Since the cessation of Sunday Masses, I have been sending to my own Passionist Family Group, each Sunday Liturgy which I use in conjunction with my Mass Book.
I choose this for these reasons:
– I do not have sufficient data to watch Masses live from the various online media sources
– I can do it when I choose
– I have found it simple, spiritual and satisfying on a very personal level between me and God.
Here is the Weekly Liturgy for Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday:
Holy Thursday and good Friday differ from the normal Weekly format and Easter Sunday is in the normal ongoing Liturgy format.
Anyone wishing to receive these resources weekly may email WEEKLY LITURGY to GQ81244@gmail.com and you will be added to the weekly mail out.
All the best and may you have a Happy Easter !!!
Kia Kaha
Gerry
HOLY THURSDAY 09 APRIL 2020
The liturgy of Holy Thursday is called the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, a commemoration of Jesus’ last supper before His arrest and crucifixion.
As part of their Jewish heritage, Jesus and His Apostles gathered to celebrate Passover—an annual remembrance of how God saved the Israelites from slavery in Egypt centuries before.
Passover, as it was celebrated in Jesus’ time and still is today, occurs around a meal. Food is a predominant feature in this celebration, especially unleavened bread and wine.
It was at this Passover meal that Jesus changed the prescribed rite by taking the bread and wine, saying, “This is my body; this is my blood. Do this in remembrance of me,” thus, giving himself to us in the Eucharist.
Not just this Mass, but every Mass Catholics celebrate is a living remembrance and embodiment of Jesus’ Real Presence in the bread and wine made holy by the power of the Holy Spirit. This, for Catholics, is the most sacred gift of all—that Jesus is truly present with us in the form of bread and wine.
As Catholics, not only do we celebrate this awesome, miraculous gift, but, as we partake of the Bread and Wine, we actually become what we believe: the Body of Christ blessed, broken and shared for the life of the world.
The second theme of Holy Thursday is intimately connected to the Eucharist and the rest of the Triduum liturgy.
Being a commemoration of Jesus’ last supper, you’d expect that the gospel would be a retelling of the events at the last supper. That is not the case. Instead, we hear the story from the Gospel of St. John, of Jesus washing His apostles’ feet.
Holy Thursday is about the universal call to service. This is so important for Catholics that foot washing—indeed all acts of selfless giving—is officially called “the Mandatum”—Jesus’ mandate or commandment, “I have given you an example, so that you also should do.”
This is often referred to as the institution of the priesthood. All of us are called to live a life of service in imitation of Christ for the life of the world, but our priests especially are called to model Christ’s example of servant-leadership.
After the homily, people have the opportunity to share in the ritual action of having their feet washed. Some parishes invite all the parishioners to have their feet washed. Other parishes invite 12 persons who represent the 12 Apostles (and us as well) to have their feet washed by the priest. For both those who participate and those who witness this action, the deep humility and reverence in this simple act of washing and being washed is striking and profound.
Towards the end of the liturgy, the theme bends around again to the Eucharist. A special procession takes place of all the faithful who follow the priest as he carries the consecrated hosts to the Altar of Repose. In some parishes the procession winds up and down all the aisles of the church and even outside into the neighbourhood, while songs of praise and worship to God are sung.
This reverent procession challenges us to follow Jesus wherever He may lead. When the priest re-enters the church, he brings the ciborium—the receptacle that holds the hosts—to the Altar of Repose and places it inside the tabernacle.
The faithful are then invited to remain in prayerful adoration in front of our Eucharistic Lord. There is no dismissal ‘The mass is ended. Go in peace’ at the end of this liturgy.
As the Paschal Triduum is one great liturgy, there will not be a formal dismissal until the end of Easter Vigil. We are left to worship Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. We watch and pray with the Lord as we remember what immediately happened after the last supper—going to the garden of Gethsemani with His Apostles to pray; His prayer to His Father in Heaven that ‘ will be done’ his betrayal by Judas; and his arrest.
GOOD FRIDAY OF THE LORD’S PASSION 10 APRIL 2020
Sacrifice…Loss…Mourning…Silence…Worship.
When we first enter the church on Good Friday, we are immediately confronted with barrenness. The sanctuary is stripped of all ornamentation—no flowers, candles or altar linens. Some churches also cover up all the statues and icons with a purple veil. We are left with feelings of loss and deep sorrow.
Good Friday commemorates the anniversary of Christ’s crucifixion and death.
For Catholics, Good Friday is not just an historical event, but the sacrificial death of Christ which, with the resurrection, comprises the heart of what it means to be Christian.
As Catholics, we cannot miss that Jesus’ sacrificial death on a cross for the atonement of our sins is the story of our own redemption. The heart of who we are as Catholic Christians is intimately bound up in the cross of Christ. Words are insufficient to describe the supreme act of a loving God who would die for us. We can only enter into the story with silent worship.
Good Friday begins the second day of the Paschal Triduum. This is the only day in the Church year where a Mass is not celebrated, that is, there is no Consecration of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus. The service is intentionally simple—no unnecessary gestures, rituals or music—so that all the focus remains on the crucified Christ and his cross.
The priest and ministers process into the church in silence and, when they approach the foot of the altar, the priest prostrates himself—literally lies face down in front of the altar for several minutes —in an act of complete worship of the crucified Christ who gave His life for our salvation.
Along with the priest, we kneel in silent worship. The altar is stripped bare of all ornamentation and the door of the tabernacle is open—as if it were mourning itself.
The scripture stories retold this day focus on Christ the suffering servant who gave His life for the atonement of sins. As we hear the story of Jesus’ arrest, trial and execution, we come to learn of our own complicity in His death which is why worship is the only proper response to our God who loved us so much that He would die in our place.
Christ’s passion in the Gospel of John 18: 1-19:42
Jesus Arrested
When He had finished praying, Jesus left with His disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was a garden, and He and His disciples went into it.
Now Judas, who betrayed Him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with His disciples. Judas came to the garden, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees. hey were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons.
Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to Him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?” “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied.
“I am He,” Jesus said and Judas the traitor was standing there with them.
When Jesus said, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.
Again He asked them, “Who is it you want?” “Jesus of Nazareth,” they said.
Jesus answered, “I told you that I am He. If you are looking for me, then let these men go.”
This happened so that the words He had spoken would be fulfilled: “I have not lost one of those you gave me.”
Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear (The servant’s name was Malchus).
Jesus commanded Peter, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?”
Then the detachment of soldiers with its commander and the Jewish officials arrested Jesus. They bound Him and brought Him first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jewish leaders that it would be good if one man died for the people.
Peter’s First Denial
Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus. Because this disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the high priest’s courtyard, but Peter had to wait outside at the door. The other disciple, who was known to the high priest, came back, spoke to the servant girl on duty there and brought Peter in.
“You aren’t one of this man’s disciples too, are you?” she asked Peter.
He replied, “I am not.”
It was cold and the servants and officials stood around a fire they had made to keep warm. Peter also was standing with them, warming himself.
The High Priest Questions Jesus
Meanwhile, the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and His teaching.
“I have spoken openly to the world,” Jesus replied. “I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret. Why question me? Ask those who heard me. Surely they know what I said.”
When Jesus said this, one of the officials nearby slapped him in the face. “Is this the way you answer the high priest?” he demanded.
“If I said something wrong,” Jesus replied, “testify as to what is wrong, but if I spoke the truth, why did you strike me?” Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.
Peter’s Second and Third Denials
Meanwhile, Simon Peter was still standing there warming himself, so they asked him, “You aren’t one of His disciples too, are you?”
He denied it, saying, “I am not.”
One of the high priest’s servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, challenged him, “Didn’t I see you with Him in the garden?” Again Peter denied it and at that moment a rooster began to crow.
Jesus Before Pilate
The Jewish leaders took Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness they did not enter the palace because they wanted to be able to eat the Passover. Pilate came out to them and asked, “What charges are you bringing against this man?”
“If He were not a criminal,” they replied, “we would not have handed Him over to you.”
Pilate said, “Take Him yourselves and judge Him by your own law.”
“But we have no right to execute anyone,” they objected. This took place to fulfill what Jesus had said about the kind of death He was going to die.
Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
“Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?”
“Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”
Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders, but now my kingdom is from another place.”
“You are a king, then!” said Pilate.
Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
“What is truth?” retorted Pilate. With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, “I find no basis for a charge against Him, but it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release ‘the King of the Jews’?”
They shouted back, “No, not Him! Give us Barabbas!”
Barabbas had taken part in an uprising.
Jesus Sentenced to Be Crucified
Then Pilate took Jesus and had Him flogged. The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head. They clothed Him in a purple robe and went up to Him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” and they slapped Him in the face.
Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews gathered there, “Look, I am bringing Him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against Him.” When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”
As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw Him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!” but Pilate answered, “You take Him and crucify Him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against Him.”
The Jewish leaders insisted, “We have a law and according to that law He must die, because He claimed to be the Son of God.”
When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid and he went back inside the palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?”
Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”
From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jewish leaders kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.”
When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). It was the day of Preparation of the Passover, it was about noon.
“Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews, but they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!”
“Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked.
“We have no king but Caesar” the chief priests answered.
Finally Pilate handed Him over to them to be crucified.
The Crucifixion of Jesus
So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. Carrying His own cross, He went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). There they crucified Him and with Him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle.
Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.”
Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”
When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took His clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.
“Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.”
This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled that said, “They divided my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.”
So this is what the soldiers did.
Near the cross of Jesus stood His mother, His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw His mother there and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.
The Death of Jesus
Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. When He had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.
Now it was the day of Preparation and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. When they came to Jesus and found that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. The man who saw it has given testimony and his testimony is true. He knows that He tells the truth, and He testifies so that you also may believe. These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of His bones will be broken,” and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”
The Burial of Jesus
Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.
Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.
When we hear the words “It hath been finished and having bowed the head, gave up the spirit.”we are compelled to kneel in sorrow and awe.
In deep sorrow, yet with complete trust in God, we pray for all the needs of the Church, society, nations and the world. We pray for our church leaders; for those who don’t believe in Christ or in God; for all public officials; for the sick, the imprisoned, travellers and absent members.
We pray for peace, protection, guidance, an increase of faith, sincerity of heart, love for one another, forgiveness, mercy, compassion, liberty, healing, and courage.
We pray that the love of God in Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit, might be known by all people and in all places.
After the petitions is the first of two major processions which are connected to each other in profound and intimate ways. The first is the Veneration of the Cross. The priest or deacon move to the back of the church where he picks up a large cross which has been covered with a purple cloth.
While processing up the aisle, he stops at three separate intervals unveiling a piece of the cross proclaiming in song, “Behold the wood of the cross on which is hung the Saviour of the world.”
We respond by kneeling and singing, “Come let us worship.”
When the cross reaches in the front of the altar, the whole cross is unveiled and the faithful are invited to come forward to express our deep reverence and gratitude for the sacrifice of God’s own Son.
All the people come forward now in procession to embrace the cross of Christ with a bow, a touch, or a kiss.
One cannot help but be moved by the reverence of the people who come forward. They, and we, know what they bear on their own crosses: chronic illness, cancer, broken relationships, dreams unfulfilled, sinfulness, estrangement, conflict, the death of loved ones.
The cross of Christ becomes a symbol of our very lives. The cross of Christ becomes our cross. Yet, with complete hope in the love of God, the cross of Christ becomes the means of healing, wholeness, restoration and redemption.
In the second procession, the faithful come forward to receive the Body of Christ in Communion.
Where, at the Veneration of the Cross we embraced the cross, we now embrace Christ’s sacred Body. There is no Consecration at this service as additional hosts were consecrated the night before at the Holy Thursday liturgy, so that all may receive their Eucharistic Lord to be renewed and sustained by His grace.
At the end of the liturgy, the ministers and people process out of the church in silence.
For the rest of the day and throughout all of Holy Saturday, many Catholics often reduce to a minimum all unnecessary chatter, continuing their private worship that can only be accomplished in profound silence.
THE LITURGY OF THE WORD – EASTER SUNDAY
[in conjunction with our Mass Book or Missal]
Readings for 12 April 2020 Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord
First Reading – Acts of the Apostles 10:34a,37-43
Peter proceeded to speak and said:
“You know what has happened all over Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power.
He went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.
We are witnesses of all that He did, both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem.
They put Him to death by hanging Him on a tree.
This man God raised on the third day and granted that He be visible, not to all the people, but to us, the witnesses chosen by God in advance, who ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead.
He commissioned us to preach to the people and testify that He is the one appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead.
To Him all the prophets bear witness, that everyone who believes in Him will receive forgiveness of sins through his name.”
Responsorial Psalm 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23
- This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad.
Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, for His mercy endures forever. Let the house of Israel say, “His mercy endures forever.”
- This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad.
“The right hand of the LORD has struck with power, the right hand of the LORD is exalted. I shall not die, but live and declare the works of the LORD.”
- This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.
The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. By the LORD has this been done, it is wonderful in our eyes.
- This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.
Second Reading – Colossians 3:1-4
Brothers and sisters:
If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Think of what is above, not of what is on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
When Christ your life appears, then you too will appear with Him in glory.
Alleluia – Corinthians 5:7B-8A
Christ, our paschal lamb, has been sacrificed, let us then feast with joy in the Lord.
- Alleluia, alleluia
Gospel – John 20:1-9
On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark and saw the stone removed from the tomb, so she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb and we don’t know where they put Him.”
Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first. He bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.
When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there and the cloth that had covered His head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.
Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first and he saw and believed.
They did not yet understand the Scripture that He had to rise from the dead.