Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord April 14, 2019
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Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord April 14, 2019 St. Alexander Parish Administration Directory Parish Administrative Center St. Alexander School 7025 W. 126th St. Palos Heights, IL 60463 126th St. and 71st Ave. Palos Heights, IL 60463 Phone: 708-448-4861 Fax: 708-448-0039 Phone: 708-448-0408 Fax: 708-448-5947 Pastor: …………………….. Rev. Martin Michniewicz ext. 227 Principal: ………………………………………...……... Cathy Biel Associate Pastor: ……………… Rev. Patrick O’Neill ext. 223 Assistant Principal: …………………...……… Mary Dombrowski Deacons: ……………………………. Jim Horton, Tim Keating Administrative Assistants: Mary Ann Pellicore & Renee Chavez Director Parish Home & Health Ministry: Jim Horton ext. 232 School Web: …………………....... www.stalexanderschool.com Accounting Department Director: ….. Paula Somers ext. 233 School E-Mail: ……………........... [email protected] Director of Music: …………………. Matthew Berardi ext. 224 Parish Center & Parish Athletic Director: Religious Education Office ……………………………………… Cathy Sullivan - 361-2626 126th St. and 71st Ave. Palos Heights, IL 60463 Teen Coordinator: ………………… Sharon Ayres - 448-6624 Phone: 708-448-6624 Counseling Center: ………………………… 448-4861 ext.310 Coordinator of Religious Education: ……………… Nancy Cook Director: .…………. Sr. Claire Marie Czerwiec, SSND, LCPC Religious Ed. E-Mail: …………………... [email protected] Parish E-Mail: ………………………. [email protected] St. Alexander’s on the Web ………. www.stalexanderpalos.org Page Two Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord April 14, 2019 Spreading the Holy Fire Celebrating Christ Risen from the Dead through the 7 Sacraments S I BAPTISM CONFIRMATION Celebration of Entrance into Christ’s Church Celebration of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit You must be a registered parishioner in this parish. This Sacrament is normally celebrated in 8th Grade and is At least one Godparent must be a practicing Catholic. The a 2 year program of preparation. other must be a Christian. Confirmation Contacts: Parents must register for a class on Baptism BEFORE your Nancy Cook - Religious Education 448-6624 baby is baptized. Archdiocesan required classes are held once Cathy Biel - School 448-0408 a month, usually on the 1st Monday of the month, and facili- The Archdiocese also offers classes for adults wishing to tated by trained parishioners. receive Confirmation. Adult Confirmation Contact - Baptism contact Joan DeVito 448-4861 ext. 237 Deacon Tim Keating & Deacon Jim Horton 448-4861 RCIA Celebration of the Rites of Christian Initiation of Adults This process is for adults who would like to join the Roman Catholic Church and have never been Baptized, or were Baptized in another Christian denomination. There is also a process for children (RCIC) and teens (RCIT). RCIA/RCIC/RCIT contact - Deacon Jim Horton 448-4861 & Deacon Tim Keating 448-6624 EUCHARIST Celebration of Sharing Fully at Christ’s Altar of Sacrifice & Communion with Jesus and His Church Eucharistic Liturgy (Mass) Eucharistic Adoration Sunday Vigil: 5:00 PM (Saturday) Thursday before the 1st Friday Sunday: 7:00, 9:00, 10:30 AM, 12:00 Noon & 9:15 AM - 7:00 PM Benediction 6:00 PM (Life Teen Youth Mass) Evening of Prayer and Adoration Monday through Friday: 6:30 & 8:45 AM On the 1st Saturday Saturday Morning: 8:00 AM 4:30 PM - Rosary Holy Day Vigil: 7:00 PM 5:00 PM - Mass Holy Day: 6:30, 8:45 AM & 7:00 PM 6:00 PM - Prayers for Healing S H ANOINTING OF THE SICK RECONCILIATION Celebration of God’s Restorative Love & Forgiveness Celebration of God’s Forgiveness Sacrament offers strength to the living. If someone becomes through Personal Confession seriously ill, please call the Parish Administrative Center. Saturday Morning: 8:30 - 9:00 AM Ministers of Care are available to bring Holy Communion and/ or visit with the sick and homebound. Saturday Evening: after the 5:00 PM Mass Also every 1st Saturday - 6:00 - 7:00 PM in church Other Times by Appointment S C MATRIMONY HOLY ORDERS Celebration of God’s Blessings on the Loving Union Celebration of Ordained Service to the Church between Man and Woman The three offices of the Sacrament of Holy Orders are bishop, Please call the Parish Administration Center at least 4 months priest and deacon. All three are conferred by the sacramental in advance of your wedding. Pre-Cana for engaged couples act called “ordination.” is required by the Archdiocese Priesthood Contact - Fr. Michniewicz 448-4861 ext 227 Matrimony Contact: Archdiocese of Chicago Vocation Director: Fr. Martin Michniewicz & Fr. Patrick O’Neill 448-4861 Fr. Brian Welter - 312-534-8298 Page Three Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord April 14, 2019 FROM OUR PASTOR Dear Parishioners, With the liturgies and distribution of palms today on Palm Sunday, we as Catholics commence the most spiritual time of the year; Holy Week. During Holy Week we remember the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Easter season reminds us that we are not only to live newly after death, but that we are to live nobly and spiritually anew because we are to live forever. Please plan on attending as many of our Holy Week services as possible for your own personal spiritual edification. I am sure that your time will be well spent and that you will leave church with a sense of forgiveness, love, and hope. On Holy Thursday, we will celebrate the Mass of the Lord’s Supper at 7:00. This Mass recalls our Lord instituting the Eucharist and calling His apostles to go and serve one another. We, at St. Alexander imitate our Lord at this liturgy when we recreate our Lord’s action of washing His apostle’s feet. This re-creation is a poignant and powerful action, a beautiful gesture that engages the whole person in wor- ship and embodies the Gospel. The foot washing is full of meaning. It is our ritual response to our Lord’s command to be servants. In fact, the entire Holy Thursday liturgy is filled with ritual and a re- minder that we are to bring the Bread of Life to all people through our love and prayers. I’m sure your participation and attendance on Holy Thursday will bring you closer to the Lord and renew the spirit of Christian service in each one of you. There will be two services on Good Friday. At 3:00 we will have the traditional celebration of our Lord’s Passion which will include Holy Communion and Veneration of the Cross. At 7:00 the Sta- tions of the Cross will take place as we reenact Jesus’ steps on this holiest day. On Holy Saturday, we will have the traditional Blessing of Easter Food and Baskets. This year’s blessing will take place in the church at 12:00 N. All are invited to the front of the altar for an indi- vidual blessing and sprinkling of holy water. Also on Holy Saturday, we will begin our celebration of Easter with the Easter Vigil at 8:00. The Easter Vigil is probably the most powerful liturgy we celebrate all year. At this Mass, we bless the Easter fire and water and our RCIA candidates are baptized, confirmed, receive First Holy Communion and are initiated into the Catholic faith. Remember that the Easter Vigil is an Easter liturgy and fulfills Sunday’s Easter obligation. I know the Easter Vigil is longer than an Easter Sunday liturgy, but please consider attending. What better way to spend an extra hour of our time then by celebrating our Lord’s glorious resurrection and welcoming new people to the Catholic faith. Please see a complete schedule of Holy Week and Easter services listed on page five. God Bless, Father Marty P.S. Please remember, according to the rules of the Church, there are no morning Masses on Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. Palm Sunday Mass is not about obtaining the palm, but participating in the Mass commemorating Christ’s entrance into Jerusalem, and the beginning of Holy Week and His Passion. The blessed palm is a “witness to faith in Jesus Christ, the messianic king, and in his Paschal Victory,” The palms we receive on Palm Sunday are blessed objects, or sacramentals, that need to be treated reverently, not as toys, mere craft material, or trash. After Palm Sunday, palms may be kept in the home or workplace as a witness to faith in Jesus Christ. According to the Code of Canon Law, blessed sacramentals are not to be discarded in a trash can. They can be either buried or burned, honoring their sacred purpose and returning them to the earth in a dig- nified way. Anyone can do this, but if you don’t have the ability to burn or bury them, drop your palms at the parish office. Page Four Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord April 14, 2019 MERCY HOME SUNDAY MASS SCRIPTURE 9:30AM on WGN-TV Channel 9 REFLECTION We begin the final week of Lent with these familiar readings. This year, we hear the Passion from the Gospel of Luke. These readings for Palm Sunday and the Passion used to be read on successive Sun- Home Bound or Ill? days. Now they are combined into a single feast, so If you, or someone you know, are that we may see the whole sweep of the glory and unable to attend Mass and would the suffering played out. Jesus accepts the adulation like to receive communion in their of the crowd, the foreshadowing of his glory in the home, please call Deacon Jim Horton Resurrection. He bids farewell to his disciples in his last Passover, and forgives his tormentors as he dies at 708-448-4861, ext. 232. on the cross. Later this week, we enter the Holy Triduum of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday, when the whole story of our redemption will play out once again.