Small steps and tangible signs

For a long time I've had the desire, if only at the back of my mind, to live out the Liturgy more fully at home. I think its important to make our faith a part of our daily lives, not just something we do on Sundays. I am very conscious of how we are bringing up our children in the faith and I want to make sure we are showing them by our example, that we participate in the faith of the church and why it is important to do so.
It's a process, and a slow one for our family. But we're working on it.

Last night was Holy Thursday and in the past I've made half hearted attempts to observe the Holy day. But this year I feel like I took a step, albeit a small one, in the right direction, with something incredibly simple. Unleavened bread.

It wasn't the first time I'd made unleavened bread. My mom often made it for Holy Thursday when we were growing up and I've recreated her recipe a handful of times. But this was the first time we, as a family, were consciously participating in Holy Thursday. I made small circles of bread for each of us, adorned with a cross. And the bread itself turned out delicious - a bonus in my book, since everyone scarfed it down and asked me to make more next year.

It brought home for me why we use tangible things in our sacraments. Granted, our little feast of stew and bread wasn't a sacrament. But I had a moment of understanding as to why we use things we can see, taste, touch and smell. In that small act, of sharing unleavened bread with my family, we observed Holy Thursday more deeply than we ever have before. A new tradition was born, a starting place to begin living the Liturgy at home more fully. It was something tangible that we did a little differently, that had meaning and it gave us the opportunity to share more of our faith story with our children. Such a simple thing, but it had so much meaning for us at the dinner table last night.