Weekly Bulletin (Palm Sunday) 28th March 2021

Today is Palm Sunday: You are welcome back to be with us, in person, during the most holiest week of the Church’s year! We call the event from Holy Thursday to Easter Sunday the Sacred Triduum. These are three days of prayerful liturgy that make up the one feast which is the central core of our faith – the Death and Resurrection of Christ. The purpose of the liturgy is to make present those same events that occurred historically once but are recalled, remembered, and lived in actuality by us who are living today. All of our Holy Week observances must be relived together with Christ. It is important to remember that our liturgy is not a pageant, it is not a stage show, but it is a participating by all of us in the life and death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Liturgy is something done, not something you look at, think about or even meditate upon. In Holy Week we are celebrating the Great Events when human kind was released from sin and re-united with God.  Pope Pius X1 on the Feast of Christ the King (1925) in his encyclical declared – “people are brought to appreciate the inner joys far more effectually by the annual celebration of our sacred mysteries than by any pronouncement, however weighty of the teaching of the Church!” Thank God for our web-cam that kept us in contact with each other in prayer. It became a channel of grace. Still, it cannot replace the living communion we call the church. Our life in Christ is more than words and images. The sacraments celebrate what Christ has mandated. They mark the contours of his promise to be present among us. The church cannot be true to herself without her sacred rites.  But the sacraments themselves are not the only life of the church. No, her life-breath is the Holy Spirit. Two persons of the Most Holy Trinity were summoned forth from the tomb by the Almighty Father: a beloved Son and a Holy Spirit. The risen one never intended to limit himself to a small band of disciples, appearing ever so briefly. The presence of the eternal, incarnate and risen Son cannot be contained because he gives himself to us through the Holy Spirit. No virus can separate us from Christ. Why? Because the risen one gave us his very Spirit, and this Holy Spirit breathes himself into us in every place—to the furthest end of the earth and until the end of time.

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Welcome: It is wonderful to have your presence with us in church. We missed you! However a little note of warning on our return to public worship given to us by the Northern Bishops. They remind the faithful that the obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days remains suspended and that every person should consider carefully if returning to collective worship is the safe and appropriate step for them, at this time. We are still in the middle of a pandemic. Here in the Graan the usual Covid 19 restrictions apply. Masks are to be worn, and social distance to be respected, and use of the sanitisers on entrance to the Church is a necessity. Please follow the directions of the ushers. 

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Confessions: The Northern Bishops have stated: “Although it may not be possible for all who wish to, to safely avail of the sacrament of Reconciliation, we strongly encourage all the faithful to confidently renew their trust in God’s mercy at this sacred time of the year through an Act of Perfect Contrition.” We will, however, be available to celebrate confessions here in the Graan, with those who wish during Holy Week. Confessions Monday to Thursday from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm. However it is important to note that on Good Friday confessions are from 1pm – 2.30pm and resume after the 3pm Service until 5:00 pm.

Holy Saturday 2pm – 5pm and the church will close at 5pm to help us personally prepare for the Vigil.

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Holy Week Timetable: Monday to Wednesday Mass will be celebrated at 7:00 pm each evening. Stations of the Cross will be prayed before Mass beginning at 6:30pm.

Holy Thursday: Mass of the Lord’s Supper – Celebrant: Fr Arthur at 7:00 pm.

Holy Hour on the theme “Watch with me” between 9-10 pm. Fr. Charles. 

Good Friday – Celebration of the Lord’s Passion at 3:00 pm Fr. Anthony.

Good Friday – Holy Hour on the Passion from 7:00 – 8:00 pm – Fr. Charles

Holy Saturday (Easter Vigil) at 8:00pm – Celebrant: Fr. Charles. Easter Sunday– Masses at 10:30 am, 12 noon & 4:00 pm.

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Shop: If you wish to contact us as regards purchasing cards please ring us during office hours (9:30 am – 4:00 pm). Guild Mass Cards: We have Easter Mass Bouquets which cost £2 / €2.50 each. Website www.thegraan.com