Holy Week begins today with Palm Sunday. We will have processions before each Mass and after each Mass the Altar and Rosary Society is having a Bake Sale. The whole Holy Week Schedule is listed above. On Thursday, we celebrate Jesus’ Last Supper and the institution of the Eucharist. On Friday we go through his passion and death with the adoration of his cross. On Saturday night we hold a vigil for his resurrection, which we celebrate on Easter Sunday. It is a full week with lots to think and pray about. Please, make this Holy Week holy for you.
Save this date: April 24, the Father Tolton Play will be at St. Joe High School at 7 PM. We now have tickets for the play. Please see a Tolton Society member to buy one. They are only $5.00.
Today is the one day of the year when we have two Gospels. The first occurs after the blessing of the palms and tells us of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The second occurs during the Mass and is read in unison, The Passion and Death of Jesus on the Cross. It is amazing how quickly things changed that Holy Week for Jesus. On Sunday, he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, adored by the people as the new Messiah. On Friday, he was dying on the cross for our sins. The liturgical color today is red for his blood.
In our first reading today we have the Prophet Isaiah telling us about the Suffering Servant. As Christians, we say he is talking about Jesus and his sufferings and death. “I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who plucked my beard; my face I did not shield from buffets and spitting.” We can join our sufferings to his.
In our second reading, St Paul tells the Philippians and us that because Jesus died for us, “Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
We had all the carpet in the hall and church cleaned this week for $973.00. I hope you can see the difference. Please be careful with spills both in the church and the hall. If a stain is cleaned up right away it doesn’t leave as many marks on the floor. There are still a few Play Dough stains that just won’t come up. Please keep Play Dough off the carpet.
I went to insert a picture for Palm Sunday and found out my Office program no longer provides pictures. They gave a long explanation on how to go on line to find pictures to post, which I couldn’t figure out. If some one knows how to do this, I could use a little help with this process. I also registered a complaint with Office, asking them to bring back the feature.
Let us continue to pray for peace in the world. Let us also pray for vocations to the church. Let us pray for the sick of the parish. Let us pray that all will come to respect life. Let us pray for one another and for the canonization of Father Tolton.