Holy Week

The week didn’t meet their expectations,

Maybe they had planned to color eggs even though the baby was still too young to notice

Perhaps they had already purchased the traditional ham at King Kullen’s for an Easter dinner.

Or possibly they had accepted an invitation to share a traditional Easter brunch with family.

I wonder what Mass they planned to attend on Easter Sunday, March 31,2024,

I wonder if they planned to bring the baby with them.

Perhaps they had already scheduled a baby sitter for the time they would spend sharing the Easter liturgy in St. Rose of Lima’s church.

Of course, all their plans depended on his work schedule as a NYPD officer.

Yet the week didn’t meet the young couple’s expectations.

Instead, a young wife and Mother walked behind her husband’s body on Holy Saturday the day before Easter Sunday, 2024.

She was joined by thousands of mourners who felt her pain and knew her sorrow.

I wonder if coloring eggs or buying an Easter Ham will ever stop bringing memories of how life changed so abruptly for a young family.

I wonder how many of us can ever forget what happened to their family the week before Easter Sunday, 2024.

I hope we don’t.

Jonathan Diller’s sacrifice deserves to be engraved in memory long after Easter Sunday, 2024,