Observing Holy Thursday and Good Friday

Holy Thursday

We made this Last Supper craft from Catholic Icing on Holy Thursday, along with working on the clothespin doll figures. It is modeled after the da Vinci painting. All you need is a printer, colored pencils, scissors, and an egg carton!

Caroline did most of it, although Cecilia colored a few of the apostles (and Caroline was a bit put off that she had colored some of their hands blue, ha ha).

Good Friday

We changed the priest's vestments to red, the liturgical color for the day.

Cecilia is almost able to do this on her own now.

The red tablecloth went out, in preparation for our special Good Friday dinner.

Caroline added an image of the Last Supper on Thursday and of Jesus on the cross on Friday. There is an image of Jesus in the tomb for Saturday.

The girls used the figures to act out the Passion while I read about it from the Bible. Simon is helping Jesus carry the cross here.

Cecilia made Veronica wipe Jesus's face. Yes, I know that's not actually in the Bible. ;)

arranging the figures on Golgotha

laying Jesus in the tomb and placing the large stone in front of the opening

We also made hot cross buns again this year. Caroline measured flour while Cecilia stirred the raisins into the run to soak. Don't worry, she didn't taste any after they went in the rum. ;)

all finished and freshly iced with crosses

Then we went to our parish at 3:00 for the Seven Last Words of Jesus and Stations of the Cross. Caroline pointed out that it should be called the seven last phrases, not words. We had never been before - not with the girls; I had been ages ago at my childhood parish, I think. It was nice to be able to do this.

When we came home, the girls had hot cross buns for a snack and played outside.

Holy Thursday and Good Friday Meals

We have enjoyed doing some of the various Liturgical Teas that are described at Cottage Blessings. There are two for Lent: one for Holy Thursday, and the other for Good Friday! We did the Good Friday one last year, and this year we did them both, for our dinner on both days. It is a good way to retell the story of what happened while having dinner at the same time!

~Holy Thursday Dinner~

Caroline made labels for each of the dishes on our table this evening

Palm on the Road

This was made by buttering slices of sourdough bread and slicing heart of palm lengthwise and placing them on top if the butter.

Mk. 11:1-11 - Jesus enters Jerusalem on a donkey and the people lay palm branches and cloaks on the road to greet him.

Thirty Pieces of Silver

These were made by cutting slices of muenster cheese with a small biscuit cutter and serving them alongside round Nut Thin crackers... there were 15 of each.

Mk. 14:10-11; Mt. 26: 14-16 - Judas betrays Jesus in exchange for thirty pieces of silver

Costly Oil and Unleavened Bread

These are simply small dishes of olive oil with bits of chopped rosemary and whole wheat pita bread to tear up and share.

Mk. 14:3-9; Mk. 14: 12-22 - A woman in Bethany offers Jesus expensive oil, and preparing the Passover meal (Passover being the feast of unleavened bread).

The Mount of Olives

Just a pile of olives to form a "mountain"

Mk. 14: 26 - Jesus and his apostles go out to the Mount of Olives after eating.

Before the Cock Crows...

I made chicken salad for this one, to be the main dish: shredded cooked chicken breasts (I didn't really use rooster meat, ha ha!), mayo, some sour cream and/or plain yogurt (I don't like too much mayo, but it has to be moist enough!), dill, chopped pecans, salt and pepper, and sliced red grapes!

Mk. 14: 27-31 - Jesus tells Peter that he will deny him three times before the cock crows.

Here's the chicken salad on bread for sandwiches.

Gethsemane Figs

These are fig and honey cream cheese muffins... very yummy! Figs are used here because it is possible that fig trees grew in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Mk. 14: 32-42 - Jesus prays in the garden.

Judas's Kiss and Peter's Tears

Hershey Kisses obviously work well to represent a kiss, and peppermint Tic-Tacs resemble tears.

Mk. 14: 43-50; Mk. 14: 66-72 - Judas kisses Jesus as a signal showing who to arrest, and Peter cries bitterly upon realizing he has denied knowing Jesus three times, just as predicted.

~Good Friday Dinner~

Caroline made the crowns of thorns herself, with Cecilia helping some

The King's Crown

I made this by spreading most of a package of cream cheese on the bottom of a pie plate, then spreading most of a can of refried beans over that. Then I added a little bit of salsa on top of the beans and topped it all with shredded cheddar. Yum!!! The pointed tortilla chips around the edge make it look like a crown.

Mk. 15: 1-5 - Pilate asks Jesus if he is the King of the Jews.

Out of Envy

This is just basic guacamole: avocado, lime juice, garlic powder, and salt. The connection is the saying that people can be "green with envy."

Mk. 15: 6-15 - This says it was out of envy that the chief priests had brought him in for questioning.

The Crown of Thorns and The Purple Cloak

The crowns are round crackers spread with almond butter and edged with broken pretzels to resemble the thorns. The purple garment is squares of purple fruit leather - boysenberry, I think.

Mk. 15: 16-17 - The soldiers place the crown of thorns and purple cloak on Jesus to mock him.

Golgotha Eggs

These are hard-boiled eggs (from our chickens, so they are tan instead of white) with a skull drawn on each. The hard boiled egg inside is at least white like a skull! Golgotha means "the place of the skull."

Mk. 15:21-23 - Jesus is brought to Golgotha.

The Seamless Garment

I used kitchen scissors to cut tortillas into the shape of a garment like the one Jesus wore, for which the soldiers then cast lots. The "dice" on each garment are just cubes of mozzarella cheese.

Mk. 15:24-27 - The soldiers strip Jesus of his garments and gamble to see who wins the seamless tunic.

Vinegar to Drink

We didn't really drink it, but we used the red wine vinegar on the mozzarella and tomatoes and basil. I had the white vinegar out so it could be smelled (and tasted if anyone was brave enough!) to get an idea of how that would not have been a pleasant thing to offer as a drink!

Mk. 15: 33-37 - A soldier offers Jesus a sponge soaked in vinegar on a reed.

The Roman Centurion and The Two Robbers

There are 100 grape tomato halves in the bowl to represent the centurion, since he would have been in charge of 1oo men. Everyone took two of the basil leaves to represent the two thieves who were crucified on either side of Jesus. Interestingly, legend says that basil grew on the hill where the crucifixion took place, and basil is also symbolic of both hatred and best wishes, which reminds us of how each of the thieves acted.

Mk. 15:38-39; Mk. 15: 27-32 - The centurion says Jesus was truly the son of God after he dies, and the robbers are crucified with Jesus.

Laid in the Tomb

Do these look familiar? They were used again for tonight's dinner after being used for the figs the night before. Tonight, they had their tops sliced off, revealing the cream cheese filling inside. last year, I used another basic muffin recipe and hollowed out a portion inside to represent the tomb. Caroline said that the white stood for Jesus, wrapped in a white burial cloth. then the lid of the muffin is like the stone being rolled in front.

Mk. 15:40-47 - Jesus is laid in the tomb hewn out of rock.

The whole table, set and ready

Caroline shows her work on the crowns of thorns

Homemade Figures for the Passion of Jesus

We spent a few days during Holy Week making some of our own figures to use to re-enact the Passion. I had seen several different sets used in the Montessori-style Catechisis of the Good Shepherd program, and honestly, the cost on them is just insane - because they are beautifully hand-carved and probably very durable, which is a plus when using them in a group classroom setting. But, we need something affordable, and I think it was fun to be able to customize them to our own liking. Also, it will be fun to continue to add a few new figures every Lent over the years!

We began by making the most crucial people in the story: Jesus, Mary, Pontius Pilate, Mary Magdalene, Simon of Cyrene, and Veronica. The initial plan was to make one "weeping woman" and then add more over the years, but we ended up making two of them. In retrospect, we should have also made John, since he was the only apostle to remain near throughout the whole ordeal. How could I have forgotten to make my favorite Gospel writer? Oh, well - he's first on the list for the next time we make additional figures! The possibilities are plentiful for who else to add to the story: all the apostles and a table for the Last Supper, Barabbas, Joseph of Arimathea, several soldiers, the Jewish high priests, Pilate's wife, Simon's sons, the servant whose ear gets cut off by Peter (Cecilia is fascinated by this, ha ha!)...

Here is a basic how-to on making these figures.

The supplies you need:

craft clothespins

pipe cleaners

small wooden beads (for hands)

felt in assorted colors

yarn in hair colors

embroidery floss in assorted colors

glue gun and glue

fine-tip marker (for drawing faces)

scissors

thin wire

scrapbooking brads (metal)

craft sticks

papier mache

large rock

whatever else you can think of!

Here is how to form the body. It is very basic: just cut a pipe cleaner to the desired length for two arms and glue it to the back of the clothespin so that they arms stick out evenly on each side. Then glue small wooden beads on each end to serve as hands.

You can cut whatever color felt you wish in a long rectangular shape - you can measure first to make sure it is the desired length. I just hold the clothespin up to it and figure it out before cutting it freehand, but I am a freehand kind of crafter. Then cut a small hole for the head. If you want a more snug fit around the neck, then cutting an X works well, and you can snip off any extra bits of fabric around the neck after putting it over the doll's head.

Here is how it looks at this point. You can make it into a boy or girl outfit now.

For the girls, I usually taper it at the ends when cutting so that it is sort of dress-shaped... they just end up looking a bit more feminine this way. Again, I just cut freehand, holding the fabric together front and back, and making sure that the clothespin will have plenty of "breathing room" inside the garment. Then I glue up the sides with the glue gun. You could stitch them up if you wanted then to look really snazzy!

I use embroidery floss to tie the garments, especially those that I know will not be removed. This doll's clothes will not come off because the sides of the dress have been glued together. When I made Jesus's tunic, I wanted it to be removable, so I did not glue up the sides at all and tied it with yarn, which is easier for little hands to tie and untie. A this point, hair can be added to the head using the yarn and glue gun.

Here's how the mantle/veil is formed: I cut a small piece of felt into a rectangle and then put glue over the hair just above her forehead and then over the back of her head, and then I pressed the felt in place. You can add more glue underneath if the veil is looking like it will try to fly away... try to shape it to the head somewhat and it will look more natural.

Then you can draw a face. This is a weeping woman, obviously. Some people don't want to put faces on them, and it makes sense so that Mary Magdalen can be crying at the crucifixion and then be overjoyed when she finds out Jesus has risen, but honestly, they kinda creep me out when they have no faces. It disturbed Caroline when I made out model of a priest to dress in different colored vestments throughout the Liturgical year, and she insisted on a face. he really does look more normal with two eyes and a smile! So, some of my Passion Play figures here might have inappropriate facial expressions for some scenes... oh well. At least they don't look spooky to me.

Here is the variation for a boy's clothing. Sometimes I also just leave it straight on the sides and maybe cut the felt a bit skinnier, if I am going to not glue it and have it be removable. This is a permanent garment, so the sides were glued up.

This one ended up being Simon. His hair is embroidery floss (seems to work better for short hair), and his belt was made by braiding some brown yarn.

Here is the basic figure for Jesus. You can see that I failed to line his legs up with his arms correctly, and so his feet are turned off to the side... oh, well. I also had some thin linen-type cloth and used it for his undergarments, and for any other undergarments, the burial cloths, swaddling cloths for babies, whatever.

I wanted the Jesus figure to be able to have his clothing removed and changed... he needed the above look for the crucifixion, a tunic that he could be stripped of for while he was carrying the cross, a purple cloak for when the soldiers mocked him, and a dazzling white "resurrection robe."

Here is his white robe for Easter Sunday, the resurrection. I have since added some gold rick-rack to the bottom of the robe. It is open on the sides for easy removal.

Here are some other figures up close:

another weeping woman holding her baby

Mary and Mary Magdalen at the foot of the cross - I found the little green styrofoam "hill" in the floral section of a craft store.

Here is how the cross works: it is two jumbo craft sticks glued together, and then two small scrapbooking brads are placed where the nails for the hands would be. I made holes in the craft stick carefully with a serrated knife before inserting the brads. Then I wound some thin wire around the brads. These wires are tucked behind the cross when Jesus carries it, and then they can be pulled around to the front and wrapped around his pipe-cleaner wrists, twist-tie style, to secure him to the cross.

Here is Jesus in his seamless tunic and crown of thorns, standing before Pontius Pilate (who Caroline wanted to wear green). His little headband thing is supposed to look like those leaves that Romans are often depicted wearing on the sides of their heads... do those have an official name?? I trimmed his robes in gold to make him look more official. A seashell is used for the bowl in which he washed his hands to show he was not wanted to be seen as responsible.... you can really get creative with what you use for each item! Acorn caps glued to heads could be helmets for soldiers, for instance.

Simon helping Jesus carry the cross

Jesus meeting Veronica, who holds the cloth with the image of his face on it

both weeping women

Here is Jesus when they are mocking him, with a purple robe that just ties around his neck. The reed in his hand is made of a pipe cleaner with leaves cut out of felt glued on. His crown of thorns is made from thin wire would around several times, and I glued a few scrapbooking brads in it to resemble thorns.

Here is what we are storing them in for now... a wooden rounded bowl. When turned over, it makes a good hill for Golgotha! Extra felt can be used for grass, dirt, the road...

And here is the tomb. I used a basic papier mache recipe of flour, water, and salt. Then I covered a small bowl with plastic wrap. We laid strips of paper dipped in the papier mache across the bowl until we had several layers and then let it dry. It took a few days.

It was not quite dry in this photo, but once it was, I cut an opening in it with scissors. A large stone can be placed in front of the opening for when Jesus is laid in the tomb.

What I love about this project is that you can really be creative and use a variety of materials to create the desired outcomes! Caroline had fun choosing colors of the clothing... it is not exactly a kid-friendly project (other than the papier mache), but maybe a ten year old could do some of it without help.