Dear Parishioners,

Lent is almost over!  As we enter into Holy Week, we recall the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.  Branches of palm, olive, or even budding willows are ancient symbols of victory and hope, as well as new life.  The procession celebrating Jesus' entry into Jerusalem overflowed with praise and excitement as onlookers waved their branches.  Yet in a few days, they would cry, "Crucify him!"  The crowd's change of heart illustrates the problem of holding God to our expectations.  The crowd in Jerusalem expected a liberating Messiah who would free the Jewish people from Roman oppression.  Jesus, instead, takes up his cross and invites us to do the same.  Through his death and resurrection he is a liberator, but from sin and death, not from the secular rulers in Rome.  The crowd's disappointment turns to anger, and they call out for Jesus' death.  We hear the Passion of our Lord, according to St. Luke, and  the readings of Palm Sunday teach us to take up our cross and follow Jesus.
Lent officially ends on Holy Thursday, before Evening Prayer.  We call Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter the Triduum;  the three days that commemorate the last events of Our Lord's life, death, and rising.  We must look at these days as "one continuous celebration."  These days are NOT "passion plays" or historical reenactments, celebrated as if Jesus must die all over again.  We are actively "remembering" the last events of our Lord's life and how His saving action affects us today.  How are we "dying to sin?"  How are we "rising up to new life?"  On Holy Thursday, the words of Jesus, "Do this in memory of Me,"  have special meaning.  Do this in memory of Me:  celebrate the Lord's Supper, feed the hungry, take care of the poor, heal the sick, love your neighbor. The Mass of the Lord's Supper begins with the entrance procession and the reception of the Holy Oils, blessed by our Bishop earlier in the week.  These oils are for anointing at Baptism, Confirmation, and the Anointing of the Sick. After the homily, we wash each other's feet as a symbol of service to our neighbor.  We receive the Body and Blood of Jesus and we reverence the Eucharist in procession at the end of the liturgy.  Adoration in the chapel follows the Mass until 10 p.m.

Good Friday has no greeting or dismissal- there is no Mass on this day...it is connected to Holy Thursday and the great Vigil of Easter.  On this day, we journey with the Lord through his passion and death.  We read the Passion from St. John's gospel, commemorating Jesus' walk to Calvary.  We venerate the cross and we ask Jesus to help us to carry our crosses in life.  We receive Holy Communion, consecrated at the Holy Thursday Mass, and then we await the Great Vigil of Easter.

Saturday night, we begin outside in darkness , lighting the new fire and the Paschal Candle, the symbol of the Risen Lord.  We process into church singing "Light of Christ, thanks be to God."  As the candle light is spread and the church gets brighter, we sing "Christ Be Our Light,"  Christ our light shining through darkness . We listen to the stories of our salvation through history; how God intervened in our human history through creation and through the people of the Old Testament.  The "Alleluia" is sung with great enthusiasm as we hear the reading from St. Luke's gospel telling us that Jesus is alive.  Jesus lives today in each of us.  

This year, through the waters of Baptism, we welcome Samantha Cleary, Katlyn Jennings, Anthony Powers, Sage Reynolds, and Kathryn Smith. Then they will be confirmed and receive the Eucharist with us for the first time.  We will profess our faith in Jesus, once again, and then we will all be invited up to the Baptismal font to bless ourselves with the new water of Baptism.   Lastly, we share  the Eucharist together- we become, once again, what we eat- the Body of Christ.  We leave the church with a renewed faith, with joy and peace in our hearts.  I encourage you to take time this week to be at these holy celebrations.  Let these liturgies nourish your faith.  Enter into the dying and rising of Jesus once again as we celebrate Holy Week at St. Margaret's. Practice for Servers for Holy Thursday will be at 6 p.m.; Practice for Good Friday will be at 6 p.m., and practice for the Easter Vigil will be at 11:30 a.m.

Many thanks. God Bless You, Fr. Paul J. Alciati