About 13 residents attended a Palm Sunday service in the main dining room at The Bridge at Highland. The service was conducted by Father Robert Drury, of St. Mary of the Woods Catholic Church in Franklin, Kentucky.
Father Drury was interesting, inspiring, and energetic! As he told the story of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, he did so in a manner that made it feel as if we were all there experiencing it for ourselves. He brought enough Palms for each resident attending to have one. Confirmed by a raise of hands, every attendee received a Palm. He explained how the Palms he was handing out, probably from Louisiana or Florida, were different than the ones they would have been waving in Jesus’ day, but that they would work for us. He said in some regions, Christians celebrate Palm Sunday even with evergreen boughs.
Following the Palm service, Father Drury opened the floor for any questions the residents might have. Questions generally reflected the residents’ desire to get to know Father Drury better and to learn more about the Catholic faith’s similarities and dissimilarities to their own respective faiths. One question concerned how to keep Palms from turning brown or drying out. Father Drury suggested rubbing a light coat of wax, oil, or furniture polish on them to protect the leaves.
We all thanked Father Drury for coming and invited him to consider becoming a regular visitor for us at the Bridge at Highland. Before leaving, he prayed a blessing over our group from Bible book of Numbers 6:24-26.
“The LORD bless you and keep you;
The LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;
The LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.”