Liturgy Matters 3/25

This is the final weekend before the great celebrations of Palm Sunday and Holy Week. We together with our brother and sister Elect are entering into a more intense time of reflection and preparation for the celebration of the Triduum. These days, Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Vigil/Easter Sunday are to be seen as one large continual celebration. You will notice the closings for Holy Thursday and Good Friday are open, which give the sense that these Liturgies continue on into the next one, with the climax of these days celebrating the Easter Vigil, and all the celebrations within it. Through this particular celebration, through the power of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus, all things are made new again. Next week we will look at the Vigil service in more detail.  Until then may our Lenten journey draw us closer to Jesus and may we pray daily for those who are entering into the Church at the Vigil. 

Liturgy Matters 4/1

This weekend we enter into the great holy days of our Catholic Tradition. The Triduum, Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil are one big celebration of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus. The Vigil is the holiest of nights for us as Catholic Christians. The Celebration begins with the blessing of Fire, Water, elements used to remind us of light and baptism. The Exultet, prayer sung after the entrance of the Easter/ Paschal Candle, reminds us of our need of a Savior and the importance of the night of Jesus passing from death into life. The Scriptures read remind us of God working in our Salvation History, to know that God never abandoned us, and was with us always. The baptizing, confirming of the Elect remind us of God’s continual work of salvation in our time, we too renew our baptism in the new waters blessed. The celebration of the Eucharist binds us together and we celebrate the presence of Christ in and through us. Let us gather around the fire, around the Elect and around one another to do what we do best as Catholics, Jesus passes from death to life, and we celebrate!!!

 Liturgy Matters 4/8 

Today we begin the celebration of the Easter Season. The Alleluia returns as well as the Gloria. We are given this time to celebrate as a community of faith the give of everlasting life through the resurrection of Jesus. I want to thank all who made the celebration of the past week possible, with the many hours of preparation and prayer God has blest us with the generosity of many hands, prayers and sacrifices, thank you!!! You will notice that we renewed our baptismal promises this day and were again sprinkled with holy Water as a sign and reminder of our baptism. May the Easter Joy we celebrate today, be ever fresh and new throughout these fifty days of Easter.  Again thank you to all who made this a special experience.

Liturgy Matters 4/15

We continue to bask in the joy of the Easter Season. For the neophytes (those baptized at Easter Vigil) this is a time of Mystigogy. This means it is a time to reflect on what they experienced at the Easter Vigil and  what impact it has on their lives. For us who have been baptized, this is a time for us to reflect on the experience of Easter and how does the Resurrection of Jesus impact my daily life. While the Church gives is these fifty days to celebrate, we are also called to reflect on what the experience of Easter means and how we live it out in our daily lives. This gift of everlasting life has a challenge for us—that is—how will I share this gift with those I encounter and with those I live with. Easter is not just about an event, it is about a dynamic encounter with the Risen Lord.  May what we experience during this season continue to be reflected upon and shared as we journey together.