Letter from the Pastor
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March 21, 2021
Today begins the last full week of Lent. It used to be known as Passion Sunday; today is the day when all our statues and the crucifix is hidden from our eyes by veils. The Gospel is the arrival of the Greeks (the Gentiles) asking for the Lord, which is the sign that the Passion begins. We now begin the immediate preparation for Holy Week.
As I wrote last week, how grateful we are to have the Holy Week Masses and Services available in person, and not just livestreamed, as we did last year. There are some slight differences as we conduct Holy Week this year.
We continue to ask that you wear your masks (which all of you have been so good to do) and we will try our best to keep the safe distance in Church.
Palm Sunday All the palms will be blessed privately before Mass begins on Saturday evening. The palms will be placed on tables near the doors of the Church. Please help yourself and take only what you need.
Holy Thursday There will be no ceremony of the Washing of Feet this year. Prior to 1955, for centuries, the washing of the feet was performed after the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, mainly in monasteries and convents. Yes, the nuns practiced this ceremony of loving service among themselves.
Also, sadly, there will be no Eucharistic procession downstairs to Toner Hall and no Repository this year.
Good Friday There will be no outdoor stations through the town this year. The Adoration of the Cross will take place from the pews. The Cross will be held aloft longer for silent and general adoration. We will pray the Stations of the Cross at 8:00 PM on Good Friday evening.
Holy Saturday Vigil The Easter Candle will be prepared and blessed at a private ceremony. There will be no bonfire or procession into the Church. The new Easter candle will be solemnly lit in the Sanctuary and the Exsultet will be chanted. No individual candles will be used for the Mass. We will read only three Old Testament readings this year instead of the seven.
Easter Sunday
Knowing people want to attend Mass on Easter Sunday, and that we don’t have the extra space in Toner Hall or our gymnasium for the overflow of people, two Masses will be added on Easter Sunday.
The first Mass of Easter will be a Mass at Sunrise at 6:30 AM. It will be a quiet Mass with no music. The rest of the schedule is 7:30 AM, 9:00 AM, 10:30 AM and 12 Noon. We will have an additional Mass at 1:00 PM. There will be no 5:30 PM Mass on Easter Sunday.
The Easter Holy Water will be blessed at a private ceremony; an individual holy water container will be available to take home.
We will also conduct the Tenebrae Service on Wednesday evening at 7:00 PM and Friday and Saturday mornings at 10:00 AM. There will be individual programs for each day.
We will try to have all the Masses and ceremonies conclude within the recommended 60 minutes.
I look forward to seeing you in Church during Holy Week.
