With today’s celebration of Palm Sunday, we are
entering into Holy Week - a chance for each of us to jump into experiencing in a powerful way how deeply God's love for each person is expressed in the Paschal Mystery of Jesus’ suffering, death and resurrec-
tion. The principle celebrations this week are like our spiritual “final four” - it can be as exciting for our relationship with God and the Church as the NCAA “Final Four” is for college basketball!
Please read the Holy Week schedule carefully to be sure you have the right time and location of each event.
Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion captures two important aspects of our faith: the joy of welcoming our Savior, and the pain and sorrow of his dying for us, proclaimed in the Passion according to St. Luke. The palms are blessed and we join in the procession of Jesus' disciples into Jerusalem.
Like all blessed items, we treat the palms with respect.
The traditional
Tenebrae prayer service is this Wednesday, 7:30pm at St. Martha church, a simple yet beautiful expression of our entering into the passion of Christ with longing for his resurrection. This year we will use dimmer lighting in the church so the symbol of
candlelight will stand out much more powerfully!
Our Collaborative Parishes will be together again for the liturgy of the
Sacred Triduum, which connects the Mass of the Lord's Supper, the Passion on Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil/Easter Sunday Masses. Allow me to personally invite you to attend these very moving services that draw us into the heart of our faith.
Holy Thursday celebrates Christ instituting the Eucharist and the ministry of the Priesthood. On
Good Friday we focus on the Passion according to St. John, prayers for all people, and the veneration of the Cross. Especially because John's gospel can be misinterpreted, we must always remember that our faith does
not blame the Jews or the Romans for Christ's death - Jesus died willingly because of our sins. We begin to celebrate the joyful result of that death (the reason why Friday is "Good") at
Saturday's Easter Vigil in the Holy Night. The vigil starts with the Service of Light (in fire and candlelight) and an extended Liturgy of the Word that reflects upon all of salvation history. While we don't have an adult seeking baptism this year, in the Baptismal Liturgy we will renew our vows and receive our Candidates, Kathryn & Brynna, into full communion with the Catholic Church through Confirmation and the Liturgy of the Eucharist, in which we celebrate the Risen Lord present in our midst!
Easter Sunday Masses also include the renewal of baptismal vows, especially for those not attending the
long Easter Vigil, and this joyful feast continues for the whole week, called the Easter Octave, ending with Divine Mercy Sunday.
So may everything we do this week - both in church and in the world - be filled with the overwhelming grace of God's sacrificial love for each one of us in Christ!