Newsletter – Sunday 1st April 2012
Today, Palm Sunday, we commemorate the entry of the Lord into the Holy City of Jerusalem at the beginning of Holy Week.
Palms will be blessed in the garden before the 9.30 Mass and the First Holy Communion children will lead the procession into the Church. Blessed palms will be available after the later Masses.
This year, we read the account of the Passion of the Lord taken from St. Mark’s gospel. Please remember to join in the parts of the text marked for the crowd.
On Maundy Thursday there are no morning Masses. There will be a Mass for children at 4pm. (Please remember to wear some shoes so that I can clean them for you). The solemn Mass of the Last Supper is at 8pm. After the gospel there is the washing of the feet of twelve men of the parish. The Eucharistic ministers are asked to be present so that they can renew their commitment during the Mass. At the end of Mass the Blessed Sacrament is taken in procession to the Altar of repose. The main Altar is stripped of all its decoration. The Church will remain open for watching until 10pm.
On Good Friday morning there is the procession to the heath for the joint service. We leave at 10.10 for the service at 10.30am.
The solemn afternoon Liturgy begins at 3pm in the Church and includes the reading of St. John’s Passion, the veneration of the cross and Holy Communion.
There is a Collection for the upkeep of the Holy Places.
There will be stations of the cross and veneration of the relic of the true cross at 8pm.
A reminder that Good Friday is a day of fasting and abstinence.
On Holy Saturday there is no morning Mass.
There is no evening Mass at 6.30pm. The solemn Easter Vigil begins at 9pm with the blessing of new fire in the garden and the procession with the Paschal Candle into the Church. The Vigil is completed with the first Mass of Easter. In particular may I encourage you to come to the Vigil. It is one of the most special ceremonies in the Church’s year, full of symbolism, in which we come together to celebrate the Resurrection of the Lord.
A word of thanks to all who helped with the cake sale for Cafod. We raised £213. I hope you enjoyed my carrot cake. It seemed to go very quickly – I have to admit that the ingredients came from a packet so I can’t give you the recipe.
Thank you also for those who helped and came to the lunch in the hall last Sunday. As always most enjoyable. I will let you know the amount raised for the Manna Centre at Mass today.
On Wednesday to the Cathedral for the Chrism Mass. This is the Mass in which the Priests of the Diocese share in a concelebration with the Archbishop and the holy oils are blessed – the oil of the Catechumens, the oil of the sick and the holy chrism. We receive some of these oils for the celebration of the Sacraments in our parish during the course of the year. I do not want you to be without a Mass during Holy Week but we have to be at the Cathedral by 10.30. Therefore on Wednesday the Mass will be at 9am rather than 10am and I will have to ask you to attend to the Novena devotions.
I am sure that you will have noted the work in the garden in recent days – the clearing of the beds in front of the Church and also some work on the trees and the removal of some the stumps. Gradually the garden is improving and I hope that you will be able to enjoy it as the summer approaches.
A note about the Mozart concert in the hall next Saturday afternoon in the big hall. You will have seen the posters for this.
And just room for some John Donne:
Though these things, as I ride, be from mine eye,
They’are present yet unto my memory,
For that looks towards them; that thou look’s towards mee,
O saviour, as thou hang’s upon the tree;
I turne my back to thee, but to receive
Corrections, till thy mercies bid thee leave.
Best wishes to you all,
Monsignor Nicholas Rothon