Dear Friends of St. Jane Frances and OLC,
This weekend begins our journey through the holiest week of the year with the celebration of the Passion of the Lord on Palm Sunday. Holy Week offers us many opportunities to enter into the celebrations of Jesus’ Passion that will culminate next weekend with celebration of his Resurrection. I encourage you to make time to participate in the liturgies being offered to celebrate the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday, his Passion and death on Good Friday, and his Resurrection on Easter Sunday.
Here are the Holy Week schedules for both parishes:
- Holy Thursday, April 6th – 7:00pm Mass followed by Adoration until 9:00pm – Both
- Good Friday, April 7th – Passion of the Lord – 3:00pm at SJF;7:00pm at OLC
- Good Friday, Stations of the Cross – 12:00pm at SJF; 3:00pm at OLC
- Holy Saturday, Blessing of the Easter Foods – 9:00am at SJF; 12:00pm at OLC
- Easter Vigil, April 8th – 7:30pm at OLC; 8:00pm at SJF
- Easter Sunday, April 9th – SJF: 8:00am, 10am, 11:30am; OLC: 8:00am, 9:30am, 11am.
In addition to the events listed above, the Archdiocesan Chrism Mass will take place on Monday, April 3rd at 7:30pm at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Baltimore. This is a special Mass when the Archbishop will bless the holy oils used for anointing of the sick and the catechumens and consecrate the Sacred Chrism that will be used for Baptisms, Confirmations, and Holy Orders during the coming year. The priests of the Archdiocese also renew their promises they made at their ordination. This celebration is open to the public and all are invited to attend. As a priest, I know I am always thankful to see current (and former) parishioners in attendance. Please consider attending.
Fr. Jim and I will be offering the Sacrament of Reconciliation on Tuesday, April 4th throughout the day at St Jane Frances. The morning session is from 9:30am to 10:30am, the afternoon session is from 4:00pm to 5:30pm and the evening session is from 6:30pm to 8:00pm. This is the final advertised opportunity to receive the Sacrament before Easter so please make an effort to attend if you would like to do so.
Thank you for keeping our Pastorate of St. Jane Frances and Our Lady of the Chesapeake in your daily prayers! As we approach the first anniversary of the launch of our Pastorate, we are contemplating a
way to identify our Pastorate under a common name while still maintaining our parish names and identities. Stay tuned for more details as all members of the Pastorate will be invited to participate in this endeavor!
God Bless,
Father Steve
