From the Pastor’s Desk
Dear St. Mary’s Parishioners,
We have arrived at the holiest week of the liturgical year. The Church gives us Holy Week so that we can spend some time with Our Lord as he bids farewell to the apostles at the Last Supper, as He prays with Peter, James and John in the Garden of Gethsemane, as He endures His agonizing arrest, trial and scourging and, finally, as He makes his way to the Cross, suffers, dies and after three days rises from the tomb in glory. We spend time in prayer with Jesus to show our love for Him, to express our sorrow for our sins and to take responsibility for putting Jesus on the Cross through our sins. The Sacred Triduum of the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday, the Good Friday Liturgy and the Easter Vigil Mass represent the high point of the liturgical year. While Catholics are not obligated to attend these liturgies, it is certainly praiseworthy to do so. If you are not able to attend one or more of the liturgies, it would be good to take some time to read the readings and the prayers of the liturgies and to prayerfully accompany Jesus during this holy time. You will find the schedule for the Triduum elsewhere in the bulletin.
In addition to the liturgies mentioned above, we will also be celebrating “Tenebrae” this year at 6 AM on Holy Saturday. Tenebrae is a collection of Psalms, readings and prayers from the Liturgy of the Hours. Tenebrae, Latin for darkness, begins in the dark with candles lighted for each of the Psalms that is to be prayed. As each Psalm is prayed, a candle is extinguished until all the candles are out. The praying of Tenebrae will last for a couple of hours and will be mostly in Latin. (English and Spanish translations will be provided.) You can read more about Tenebrae here: www.catholiceducation.org/en/religion-and-philosophy/prayer/tenebrae-a-sacred-journey.html On Holy Saturday, the Church reflects on Our Lord in the tomb and His descent to hell. It is important that, just as we spend time with Jesus at the Last Supper and on the Cross, we also spend some time mourning His death on Holy Saturday. We don’t say “Happy Easter” on Holy Thursday, Good Friday or Holy Saturday. No, we hold onto our joy until the Easter Vigil when we can proclaim without reservation that Jesus is truly risen from the dead.
Speaking of the Easter Vigil, please continue to pray for our faithful who will be fully initiated into the Church at the Easter Vigil. Our Elect and Candidates for Full Communion have been diligent in their preparations and are very much looking forward to this culminating celebration in their faith journeys. Also, please keep in mind that if you plan to attend the Sunrise Mass at the Caligiuri Ranch on Easter Sunday, since the Mass will begin at 6:15a and the sun will rise at 6:29a, it will be 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. It takes about 15 to 20 minutes to hike up the hill to where Mass is celebrated, so please plan ahead.
May we accompany Our Lord during this most Holy Week with our full devotion and abundant gratefulness for 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
