Holy Thursday:
7:30pm the Mass of the Lord’s Supper Trilingual in the church

Good Friday:
10 am The Liturgy of Morning Prayer in English in the chapel
10 am Haitian community Prayers in the chapel
11 am Seven Lat Words in Spanish in the church
3 pm Solemn Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion followed by outdoor procession dramatizing the Stations

Holy Saturday:
8 pm The Easter Vigil Trilingual in the church

Easter Sunday:
7 am Mass in the church in English in the church
8:30 am Mass in the church in Spanish in the church
11:30 am Mass in the church in English in the church
1:30 pm Mass in the church in Haitian in the church

O God, who, on this day through Thine only-begotten Son, has conquered death, and thrown open to us the gate of everlasting life

First Reading – Jeremiah 31: 31-34 (35B)

God says, “I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel….I will place my law within them and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God, and they shall be my people….I will forgive their evildoing and remember their sin no more.”

Second Reading – Hebrew 5: 7-9

When Jesus was in the flesh, he prayed constantly to God. Through his prayer and obedience, Jesus became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.

Gospel Acclamation – John 12: 20-33

Jesus told his followers: “Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat….And what I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.”

Reflection of the Week

In today’s Gospel, Jesus hones in on the sacrificial element of Christian living. He explains that a grain of wheat must fall to the ground and die in order to bear great fruit – to become the wheat it was meant to be. Then, Christ makes some startling remarks. He says, “whoever loves His life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life.”

That is not to say that we are to hate life here and now and solely focus on the afterlife. After all, god has placed us here, so He clearly sees fit for us to live an earthly life. He has clearly not called us to heaven quite yet. But what Christ’s words communicate to us is a sobering reality still. We are not to be living for ourselves and the things of this world. Rather, we were created to know, love and serve the Lord. We were created to go beyond ourselves and selflessly give in love and service to others. When we do so, we, like the wheat that gives of itself in “death” will bear great fruit.

God has given us innumerable gifts with which we can do so. It is our job to reflect on those many gifts and determine how He is calling each one of us to use them for His greater glory.

First Reading – 2 Chronicles 36: 14-16, 19-23

God’s people lived in sin, mocking God’s messengers and ignoring the Lord’s warnings. Finally their enemies destroyed Jerusalem. They were taken captive, but God showed mercy.

Second Reading – Ephesians 2: 4-10

God is rich in mercy, and out of love the Lord brought us to life in Christ when we were in sin. God saved us by grace, not by anything we have done.

Gospel Acclamation – John 3: 14-21

God’s son came into the world not to condemn it, but to save it. As Moses lifted up the serpent, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that all who believe may have eternal life.

Reflection of the Week . 03/18/12

“For God so loved that world that He sent His only Son so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but might have eternal life.” (John 3:16) This familiar verse which is a portion of today’s gospel reading speaks of a profound reality, a central truth of our Faith in which we wholeheartedly rejoice.
God the Father sent Christ into the world as a selfless, loving, life-giving gift to us and Christ, meanwhile, came willingly in order to give of Himself for our salvation.

How do we respond to such a gift?

We follow suit. We give of ourselves in utter gratitude to God. We recognize that He has given us gifts beyond measure, and we give Him our hearts and our whole lives. We live our lives in such a way that glorifies Him – lovingly serving one another. In so doing, we say “Thank you.”

This concert will feature the Haitian Choir directed by Bijoux, the Spanish Choir directed by Nidia Rivera, Instrumental Soloists featuring Glen Balck & Frantz Lafortune, The English Youth Choir, The English Adult Choir and the Parish Choirs.

The concert will also include renditions of Andrea Bocelli and a piece being performed for the very first time in public, Psalm 23 “The Lord Is My Shepherd” arranged and composed by Michael Cook who will be in attendance that night.

A soup dinner starts in the school hall at 6pm and concert starts at 7:45pm.

Tickets to the dinner and the concert are: $12 for adults and $5 for children under 12

Proceeds from the Concert Benefit the Parish Fund to Restore the Pipe Organ.
Click here to sponsor a pipe in the organ

Follow the progress on the parish’s pipe organ by clicking here.

First Reading – Exodus 20: 1-17 or 20: 1-3, 7-8, 12-17 (29B)

God delivered the commandments to Moses and the Hebrews, who had been freed from slavery in Egypt. “You shall not have other gods besides me,” said the lord God.

Second Reading – 1 Corinthians 1: 22-25

Paul preached Christ crucified “a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles.” God’s folly is wiser and his weakness stronger than human wisdom.

Gospel Acclamation -  John 2: 13-25

Jesus found people buying and selling in the temple. With a whip he drove out the moneychangers. He said, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.”

Reflection of the Week

In the gospel reading today, Jesus, upon seeing all the buying and selling that was taking place in the temple, flips over tables and throws coins to the ground. At first glance, his reaction seems a bit radical. As Mark tells it, Jesus even “made a whip out of chords.” Indeed, it is radical, and for good reason. Jesus wants to call the people’s attention to what’s important. He is angry that the temple has become a marketplace. Jesus’ reaction tells us just how important worshipping God really is. We simply must put him before all else, and we must live our lives accordingly.
Yet Jesus doesn’t tell us that and simply expect us to listen to Him. He takes it to heart in His own life here on Earth, putting the Father’s will above His own wants, even to the point of death. On the cross, Christ offers us an example of just how selfless we must be as Christian stewards. We are called to follow the Lord, and put His will for us before our own. It is, then, to the cross we look to discover what should be our way of life — a complete and total gift of ourselves to the Lord, offering our time, talents, and treasures to serve Him. And for some (those whom we call martyrs), this gift of self will involve a sacrifice to the point of death.

As St Paul reminds us in the second reading “there is great power in the cross.” When we respond to Christ’s call by following His example and giving ourselves completely in love and service to God and neighbor, we will feel incredibly fulfilled.