Sacred Heart News

April is the transition month from the season of Lent to the season of Easter. Our parish activities focus on a deeper understanding of the greatest mysteries of our faith: the suffering, death and resurrection of our Lord. We invite all Catholics and those wishing to learn more about our Catholic faith to join us for some or all of the events and experiences this beautiful season offers. As the Lenten season wraps up there is still time for the celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation: Saturdays from 2:30-3:30 and Mondays during Lent from 6-7 p.m. Canon law requires all practicing Catholics to celebrate Reconciliation and Eucharist at least once a year.

We enter Holy Week with the blessing of palm branches and our journey with Christ into the most prayerful week of our calendar. Our celebration of the Sacred Triduum begins on Holy Thursday, (April 17) with the Mass of the Lord’s Supper beginning at 7 p.m. In this beautiful liturgy we remember the institution of the Eucharist. The tradition of visiting seven churches is also popular on Holy Thursday, honoring the ancient Christian churches of Rome. The church will remain open until 10 p.m. for private prayer time. The sanctuary is stripped as we move toward Good Friday.

Good Friday we will have the traditional 3 p.m. Service with the reading of the Lord’s Passion, the veneration of the cross and Holy Communion. Stations of the Cross will be prayed at 6:30 p.m. Holy Saturday morning at 10 a.m. we will celebrate the Blessing of Easter Foods, a tradition popular in Poland and other Eastern European countries. Families decorate their Easter baskets filled with samplings of the anticipated Easter dinner. The Great Vigil of Easter will be Saturday, April 19 at 8 p.m. Please note there is no 4 p.m. Mass on Holy Saturday and no afternoon confessions. Easter Sunday, April 20 Masses will be at 8, 9:30 and 11 a.m.

All of this information is available on our parish web site at www.sacredheartct.com or on our parish Facebook page.

We look forward to sharing our life of faith with you at this wonderful time of the year!