March 31, 2024
Welcome Everyone!
What Sunday is to the week, Easter is for the year. It is our most important liturgy, celebrating Jesus’ victory over sin and death. And not only is Jesus now alive, Jesus is life itself, and this life he shares with us.
This is the life that animates St. John the Baptist Catholic Community. We gather to worship in gratitude for all God has done for us and trusting in the promise of eternity. We grow in our discipleship. Each one of us is on a particular journey of faith. Each one of us has another step to take. We accompany each other wherever we may be on this journey. And we go in service. We have Good News to share. We do so with acts of love and compassion, caring for all God’s people, and caring for God’s creation.
Easter Sunday is a day we welcome many people. There are those who are here every Sunday, for whom Mass is the highlight of the week and a source of strength for the coming week. We welcome family members and relatives, who are visiting for the holiday. We welcome those of other faith traditions, who join their family members and friends today. A desire for something more in life may have brought you here today. Easter is also a time for those who have been away from the Church to explore the possibility of coming back. Whatever brought you here today, we are so glad you are here with us today! We hope that whatever has kept you away can be resolved, healed, or forgiven. If you are one of our neighbors without a faith community to call your own, welcome!
Wherever you are at on this journey of faith, the St. John the Baptist Catholic Community is here to walk with you. Together, may we discover the presence of the Risen Lord who has promised to remain with us forever.
You can find more information about our faith community on our web page at sjtbcc.org. You can also call the parish office and chat with myself or any of our staff at 253 630-0701.
March 24, 2024
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.