The Pastor's Pen

 

April 10, 2022, Palm Sunday

Support for the People of Ukraine and Eastern Europe:Through the generosity of the people of the parish $8,658. has been collected and will now be forwarded to Catholic Near East Welfare Association to assist Ukrainians and those in the surrounding countries who have taken in so many of them who are seeking refuge from the dangers of the war.

EASTER MASSES: Masses at Easter are on a different schedule. There is only the Solemn Vigil of Easter at 7 PM on Saturday Evening, thus no 4 PM Mass, and as there is no 5:30 PM Mass on Easter Sunday, 3 Masses are offered on Easter Sunday Morning: 8 AM, 9:30 AM, and 11 AM. Please note these changes which are for Easter only.

Were You There? The holiest days of our year as Christians are the Three Days that begin on the evening of Holy Thursday and end on the evening of Easter Sunday during which all the baptized are called to suspend all usual activity in order to gather for the annual celebration of the Lord’s Passover from death to life. The Triduum includes one continuous liturgy that begins on Holy Thursday evening and does not conclude until the dismissal at end of the Solemn Vigil of Easter on Holy Saturday, having taken us from Supper Room to Crucifixion to Resurrection. This is our annual celebration of the Pascal Mystery, the central mystery of our Christian Faith, the mystery which provides our only hope of being saved from final death. Curiously, these holiest of days, with the exception of Easter Sunday, are not legislated to be Holy Days of Obligation! Why? Because obligation alone is far too inferior a reason to worship and most especially so on these most sacred days! Indeed the Triduum provides those who truly understand and appreciate the great price paid for their salvation and know well the one who so obediently and lovingly paid it, to join with their fellow believers in order to render their heartfelt thanks and praise to God. The Sacred Triduum therefore presents the opportunity for each of us to prove the depth of our discipleship and the sincerity of our gratitude by participating in these liturgies to which we are not obliged, but from which we would find it difficult to excuse ourselves and justify being anywhere else.

40 Days of Self Denial: Our Lenten time of fasting and self-denial end on this coming Thursday evening with the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper which opens the shortest but most important phase of our Liturgical Year which is the Sacred Triduum. Therefore it is traditional that at the Mass on Holy Thursday evening we offer the fruits of our Lenten Sacrifices, that is, what we have saved by denying ourselves various indulgences and presenting these funds as alms for the poor. As is customary here at Christ the King Parish we invite the parishioners to come forward with their alms to be placed in baskets at the altar steps. This collection will then be divided among three Charities: Matthew 25 which serves the poor of the wider  local community; Catholic Relief Services which is a charitable agency organized to bring relief to people throughout the world in the name of the Catholic people of the United States; The El Tablon Project of Food for the Poor, a special project of our parish that has immensely improved the lives of the people of one village in Guatemala. So let our 40 days of self-denial and sacrifice now bear good fruit as these have permitted us greater mastery over ourselves an not will bless many who are in need. 

Palm Sunday/Holy Week Taizé: A service of prayer, readings and meditative music in the tradition of Taizé. Sunday, April 10th, at 7 PM - St. John Neumann Parish, 157 Middleboro Road, East Freetown, MA.