DISCOVER THE FULLNESS OF FAITH

We begin our Holy Week celebrations from 28 March – 4 April 2021. Holy Week is the most sacred week of the year in the Church’s liturgical calendar. It is observed in the Catholic Church as a time of commemorating the Paschal Mystery – the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Church invites us to enter Holy Week with solemnly, and make a simple retreat within ourselves to discover our faith and the richness, fullness and the significance of our Liturgy. 

Last year we participated in the Holy Week liturgical celebrations online, from the confines of our homes. This year we have a chance to attend the celebrations in-person in Church, but there will be some alterations made, such as omitting a few rites and rituals in order to comply with certain guidelines to safeguard the safety and health of the faithful, amid the current pandemic. We would like to assure everyone that the Church will provide a fruitful and meaningful Holy Week celebration, even as we adhere to the guidelines and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) set by the authorities.

Holy Week begins on Palm Sunday, or alternatively known as Passion Sunday. It is a time when we journey in Jesus’ footsteps on His final days on Earth. On Palm Sunday, we celebrate Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. We will take a shorter form of liturgy as the priest enters into the Church while blessing the palms with Holy Water. The congregation will remain seated inside the Church or hall.

 

The Sacred Triduum celebrations begin from Holy Thursday until Easter Vigil. On Holy Thursday (also called Maundy Thursday), Catholics commemorate the institution of the Sacraments of the Eucharist and Priesthood, during the Last Supper. This year however, we will not have the ceremony of washing of the feet as Jesus did to his disciples. At the end of the Eucharistic celebration, we encourage our Parishioners to spend some time in silent adoration of the Blessed Sacrament (in a ciborium) with your family.

 

We observe Good Friday or Holy Friday, as the day Jesus was arrested, crucified, died, and was buried. It is a day of obligation for penance, fast and abstinence. It is the only day of the year that the Church doesn’t celebrate the Eucharist, but the consecrated host (reserved from Holy Thursday) will be distributed to the faithful instead. This year, during the Veneration of the Holy Cross, parishioners are only encouraged to kneel or bow in the direction of the cross to affirm their faith, but not kiss the Cross. 

 

Holy Saturday is a day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday - the day Jesus laid in the tomb. It is traditionally a day of joy and sadness, as we contemplate the darkness of a world with a future hope of Christ’s resurrection. Then, in the late evening we will have the Easter Vigil Mass - “it marks a transition from dark into light, despair to hope, spiritual emptiness to spiritual newness.”On Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday, the faithful will be invited to renew their baptismal promises. This year we will not light an Easter fire, but everyone will remain seated inside the church instead. We will take three readings from the Old Testament and two readings from the New Testament, during the Easter Vigil Mass.

 

Last year we missed celebrating Holy Week in the Church, but this year we have an opportunity to celebrate, albeit with limited numbers. We pray, that as the number of COVID-19 infections seem to be on the rise once again, the Holy Spirit will bring us closer to the Risen Lord this Holy Week. 

 

My best wishes to you and your family as you prepare yourselves 

for this spiritual journey of Holy Week.