Holy Week More Meaningful than Ever

Fr. Lambert, Fr. Bernie and I all greatly miss being able to gather with you each week, and especially for Holy Week. Sadly, this year we have to rely on technology to help us share our experience of Holy Week.  We tried valiantly to find a creative way to still gather
for Easter. Staff and volunteers started plans to have a “drive-in” Mass for Easter, but the plans had to be scrapped as the crisis worsened. Instead, we encourage all of you to participate in Holy Week services either with our parishes through live streaming on your computer (or phone), or with our archbishop Cardinal Seán through CatholicTV. Our Collaborative schedule of services is on www.pwc.church and in the bulletin.

Our Christian faith, centered on the Pascal Mystery of Jesus’ life, death, and Resurrection is especially important and relevant to us at this time. The heart of our faith is all about God taking our human sufferings upon himself through his Son, and transforming darkness to light, death to new life, and his suffering into our redemption! No doubt the homilies will be challenging for us to preach, but they will highlight how all aspects of these services are extremely meaningful to us this year - especially the Sacred Triduum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil). Holy Week and Easter are integral parts of who we are as Catholic Christians, and you remain an integral part of our Holy Week services!

In some churches that are completely closed, the priests have asked parishioners to email pictures of themselves so the priests could put them on the pews for when they celebrate Mass... It creates a beautiful image of the People of God who are spiritually present at every Mass, even when they cannot be physically present. (The only reason we have not done this in our parishes is because we are striving to keep the churches disinfected so people can still come for personal prayer time.) While you cannot be here physically, I take heart in knowing you are here spiritually.  May our efforts to bring all these services to you, on the internet from our churches and on television from the Church throughout the world, help the Lord andis body, the Church, be spiritually present to you as
we celebrate this Holy Week... together in spirit.