Easter Sunday

Dear friends in Christ 
A blessed and happy Easter to you all!

We have ended our Lenten pilgrimage ready to celebrate the Paschal Mystery. Throughout the forty days of Lent we have accompanied Our Lord in His journey towards Jerusalem where the events of our salvation have been accomplished. Let us now celebrate the next fifty days rejoicing in the faith that the Risen Christ brings.

I thank all those who have helped to make our celebrations in church a time of real meeting with Jesus, and all of you who, by your prayers and good works, had made this time spiritually fulfilling. Many of you contribute to the life of the Parish Family in a quiet consistent way. I thank you all for the help you give in the service of the Church. God reward you all for your generosity.

Our heartfelt prayers and good wishes go to those who are Baptised and Received into the Church this Easter by Confirmation and the Holy Eucharist. Please pray especially for: Robyn Brown, Rosa Frankis, Briady-Rose Keeble, Jacqueline Cosgree, Deborah Luff, Samuel Meredith, Kate Strover, Joseph Smith, Corinne Smith, Jason Bell, Cheryl Hill, Mark Hill, & Carla Dobkin, may God give them perseverance in their vocation in belonging to His Holy Catholic Church.

God grant us all a joyful Eastertide!
Msgr Kevin Hale

Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord

Dear friends in Christ 
We have arrived at the start of holy week—the culmination of the Christian calendar—the goal of our Lenten pilgrimage. We are going to proceed through these days not simply following some historical narrative, but by actually making present those final days and hours in the life of our Divine Saviour which brought about our salvation. We do this by the power of the Holy Spirit working in the Church, the Body of Christ. Please allow me to highlight some of the important moments in the Week ahead so that we may accompany Our Lord well and benefit from what He is doing for us.

At Mass this Palm Sunday we commemorate the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem recalling that only days later the crowds are calling for His Death. We listen to the reading of the Passion according to Saint Matthew and take a blessed palm home which is traditionally placed behind a crucifix to remind us of this Week.

On Wednesday at 11am in Brentwood Cathedral the Bishop will celebrate the Mass of Chrism during which he consecrates the Holy Oils that will be used in the Sacraments throughout the coming year. All of the priests present with him will renew their priestly commitment; please pray for us!

Maundy Thursday, during the Mass in the evening, we commemorate the very first Mass, the Last Supper, during which Jesus consecrated His first priests, the priests of the New Testament. This is symbolised by the Mandatum, the washing of the feet of the Apostles, reminding us that at the heart of Priestley consecration is service. At the end of the Mass the Blessed Sacrament is solemnly transferred to an Altar of Repose, imitating the journey of Jesus after the Last Supper into the Garden of Olives where He begins His Passion. We keep watch and pray with Our Lord until midnight.

Good Friday is a day of deep reflection on the suffering and Death of Our Saviour. It should be a day devoid of any frivolity and characterised by our being recollected, as far as is possible. The Solemn Liturgy of Good Friday is at three o’clock in the afternoon, the hour at which Jesus died. During the Liturgy we listen again to the Passion, this time according to Saint John; we process slowly to the Cross which we venerate with deep devotion and we may receive Holy Communion.

Holy Saturday is also a day marked by sobriety. The Mass and Sacraments are not celebrated on Holy Saturday but the Vigil of Easter begins at 8.00pm, after sunset. This includes the blessing of the new fire and Paschal Candle, the Easter proclamation (Exsultet) the Vigil of Readings, Baptismal liturgy and Reception of new converts and the first Mass of Easter. The joy of the Resurrection overflows into the following fifty days of Eastertide.

May we all gain graces from this Holy Week to support our Christian pilgrimage to eternal life. May the Blessed Mother be with us, as she was with Jesus, at every step of this Week, as we experience her own sorrow and offer her our compassion.

Msgr Kevin Hale

Fifth Sunday of Lent

Dear friends in Christ 

We are entering the final and  most solemn part of Lent this weekend. The traditional purple drapes on the crosses and images are a reminder of the solemnity of these days that culminate in the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Our Lord. The images are veiled because during His Passion, Jesus hid his glory. The solemn unveiling of the cross during the Good Friday Liturgy makes vivid the revelation of Jesus, reigning from the tree, King of the Jews and King of the Universe. The final Gospel reading in the trilogy of these weeks—the raising of Lazarus—is presented as an anticipation of the Resurrection of Christ. Just as Jesus raised His friend from the dead, so by His own power too as God, He will rise from the tomb. The Christian life itself is the spiritual process of dying and rising to life in Christ. We began this at Baptism when symbolically we went into the tomb with Jesus, as Saint Paul says. But through the course of our lives, we go through this dying and rising again. Every time we turn our back on God and commit sin, we die a little; but through the grace given in the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation, are brought back to life. That is why the early Fathers of the Church speak of these two Sacraments as the two planks of salvation that God extends to us. A really good Lent, and a really good preparation for Easter, will be our reception of the Sacrament of Penance, Confession. There will be ample opportunity throughout Holy Week for this, starting next Sunday, Palm Sunday. Wednesday, 25th March, be will be the Solemnity of the Annunciation of The Lord. By Mary’s acceptance of God’s Will, the Incarnation was possible. Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane prays that He can fulfil the Will of His Heavenly Father by drinking the chalice of suffering. May we be similarly docile in living the Will of God for us each day. 

God bless you all!

Msgr Kevin Hale