As I write this letter we are in the middle of Holy Week, and so far we have enjoyed a feast of liturgical riches. As we make our way to Easter Day, I want to thank all of our volunteers who have done so much already to enhance our worship together. The acolytes, choir, ushers, and altar guild members have outdone themselves once again.
One of the challenges of Holy Week is that the most important worship happens at the end. As beautiful as Palm Sunday, Holy Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday might be, the climax of the week is the Great Vigil of Easter - the most important service of the Christian year.
If you have not been to the Easter Vigil in the past, please join us. The service begins on Saturday at 7:00 pm with the lighting of the New Fire, followed by five readings recounting salvation history, and the Exodus story must always be included. We will also renew our baptismal vows and celebrate the first Solemn Mass of Easter at the Vigil. It is a long-standing St. Mark’s tradition to have a potluck and drinks party after the Vigil, and everyone is invited to bring food and drink to share for after the liturgy.
Overall we will have three Easter masses: the Great Vigil and First Solemn Mass of Easter, the Solemn Mass of Easter Day at 10:30 am, and a contemplative low mass on Easter Evening at 5:00 pm. Because of the prominence of the Great Vigil, the early morning Sunday mass will not be celebrated on Easter Day.
Many of our parishioners find they enjoy attending more than one Easter mass, as each mass is unique, and each mass proclaims a different Easter Gospel. On Easter Eve at the Vigil we hear the resurrection story from Matthew’s Gospel, and on Easter Day we hear from John’s Gospel. The story from Matthew shares that confusing and exciting moment when the disciples discover the tomb is empty, whereas the story from John shares Mary Magdalene’s encounter with Jesus in the garden.
Then during the evening of Easter Day, we hear the Emmaus story from the Gospel of Luke. A day has almost passed from the first news of Jesus’ resurrection, and now Jesus appears to his disciples as the celebrant of the first Eucharist of the new community that is coming to life. He teaches the scriptures and he breaks the bread, and consequently their eyes are opened, and he vanishes from their sight, for now if they wish to see Jesus, they will know and feel his presence in the Sacrament of Holy Communion - the breaking of the bread and the sharing of the wine. The church gives us these multiple stories, reflecting how the early followers of Jesus came to understand the resurrection over time at that first Easter.
Please join us for these Easter celebrations, but if you can only attend one, my recommendation is the Great Vigil of Easter. I also want to say that when we have offered the evening mass of Easter Day in the past, I have been surprised to witness its pastoral necessity. Many people in our society have to work on Easter Day, and often the mass on Sunday evening is their only option for attending a mass.
Remember that when the celebrations of Easter Day are over, the church gives us an entire fifty days of Easter joy. May your Easter Day be glorious, and may your celebrations continue until Pentecost Day on May 28.
Father Paul Lillie +
