A Note from Father Eickhoff

March 17, 2024

The Season of Lent is fast coming to an end. Next Sunday will be Palm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week which is the most important time of the year for us Christians. There are many things happening in the parish during the upcoming two weeks and I am going to list the highlights for you here:

  • You can bring your old palms to the church next weekend for proper disposal. Look for baskets by the front doors to the church.
  • Each day of the Triduum (that is Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday) and Easter Sunday is of great importance to the Christian faith. I greatly encourage you to come to as many of the liturgies of Holy Week as possible.
  • Holy Thursday:
    • 8am Morning Prayer in the church. Clergy and religious promise to pray what is called the “Liturgy of the Hours” every day as part of their vocation. The Liturgy of the Hours are five separate times (called hours, but more like 5 -15 minutes) of prayer spaced throughout the day that are meant to be the entire day with prayer and praise of God. The Liturgy of the Hours is not restricted to clergy and religious. Indeed, all Christians are encouraged to pray all or some of the hours as their circumstances permit. If you want to see what the Liturgy of the Hours is like, come to Morning Prayer during the Triduum.
    • Mass of the Lord’s Supper at 7pm. This is the Mass during which we thank God for the institution of the Holy Eucharistic, the Holy Mass, and the ordained priesthood.
    • Adoration of the Holy Eucharist from the end of Mass until midnight.
  • Good Friday:
    • 8am Morning Prayer in the church.
    • Service of the Lord’s Passion at 3pm. Although we have communion this is not a Mass. In fact, this is the only day of the entire year in which holding a Mass is forbidden. At this service we recall the suffering and death of Jesus for our salvation. The 3pm time is an ancient tradition that corresponds to the time of the death of our Lord.
    • Stations of the Cross at 7pm.
  • Holy Saturday:
    • 8am Morning Prayer in the church.
    • 12.30pm Blessing of Easter Food in the parish hall.
    • 7.30pm Easter Vigil Mass. This is the liturgical high point of the entire Church year, and it is the Mass in which new adult Christians receive the sacraments of Initiation such as Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist.
  • Easter Sunday:
    • Masses at 7.30am, 9.15am, and 11am.

Yours in Christ,

Fr. Stephen Eickhoff
Pastor