Diocese of

Palm Beach

E-Newsletter

Holy Week 2016

Understanding Holy Week and
Celebrating Christ's Resurrection

Tomorrow, our observance of Lent officially ends. Starting at sunset on Holy Thursday of Holy Week and ending at sunset of Easter Sunday, the Catholic Church celebrates the Paschal Triduum. These three days (the literal meaning of Triduum) are meant to help us prepare for the celebration of Easter and Christ's resurrection.

For Catholics, as well as many other Christians, the celebration of Easter isn't an isolated event that happens one Sunday each spring. Every Sunday is in fact an Easter for us, a celebration of Christ's Resurrection from the dead. But the observance of Easter itself is the culmination of a whole week of significant religious observance and spiritual renewal.

Following is an excerpt from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) that explains the Paschal Triduum and why it is the heart and culmination of the entire liturgical year.

The Paschal Triduum

The first liturgy of the Sacred Triduum is the Mass of the Lord's

Supper, celebrated on the evening of Holy Thursday. This Mass celebrates the institution of the Eucharist, the institution of the priesthood, and Christ's giving of the new commandment ("Love one another as I have loved you" [Jn 13:34]). This liturgy also features the washing of the feet, a symbolic action in which the priest and other ministers wash the feet of members of the congregation as a sign of humble service of God's people.

On Good Friday, Mass may not be celebrated in accordance with the ancient tradition of the Church. No sacraments may be celebrated except Penance and Anointing of the Sick. Instead, the liturgy of the day is the Celebration of the Lord's Passion. This liturgy consists of a reading of the Gospel account of Christ's trial, suffering, and Death, as well as the veneration of the Cross, an opportunity to prayerfully approach the Cross and place there all our repentance, our sorrows, and our hopes.

Holy Saturday is spent in silence, prayer, an

d vigil near the tomb of the Lord. After night falls, the Easter Vigil begins and signals the culmination of Holy Week. The liturgy of the vigil begins outside the Church with the blessing of the new fire and the preparation of the Paschal Candle. This candle will burn during all Masses throughout the Easter season as well as at Baptisms and funerals throughout the year. The faithful enter the Church behind the Paschal Candle hailing Christ, the true light.

On Saturday, the Easter Vigil Liturgy has three parts. It is during the third part of the vigil the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation are celebrated. In addition to those adults and older children called to the Sacraments of Initiation at the beginning of Lent, parishes may choose to baptize infants and young children. Typically, adults baptized at the Easter Vigil are confirmed at the vigil as well. In addition, the vigil provides an opportunity for many parishes to receive candidates into the full communion of the Church. Such candidates renew their baptismal promises, make a profession of faith, and, usually, are confirmed. Candidates who have been validly confirmed previously (for example, in the Orthodox Church) are not confirmed again. The Easter Vigil concludes with the celebration of the Eucharist where the newly baptized and received are welcomed to the Eucharistic table for the first time.

Easter Sunday is the final day of the Triduum. In the dioceses of the United States, the faithful are invited to renew their baptismal promises, after which they are sprinkled with the newly blessed water.

The above is an excerpt from the USCCB. For more information on this above summary of the Triddum, please click here.

Friday is the Passion of the Lord

On March 25, the Friday of the Passion of the Lord, also known as Good Friday, some of our parishes will observe this day with a presentation of the Stations of the Cross and the Passion. Below is a list of a few of the parishes that will do so. If a particular parish is not listed, please view our online Parish Directory to visit the websites of our different parishes and to find their phone numbers.

From our Online Events Calendar:

Seven Last Words of Christ

12:00 PM - 2:30 PM

St. Juliana Church, WPB

View more information

Living Stations of the Cross
12:00 PM
Cathedral of St. Ignatius Loyola, PBG
View more information

The Passion presented by Doug Barry

7:00 PM - 9:30 PM

St. Martin de Porres, Jensen Beach

View more information

More Listings:

Other parishes provided similar information to the Florida Catholic newspaper (published in our March 11 - 24 issue). Please click here to view that list.

If a particular parish is not listed, please view our online Parish Directory to visit the websites of our different parishes and to find their phone numbers.

Celebrate Easter in the Diocese of Palm Beach

You are invited to celebrate the Resurrection of the Lord this Easter at one of the 53 parishes and missions in the Diocese of Palm Beach. Easter Vigil Masses will be held on Saturday, March 26, and on Easter Sunday, March 27. A list of Mass times and locations is available on our website Events Calendar. Please click here to visit that page and find information.

Easter Schedule at the Cathedral

The following is a list of services and Masses to take place at the Cathedral of St. Ignatius Loyola in Palm Beach Gardens during Holy Week and Easter Weekend. Times of services Bishop Barbarito will attend are noted below.

HOLY THURSDAY - MARCH 24

7:30 p.m. Mass of the Lord's Supper (bilingual) with Bishop Barbarito.

GOOD FRIDAY - MARCH 25

Noon 12 p.m. Living Stations of the Cross in the Parish Hall. Bishop Barbarito will attend.
3:00 p.m. The Lord's Passion in the Cathedral with Bishop Barbartio.
6:00 p.m. Bilingual Stations of the Cross outside on parish grounds with Bishop Barbarito.
7:00 p.m. The Lord's Passion (Spanish) Cathedral

HOLY SATURDAY - MARCH 26

Blessing of the Food will take place at 11 a.m.
There will be no daily Mass on this day

HOLY SATURDAY EASTER VIGIL - MARCH 26

7:45 p.m. in the Cathedral celebrated by Bishop Barbarito.

EASTER SUNDAY, MARCH 27

Masses in the Cathedral: 7:15 a.m., 8:45 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. (in English); 2:00 p.m. (in Spanish - 2:00 p.m. Misa en Espa�ol en la Catedral)
Mass in the Parish Hall: 10:45 a.m.

*Bishop Barbarito will celebrate Easter Sunday Mass at Noon at St. Christopher's Church in Hobe Sound.

Visit the website of the Cathedral of St. Ignatius Loyola

View Bishop Barbarito's Public Calendar

Watch our Easter Sunday Mass on TV

Music Director Chris Hogan and students from the Cantorum of St. Ann Catholic School provided the liturgical music for the taping of the diocesan Easter Mass that will air on TV on Easter Morning.

The Diocese of Palm Beach will air its one-hour Easter Mass on Sunday, March 27, from 9 a.m. - 10 a.m. on CW34 for the benefit of the sick, homebound and many others in our community so they can celebrate the Holy Mass.

On most cable systems, CW34 is Channel 4 and is 34.1 on Over-the-Air Digital Antennas. Please check your cable guide if you are not able to find CW34 on your TV. CW34 is the station that normally airs the diocese's half-hour weekly Mass each Sunday from 9 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.

Bishop Barbarito will be the celebrant for the Easter Mass and music for the liturgy will be provided by students from St. Ann Catholic School in West Palm Beach.

Additionally, for the benefit of its dedicated viewers and the community, CBS12, the local CBS affiliate, will air the Easter Mass from 1 p.m. - 2 p.m. We thank CBS12 for helping those unable to attend Church to have another opportunity to celebrate this Holy day.

Bishop Barbarito's Column:

Living the Truth in Love: St. Joseph the Dreamer During Holy Week

The sleeping St. Joseph statue is pictured in the office of Pope Francis. (Photo courtesy: Florida Catholic)

The celebration of Palm Sunday and Holy Week begins this year immediately following the celebration of the Solemnity of St. Joseph, Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary, on Saturday, March 19. This Solemnity will be the third anniversary of the installation of Pope Francis as the Universal Shepherd of the Church and the Successor of St. Peter. Pope Francis has great personal devotion to St. Joseph. It is Pope Francis who added the name of Joseph as the spouse of Mary to all of the Eucharistic prayers of the Mass. A reflection upon this devotion will help us not only appreciate the importance of St. Joseph in the life of the Church but also to appreciate a message St. Joseph has for us during Holy Week.

Pope Francis has a statue of St. Joseph on his desk. It is an unusual statue since it is one of St. Joseph in a sleeping position. The statute is about one foot and four inches and is carved out of wood. The Saint is dressed in gold trim dark green and red garments which is typical of Hispanic American iconography. The statue of the sleeping St. Joseph is one of the few things which Pope Francis requested be sent to Rome from his residence in Buenos Aires after his election as Pope. In his talk to the families of the Philippines during his January 2015 visit, Pope Francis personally attested, "I would like to tell you something very personal. I like St. Joseph very much. He is a strong man of silence. On my desk I have a statue of St. Joseph sleeping. While sleeping he looks after the Church. Yes, he can do it! We know that. When I have a problem or difficulty, I write on a piece of paper and I put it under his statue so he can dream about it. This means please pray to St. Joseph for this problem."

The sleeping position of St. Joseph is very significant as it is while he is asleep in the Gospel of St. Matthew that the Angel of God appears to him in dreams to make known God's revelations in regard to His will for St. Joseph. We see this clearly as St. Joseph is told, in a dream, not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife since the child conceived in her was through the power of the Holy Spirit. This child would be Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. It is also in a dream that the Angel warns St. Joseph to take Mary and Jesus and flee to Egypt to avoid the slaughter of the innocents in Bethlehem. It is also in another dream that the Angel advises St. Joseph to return to Israel after the death of King Herod who was responsible for the slaughter. It was in the dreams of sleep that St. Joseph comes to know the will of God and to carry out his special mission as the foster father of God's own Son for which he was chosen.

As we approach Holy Week, after the celebration of the Solemnity of St. Joseph, Husband of Mary, it is well to reflect upon his role as a dreamer both in regard to the importance of marriage and family life and also in regard to the importance of prayer.

The significance of St. Joseph in regard to family life is such an obvious one. On March 19, we celebrate Joseph as the husband of Mary. The dream in which he was told that Mary was the Virgin Mother of God and that he would have a role in raising Jesus reminds us of the sanctity of marriage and family life not only for Jesus, Mary and Joseph, but for all of us. In his recent address to the Roman Rota this January, Pope Francis referred to marriage and the family as the "dream of God." How fitting it is for the Pope to use this image especially in regard to his devotion to St. Joseph as a dreamer. In his address, Pope Francis explained how from the beginning God created man and woman in His image and likeness in order that they might give themselves to each other for mutual support in life as well as for participating with God in giving life to children. He described "God's dream" in marriage as "indissoluble, unitive and procreative" which is not an ideal but a fundamental vocation for most men and women.

During Holy Week, we commemorate the giving of Christ as a spouse to us who are the Church. We celebrate that giving as He sacrifices His life upon the Cross for us and as He establishes the celebration of the Eucharist which represents Christ's spousal love for the Church, sealed with His blood on the Cross. Just as Christ gives Himself to the Church, a man and woman give themselves to each other in marriage which is strengthened by Christ's giving. We celebrate in a special way during Holy Week that we are the family of the Church and are joined to Christ in a most intimate manner which is celebrated most fully in the Eucharist.

During Holy Week, we are also reminded of the importance of prayer within our lives. Holy Week is a prayerful week in a particular way. Pope Francis has used the image of St. Joseph as a dreamer to emphasize the importance of taking time to be with God in prayer in order to listen to Him. This includes the rest that comes from prayer as comes from sleep. In his talk to the families of the Philippines in 2015, the Pope stressed "Resting in prayer is especially important for families. It is in the family that we first learn how to pray. And don't forget when a family prays together, it remains together. This is important. We come to know God, to grow and to be men and women of faith, to see ourselves as members of God's greater family, the Church. In the family we learn how to love, to forgive, to be generous and open, not closed and selfish. We learn to move beyond our own needs, to encounter others and share our lives with them. This is why it is so important to pray as a family! That is why families are so important in God's plan for the Church!" How fitting are these words as we reflect upon the importance of our lives as members of God's family in prayer especially during Holy Week.

St. Joseph indeed has much to say to us and sets an example of a person who gave himself to God by giving himself to his family. He stands before us as a dreamer who puts us in touch with the very dream of God Himself. As we celebrate Holy Week, may we know more fully in our lives the "dream of God" by taking time to be with Him more in prayer, especially in the Eucharist, and to participate more fully in family life and the life of the Church.

A blessed Feast of St. Joseph and a blessed Holy Week to all!

Bishop Barbarito

March 11, 2016*