Dear Parishioners, this week we enter Holy Week which will culminate with the celebration of the Sacred Triduum, which is Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Vigil/Easter Sunday. These are the high Holy Days/ Solemnities of our Catholic faith. The Triduum - the Paschal Mystery or the Passover - is the reason why Christ came as the Son of God into this world. To pass over from this world of corruption and death to the new heavens and new earth. Jesus’ Passover is our Passover.  

  The Sacred Triduum begins on Holy Thursday with the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper. Jesus washes his disciples’ feet as an act of love and at the traditional Passover meal he institutes the Eucharist, the source and summit of our worship and faith. Holy Thursday night he took his closest disciples into the Garden of Gethsemane to pray before he was arrested. We will act out and make present all these events in the Holy Thursday liturgy, which begins at 5:30 pm. Then come to the garden (set up in the parish hall) to spend some time with Lord the night before his Passion. Thank him and love him for what is doing for us.  

    Good Friday is The Celebration of the Passion of the Lord. Two-thousand years later, the single most recognizable icon of Christianity is the instrument of Christ’s death. The cross is the revelation of the Father’s love and the end of death and sin’s reign. In Jesus, with his arms outstretched on the cross, we find the redemption of our own suffering. He understands our weakness. He is the source of eternal salvation. Good Friday services begin at 3 pm, the traditional hour of Our Lords’ death on the cross. We read St. John’s account of the Passion. 

   The Sacred Triduum culminates with the Easter Vigil. We start outside with the Easter fire and the lighting of the Paschal Candle. We will read through the Old Testament of God’s creation of the world and the saving plan of salvation with his people Israel, which culminates in the proclamation of the Easter alleluia, Our Lord’s Resurrection. This will be a special Easter Vigil because, for the first time since I have come to this parish, we will have two baptisms and three adult Confirmations at this Easter Vigil.   

   Also, join us this Wednesday for Faith Night during Holy Week. We will be giving a special video presentation from Formed on the Triduum, those events of this week. The video will take us to those places in Jerusalem where these saving events of Our Lord took place.

    A blessed and grace filled Holy Week and Triduum to all!