Dear Parishioners:
Blessed Easter! May the peace and joy of the Risen Christ be with you and your families throughout this holy season
and may the promise of the resurrection give you peace.
During Holy Week, our Parish will be hosting a variety of spiritual opportunities, both for children and for adults.
Please look at the schedule on the next page.
For those of you with younger children, our various Children’s Liturgies are wonderful ways to introduce your children
to the beauty of Holy Week. We are having a special service for the children on Holy Thursday at 5:00 PM and we
are having the “Living Stations of the Cross” on Good Friday at 7:30 PM. For those of us who are older, I also
encourage you to take part in the special Holy Week Masses and Services. If you have never been to a Holy
Thursday Mass or Good Friday Service, you are missing out!
On Holy Thursday, we re-enact Christ’s washing the feet of the disciples (as an example of service) and we highlight
Christ’s institution of the Eucharist as we process with the Blessed Sacrament. We then spend some quiet time with
the Lord before the Eucharist. On Good Friday, we walk with Christ to the cross on Calvary as we read the Passion
from St. John’s Gospel. Then, we will have the opportunity to venerate the Cross of Christ as a sign that we
acknowledge Christ’s sacrifice on the cross to save us from our sins. At the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday, we
welcome new members into our Catholic community. The Easter Vigil begins in darkness and then the Church bursts
into light as we proclaim that Christ is raised from the dead.
The Pope challenges us to embrace Holy Week. The Holy Father notes that on Calvary, “two ways of thinking
collided.” The Pope observed that the crucified Jesus’ words of forgiveness (“Father, forgive them for they know not
what they do.”) are in sharp contrast with those who crucified Christ, who kept saying to Jesus: “Save yourself.”
The Pope highlighted how God’s way of thinking goes against this self-centered suggestion, noting, “The mantra save
yourself collides with the words of the Savior who offers Himself.” The Lord did not defend or justify Himself. Rather,
He prayed to the Father, offered mercy to the good thief, and said: “Father, forgive them” amid “the most searing
physical pain” of His Passion. Pope Francis underscored that no matter how dire a situation may be, it is never too
late to begin.
Throughout Holy Week, we will be offering the opportunity for Confession or the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This is
an opportunity to experience God’s mercy. In particular, I would like to highlight Monday, March 25th. On that day,
confessions will be heard in every parish in Nassau, Suffolk, Queens, Brooklyn, and all of New York City from 2:00 to
9:00 PM. Maybe you went to confession 3 months ago; maybe the last time you went to confession was 24 years
ago. In either case, take advantage of this opportunity to allow the Lord to love you by forgiving your sins.
Remember: Together, we can do something beautiful for God!
In Christ,
Fr. Brian