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Saturday 9 April 2022

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Dear Parishioners and Friends,

Greetings to you all!

Palm Sunday Year C

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, tomorrow we celebrate Palm Sunday. The journey of Lent we had begun on Ash Wednesday gets intensified with this week’s liturgy and reaches its culmination on Easter Sunday. Beginning from tomorrow, the liturgy is filled with external and rich symbolisms: procession with Palms, the washing of the feet, veneration of the cross etc., However, let us not allow these celebrations to pass us by as mere external rituals, but rather consider them as an occasion to examine our faith, fidelity, and relationship with the Lord.

For three years Jesus went around teaching, healing, and showing them how much he loved them as his heavenly father loved him. Wherever he went there were crowds of people who followed him. Now as he is about to be handed over: he is alone; not even his beloved apostles who ate and walked with him are with him. He is lonely in his agony. From the moment of his passion, he was arrested, put in prison, led before Caiaphas, Herod, and Pilate, interrogated, crowned with thorns, given a heavy wooden cross to carry, stripped of his clothes, nailed to the cross, mocked and finally he died. He underwent all these for my sake. He endured all these so that I would have life through him. Jesus did it out of love for me so that I will have eternal life through him. Through his painful suffering Jesus shows me his loyalty to the father in fulfilling the will of His father and also his love and concern for me.

I sincerely invite you all to participate in the Holy week liturgy and thus journey with Jesus in his Passion, death, and resurrection. When we do this, we will understand how much God loves us and how much God does for us. And also, active participation in the Holy Week liturgy will also deepen our relationship with God, increase our Faith, and strengthen our lives as disciples of Jesus.

Wishing you all a fruitful holy week observance. Amen

The weekend eBulletin

Click here to download the eBulletin for Palm Sunday Year C.

Prayer for Peace and Justice in Ukraine

God of peace and justice,

who change the hardened heart and break the power of violence,

we entrust the people of Ukraine to you.

Protect them in this time of peril;

let them know not death but life, not slavery but freedom.

You are Father of all;

we are brothers and sisters.

Give us the strength to live that truth in love,

choosing peace not war.

Through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Annual Chrism Mass in Cathedral

The Annual Chrism Mass will be celebrated at St. Mary’s Cathedral on Tuesday 12 April 2022 at 7pm.  If you are available, you are encouraged to join our Archbishop and the clergy in the diocese and pray for them.

Easter Offerings 

Usually twice a year you are invited, as a community, to make a special effort to financially support the Priests of the Basilica.  As the special season of Easter is fast approaching, you are encouraged to support the Priests during this special season of Easter. The envelopes are in the pews, so kindly use them and support your priests generously.

The Planned Giving Programme 

The planned giving programme is an important part of the Parish as it allows us to maintain all aspects of the Basilica, Presbytery and Parish Administration Centre. To keep the Parish viable, we must maintain a target of 95% and above each week. Last week’s giving was 56%.

Please consider joining the Planned Giving Programme. If you are not already a member, for more information contact the Parish Office.  Thank you!

Safeguarding of our children in the Parish

The Archdiocesan Safeguarding Project was started in 2016 by Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB with the aim of providing a safe and secure environment for all its members, leaders and especially children and vulnerable adults. The parish of St Patrick’s Basilica is committed to creating a safe parish. To read more please click here.

God bless!

Fr John Sebastian
Rector and Parish Priest