouldn’t have been able to do it all without him. I hope he knows how much of a blessing he was—I told him as much, but I just hope he believes me. We brought the food down to the lounge where everyone was studying and hanging out. I invited over my other friends from the other seminar house and Meg brought cake and cookies.

With chopsticks we served and ate our Easter dinner together. Everyone really seemed to enjoy the food and I was extremely glad for the company. We ate everything, and it seemed to be just enough to make everyone satisfied. For a few hours we sat and talked.

I was so worried Easter was going to be lonely and miserable this year. Easter without family is a sad one, and while I still missed my family and the Easter ham, I feel like I was truly blessed this time. It never fails when I need God the most, because he always comes through. As I went to sleep that night, all the dishes cleaned and my Easter clothes tossed into the hamper, I prayed my rosary and could feel the tears running into my pillow. My Easter in Japan was a good one…and I am truly thankful. Amen.