A Note From Father Eickhoff

March 26, 2023

Next Sunday is Palm Sunday which marks the beginning of Holy Week.  It is during Holy Week that the Church celebrates the defining moments of our Christian Faith.  That is the suffering, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.  It is through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ upon the cross that our sins have been wiped away and we have been reunited with God.  And, it is through the resurrection of Jesus Christ that we have the great hope of everlasting life.  In other words, if there is any one week of the year in which we should especially concentrate our thoughts and actions upon practicing our Christian Faith, this is it.

I want to draw your attention to one particular spiritual practice that takes place on Holy Thursday.  After the 7pm Mass of the Last Supper, the Holy Eucharist will be exposed for adoration in the church until midnight.  This traditional practice recalls how Jesus after the Last Supper went into the garden to pray before the soldiers and guards came to seize Him.  When Jesus went into the garden to pray, He took with Him several of the disciples as companions. This coming Holy Thursday night when we come to pray before the Blessed Sacrament we will be standing with the disciples as companions of Christ.  I encourage you to come and pray with Jesus Christ for one hour after the 7pm Mass.  The time for adoration will begin immediately after the end of the Mass of the Last Supper (sometime after 8pm).  Judging from past experience, many people will stay with the Lord in the church until 9pm.  If you are able, I hope that some of you will commit yourselves to returning to the church for one hour between 9pm and midnight.  In the back of the church there is a poster with the names of parishioners who have already committed themselves to staying with the Lord for one hour.  Please feel free to join them on Holy Thursday night even if you have not signed up beforehand.

There is one final note that I want to add.  And that is about the Blessing of Easter Food.  It may not be the most solemn traditional spiritual practice as compared to staying with the Lord on Holy Thursday night, rather it is a joyous traditional practice.  Blessing of Easter food will take place at St. Anne Parish on Holy Saturday at 12.30pm in the Parish Hall.

Yours in Christ,

Fr. Stephen Eickhoff
Pastor