Dear Friends in christ

This weekend we begin the Great Week, Holy Week. It is the culmination of the Lenten season and the high point of the Christian year. Today we are going up to Jerusalem, to accompany our Lord in his Passion and Death. We can follow all of His actions and words as He sacrifices Himself for the salvation of the world. We all need to be generous in the amount of time we give to prayer, reflection and worship during this Week. The main liturgical focus, as always, are the ceremonies of the Sacred Triduum: Maundy Thursday evening Mass, followed by watching at the Altar of Repose; the Solemn Liturgical Action on Good Friday afternoon and the Easter Vigil late on Holy Saturday. Please pray for all those who will enter the Communion of the Catholic Church this Easter, especially in our Diocese of Brentwood. This year, those who are preparing for Reception into the Church in our own Parish will be Received later in the Easter Season, so not during the Easter Vigil this year.

As we move through the events of this Holy Week, it is always helpful to remember that Jesus suffered all of this for love of me, personally. As man, he suffered all that it was humanly possible to suffer; as God, those sufferings become redemptive suffering with an infinite value. Let us prize this salvation which Jesus has won for us, and live in deepest gratitude during this Holy Week, and subsequent Eastertide, for all that has been done for us. God bless you!

Msgr Kevin Hale

Priest@LourdesLeigh.org ✚ 01702 478078
Homily available at LourdesLeigh.org