St. John the Baptist Catholic Church

Where Stewardship is a Way of Life

Bob Jensen

March 24, 2024

Pastor's Corner

Make Holy Week Holy

Lent ends and the Easter Triduum begins with the Vigil of Holy Thursday. It marks the end of the 40 days of Lent and the beginning of the three-day celebration of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ – Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Vigil/Easter Sunday. On Thursday, Jesus shared The Last Supper with his apostles and offered them the example of service by washing their feet. He was subsequently arrested and tried. He was crucified at Calvary on Friday, outside the gates of Jerusalem. He was buried the same day, and arose three days later, on Easter Sunday.

 The Fathers of the Second Vatican Council reminded us of the extraordinary significance of the Triduum : “Christ redeemed us all and gave perfect glory to God principally through his paschal mystery: dying he destroyed our death and rising he restored our life. Therefore the Easter Triduum of the passion and resurrection of Christ is the culmination of the entire liturgical year.” (General Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar, # 18)

The 40 Days of Lent were a time of preparation for these great three days, which is what Triduum means. These three days lead us to an empty tomb and an Octave (eight days) of celebrating the Resurrection. They also introduce an entire liturgical season, the Easter Season, which lasts for 50 days until Pentecost.

Make Holy Week special. Take steps to indicate that this is not life as usual but a special time set apart. Do that through what you eat, what you do in the evenings, what you talk about, and what you do upon waking and going to sleep. For example, you might set aside an evening to read the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ passion and death. Attend the liturgies of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the great Easter Vigil with its candle-lit procession into the church, tracing of salvation history in the Liturgy of the Word, celebration of baptisms and welcoming those joining the Catholic faith. At every Easter Mass, we renew our baptismal promises.

If you know of Easter and Holy Week traditions from your ethnic heritage, introduce them to your children. Many families decorate eggs – symbols of the Resurrection – or put together Easter baskets. My family pickled eggs – something I now do! The story of Jesus’ suffering and death are at the heart of Christian faith. They are at the heart of our very existence and meaning. It’s easy to be too busy or too distracted to attend to these rites and lessons. Make Holy Week holy by making sure its not just an ordinary week for ordinary things.

March 17, 2024

Pastor's Corner, Uncategorized

Procession in Holy Week

 by Paul Turner

You may feel you deserve applause when you get out of bed or off the couch and go to church. After all, many Catholics don’t even do that much. You do. During Holy Week however, going to church is not enough. Just when you think you can settle into your favorite pew, you will be asked to stand up, leave your place, and walk. Many Catholics resist. They become pew potatoes. But those who join the processions of Holy Week will find their faith and charity rewarded.

On Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord, for example, the Mass will begin outdoors. Instead of going directly into the church as usual, you may gather in another area – indoors or out. The priest will bless the palm branches; he or the deacon will proclaim the Gospel, and then all process into the church acclaiming Christ. (Of course, those with walking difficulties may be seated in the church beforehand.)

On Thursday of the Lord’s Supper, the evening Mass does not conclude in the usual way. Instead, a procession forms right after communion. The Blessed Sacrament is brought to a special chapel or tabernacle. You will be invited to join this procession, singing hymns of praise and moving to a place where you may pray privately in the course of the night.

During the Good Friday liturgy, you will be invited forward to adore the cross. The Eucharist is the only thing we genuflect before, except on Good Friday when we genuflect before the Cross.

At the Easter Vigil, as on Palm Sunday, you will be invited forward to start Mass outside the church. There, a fire will be burning, signifying the resurrection of Christ, the light that shatters darkness. Carrying candles, you enter the church following a pillar of fire, as our ancestors marched from slavery to freedom.

The processions of Holy Week draw us into the mystery of the death and resurrection of Christ. It is worthwhile to get up out of the pew.

March 10, 2024

Pastor's Corner, Uncategorized

Father Bill is taking some time off to visit family in Florida. Let’s hope he brings back some warm weather for us!
In his absence, one of his past articles from January 22, 2023 is reprinted below. As we approach Easter and
welcome returning Catholics or new Catholics, let us be reminded when we should make the sign of the cross
during Mass.

When Do You Make the Sign of the Cross?

A couple of weeks ago, when I was teaching an RCIA Class on the Mass, the question emerged about when we make the Sign of the Cross. The Catholics in the group shared how they were trained to make the Sign of the Cross multiple times. It may surprise you when and when not the rubrics call for the Sign of the Cross. Here is a little quiz. Answer Yes or No to
the following if you should make the sign of the cross during these portions of the Mass. The Answer Key is someplace in the bulletin.

1. Anyone entering the church using holy water makes the sign of the cross on themselves.
2. The priest, putting incense in the thurible, makes the sign of the cross over the incense.
3. Anyone, making a genuflection, makes the sign of the cross on themselves.
4. All, at the beginning of Mass while saying “In the Name of the Father,” makes the sign of the cross on themselves.
5. All, when the priest says, “May Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins…” makes the sign of the cross on themselves.
6. When the priest sprinkles with water, all makes the sign of the cross on themselves.
7. Priest or deacon, before adding water to the wine, makes the sign of the cross over the water.
8. Priest, holding a particle of the host just before dropping it into the chalice, makes the sign of the cross over the chalice.
9. Any minister of communion holding the host and saying “The Body of Christ.”
10. Anyone, after receiving Communion, makes the sign of the cross on themselves.
11. The priest, when saying the final blessing, makes the sign of the cross over the people.
12. The people, hearing the final blessing, makes the sign of the cross on themselves.
13. Anyone leaving the church using holy water makes the sign of the cross on themselves.

I must admit – when I took this quiz, I did not score 100%. I share this quiz with you just to acknowledge we so easily add things to the liturgy. It becomes a problem when individual gestures begin to weaken the expression of unity or draws attention to an individual. This quiz comes from Fr. Paul Turner’s book, In these or Similar Words.