Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

As this season of Lent quickly comes to a close, we are being called to reflect on the central mystery of our faith: the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus. You may notice that our sacred images and statues have been covered in Church this weekend. We do this to focus our minds and hearts on what is essential and most important in the Christian life: the Paschal Mystery. We come to understand the Paschal Mystery best during the solemn celebrations of the Triduum, which are the last three days of Holy Week. Please allow me to quickly explain each day and their significance to our life of faith.

Holy Thursday is when we celebrate the Mass of the Lord’s Supper and we commemorate two important events, the institution of the priesthood and most importantly, the institution of the Most Holy Eucharist. When we celebrate the priesthood, we don’t just celebrate the ordained priesthood that I am humbled to share in; we also celebrate the common priesthood of all baptized Christians. All of us were baptized as priests, prophets, and kings and the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday celebrates all of our priesthoods. As priests we are all called to offer ourselves as sacrifices and to give of ourselves for others. We see this in the simple, yet profound action, of Jesus washing the feet of His disciples. Please come and share in this celebration with us on Holy Thursday, April 13, at 7:00 pm in church.

Good Friday is the celebration of our Lord’s passion and death. What makes this particular Friday “good” is that when Jesus died on the Holy Cross, the gates of heaven were opened for all of us to enter. Before Christ’s death, heaven was closed and everyone who died before that Friday were waiting in a place some Jews called “Abrahams Bosom” or Sheol. When Christ completed our heavenly Father’s will by giving His life on the Cross, heaven was opened and we no longer needed to wait for the Messiah. Because Good Friday is a day we commemorate this most perfect model of Love, we don’t celebrate Holy Mass at all. No Masses are allowed to be celebrated on Good Friday because in the Mass, we celebrate the whole Paschal Mystery (passion, death, and resurrection). Good Friday is all and only about Jesus’ passion and death, we do not yet celebrate His resurrection. Instead, we have a prayer service commemorating our Lord’s passion and death where we venerate the Holy Cross and receive communion that was consecrated during the Mass of the Lord’s Supper the night before. Please come and join us for this very solemn and holy celebration on Good Friday, April 14, at 3:00 pm, the time we traditionally celebrate as the time when Jesus died on the Cross. You can also join us at 7:00 pm when our young people lead us in a Living Stations of the Cross.

Holy Saturday is a day of fasting and mourning that ends in celebration! We are asked by the Church to only eat one large meal on Holy Saturday until we celebrate the triumphant resurrection of Jesus at the Easter Vigil. The Easter Vigil is the climax of our liturgical life and the most important celebration we have in our entire tradition. If you can only attend one celebration during the Triduum, make it the Easter Vigil. I’m not kidding or overselling when I say it is the most beautiful and profound liturgical celebration you will ever experience. During our time together in prayer we experience the whole of our salvation history when Christ literally brought us from darkness into His eternal and blessed light. Please join us at the Solemn Easter Vigil on April 15 at 8:00 pm. You will not be sorry.

Please know that as Lent draws to a close these next couple weeks, you will all remain in my prayers. It’s my hope that you will all join us for these sacred and solemn celebrations with your whole family. I ask for your continued prayers as well...Lord knows I need all the help I can get!

Peace, Fr. Dom