My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
We begin Holy Week with the celebration of Palm Sunday. This celebrates Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. There are two Gospel readings proclaimed in this weekend’s Liturgy. The first is the narration of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem where he is greeted by the crowd with palm branches as he enters into the city. In the second Gospel reading, we are invited to participate in the Passion narrative where Jesus is betrayed, handed over to the authorities, mocked, scourged, crucified and died on the Cross. The ashes that were placed on our foreheads on Ash Wednesday are made from the palms from Palm Sunday. It is a reminder of how Jesus died for our sins as sacrifice so that we do not have to pay that price for our redemption. It is a gift of how Jesus would fight evil with love for each one of us. We are invited to leave Church this weekend in silence as we enter into Holy Week and allow the gift of Christ to transform our lives. If you did not make it to Parish Penance Services last week. There is an opportunity this week for you to make a good confession. Please see our bulletin for the times that are available.
On Monday, the Priests of Our Archdiocese will gather with the Archbishop to celebrate the Chrism Mass. At this Mass, our Archbishop will bless the sacred oils that will be used to celebrate the sacraments. These Holy Oils will then be distributed to our Parishes. At the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, these Holy Oils will be presented to our community.
This Thursday we begin our Easter Tridium beginning with the Mass of the Lord’s Supper where we celebrate Jesus instituting the Eucharist and the Priesthood. Please note there are no Masses offered on Thursday morning. The Mass of the Lord’s Supper will be offered at both our Family of Parishes at 7pm. After the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, we invite you to make some time to spend with the Lord in Adoration until midnight at our Family of Parishes. This is in tradition of Jesus’ time in the Garden of Gethsemane where he prayed until the time he was betrayed and handed over to the authorities. The Blessed Sacrament will then be removed from the Church at midnight.
Our Good Friday Services will be at 3pm at Mary Our Queen and 7pm at St John Vianney. Good Friday services commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus on the Cross. The liturgy will consist of the Liturgy of the Word, the Veneration of the Cross and Holy Communion.
Our Easter Vigil Service will be at 8pm on Saturday at Mary Our Queen where we will welcome 17 new members into our Church from our OCIA program. (Please note: there are no Masses celebrated on our regular Saturday schedule)
Our Easter Masses on Sunday will follow our regular Sunday Schedule with overflow at both our Parish Social Halls.
We invite you to participate in our liturgies in this most sacred time of the year for our Church.
Blessings this Holy Week, Fr. Marc
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