FROM THE PASTOR’S DESK

Dear St. Mary’s Parishioners:

During Holy Week, we are invited to accompany Our Lord has he makes his way to the Last Supper, to His agony in the garden, to His arrest, scourging and trial, to His crucifixion and Death and, finally, to His Resurrection. Although Catholics are not obligated to attend the liturgies of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil (the “Sacred Triduum”), the liturgies represent the high point of the liturgical year. If you are not able to attend these beautiful services, I encourage you to take some time to read the readings and the prayers and to prayerfully accompany Jesus during this holy time. You will find the schedule for the Triduum elsewhere in the bulletin. This year, we are allowed to have two Holy Thursday Masses: one in English and one in Spanish. We will also have two Good Friday services: one in English and one in Spanish. The Triduum liturgies will be live-streamed and viewable through our “St. Mary’s Vacaville” YouTube channel and we will have overflow seating in the hall.

Please continue to pray for our faithful who will be fully initiated into the Church at the Easter Vigil. After last year’s experience of celebrating the Triduum only virtually, it will be much nicer this year to have folks in the pews! If you plan to come for the Sunrise Mass at the Caligiuri Ranch on Easter Sunday, since the Mass will begin at 6:30a and the sun will rise around 6:50a, that means it will be probably be a bit dark before Mass. Therefore, you would want to bring a flash light or some kind of light in order to see as you make your way up the hill for Mass.

May we accompany Our Lord during this most Holy Week with our full devotion and abundant gratefulness the gift of His life to us, a life that was offered in sacrifice so that we might receive His sacramental grace and other graces in this life and so that we may be with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the angels and saints forever in the life to come!

A most blessed Holy Week to all!

In Christ Jesus,

Father Berg