From the Pastor – March 24, 2024

At noon darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And at three o’clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Some of the bystanders who heard it said, “Look, he is calling Elijah.” One of them ran, soaked a sponge with wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink saying, “Wait, let us see if Elijah comes to take him down.” Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last.. (Lk. 23:44-46)

“Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion” begins Holy Week. If it has been a while since you have experienced all of the services of Holy Week, consider doing so this year. Commemorating the events of the Lord’s Suffering and Death help us to have a greater understanding of the importance of the Resurrection and Easter Sunday. Jesus had to suffer and die before he rose!

All of the services will take place in St. Stephen Church. On Holy Thursday we will celebrate the Mass of the Lord’s Supper at 7:00 p.m., which commemorates the institution of the Holy Eucharist when Jesus washed his Apostle’s feet. This Mass ends Lent and begins the Sacred Triduum. At the conclusion of this Mass, the Eucharist is removed from the main Tabernacle in the church and “reposed” in another altar to commemorate Jesus’ being arrested and jailed. This year we have Adoration at this Altar of Repose from the end of Mass until the sun rises on Good Friday at 6:00 a.m. On Good Friday the church will be open beginning at 7:00am for those who are walking to visit the nine churches. St. Henry Church and Our Lady of Good Counsel Church will also open from 7:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. I will be hearing Confessions in St. Stephen Church from 9:00am until 12:00pm.

Later on Good Friday the Veneration of the Cross will take place at 3:00 p.m., the hour of the death of Our Lord.

Holy Saturday is a day of great stillness, as we remember that Christ died and descended into Hell. That great stillness is broken by the joy of the Easter Vigil Mass at 8:00 p.m., when we loudly proclaim the Resurrection of Our Lord. The Easter Vigil will be preceded by Confessions from 6:30-7:30 p.m. There will be no 4:00 p.m. vigil Mass, and Masses on Easter Sunday will be as usual at 8:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.

This weekend there is a sign-up sheet at the back of church for those who will respond to the plea of Jesus “to stay awake with me one hour” (Mt. 26:40) on Holy Thursday. It is one of the most solemn nights of the year to contemplate Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane as he prepares for his Passion and Death. Please consider taking one of the hours to fill out our Holy Thursday Vigil. And please consider attending all of the events of Holy Week, which is the most important week of the year for all Catholics.

(Rev. Msgr.) Christopher H. Nalty
msgr.nalty@gmail.comm

Read more posts From the Pastor

Newsletter Sign Up

Altar of Repose

Mass of the Lord’s Supper

At the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday (7:00 PM) sufficient hosts are consecrated for that Mass and for the next day. These consecrated Hosts remain in a ciborium on the corporal in the center of the altar until the end of Mass, after which they are carried in Solemn Procession to the Altar of Repose, with the priest vested in a Cope and Humeral Veil, and covered with a canopy. The Blessed Sacrament remains in the temporary tabernacle at the Altar of Repose, and the Holy Thursday service concludes with the stripping of all altars except the Altar of Repose.

Holy Thursday is a day of exceptional devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, and the repository is the center of the love, prayers and aspirations of the faithful.  After the Good Friday service, the Blessed Sacrament remains available only as viaticum for the dying and for Communion given on Good Friday at the service called The Veneration of the Cross (Good Friday at 3:00 PM). While the Blessed Sacrament remains in this temporary tabernacle at the altar of repose, a lamp or candle is always kept burning.

On Holy Thursday we will celebrate the Mass of the Lord’s Supper at 7:00 PM, which commemorates the institution of the Holy Eucharist when Jesus washed his Apostle’s feet.  This Mass begins the Sacred Triduum.  This year Adoration at this Altar of Repose will take place all night, from the end of the Holy Thursday Mass until the sun rises on Good Friday at 6:00 AM.

PLEASE SIGN-UP to take an hour or a half-hour of the Vigil!  Sign-up sheets are in the back of church.

Easter Baskets for the Needy

We will again be distributing “Easter Baskets” with food items to families in need so they can enjoy a traditional holiday meal. Please check out our Easter display in the rear of church for basket item suggestions. We would ask that all donations be returned by Sunday, March 24, 2024.

Lenten Guidelines

THE LENTEN SEASON
A distinction is to be made between Lent and the Easter Triduum. Strictly speaking, Lent ends with the beginning of the Triduum on Holy Thursday. The Ordo notes: “Lent runs from Ash Wednesday until the Mass of the Lord’s Supper exclusive on Holy Thursday.”

FASTING AND ABSTINENCE

Fasting is to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday by all Catholics who are 18 years of age but not yet 59. Those who are bound to fast may take only one full meal. Two smaller meals are permitted if necessary to maintain strength according to each one’s needs, but eating solid foods between meals is not permitted. Abstinence from meat is to be observed by all Catholics 14 years or older on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and on all Fridays of Lent. The determination of certain days as obligatory days of penance should not be understood as limiting the occasions for Christian penance.

MAINTAINING THE SPIRIT OF OF LENT
The Spirit of the season of Lent should be maintained throughout the weeks of Lent. The obligation to observe penitential days of the Church is a very important part of our spiritual life.  Individual circumstances must be taken into account, but in general, people should seek to do more rather than less, since fast and abstinence on the days prescribed should be considered a minimal response to the Lord’s call to penance and conversion of life.

Requiem Mass Wednesday, February 28, 2024 at 11 am

It is with the most profound sadness that we inform you of the death of our longtime Director of Religious Education, our dear friend, Phillip Bellini.

Phillip had such a tremendous love of the Catholic Faith and a zeal for the Salvation of Souls that he devoted his entire life to teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, 15 years of which he did in our parish. He will be greatly missed by his friends, our parishioners and everyone to whom he taught the Catholic Faith over the last 35 years. Eternal Rest grant unto to Phillip, O Lord, and let Perpetual Life shine upon him! May he Rest in Peace. Amen.

Stations of the Cross

There will be Stations of the Cross and Confessions on Fridays of Lent at the Basilica of St. Stephen with Confession at 5:30pm and the Stations at 6:00pm.  Remember that Msgr. Nalty is also in the Confessional from 3:00-3:45 pm on Saturdays and 9:00-10:15 am on Sundays.

The Story of the Palms

It was a common custom in many lands of the ancient Middle East to cover in some way the path of someone thought worthy of the highest honor. In 2 Kings 9:13 Jehu, son of Jehoshaphat, was treated to this honor. Each of the four Gospels report that the people of Jerusalem gave Jesus the honor of walking on a covered path. However, in the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) we hear that the people lay their garments and cut rushes to place on the street. Only the Gospel of John specifically mentions palms.

So what is the significance of the palm? The palm branch was a symbol of triumph and of victory in Jewish tradition, and is treated as such in other parts of the Bible (e.g. Leviticus 23:40 and Revelation 7:9). Based on this significance, the scene of the crowd greeting Jesus by waving palms and carpeting his path has given the Christian celebration its name. It shows the freedom desired by the Jews, and their desperation to have political freedom. In fact, they were welcoming their “Messiah,” whom they expected to be a great king who would free them from the oppression of foreign rulers. The entry of Jesus into Jerusalem included chants from Psalm 118 and 148:1. The Hebrew hoshiiah na’ (I beseech you, save now) was changed in Greek to hosanna, which became a famous Christian term, and had a huge Messianic significance.

The palm is a symbol of victory for us as Christians. Since we recognize that Jesus is the Messiah (a word which we normally use in the Greek translation – “Christ”), we recognize that He has already achieved a victory for us. But the victory is not over earthly rulers. It’s much bigger. It’s victory over Satan. It’s a victory over sin and death. It’s a victory that gives us Eternal Life.

Palm Branches Needed

If any parishioner has access to sago palms (the kind pictured above), we would love to get some for decorations in the church, and for the procession on Palm Sunday, March 24, 2024. Please cut palms and bring them to the church this Thursday or Friday! Please call the office if you can help.

Altar Server of the Year

Altar Servers play a very important role in the Sacred Liturgy. They are part of the procession, handle incense, help prepare the altar for Mass, aid with baptisms, and help with the sacred vessels. Each year the Archdiocese honors altar servers from around the parish that have been nominated by their parish. This year our “altar server of the year” is our newest server: Nathaniel J. Almon!

Congratulations to Raymond Bankston & Ken Hamrick!

On Sunday, March 3, 2024, at St. Catherine of Sienna Church, Archbishop Aymond presented the Order of St. Louis IX Medallion to our parishioners Raymond Bankston and Ken Hamrick The Order of St. Louis IX award was established more than 40 years ago to honor those members of the laity who have contributed their time and talents to the church.

Even if you don’t know Raymond and Ken, you know of their work! Raymond is one of our faithful sacristans who opens up the church and sets up for Mass. Ken became very active during COVID in helping us disinfect the church between Masses. He is also very active with the Knights of Columbus. “Whatsoever you do for the least of my brothers, you do for me.” (Mt 25:40).

More Posts from this Category

Home Middle #3 Widget

This is a widgeted area which is called Home Middle #3. It is using the Genesis - Featured Page widget to display what you see on the Metric child theme demo site. To get started, log into your WordPress dashboard, and then go to the Appearance > Widgets screen. There you can drag the Genesis - Featured Page widget into the Home Middle #3 widget area on the right hand side. To get the image to display, simply upload an image through the media uploader on the edit post screen and publish your page. The Featured Page widget will know to display the post image as long as you select that option in the widget interface.