Pastor’s Letter: Palm Sunday 2023

Pastor’s Letter: Palm Sunday 2023

31 Mar 2023 | Posted by: chadmin

The April 2, 2023 bulletin is now available online.

Dear friend,

Today begins the holiest week of the year for Christians. Everything we celebrate as Christians is connected to the events in Christ’s life that we recall this week. Palm Sunday recalls his triumphant entrance into the city of Jerusalem. The crowd of people waving branches with Jesus were the Jews who also traveled to Jerusalem for the Passover Celebration. The annual celebration of Passover recalls God’s deliverance of the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt. Jesus celebrated the high feast days in the Jewish calendar. After his entrance into the city, Jesus prayed and taught in the temple area. It was during this time that the Jewish elders sought to kill him. Jesus went into the temple and flipped over the money tables of those selling sacrificial animals. He spoke about himself as the Son of God, making himself equal to God. He healed on the Sabbath, a day reserved totally for rest. Finally, he challenged the Jewish leaders about their own failures and sins. All of these words and actions stirred the Jewish leaders to remove Jesus from the community. Of course, it was in response to so-called blasphemy that the high priest tore his garments and called for crucifixion. “It is better for one man to perish, than the whole community,” said the high priest. This prophecy became significant because the Jewish leaders stirred the crowd to the point of rioting. With all the extra people in Jerusalem for the Passover celebration, the Roman guards feared an uprising they could not control. All these reasons together resulted in the betrayal by Judas, the agony in the Garden, the scourging at the pillar, the carrying of the cross, the crucifixion, the burial, and finally the resurrection. We recall all these events during this Holy Week. Please see the list of liturgies in the bulletin. The principal liturgies for the Triduum are Holy Thursday Last Supper Mass at 7 pm, Good Friday Veneration of the Cross at 3 pm, and the Easter Vigil at 8 pm.

The Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday evening is the principal Easter celebration when those preparing to join the Church receive the Easter sacraments. We have 19 individuals who will be Baptized and/or Confirmed at the Vigil. Please pray for them as they enter the last week of prayer and reflection before receiving the grace of the Sacraments. It has been a true joy for me to work with the RCIA class this year and develop relationships with them. Each of them had their own reasons for joining the RCIA class and discerning the truth of Catholicism, but there is a common theme to their stories. A love for the Mass and the Parish Community is often what invites people to join the Church. Please join me in welcoming these new members to the practice of the faith at the Easter Vigil. The Easter Vigil begins at 8 pm with the Easter Fire and will conclude by 10 pm. There is a reception in the banquet room, following the Mass, for all to celebrate Easter together. Have a Blessed week!

God bless

Father David