From the Pastor:
Palm Sunday marks the beginning of the most important events in human history. What Jesus does for us is sacred and, as a result, we call this week Holy Week. For us to be excited about this requires looking deeper and making it personal. Jesus wants us to do this. The reason He came into the world as one of us (Christmas) was for the work of salvation (Holy Week). Jesus was doing the work of salvation during His three years of public ministry, but ultimately the gates of Heaven are opened through His passion, death, and resurrection. This week, set aside all that is not necessary so that you can accompany Jesus, especially from Holy Thursday through Easter Sunday.
In preparation for this week, consider attending the Reconciliation Service this Sunday afternoon (3:00pm @ St. Peter) if you haven’t recently been to Confession. The Blessed Virgin Mary, our spiritual mother, tells us to go to Confession at least once per month. Imagine only bathing once per month. Even kids who resist bathing know they need to do so at least once per month! Just as we need to cleanse ourselves physically, so too do we need to do so spiritually. Your last chance to do so before Easter is Good Friday at 10:00am in St. Peter church.
Remember that Good Friday is the first day of the very powerful Divine Mercy Novena. Jesus revealed this special nine-day series of prayers to St. Faustina almost one hundred years ago. The novena ends on the first Sunday after Easter, which is known as Divine Mercy Sunday. Jesus revealed to St. Faustina the importance of praying for God’s mercy for us and the whole world. He spoke about the need for humanity to turn back to God, and that a time of mercy would be granted to the world to give sinners the opportunity for conversion. After that, Jesus said the “Day of Justice” would come upon the world. Pamphlets are at the doors of the church.
As I previously stated, we will resume distributing Holy Communion from the chalice beginning Easter Sunday. No Catholic is required to receive from the chalice. When receiving the Sacred Host from the priest, that person receives the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ. Receiving from the chalice is optional since Jesus is fully present in the Sacred Host. We priests will be limiting the amount distributed from the chalice until we know better how many parishioners will receive from it. Also, the only permissible way to receive from the chalice is to drink from it, which means not dipping a host into it.
Finally, beginning Easter week, we priests and deacons will begin offering special times of prayer each week in our three parishes. The prayer will be in each of our churches, and include music, scripture meditation, and devotions to aide our quiet time of prayer. The focus will be on speaking and listening to Jesus from the heart. We priests and deacons will have the Blessed Sacrament (i.e. Jesus!) present on the altar in the monstrance. I’ll provide more information about this next week, but for now, mark your calendars: Monday 8:00am-12:00 @ Resurrection, Tuesday 12:00-5:30pm @ St. Mary, and Wednesday 5:30-9:00pm @ St. Peter.
We adore You, Christ, and we bless You!
Fr. Miller