Easter Services 2018

St. Mary’s,

 Blackheath

Newsletter: 25th March 2018

Mass times: Saturday: 6.30pm (first Mass of Sunday)

Sunday: 9.30 and 11am and 7.30pm

Monday, Wednesday: 10am

Tuesday, 7.30am

Eucharistic Service: Tuesday 10am

Confessions: Saturday 12 to 1pm

 

Today is Holy Week, the most solemn week in the Church’s year in which we commemorate the events of the Passion and death of the Lord.

Today is Palm Sunday, when we celebrate the triumphant entry of the Lord into the Holy City of Jerusalem.  Palms will be blessed in the garden before the 9.30 Mass and there will be a procession into the Church. Blessed Palms will be available at the later Masses.

During the Mass, we will read the account of the Lord’s Passion from Mark’s gospel. Please join in the parts marked for the crowd.

There will be stations of the Cross as a Lenten devotion at 6.30.

Masses are at the normal times on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

The 10am Mass on Wednesday is a funeral Mass for Barbara Spain so that it will not be possible to have the Novena devotions.

On Maundy Thursday there is a special Mass for the children at 4pm.

The solemn Mass of the Last Supper takes place at 8pm.  This includes the washing of the feet: there is a list for those who would like to share in this – we need 12 people. During the Mass, after the Our Father, the Eucharistic Ministers will be invited to come to the Sanctuary and to renew their dedication for another year. At the end of the Mass the Blessed Sacrament is taken to the altar of repose. The Church will remain open until 10pm. At the end of the Mass, the High Altar is stripped of all its decoration and equipment.

On Good Friday the service on the Heath takes place at 10.30 am. We will be leaving from outside the Church at 10.10.

The Solemn Liturgy is at 3pm including the reading of John’s account of the Passion, the Veneration of the Cross and Holy Communion.

A reminder that Friday is a day of Fasting and Abstinence.

There will be Stations of the Cross at 8pm.

There is no Mass on Saturday morning or at 6.30 on Saturday evening. The Easter Vigil begins at 9pm with the blessing of the new fire in the garden and the procession into the darkened Church behind the Paschal Candle, representing the Resurrection of the Lord.  There is the solemn proclamation of the Resurrection with the singing of the Exultet, the reading of the Lessons from Scripture, the litany and the blessing of the font and the first Mass of Easter.

Take care in the garden as work is continuing with the trees. I will make sure that the paths are clear but there may be some piles of branches about.

A prayer for Holy Week:

Saviour of the world, who by your Cross and precious death has redeemed us, have mercy on us, we humbly beseech you, O Lord.

George Herbert at Easter:

I got me flowers to straw thy way;

I got me boughs off many a tree;

But thou was up at break of day,

And brought’st thy sweets along with thee.

No recipe this week as it is a penitential week, but I am sure that you can prepare for some special celebrations on Easter Sunday.

Best wishes to you all,

Monsignor Nicholas Rothon

 

 

 

 

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