Joy in Lent

03-31-2019Pastor's LetterRev. Gregory B. Wilson, VF

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

“Laetare, Jerusalem” – “Rejoice, Jerusalem… Be joyful, all who were in mourning!” (From Isaiah 66:10-11; Introit for the Fourth Sunday of Lent)

You deserve a break today! In fact, the Church insists on it. Here at the halfway point of our Lenten observance, Holy Mother Church gives us a last little break from our Lenten penances on the Sunday of Joy – Laetare Sunday. The priests and deacons don rose-colored vestments, the color of the sky just before the dawn. It is the color of hope and anticipation. After all, the reason we do penance is to prepare ourselves for the greatest, most awesome part of our faith: The man they put on a cross, who died and was buried, is alive. He was seen by literally hundreds of witnesses, who then darted about the world telling everyone they could, even if it meant their own deaths. Why? Because that death has reconciled us. It made an atonement you and I could not do on our own. “He bore the punishment that makes us whole; by His wounds we were healed” (Isaiah 53:5).

Moreover, not only will Jesus never die again, He promises the same to you and me – both eternal, true, everlasting happiness and a resurrected body like His own. That is worth going through proper preparation so that we never, ever take this for granted. So, rejoice with me today!

Please join us Monday, April 1 for Mass at 5:30pm followed immediately by a Holy Hour for the healing of victims of the sin of sexual abuse, especially those wounded by trusted members of the Church. St. Mary’s is hosting this as a deanery -wide event.

It’s never too late to plan ahead. Our schedule for Holy Week and Easter:

April 18th – Holy Thursday
7:00pm – Mass of the Lord’s Supper, bilingual, church

April 19th – Good Friday
8:00am – Tenebrae liturgy, Old St. Mary’s
12:00pm – Stations of the Cross, church
12:30-2:30pm – Confessions, church
1:30pm – Living Stations (Meet in front of Old St. Mary’s)
3:00pm– Solemn Liturgy of the Passion of the Lord, church

April 20th – Holy Saturday
8:00am – Tenebrae liturgy, Old St. Mary’s
12:00pm – Blessing of Easter Baskets – Ste Claire Chapel
3:30-4:30pm – Confessions, church
8:30pm – The Great Easter Vigil, bilingual

April 21st – Easter Sunday
8:30am – Mass, church
11:00am – Mass, church
12:30pm – Misa en español, Old St. Mary’s

Please note there will be no 5:00pm Mass on Easter Sunday.

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