Praying together at Easter time…
Our Easter Private Intentions Altar is in place here in St Patrick’s Chapel in Kiltegan. It is a daily reminder to us to pray for all of you – our friends, supporters and benefactors. Within the altar are the many prayers and private intentions which we received from you in the mail, through our website, through the “light a candle” format and on the prayer cards. Many of you are worried about family and friends, elderly parents and grandparents, job security, financial issues and so on. We are keeping all of that in mind and we ask you please, to pray for us too. The simple prayer of St Teresa of Avila can calm your nerves when you are feeling stressed and anxious. Maybe you would like to pray it with us:
Let nothing disturb you.
Let nothing upset you.
Everything changes.
God alone is unchanging.
With patience all things are possible.
Whoever has God lacks nothing.
God alone is enough.
May God and St Patrick guard and protect each and every one of you. Amen.
After the darkness of winter, spring is here at last. Spring means, among other things, that Easter is not too far away! While nature is “springing” to new life, we await the new life of Easter. There are signs of new and fresh life all around us. It does your heart good to see signs of new life and fresh growth in God’s creation.
God brings creation alive in this part of the world at this time of the year. God, also, brings new life and hope to us at Easter. We have been through a lot over the past few years. God took care of us in the past, He will take care of us now. Easter teaches us that God is the One in charge, that God has the last word. As each new day begins, we remember that God has raised Jesus from the dead and He gives life, hope, and help to all who believe in Him. We place all that happens to us in God’s hands, knowing that God is interested in all that goes on in our lives. We can, therefore, look to the future with confidence.
From today, Holy Thursday, to Easter Sunday, we will remember your special intentions in all the ceremonies of these sacred days. Your special intentions are presented before God here in St Patrick's Chapel during the ceremonies of Holy Week.
We pray that this Easter will be a time of hope, joy and energy for you and your family.
Holy Thursday - April 6th
This evening we begin the celebration of the Easter Triduum, three days when we recall the central elements of our faith, the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus. This evening we recall the institution of the Eucharist, the sacrament which keeps our faith and that of our Christian communities alive. St John in his gospel reminds us that on Holy Thursday night while Jesus instituted the eucharist he also directed his followers to wash each other’s feet. The eucharist without care of neighbour is not ideal.
John 13:1-15
Now he showed how perfect his love was.
It was before the festival of the Passover, and Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to pass from this world to the Father. He had always loved those who were his in the world, but now he showed how perfect his love was.
They were at supper, and the devil had already put it into the mind of Judas Iscariot son of Simon, to betray him. Jesus knew that the Father had put everything into his hands, and that he had come from God and was returning to God, and he got up from table, removed his outer garment and, taking a towel, wrapped it round his waist; he then poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel he was wearing. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, ‘Lord, are you going to wash my feet?’ Jesus answered, ‘At the moment you do not know what I am doing, but later you will understand.’ ‘Never!’ said Peter ‘You shall never wash my feet.’ Jesus replied, ‘If I do not wash you, you can have nothing in common with me.’ ‘Then, Lord,’ said Simon Peter ‘not only my feet, but my hands and my head as well!’ Jesus said, ‘No one who has taken a bath needs washing, he is clean all over. You too are clean, though not all of you are.’ He knew who was going to betray him, that was why he said, ‘though not all of you are.’
When he had washed their feet and put on his clothes again he went back to the table. ‘Do you understand’ he said ‘what I have done to you? You call me Master and Lord, and rightly; so I am. If I, then, the Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you should wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example so that you may copy what I have done to you.’
Good Friday - April 7th
In you, O Lord, I take refuge.
Let me never be put to shame.
In your justice, set me free,
Into your hands I commend my spirit.
It is you who will redeem me, Lord.
Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.
Today, as we look at the cross, we remember so many different crosses which have come into our lives and pray that God will use them as a steppingstone to help us cope in these nervous times. “There was silence over all the land.”
Holy Saturday Night - April 8th
Matthew 28:1-10
He has risen from the dead and now he is going before you into Galilee
After the sabbath, and towards dawn on the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala and the other Mary went to visit the sepulchre. And all at once there was a violent earthquake, for the angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled away the stone and sat on it. His face was like lightning, his robe white as snow. The guards were so shaken, so frightened of him, that they were like dead men. But the angel spoke; and he said to the women, ‘There is no need for you to be afraid. I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said he would. Come and see the place where he lay, then go quickly and tell his disciples, “He has risen from the dead and now he is going before you to Galilee; it is there you will see him.” Now I have told you.’ Filled with awe and great joy the women came quickly away from the tomb and ran to tell the disciples.
And there, coming to meet them, was Jesus. ‘Greetings’ he said. And the women came up to him and, falling down before him, clasped his feet. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers that they must leave for Galilee; they will see me there.’
Easter Sunday - April 9th
“Christ is Risen, Alleluia” is today’s message – a message to be proclaimed throughout the ages. On this, ‘the Feast of feasts’, ‘the great Sunday’ the church sings out the Good News to all the world. The daily liturgy over the next fifty days, up to Pentecost Sunday will constantly come back to this bedrock of our faith. We can never exhaust the significance, implications and relevance of Jesus Christ rising from the dead. “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is pointless” is how St Paul simply explains it to his recent converts.
May the power of this great event seep into our souls and inspire us to overcome ‘death’ in the many forms we encounter it along our journey of life.
Christ, my hope, has risen:
he goes before you into Galilee.
That Christ is truly risen
from the dead we know.
Victorious king, thy mercy show!
Alleluia, alleluia!
Christ, our passover, has been sacrificed:
let us celebrate the feast then, in the Lord.
Alleluia!
Wishing you a happy, safe and blessed Easter.
