Dear Parishioners,

 

I wanted to share with you the Holy Week schedule so that you can plan ahead and possibly attend these days, the holiest of our liturgical year and days of beautiful ceremony and celebration.  The celebrations of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil are actually one single, great liturgy spread out over three days where we focus on the Institution of the Eucharist, the Passion and Death of the Lord and His Resurrection. Because of the twinning of our parishes and my desire as your pastor to celebrate these days with both parishes some adjustments to “the way things have always been” has to be made.  The need to separate the liturgies can’t be avoided – so here’s the plan.

 

The liturgy of Holy Thursday will be celebrated at St. Pius at 7:00 PM on Thursday, April 6.  At the conclusion of Mass the Eucharist will be transferred to the Altar of Repose and the church will be open for private prayer and reflection.

 

On Good Friday, Stations of the Cross will be celebrated at Gesu at 12:00 Noon and the church will remain open for private prayer until 5:00 PM.  The Good Friday liturgy – the Solemn Celebration of the Passion including distribution of Holy Communion will begin at St. Pius at 3:00 PM. The Good Friday, devotion of the Seven Last Words of Jesus, will take place at St. Pius at 7:00 PM

 

On Holy Saturday, April 8, the traditional Blessing of Easter Food baskets will be held at 12 Noon at Gesu.  Gesu will be the site for the Easter Vigil celebration beginning at 8:30 PM.  At the Vigil celebration an adult and a high school student from St. Francis will be baptized, and 4 already baptized Christians, will be welcomed into full membership in the Church through Confirmation and first Eucharist.  These individuals have been preparing through the RCIA for several months under the direction of Fr. Craig and the Easter Vigil marks the completion of their journey to join the Church.

 

Following the Vigil there is a reception for them in the Sullivan Center to which all are welcome to attend.

 

There is no 4:00 PM Mass at Gesu church on Saturday, April 18.  Masses on Easter Sunday will follow the normal Sunday schedule at each parish.

 

The complete schedule for Holy Week is available on our various social media sites, the phone and printed in the bulletin.  I hope you take advantage of the liturgies of Holy Week. They are a great source of spiritual nourishment for each of us and a little additional prayer is something that the world could certainly use these days.

 

God bless you!

Fr. Marty