We would like to say a big thank you to all who supported our Easter Triduum. It began with the Mass of the Lord’s Supper. At the Last Supper, when he knew the hour had come for him to depart from this world, he wasn’t focused on himself but on others. He assumed the role of a bondservant, who was considered the lowest of the low in the hierarchy of servants, and who was given the most menial of tasks, such as washing the dirty feet of their superiors. Thank you to all who volunteered for feet washing.
Good Friday began with Children’s Stations of the Cross at 11.00am and how great it was to see so many children there, and eagerly joining in, so thank you to all the parents for your support. Then followed ‘The Passion of the Lord’ at 3.00pm, which again was well attended, so thank you for your support. A special mention here to all the ‘Readers’ of the Passion who read so beautifully. From death came life, from defeat came victory, and from the darkness of Calvary burst forth the victory of the empty tomb.
The Easter Vigil Mass. On Palm Sunday when Father Jim was informing the congregation of the events of “Holy Week” he said, “Our Vigil Mass would be the best ever”. How right he was. It was simply fantastic.
It began outside in the car park with the blessing of the Easter fire and Paschal Candle. The Paschal Candle was then lit from the new fire while saying, “May the light of Christ rising in glory dispel the darkness of our hearts and minds”. Everyone then entered the darkened church receiving their own candle which was lit from the Paschal Candle. We then had our readings, followed by baptisms, confirmations, and parishioners being received into the church. It was amazing, one could go on and on. However, this could not happen without a lot of people putting in a lot of hard work. So here is our expression of thanks.
The priests, the deacons, the altar servers, readers, musicians, and choir, all the practice they put in certainly paid off. We also thank the Liturgy Group for all the work they put in which made the whole evening such a success. Finally, we would like to say a special thank you to two of our younger parishioners. Serena for her beautiful reading and singing, and Sophie, who week after week, prepares the readings and designs the projections for Mass and operates the projector.
At the end of the Mass there was a buffet laid on, which hopefully was enjoyed by those who stayed, so our sincere thanks go to the Social Committee. There was however, one minor problem - Someone purchased bottles of red wine which had corks rather than a screw top and as we didn’t have a corkscrew, some improvisation was required but it all worked out in the end.
Easter Sunday saw the church packed and what a delight it was seeing so many attending. Following Mass, all our younger children were invited the go to the altar and collect an Easter egg. The purchase of them was sponsored by the local dentist. (Father Jim’s joke, not ours)
Hopefully you have all enjoyed celebrating this most wonderful Easter Feast and thank you all for your support.
Lord Jesus, for the benefit of everyone you tasted death and went into the tomb,
but your body didn’t see corruption and you rose again on the third day.
You conquered death, and therefore we celebrate your victory with great joy.
The Vigil Mass was an example of “Our Churches in Communion for Mission”.
The Mission Prayer
Father, pour out your Holy Spirit upon us to reawaken in us a thirst and passion for mission.
Grant that your gifts of faith, hope and love will lead us in true discipleship,
so that the Good News of Jesus Christ will find a home in our hearts
and open us to the needs of all.
Then, trusting in your Almighty power, give us the desire and courage
to proclaim our faith in him to a broken world.
