Dear brothers and sisters, as we hear in the Exsultet at the Easter Vigil, this is the “truly blessed night, when things of heaven are wed to those of earth, and divine to the human.” The Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ is the Good News of Christianity. Humanity was once cut off from God and doomed to eternal death through sin; now, in Christ, eternal life is offered to us anew. The sufferings and hardships of this life, though often distressing, are passing. Death has lost and Life has won! We can once again walk with God in intimate union.
The Resurrection of Christ is applied to us through the sacraments of the Catholic Church. Over the last two months, Gudrun and I have met weekly with Tracey, Josh, and Sarah to prepare them for reception into the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil. Tracey, Josh, and Sarah first had contact with our parish through Alpha and are looking forward to completing their initiation into the Catholic Church when they receive the Sacraments of Confirmation and First Holy Communion on the Ascension. We wish them our congratulations!
The ceremonies of Holy Week are the most beautiful of the Catholic year. As I said to one parishioner this week, they are like a Catholic version of IMAX. At IMAX, your senses are overwhelmed by the big screen and big sound. The liturgies of Holy Week are much the same. They overwhelm our senses in the best way. They strengthen our faith, hope and love.
At the same time, these ceremonies are the most complicated of the Catholic year and require the contributions of many people. I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude to Deacon Royden, Jasna, Gudrun, the sacristans (Ken, Benita, Peter and Angela), those who have prepared the beautiful flowers (Val, Noela, Nina, Jay and Aquilina), our servers (Austin, Emmanuel, Austin, Rod and Jordan), the collectors, the readers and the Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, musicians, as well as those who organised the Stations of the Cross on Good Friday. I thank especially Bianca Cesar and the combined Triduum choir. They have been rehearsing every Wednesday evening throughout Lent and have adorned our ceremonies with a special reverence.
Finally, thank you one and all for your participation in the Holy Week ceremonies. On Palm Sunday, I challenged you to be generous with God over the week and you have risen to the challenge. You have turned out in great numbers. I am particularly edified by the number of people who made use of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Christ is risen and He is truly alive in this parish!
I wish you all a very happy and holy Easter!
Fr Marcus Goulding, Administrator