Palm Sunday 13.04.2025

MASS TIMES AND INTENTIONS

Sun 13th Apr​​

8.30am​ Arturo Jr. Esmeralda, RIP

​10am​​​ Kathy Hedford, RIP

​12noon​​​ Margaret Griffin, RIP

Mon 14th Apr        ​Monday of Holy Week

10am        Lillian Murphy, RIP

Tues 15th Apr​ Tuesday of Holy Week

10am​ NO MASS

​Weds 16th Apr​​ NO MASS

Thurs 17th Apr​ Thursday of Holy Week (Maundy Thursday)

8pm​ Mass of the Lord’s Supper​

Fri 18th Apr​ Friday of the Passion of the Lord (Good Friday)

11am​ Family Stations of the Cross

3pm​ The Passion of Our Lord

7pm​ The Stations of the Cross

Sat 19th Apr​Easter Sunday – The Resurrection of The Lord

8pm​ Easter Vigil Mass – People of the Parish

YOUR PRAYERS:

Let us keep in our prayers: Julius Lipner, David Ryan, Margaret Ryan, Michael O’Boy, Christina Cahill, Eric Nicholas Darwent, Therese Kemp, Jose Luis Pérez, Karina McKiernan, Jonathan Heller and Izabela Lissowska – all unwell at this time. We also pray for: Canon Bernard Scholes, Sveta Valeri, James Corr, Maud Holloway, Una Murphy, Mary Drumm, Kitty Heenan, Fr Sean Carroll, Fr David Barnes, Gerry Stenson, Luis Goncalves,Arcangela Moretto, Patrick Jean Noel Louis-Auguste, Jose Barreto, Gianpiero Gallian, Mary Teresa Foran, Martin Flanagan, Noeleen Hare, Noreen McGlynn and James McCormack whose anniversaries occur at this time or have died recently. May they Rest in Peace.

OFFERTORY

The offertory collection for the week ending 6th April 2025 - £673.98 and Contactless was

£177.96. Many thanks for your generosity.

PLEASE KEEP IN YOUR PRAYERS:

The RCIA group has been meeting since September and are about to begin a more intense period of formation before Easter. At the Easter Vigil Aziz and Arlan will be Baptised, receive their First Holy Communion and Confirmed. Roger and Milka will also be confirmed. Please keep John, their catechist, and their sponsors in your prayers as we journey through Lent towards the great feast of Easter.  

HAVE YOU BEEN TO CONFESSION?

Fr Peter will be hearing confessions throughout Holy Week. He will be in the confessional (behind the statue of Our Lady) during the Maundy Thursday Vigil (around 9pm – 11pm), after the 11am Family Stations of the Cross on Good Friday and after the 3pm Solemn Liturgy of the Lords Passion (also on Good Friday). He will also be hearing confessions at 10:30am on Holy Saturday.

ST MARY’S “JUBILEE” EASTER FAMILY & FRIENDS QUIZ NIGHT

Join us for an evening of fun and friendly competition at our Parish Quiz Night!

📅 Date: Saturday, 10th May (new date)

⏰ Time: Starting at 6 PM

Bring your family and friends along for a night of trivia, laughter, and camaraderie. It's a wonderful opportunity to connect and enjoy time together as a parish community.

We look forward to seeing you there!

OFFERTORY COLLECTIONS AT THE EASTER VIGIL & EASTER DAY:

The offertory collection at the Easter Vigil and on Easter Day go towards the salary of the Parish Priest – Many Thanks.

THE SACRED TRIDUUM AT ST MARY’S.

 The Sacred Triduum is one great festival recounting the last three days of Jesus' life on earth, the events of his Passion and Resurrection, when the Lamb of God laid down his life in atonement for our sins………we celebrate this on

Holy Thursday – 8pm

 The evening Mass on Holy Thursday is referred to as The Mass of the Lord's Supper.  This is where the Church re-lives the institution of the Eucharist and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass at the Last Supper, as well as the institution of the priesthood, which took place the evening before Jesus was crucified. After the homily there is the "washing of the feet" ceremony, where the priest washes the feet of 12 others to signify his role as servant—just as Jesus did with his disciples. The Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday concludes with a procession of the Blessed Sacrament to the "altar of repose”. Many parishes will create space for people to stay and pray with the reposed Eucharist at this altar of repose late into the night, remembering Jesus' request in the Garden of Gethsemane for someone to "watch and pray" with Him.

Good Friday – 3pm

 Good Friday is a mandatory day of fasting and abstinence. This is the day of the crucifixion, the day Jesus died for the sins of the world.  The parish altar looks very different on Good Friday: it is plain and bare. There is no consecrated Host in the tabernacle at the main altar of the church; it was carried away on Holy Thursday night to the "altar of repose" to signify Jesus' death. The candle by the tabernacle is blown out, and the tabernacle doors are left open to show that it is empty. Jesus is gone. This is quite dramatic, reminding us that Good Friday is a solemn day of mourning and prayer. The ceremony on Good Friday is not a Mass—it is a communion service using the consecrated hosts from Holy Thursday. Good Friday is the only day of the year on which no Masses are offered. These Good Friday services take place at 3 p.m., the hour that Jesus breathed his last on the cross. Often the priest will begin the service by prostrating himself in front of the altar. There will then be a reading of Christs Passion and then Bidding Prayers. Veneration of the Cross takes place at this service, in which the priest and the faithful kneel before a cross and kiss it. 

Holy Saturday - Easter Vigil – 8pm

 A vigil Mass is held after nightfall on Holy Saturday, or before dawn on Easter Sunday, in celebration of the resurrection of Jesus.  This is called the Easter Vigil: the most glorious, beautiful, and dramatic liturgy for the Church. The vigil is divided into four parts: 1) the Service of Light, 2) the Liturgy of the Word, 3) the Liturgy of Baptism, and 4) the Liturgy of the Eucharist. This is also the Mass in which many RCIA adult catechumens arebaptised and confirmed and brought into full communion with the Catholic Church. 

This year at the Easter Vigil two adults will be baptised and join two others to be confirmed into our community of St Mary’s.