Padre’s Points to Ponder – 4/11/25
Dear All Saints Parish Family,
Holy Week is now upon us…and I want to invite you to enter in…not just by showing up at the liturgies, but especially by asking the Heavenly Father for specific graces, by which we can more deeply receive the gifts this sacred time offers.
Today is Palm Sunday. We enter Jerusalem with Jesus, crying out that Jesus is the King of Kings, He is the One we have been longing for, and He has come to save us from Sin and Death. As you hold the palm in your hand and we stand to hear and enter into the Passion Narrative, pray for the grace to be aware of where you have tried to fulfill the deep desire for God’s love through things other than God Himself. Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver…we do it for free.
Tuesday, all the priests of the Archdiocese will gather for the Chrism Mass, where all the new Holy Oils are blessed and consecrated. We renew our priestly promises at that Mass. All are welcome, but the Cathedral has limited seating, and half of the church will be filled with priests. Whether you come or not, let Tuesday be a day you pray for Fr. Tan, Msgr. Fennessy, me, and the priests who have heard your confession, given you Holy Communion, showed you the Heart of Jesus in any way. We NEED your prayers. We are no more divine or less human than anyone else, yet entrusted with such sacred responsibilities. Pray that we would love the Bride of Christ, the Church, as He, the perfect Bridegroom does.
Wednesday, Spy Wednesday, because that’s the day Judas hatched the plot with the Pharisees to get Jesus arrested, we will have a special prayer event called Tenebrae, which means “Darkness,” where psalms are chanted and readings are proclaimed in the darkness of night, highlighting the events of Triduum, the three events of the next three days. It is powerful and stirring, jarring even. I invite you to pray for the grace of stirring your heart and soul.
Holy Thursday, the only Mass is the Mass of the Lord’s Supper in the evening. We go to the upper room with Jesus as He fulfills the Passover and inaugurates a New and Eternal Covenant through the Priesthood and the Institution of the Eucharist. We wash the feet of 12 disciples, this year people in our Faith Formation programs. As the liturgy concludes, we process with Jesus to the Garden (the Social Hall in our case) to be with Him as He takes on the weight of the world’s sin. Pray for the grace to appreciate the gift of the Eucharist in a new and deeper way.
Good Friday we will meditate on the Lord’s Seven Last Words from the Cross, begin the Divine Mercy Novena, then Commemorate the Lord’s Passion with the veneration of the Cross and praying for the whole world. I invite you to pray for the grace of experiencing the depth of God’s love and the price of reconciliation. We will have a special offering of Confessions after the liturgy concludes.
Holy Saturday, as the Lord Jesus is dead, the Church, too, is quiet. We wait. Enter into the strangeness. The apostles were paralyzed with fear…ask the Lord for the grace to name your fears and to give you freedom through trust in His plan for your life.
Then, after dark, the Solemn and Sacred Vigil of the Lord’s Resurrection begins with a new fire. When all seemed dark, the Light of the World shined forth. I invite you to ask for the grace of being overwhelmed by the Gospel: through the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ you are purchased, you are claimed, you are rescued, you are saved from the Devil, from Sin, from Death…you are made a Child of God and have Eternal Life opened before you.
Enter in. These next few days celebrate the reasons we are Christians. Set everything else aside, to the extent you are able. May the Lord open us all to receive.
Praised be Jesus Christ, now and forever!
All you holy saints of God, pray for us!
Peace in Christ,
Fr. Michael Silloway
Pastor