Holy Week 2021
Holy Week marks the high point of the Christian year when we celebrate the passion and resurrection of our Lord. The rites specific to these days connect us to the earliest forms of Christian worship and, therefore, mark a key point in the yearly liturgical round of our sanctification. The mysteries of Christ’s life made present on these days form that life in us as well. My hope is that some of us will be able to take part in those rites for themselves and on behalf of others in a reasonable and safe manner.
Below you will see the schedule of services for Holy Week beginning with Palm Sunday on the 28th of March and coming to a crescendo on Easter. The services will be conducted almost entirely in the Memorial Garden. If there is inclement weather, a small group will perform the service in the church. Those who wish to attend these services will need to register in advance to do so. The registration process will let us keep those attending safe as well as make it easier for us to notify them in the event of a cancellation. There will be a separate registration for those who would like to keep watch before the Blessed Sacrament on Maundy Thursday. The watch will begin after the service until midnight in the Lady Chapel with two people keeping watch at a time. The Adoration of the Cross and Mass of the Presanctified will take place at either noon or 5:30 pm depending on when the most people can come.
As of now, we are unable to stream services in the Memorial Garden. We will record the services to upload them afterward as soon as possible.
Holy Week Schedule:
3/28 – Palm Sunday
10:30 am in the Memorial Garden,
beginning outside the front doors of the church.
3/29 – Monday
6 pm: Stations of the Cross in Memorial Garden followed by Mass.
3/30 – Tuesday
Mass at 6 pm in Memorial Garden.
3/31 – Wednesday
Mass at 6 pm in Memorial Garden.
4/1 – Maundy Thursday
Mass at 7 pm in Memorial Garden.
Watch following mass until midnight.
4/2 – Good Friday
12 pm: Adoration of the cross and Mass of the Presanctified.
4 pm: Adoration of the cross for children in Memorial Garden.
4/3 – The Great Vigil
8:30 pm in Memorial Garden weather permitting.
4/4 – Easter Day
Mass at 10:30 am in Memorial Garden.
I hope that our additional Sunday masses and our keeping of Holy Week will be a first step in the long process of letting us worship together again safely. I know that not everyone will be able to join in with these tentative steps (and that we may in fact need to back off of them at some point) so we will continue to make services available via streaming. With Lent and Holy Week behind us, we will then be in a position to reflect on the experiences of worshipping in this way and to make decisions about our worship going forward. If there is a significant change in cases at any point we will revert to our current practice for Sundays and will announce a much-reduced set of Holy Week services.
–Fr. Will