Celebrate Divine Mercy
Come join us on Divine Mercy Sunday, April 16th at 2:30pm as we celebrate a Holy Hour in honor of the greatest attribute of God, His Divine Mercy.
Jesus told St. Faustina, “The greater the sinner, the greater the right he has to My mercy.”
During this time of prayer in the front of the Blessed Sacrament, we will pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy for sinners and in reparation for sin throughout the world. We will also pray the Rosary, sing Adoration hymns led by our Holy Rosary Youth Schola, spend time in silent prayer, and end with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. This Holy Hour will take the place of Adoration and Vespers on Divine Mercy Sunday.
Holy Week
What is Holy Week?
Holy Week is an important time for Christians throughout the world. Holy Week, the final week of Lent, begins on Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Easter. Holy Week is a time when Catholics gather to remember and participate in the Passion of Jesus Christ. The Passion was the final period of Christ’s life in Jerusalem. It spans from when He arrived in Jerusalem to when He was crucified.
How Do Catholics Celebrate Holy Week?
The liturgies of the Triduum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Vigil) are connected intimately to one another. As one liturgy of Triduum, we remember Jesus’ saving action- his passion, death, and resurrection. If you have never attended any part of this three-day liturgy, we hope that you will consider joining us. In fact, we need you here to make it a full expression of the prayer of this community. Here is a description of what you will take part in when you share in the Triduum liturgies.
PALM SUNDAY OF THE LORD’S PASSION is the final Sunday of Lent. Its closeness to the end of Lent and the beginning of the Triduum gives this liturgy two very distinct and quite opposite features. We are reminded of Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem through the first Gospel and the procession with palms. But, once the blessing of palms concludes and we enter the church, the liturgy quickly reminds us of death, suffering, and Christ’s Passion. Notice some of the words and phrases in the opening prayer: humility, cross, giving his life…quite the contrast from the “Hosanna!” that we proclaim as the palms are blessed. The second reading, a hymn from Philippians explicitly shows us this contrast; Christ humbled himself. Because of this God greatly exalted him. Passion Sunday centers us upon Christ’s death in a very powerful way and in a different way from Good Friday. On Passion Sunday we celebrate the Passion of Christ’s death; whereas, on Good Friday we celebrate the glory of the cross and the power that comes from death. Also notice the Passion readings for Passion Sunday and Good Friday. On Passion Sunday, we always proclaim the Passion according to a synoptic gospel—St. Matthew, St. Mark, or St. Luke, but we never hear from St. John on Passion Sunday. The Passion of St. John is a somewhat different telling of the Passion. St. John’s Passion centers more on the glory and kingship of Christ’s Passion. For this reason, St. John’s Passion is reserved exclusively for Good Friday. We mark Passion Sunday with contrast. We begin today with a festive opening, but the festivity greatly diminishes throughout the liturgy. We will depart today in silence, marking the beginning of this most solemn time of the church year.
On HOLY THURSDAY we will gather at 7:00 p.m. to celebrate the Mass of the Lord’s Supper. We recall Christ taking, breaking, and blessing the bread and giving us the command, “Do this in memory of me.” On this evening we proclaim the Gospel of St. John, where Jesus as humble servant, washes the feet of the disciples. He gives us his Mandatum (mandate) – “Love one another, as I have loved you.” At the end of the liturgy, there is no blessing or fanfare. Instead, the entire congregation processes with song outside the church and into the Family Room. In this action, we process following the presence of Christ in the Eucharist symbolizing our journey with him to Gethsemane. The altar of repose remains open until midnight for people to pray and keep watch with our Lord.
On GOOD FRIDAY we continue with the Liturgy of the Passion at 3:00 p.m. The time in which Christ died. This liturgy is not a Mass. The church is dark, and we begin in silence. The priests and deacons lay face down on the floor as the congregation kneels remembering Christ’s Passion on the cross. The Passion on Good Friday is proclaimed from the Gospel of St. John who portrays Jesus as humble king. St. John helps us to remember that through the glorious cross, we are given life. The general intercessions on Good Friday take a different form, a more profound and ancient form of intercessory prayer. We pray for specific intentions, both for the church and for the world. We also adore the cross on Friday. The cross is unveiled in the back of the church and processed up the aisle as we sing an acclamation remembering that it is through the cross that we are set free. We take time to individually reverence and adore the holy cross on which hung the savior of the world.
Why is Good Friday at 3pm?
“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lama sabach-thani?” that is, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” 47 And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “This man is calling Elijah.” 48 And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave it to him to drink. 49 But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” 50 And Jesus cried again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.” (Matthew 27:46-50)
The Good Friday Services celebrated in Catholic Churches typically take place at 3 o’clock in the afternoon on Good Friday. This is the traditional time that Jesus died on the cross. The Good Friday Service is comprised of three parts;
- Liturgy of the Word
- Veneration of the Crucifix
- Holy Communion
There are not any sacraments celebrated on Good Friday nor Holy Saturday. This is a day of mourning. We should try to take time off from work and school to participate in the devotions and liturgy of the day as much as possible. In addition, we should refrain from extraneous conversation. Some families leave the curtains drawn, and maintain silence during the 3 hours (noon — 3p.m.), and keep from loud conversation or activities throughout the remainder of the day. We should also restrict ourselves from any TV, music or computer—these are all types of technology that can distract us from the spirit of the day.
If some members of the family cannot attend all the services, a little home altar can be set up, by draping a black or purple cloth over a small table or dresser and placing a crucifix and candles on it. The family then can gather during the three hours, praying different devotions like the rosary, Stations of the Cross, the Divine Mercy devotions, and meditative reading and prayers on the passion of Christ.
The EASTER VIGIL is the culmination of everything we celebrated on Holy Thursday and Good Friday. We gather at 8:00 p.m. outside the church, where a fire is burning. We light our new paschal candle from this fire and process it into the church. The light spreads to the entire church as we light our candles, symbolizing the light of Christ carried throughout the world. In the candlelight we proclaim the glory of God’s saving works in the Exsultet. A series of scripture readings follow, where we recall God’s action throughout history. With fanfare and glorious organ music we proclaim the resurrection of our Lord. Following the homily, adults are baptized and received into the Catholic Church. The liturgy culminates with a celebration of thanksgiving and our participation in the Eucharistic feast.
Throughout the Triduum, we celebrate our liturgies with beautiful ceremony, sacred music and a reverent worshiping community. We hope that you will be able to join with us on one or all of our Holy Week liturgies.
Easter Flowers
Donations for Easter Flowers can be made in memory of a loved one. Please use the envelopes available at the back of church or Click Here and on the drop down menu select Holiday Flowers.
All flower Memorials will be announced on a poster displayed in the vestibule on Easter Sunday.
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