We invite all parish families to join us for an enriching journey in faith with our new Sunday School program! Join us weekly at 9:45 am in the Library, starting September 8th. Sunday School combines sacrament preparation and family catechesis in a supportive community environment.
Families who register before August 18th can participate for free—a wonderful opportunity to deepen your child’s understanding of their faith. After August 18th, registration is $20 per child, so be sure to sign up early and secure your spot!
Join our parish family for a wine and cheese social following the May 11th Saturday night mass. We extend a special invitation to all new members, whether you’ve recently joined or are contemplating it. We will gather in the church office space and courtyard.
The Women’s Circle and Young Mom’s book club would like to invite all ladies of the parish to join them for a tea party at the Knights of Columbus Hall on May 18th from 9:30-11:30 am. Bring your mom, your daughters, granddaughters, or a friend or come by yourself to enjoy a fun morning!
Tea and light snacks will be provided. However, we will be delighted if you would like to bring a sweet finger food treat to share!
All women are invited to join the Women’s Circle for their monthly meeting next Saturday, April 13 in the HRA Library to hear Father Baker share about Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Make plans to join us for our monthly Sunday Social after Sunday masses on April 14. We have changed the location to the HRA gym foyer. Please stop by!
The summit of the Liturgical Year is the Easter Triduum—from the evening of Holy Thursday to the evening of Easter Sunday. Though chronologically three days, they are liturgically one day unfolding for us the unity of Christ’s Paschal Mystery.
The single celebration of the Triduum marks the end of the Lenten season, and leads to the Mass of the Resurrection of the Lord at the Easter Vigil.
The liturgical services that take place during the Triduum are:
Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday
Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion
Mass of the Resurrection of the Lord
HOLY THURSDAY
The evening Mass on Holy Thursday is referred to as The Mass of the Lord’s Supper. This is where the Church re-lives the institution of the Eucharist and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass at the Last Supper, as well as the institution of the priesthood, which took place the evening before Jesus was crucified.
After the homily there is a “washing of the feet” ceremony, where the priest washes the feet of others to signify his role as servant—just as Jesus did with His disciples. Extra hosts are consecrated at this Mass to be used on Good Friday on which no Mass will be celebrated anywhere.
The Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday concludes with a procession of the Blessed Sacrament to the “altar of repose,” a place where the consecrated Host is kept, away from the main altar where Mass is normally celebrated, remembering Jesus’ request in the Garden of Gethsemane for someone to “watch and pray” with Him.
GOOD FRIDAY
Good Friday is a mandatory day of fasting and abstinence. This is the day of the crucifixion—the day Jesus died for the sins of the world.
The parish altar looks very different on Good Friday: it is plain and bare. There is no consecrated Host in the tabernacle at the main altar of the church; It was carried away on Holy Thursday night to the “altar of repose” to signify Jesus’ death. The candle by the tabernacle is blown out, and the tabernacle doors are left open to show that it is empty. Jesus is gone. This is quite dramatic. It reminds us that Good Friday is a solemn day of mourning and prayer.
The ceremony on Good Friday is not a Mass—it is a Communion Service using the consecrated hosts from Holy Thursday. Good Friday is the only day of the year on which no Masses are offered.
These Good Friday services often take place at 3 PM, the hour that Jesus breathed His last on the cross. Often the priest will begin the service by prostrating himself in front of the altar. Veneration of the Cross usually takes place at this service, in which the priest and the faithful kneel before a cross and kiss it.
HOLY SATURDAY
On this day Christ is in the tomb.
There is no daytime Mass on Holy Saturday. It is still a day of fasting and sorrow before the Easter Vigil begins that evening. We recall, with Mary and the disciples, that Jesus died and was separated from them for the first time as He lay in the tomb. The faithful often continue their Good Friday fast through Holy Saturday.
In the Apostles Creed we pray “He descended into hell” (translated hades, that is, the temporary abode of the dead—not the eternal lake of fire) which describes what Jesus did in the time between his burial and Resurrection. Jesus descended to the realm of the dead on Holy Saturday to save the righteous souls—the Old Testament patriarchs, for example—who died before his crucifixion.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church calls Jesus’ descent into the realm of the dead “the last phase of Jesus’ messianic mission,” during which he “opened heaven’s gates for the just who had gone before him.” Before Holy Saturday, there were no souls enjoying the beatific vision of God in heaven!
A vigil Mass is held after nightfall on Holy Saturday, in celebration of the resurrection of Jesus. This is called the Easter Vigil: the most glorious, beautiful, and dramatic liturgy for the Church.
The vigil is divided into four parts: 1) the Service of Light, 2) the Liturgy of the Word, 3) the Liturgy of Baptism, and 4) the Liturgy of the Eucharist.
This is also the Mass in which many OCIA catechumens are brought into full communion with the Catholic Church. –GoodCatholic.com
Next Sunday is Palm Sunday, and we begin Holy Week. It is indeed the holiest week of the year, and yet it can be easily lost in the busyness of life. The meaning of the victory of Easter is wrapped up in the defeat of Holy Week. Please make every effort to observe Holy Week both exteriorly by participating in the liturgies of the week as much as possible and interiorly by accompanying Jesus in your hearts through prayer and recollection. It is truly hard to believe that our God would die for us. He did. How does this happen? It happens in Holy Week. Come and see!
The very center of Holy Week is the Easter Vigil. There is no anticipated Mass at 5 p.m. on Holy Saturday. Instead, at 7:30 p.m. there is the heart of the Church’s year: the Easter Vigil. It has to begin in the dark so that accounts for the later time. This one liturgy really contains the entire Mystery of Faith. OK — it is long, but it is so powerful that new Christians and Catholics are born from the Church’s mysteries on this night.
Good Friday is the only day on which Mass is not celebrated. Instead, at 3 p.m. we share in the Passion of Jesus and venerate the Cross of Christ, receiving Holy Communion from the Eucharist which was instituted at the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, celebrated the night before, prefiguring the bloody sacrifice of Calvary. In the Holy Thursday Mass at 7 p.m., the new commandment of charity is portrayed in the washing of the feet. We are also invited to watch with Jesus for one hour during his agony later in the night.
Earlier in the week is the Chrism Mass, which commemorates the institution of the priesthood. It is celebrated by the bishop in union with almost all the priests of the diocese. It will be at Sagrado Corazon on Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m. All of this begins with Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday which so soon leads to His death on Good Friday. After a week like Holy Week, Easter makes so much more sense!
Join us for an Easter Egg Hunt on Easter Sunday, March 31st, immediately following the 8:30 am Mass. Meet by the gym doors in the back parking lot.
Don’t forget your basket!
In order to help the Easter Bunny, we are asking for donations of individually wrapped candy to fill the eggs. Please leave candy donations in a labeled collection container in the Narthex by Wednesday, March 27th, at 3 pm.
