The Triduum
What a beautiful beginning to Holy Week – congratulations on a hugely encouraging turn out at both parishes for Palm Sunday!
Today begins the Sacrum Triduum, or Three Holy Days – of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and the celebration of Easter. The Mass of the Lord’s Supper will be celebrated this evening at 7pm at St. John’s, and afterwards the Watch of the Passion will continue until midnight (although you are welcome to come and go as you please) – a lighted candle will be taken from St. John’s to St. Luke’s at 8:30pm where it will light the candles on the altar of repose and the altars will be stripped as the Watch continues in both parishes: volunteers are required, to have a foot washed during Mass. On Maundy Thursday we commemorate the institution of the sacraments of Holy Order, and the Eucharist – before joining Christ, spiritually, in Gethsemane.
Tomorrow is Good Friday: we will join the Newton Abbot Walk of Witness which departs St. Paul’s in Devon Square at 10am. The Liturgy of the Passion will take place in both parishes at 3pm. In this Liturgy, we listen to the dramatic retelling of the story of Christ’s Passion; we pray for the world; we venerate the wood of the Cross, and we receive the Pre-Sanctified Sacrament.
On Holy Saturday we contemplate our life without Jesus Christ as he descends into hell and harrows it.
The Vigil Mass of Easter will take place at St. John’s at 8pm on Saturday, and the First Mass of Easter will take place at 6am on Sunday morning followed by bacon rolls and significant amounts of coffee. This is the most complicated, and most beautiful, liturgy of the entire Church year: we first bless the new fire of Easter, and then listen to the prophetic anticipation of the Lord’s suffering and death; as the Vigil ends – and the Mass proper begins – bells ring, the organ sounds and the church is flooded with light!
On Sunday, Easter Day we will renew our baptismal promises during the 9:15am and 11am masses at both parishes.
Do encourage family, friends and neighbours to join us for these celebrations!
Easter Sunday Pew Sheet
Dearest friends,
He is risen! He is risen indeed!
It’s often said that we Christians are ‘an Easter people’. What does that mean? At the most basic level we are Christians because Jesus died for us, he descended into hell and on the third day he rose again. It is this central fact that is at the heart of our faith.
Without that our faith is hollow. Without that understanding of that ultimate act of Love, without that understanding that he rose again, then who are we?
Are we a social group here to care for the poor? Are we a group of people who meet for a cup of tea and a chat? Absolutely not! We are a community of Christians whose faith in Jesus Christ – in his death and resurrection – drive us to acts of good in the world.
Our faith is at the very heart of who we are and what we do in the world. Our faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ means that death no longer has dominion over us. Death has no sting, because we know that we are saved into eternal life in the Love of God.
Now what do we do with that faith? We must take it out into the world and share it with others – we share it because we want more people to come to understand that Love and we want more people to be saved into Heaven!
Now go, and announce the Gospel of The Lord!
Fr. Matthew
Notices
Summer Lectures
Over the summer term I don’t plan to run what you may call a traditional ‘course’. Instead I’m going to offer a series of Sunday afternoon lectures, perhaps once a fortnight. These lectures will range from ‘What is the Christian perspective on Assisted Dying’, to ‘Why was Devon so central to the Anglo-Catholic movement in England’. Suggestions over the last week or so have also included, ‘Women in scripture’, and ‘The Nicene Creed’. That gives us four very good afternoons, but is there just one more you’d love to hear more about? Let me know.
Evangelism
As the longer evenings start to warm up it’s a good opportunity to get out and invite people to our wonderful churches. In Bovey Tracey we are going to partner with PPT to visit the new estates in the parish and invite people to the loving welcome of St. John’s and PPT. In Newton Abbot we’re partnering with the rest of the Team to be in the town centre on market days to had out flyers and loving invitations. Training is provided and it’s a terrific opportunity to meet people. If you’d like to get involved please see me.
Summer Term Planning
As in previous terms we’ll meet together as two churches and plan the term ahead. The Summer Term will be based out of St. Luke’s and our planning meeting will happen there on the 30th April at 6:30pm. We’ll do a short review of the Easter term and then plan for the term ahead.
Sunday 20th April
Easter Sunday
6am – Dawn Mass [SL]
9:15am – Mass of Easter Sunday [SJ]
11am – Mass of Easter Sunday [SL]
Divine Office Psalter Week 1, C(I), Easter
Upcoming Dates
April
30th – Summer Term Planning Meeting, 6:30pm [SL]
May
7th – PCC Meeting [SL]
16th – Bingo [SL]
30th – Cheese & Wine Evening [SL]
St. John’s Table Top Sale – Every 3rd Saturday at Wickham Hall
Reflection
Keep nothing back.
Nothing that you have not given away will ever be really yours.
Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the dead.
Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay.
But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him, everything else thrown in.
The final paragraph in Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
The order of service for the Easter Vigils will appear here on Holy Saturday.