Holy Week, the final week of Lent, begins on Palm Sunday. It is a time when we gather to participate in the Passion of Jesus Christ. It spans from when He arrived in Bethany Friday night before what we now call “Palm Sunday,” where He probably stayed with Martha, Mary, and Lazarus and walked to Jerusalem, to when He was crucified on Thursday/Friday.
Holy Thursday commemorates the Last Supper when Jesus gave us sacramentally His Body and Blood in the Eucharist. Our Holy Thursday Mass will be at 7:00 pm. Afterward, we will be with the Lord in the Garden of Gethsemane until 9 pm. We will use the Ville for this adoration.
Good Friday covers Jesus’ arrest, trial, and crucifixion. The Stations of the Cross will be prayed at 3 pm, and the Proclamation of the Passion/Adoration of the Cross/and Holy Communion will be celebrated at 7 pm. I encourage you to visit the church sometime during Good Friday, especially between 9 am-3 pm. This would be when Jesus was before Pilate and Herod, condemned to death and suffering on the cross.
Holy Saturday remembers the day that Jesus spent in the grave.
The Easter Vigil takes place at 8:30 pm because the new liturgical day begins at sunset; the vigil begins outside the church, where the Easter fire is ignited, and the Paschal candle is lit. We gather to hear our salvation story and recognize Him in the Breaking of the Bread! He has Risen!
We invite you to use these liturgies to remember how faithful our Lord is to us.
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten son! “(John 3:6)
Father Ken VanHaverbeke