During Holy Week, the suffering, dying, and rising of Christ unfolds in word, symbol, and ritual. The liturgies of these sacred days invite us into the mystery of sacrificial love, boundless mercy, and pure gift.
Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion recalls the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem, the first event that sets the stage for His trial, conviction, and crucifixion. Riding on an ass, He is not the king the world thought the Messiah would be. If anything, Jesus is the King of Humility, the servant of servants who washes the feet of his disciples. The reading of the Passion on Palm Sunday draws us into the drama and anticipates Good Friday where the Cross is at the center of our worship and venerated because it is the instrument of our redemption.
For those who understand the Eucharist to be the source and summit of the Christian life, the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday recalls the gift of self that Jesus offers to feed souls and feed hungry hearts.
Holy Saturday morning finds believers in a strange in-between time: Jesus rests in the tomb and the world wonders what will happen next. The Church has placed Jesus among the souls in the underworld to rescue them and raise them to Heaven whose gates have been flung open. Holy Saturday night’s darkness is shattered by the new fire and the Paschal Candle, signaling the glory of Easter Sunday.
I invite you to participate in this week of holy moments. Join us in prayer and encounter Christ who died because of crimes He did not commit, but who triumphed over death. Come and hear again how the King of the Universe was stripped of everything and lived and died serving the poor, those at the margins of society, and the lost. Come to church and experience the greatest love story ever told.
Yours in Christ Crucified and Risen in Glory,
Welcome to the Saint Aloysius! Our parish was founded in 1896 to serve the Catholic families that were settling in the greater New Canaan area.