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 Dear
Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Welcome
to our celebration of Palm Sunday 2009! This is such a beautiful and moving day
as we begin our Holy Week and as we read together the Passion Story, the story
of God’s great love for His people.
Let us
all work together to truly make this the Holiest week of the Year in each of our
lives. We have daily Mass at 5:30 PM on Monday, at 8:00 AM with the school
community on Tuesday, and again at 5:30 PM on Wednesday evening. In addition,
the annual Diocesan Chrism Mass is set for Tuesday evening, April 7th,
at 7:00 PM at our Cathedral in Lafayette, IN. The Chrism Mass is one of the
most beautiful prayer experiences that you can have all year long. There’s a
reason why once you go to the Chrism Mass, you are already looking forward to
going back again next year. Attendance grows each year. If you would like to
go, a group will be leaving from in front of the main entrance to our school at
5:00 PM on Tuesday. We will carpool up and sit together at the Mass.
The Holy
Tridium begins on Holy Thursday. We will celebrate the Mass of the Lord’s
Supper at 8:00 PM Thursday night, with Adoration, reflections, and music to
follow until Midnight, when the Eucharist will be removed from the Church.
Then, on Good Friday, everything begins at Noon, with the Seven Last Words of
Christ, as we keep the tradition of praying throughout the
Tre Ore,
or the “Three Hours” that we believe that Jesus hung on the Cross for us. The
Seven Lasts Words of Christ are readings, songs, and meditations, that have been
specially prepared for this year, by some of St. Maria Goretti’s most awesome
examples of Faith and spirituality. At 1:30 PM, we will pray the Stations of
the Cross. And then at 2:00 PM, rounding out the
Tre Ore,
we will have the Solemn Commemoration of the Passion of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
This is not a Mass, as Masses are not allowed after the Mass of the Lord’s
Supper until the Easter Vigil, but rather a very somber service of readings,
prayers, the Veneration of the Cross, and Holy Communion. In the evening, for
those who can’t join us in the afternoon, the Stations of the Cross will be
repeated at 7:00 PM and the Solemn Commemoration will be repeated at 7:30 PM.
On Holy Saturday, the Parish Easter Egg Hunt for the kids, once again sponsored
by the Holy Name Society, will begin at 10:00 AM sharp! And at both 10:15 AM
and 1:00 PM, in church, we will twice offer the blessing of the Easter Foods.
This is an eastern European tradition where the special Easter breads, foods,
and Easter baskets are brought to the church and blessed by a priest. I have
always liked this tradition because it makes a connection between our
celebration here at church with our celebration at home the next day.
Finally then, the Easter Vigil, the Mass of All Masses, begins on Saturday
night, at 9:00 PM this year. One thing that our “man” Mitch probably didn’t
consider when he led the fight for Daylight Savings Time was the fact that it
was still going to be light at 8:00 PM on Holy Saturday now that we have changed
our clocks. Catholic liturgical law dictates that it be dark when the Vigil
begins, so this year, the earliest that we can begin is 9:00 PM. This Mass is
nearly three hours long. And yes, it’s going to be late when we get finished.
But the Easter Vigil is truly a once-a-year, extraordinary event. Our Elect,
our Catechumens will be Baptized, and our Candidates for full membership in our
Church will be Confirmed, as we welcome our newest brothers and sisters into the
Church. Many have come to realize that it just isn’t Easter until you’ve been
to the Easter Vigil. There’s water, there’s fire, and there’s smoke. It’s
better than a disaster movie! And it does meet our Easter Sunday obligation, so
you can sleep in the next morning … or hunt for Easter Eggs at home. Never been
to the Easter Vigil? Why not come this year?
We
do want to remind EVERYBODY that we do have a different Mass schedule for next
weekend. There will NOT be a Saturday evening 4:30 PM Mass NOR a Sunday evening
5:00 PM Mass. On Easter Sunday are only Masses are at 8:00 AM and 10:00 AM.
Please plan accordingly.
The
Holy Week services and traditions are some of the most beautiful of the whole
year. Thirty or forty years ago, our churches were packed with Catholic
families keeping these traditions. Sadly, in the sixties, the seventies, and
the eighties, the emphasis on Holy Week was minimal, and many of us didn’t grow
up attending these services and events. Holy Week became “just” another week.
It’s really time we re-claimed this week. Every Catholic family should do their
best to attend as much of the Holy Week offerings as possible. Holy Week is
what WE do as Catholic during this last week of Lent, and as our final
preparation for Easter. Next weekend is the greatest Christian Feast of the
Year, Easter!, the celebration of the Lord Jesus’ Resurrection! Let us be
spiritually ready!
May we all have a truly “Holy” week!
In Christ,
Fr. Kevin
“Christianity has died many times and risen again, for it has a God who knew His
way out of the grave.”
G.K. Chesterton
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