St Agnes Parish Bulletin Palm Sunday 28th March 2021

 RESUMPTION OF PUBLIC MASSES IN THE PARISH OF ST AGNES’

LITURGICAL ARRANGEMENTS

HOLY WEEK AND EASTER 2021

Fri 26th March

7pm Stations of the Cross

Sat 27th March

Mass 10am

& 

6.30pm Vigil

9.30am

& 12.30pm

Monday to Wednesday of Holy Week

Mass times: 10.00am

Holy Thursday 1st April

10.00am Prayer of the Church
7.00pm Mass of the Lord’s Supper

Good Friday 2nd April
10.00am Prayer of the Church
3.00pm Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion
7.00pm Stations of the Cross

Holy Saturday 3rd April
8.00pm Easter Vigil Mass

Easter Sunday 4th April
Masses: 9.30am, and 12.30pm

Easter Week
Monday to Friday: 10.00am Mass

We also want to remind the faithful that the obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days remains suspended and every person should consider carefully if returning to collective worship is the safe and appropriate step for them, at this time.

COVID-19

Funerals Are limited to 25 people, with no pre- or post-funeral gatherings.

Weddings Are limited to 25 people.

Baptisms Are limited to 10 people.

NB The wearing of masks at all times is compulsory in our church

STATIONS OF THE CROSS  Each Friday in Lent Fr Thomas will conduct the Stations of the Cross @ 7pm

PARISH WEEKLY ENVELOPES   The new weekly  envelopes are now available to be collected from the church. Please use the one way system that is in operation  in and  out of the Church, and  the Hand Sanitizing  Stations  when you are collecting your envelopes. If you are not on the list and would like a box of Parish envelopes please contact the Sacristy or Kate in the Parish Office ( 02890 615702)  

PARISH OFFICE .. will continue, for now, to be contacted by email or telephone only ( 02890 615702 & email- st.agnes.belfast@gmail.com), and not in person. Please continue to drop any Mass offerings, SVP envelopes etc. into the postbox outside the Parish Office. Thank you

PRAYER INTENTIONS: We extend our sympathies to the families of those who died recently and those whose month’s mind and anniversary occur at this time.

Recently Deceased: John Mc Cormick, Bernadette Magerr RIP

Sat 27th March : 6.30pm Vigil: David Magee

Sun 28th  March: 9.30am: Tom Mc Quillan, James Mc Kenna

12.30pm:Vincent Hynes

Mon 29th March: 10am: Hugh Pollock

Tue 30th March: 10am: Priest’s intention

Wed 31st March: 10am: Sue O’Neill

Please Note -No morning Mass Holy Thurs, Good Fri or Holy Saturday

Thurs 1st April: HOLY THURSDAY  7.00pm Mass of the Lord’s Supper

Fri 2nd April: : GOOD FRIDAY : 3.00pm Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion. 7.00pm Stations of the Cross

Sat 3rd April: EASTER VIGIL 8PM 

Sun 4th April: 9.30am :EASTER SUNDAY MASS

12.30pm: Joe Devlin 

In the event of a funeral, the assigned intention will be offered privately by the priest at his first available mass.

Those whose Anniversaries occur at this time: Mona Mc Guigan, Damian Mc Guigan, Sally O’ Gorman, Rachel O’ Rawe, Dermot Mulholland

Eternal rest grant unto them , O Lord!

POPE FRANCIS’ PRAYER FOR THE YEAR OF SAINT JOSEPH

Hail, Guardian of the Redeemer, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary. To you God entrusted his only Son; In you Mary placed her trust; With you Christ became man. Blessed Joseph, to us too, Show yourself a father, And guide us in the path of life. Obtain for us grace, mercy, and courage, And defend us from every evil.

The journey of discipleship

Our opening reading from Mark’s Gospel captures the elation of the crowds who welcome Jesus in Jerusalem. They spread greenery on the road in front of him, they lift their voices in praise, singing ‘Hosanna! Blessings on him who comes in the name of the Lord!’ But their hope and loyalty is short-lived, as we discover in our reading of the Passion. Jesus is left almost alone to face humiliation and death. His followers have heard his radical message of reversal and upheaval, but when it comes down to it, the challenge is too much. We are told ‘they all deserted him and ran away’. While Peter follows Jesus at a distance, he is soon denying he even knows him. Soon, the crowds are shouting for Jesus to be crucified.

     We are very familiar with the Passion Gospel and it can be tempting to allow ourselves to tune out, particularly when it comes to the unpleasant parts. We do not like to think of ourselves as part of the mob shouting ‘Crucify him!’ Yet if we enter fully into the experience, we can see ourselves in the story. When things are going well, it is easy to praise God and shout ‘Hosanna!’, and promise we will not lose faith. There are other times we fall asleep, become complacent. And then there are days when we struggle, when we are confused or do not know what God expects of us or whether we are able to handle the difficult times. We pull away from God. The different disciples display this range of human reactions and emotions. This week, Holy Week, we are the disciples walking with Jesus on a journey that leads to the cross. And yet here at the cross, we find Mary Magdalene and the other female disciples, and Joseph of Arimathaea. We know the story is not over for these disciples, or for Peter and the others. The journey of discipleship is just beginning.

‘We don’t have to be able to articulate all the logic of what is happening now. But Christians walk on with the conviction that there is One who does make sense of the apparent madness of shattered human dreams.’ (Bishop Donal McKeown)