St James Catholic Church

Here we are in Holy Week, the most sacred time in the life of the Church.  We begin with palm branches (blessed) symbolizing the welcome Jesus received as he entered Jerusalem.  In riding upon a colt, newly pressed into service, and with people spreading their cloaks on the road before him, Jesus entered the city as the messianic king.  Though he was not the messiah they expected, the victory he went on to win on the cross over sin and death made him a king for all humanity, for all ages.  May the palms we raise today be symbols of the praise we give our Savior as he begins the days of his passion, death, and resurrection.  “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord.”

Thursday begins the sacred Triduum.  On the night before he died,  Jesus gathered with the ones whom he entrusted to carry on his mission of preaching the gospel, spreading the good news, and teaching the lessons they learned from him.  He gave them a model of serving others by washing their feet, then took the bread and wine they would consume, gave thanks, and pronounced it to be his Body and Blood, to be shared and repeated until the day He would come again.

Good Friday is the Passion of the Lord, the only day in the church year we do not celebrate Mass.  Our celebration consists of readings: Isaiah, “He himself was wounded for our sins.”  Psalm 31, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirt.”  Hebrews, “With confidence, approach the holy cross.”  John, “The passion of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  Then the solemn intercession, praying for the church and the entire world.  The second part is the adoration of the cross.  And finally the third part, Holy Communion consecrated on the day before.

And the Easter Vigil is the Holy Night.  That service begins with the blessing of the fire and preparing the candle representing the risen Christ, the light of the world.  All receive the light of Christ and we sing the Easter Proclamation.  The Liturgy of the Word contains a number of readings from the Old and New Testaments.  The third part is the baptismal liturgy.  Since we have no one to be baptized we bless ourselves with the Easter water as we do every weekend of the fifty days of Easter.  We join in welcoming Brandon Michaud and Richard Cooper into full communion with the church as we celebrate their Confirmation and first Eucharist.  And the fourth part is the Liturgy of the Eucharist, which we celebrate each weekend proclaiming, “He is not dead!”  “He has Risen!”

If you haven’t really done any penance during these forty days of lent, consider joining us for one or all of these marvelous celebrations this week.  There can be no better conclusion.

Love, Peace, Joy,

-Fr. Bob