April 18, 2019
Holy Thursday is the day that Catholics commemorate the three pillars of their faith: the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, the priesthood, and the Mass. Father Patrick Burns presided at the Holy Thursday Mass of the Last Supper, held at 7 p.m. This was the beginning of the Easter Triduum celebration. The washing of the feet, symbolic of Jesus washing the feet of the apostles, is an important element of Holy Thursday. At the conclusion of the liturgy, the congregation processed to the lower church for prayer and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
March 30-April 1, 2018 These photos provide images from the Good Friday service on March 30, the Easter Vigil on March 31 and an Easter Sunday Mass on April 1. The service on Good Friday afternoon celebrated Jesus’ saving death on the wood of the cross. This included the Passion narrative from St. John’s Gospel and veneration of the cross -- with the congregation coming forward to genuflect, touch or kiss the cross. On Holy Saturday evening, the blessing of the Easter fire and the lighting of the Easter candle marked the beginning of the Easter Vigil. During the services of Light, Word, Water and Eucharist we welcomed new members to our faith community. The Easter Vigil and the Easter Sunday Masses brought back many joyous alleluias to celebrate that Jesus Christ is risen! Click to view gallery.
May 7, 2017
One of the defining aspects of being Catholic is our devotion to Mary, the mother of God. May Crowning is the Catholic tradition of recognizing and celebrating Mary, our Heavenly Mother as the queen of heaven and earth. On May 7, recent First Communicants, their families and other parishioners gathered on the plaza after the 10 a.m. Mass at the North Church. From there, they processed with Fr. Patrick Burns to our Marian shrine (the Shrine to Mary, Mother of the Divine Word). The children wore their First Communion attire. One of the children placed a wreath of flowers on the head of the statue of Mary, other flowers were placed at the shrine in Mary’s honor.