Easter is close at hand; during this holy season of Lent the seed God has been speaking generously to our hearts; let us now be watchful lest the worldly anxieties distract us from things that really matter. True enough, all of us are very busy people and we have many things to do; still only one thing is necessary. We have only one soul, should we lose it what benefit is to us all the rest?

The Holy Week ahead of us is a spiritual pilgrimage to Jerusalem: all the mysteries of our faith, all the Sacraments flow from the events of this week. It is the most important week of the whole liturgical year!

Palm Sunday:

It stands as a solemn gateway as it were leading to Holy Week. On this day we enter Jerusalem with Christ where He will be crowned King of the Nations with the Cross as His throne.

From ancient times palm-branches were symbols of victory and triumph. The Romans used to reward their champions of the games with palm-branches. In the book of Revelation, they are to be found in the hands of martyrs, meaning their victory over death, thus they became also a sign of resurrection.

We keep in our homes the Palms that have been blessed during this Mass and we look at them as a blessing and as a sign of our victory over evil.

Holy Thursday:

Is the threshold through which we enter the innermost realm of the Paschal Mystery.
In the morning of this day the Holy Oils were blessed by the bishop and his clergy during the celebration of the Chrism Mass. It marks the birthday of the Christian Priesthood, when priests renew, in the hands of their bishop and in front of the faithful, their priestly vows and commitment to the service of the people of God.

On Holy Thursday we are confronted with the compelling scene of God stooping to wash the feet of sinful men, with the "mandate" we should do the same, i.e. emptying ourselves for our neighbor.

This day is also known as Maundy Thursday, because of the command given by Jesus (man datum lat.) to his disciples to love one another.
Upon the conclusion of this Liturgy, the Eucharist is carried away in a solemn procession which recalls the specific moment when Christ left the Upper Room wherein we accompany Jesus on the way that leads Him to the terrible hours of the passion. In the repository we will adore in response to Christ's plea “... remain here and watch with me".

Our Church will be opened till 10:00PM. Please, make provisions to spend some time in silent prayer with the Lord.

Good Friday

It is “Good” for us, who were redeemed by His precious blood which was shed on the wood of the Cross.

It is a day of stillness.

The silent prostration of the celebrants before the stripped altar and empty tabernacle at the beginning of the liturgy of the passion eloquently expresses the Church's grief upon the death of Christ.

The service centers on the solemn adoration of the Cross. The earth is now still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and has raised up all those who slept in death ever since the world began. Truly, God, in Christ, descended to Hell, our personal Hells to free us from death and sin. It is a day of fast and abstinence. Let us keep it with great love and gratitude.

The Easter Vigil

It begins after nightfall on the Holy Saturday. It is the most blessed of all nights, chosen by God to see Christ rising from the dead.
The battle with evil, darkness, Satan is now over; Christ has triumphed, and sin and death are destroyed forever. On this holy night heaven is wedded to earth and we celebrate Christ's victory and own victory through the waters of Baptism. All over the world new children are born and reborn to holy Mother Church.
In the numerous readings of this vigil, the Church remembers the history of our creation and the creation of the Church which is the beginning of God's kingdom here in time.

The tone of this celebration is wonder, gratitude, joy, stupor for all the Lord has achieved for us.

Let us pray for one another

Fr. Michael