Dear Friends at St. Louise,
For the faithful, Holy Week is to the year as Sunday is to the week – and, as the psalms tell us, the faithful here must praise the Lord!
As important as this week is to all of us, many parishioners are not able to come to church on Holy Thursday or Good Friday, or go to the Easter Vigil, because of work, inability to drive at night, or many other reasons. What is the “faithful heart” to do in these cases, to mark this as the holiest week of the year?
Here are some suggestions for those who cannot join us for the Triduum celebrations (these are good even if you are coming to the Triduum, or participating via livestream!):
Prayer: This week, make an extra effort to give time to prayer. You might prayerfully read the Gospel passage for each day (the daily readings are easy to find at https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading). Or pray the Stations of the Cross or the Rosary each day. And a few minutes of silent prayer is always a wonderful way to begin or end the day.
Fasting: Remember that, for those who are healthy enough to do so, Good Friday is a day of fasting (eating smaller portions than usual, and no snacking in between meals) and abstinence (no meat). If you are not able to fast and abstain due to health reasons, a heartfelt prayer or act of charity would be a wonderful substitute. The idea is to offer something up to Jesus, who offered his life in his flesh for us.
Almsgiving: The collection for Operation Rice Bowl will happen at the Mass for Holy Thursday, but you are welcome to bring your gift in to the Parish Office any time. This collection helps Catholic Relief Services to touch the lives of those in our world who face the most desperate poverty imaginable.
These are simple ways that we can live as one body, in prayer, fasting and almsgiving, during Holy Week.
Blessing to you all!
Fr. Gary Zender
Please let your family and friends know that our first Easter Sunday Mass is at 7AM.
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