St. Ignatius Martyr Parish

As we continue our Lenten journey to Jerusalem with Jesus, we are reminded that Palm Sunday is the beginning of Holy Week, the holiest week of the Church liturgical calendar. This week confronts us with the primary Christian symbol - the cross. Without the cross we cannot be Christ's disciples. This week allows us to delve deeper into our own lives to see how we have taken up our cross to follow Jesus and how far we are willing to go. There is not much point to meditating on Christ's crucifixion during this holiest of weeks, unless we are willing to endure suffering in our attempts to love and to live as Christ's followers.

In just a few days we will celebrate most fully the core of our faith, the paschal mystery of Christ's death and resurrection. All of Lent has lead us to these central days of the liturgical year and these days in turn lead us to the heart of the mystery of our redemption. These three days are called the Triduum. They reflect the Jewish fashion of worship, that is, from one evening to the next: Thursday evening to Friday evening, Friday evening to Saturday evening, Saturday evening to Sunday. They are central to our liturgical year and to our faith as Catholics as we celebrate in a beautiful and meaningful way the paschal mystery, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It would help if we could look at these three days as one liturgy, beginning on Thursday evening and concluding at the end of the Easter Vigil.

We, as a worshiping community, are called to observe these days by setting aside as much time as we can from all our normal activities so that we can spend time with the Lord in private prayer and reflection and in the communal liturgies that mark these three days. Let us not be concerned about how long each liturgy will take, but rather focus on the richness of each and what each calls us to do and to celebrate. These three days define us as Christians - members of the Body of Christ. Thus, please free yourselves from other duties and obligations to attend Holy Week services.

The high point of the Triduum is the Easter Vigil. The Easter Vigil is the major celebration of our parish community for it is through this feast that we gain our identity as Christians. Through this celebration we renew our baptismal call and commitment. It is also the high point of the elect and the candidates as well, when they are initiated as new members into the sacramental life of the church. We as a community have nurtured the life of these catechumens and candidates and now bring them to the fullness of life in the Easter sacraments. We want to continue to pray for them as they approach the waters of baptism and to becoming full members with us at the table. How good it would be for us to be present at their initiation to welcome them into our community and to reinitiate ourselves as members of Christ's church. My hope in sharing this with you is that you will come to all three days to celebrate the core of our faith. Let us put time aside and give the Lord what he truly deserves.

OTHER ITEMS: 1) Please bring non-perishable food items to Mass on Holy Thursday. Thus you will help to restock our food pantry shelves to feed the hungry. 2) Last day to turn in Flower memorials is this Monday. 3) Good Friday is a day of obligatory fast and abstinence. 4) All Eucharistic ministers are reminded to attend Holy Thursday services. This is a special day for you. 5) Christ Renews His Parish brochures and application forms can be found in the display racks. Making this retreat is a great follow-up to the changes we have made during Lent in drawing closer to God. 6) Beginning the Tuesday after Easter we will begin to celebrate the Liturgy of the Hours. We will begin with the praying of the Evening Prayer in the Mother's Chapel at 5:30 p.m. We hope you can join us.

Sincerely in Christ,
Fr. Joe