Lent/Holy Week/Easter

Sacred Heart - 7:00am

Sacred Heart - 12:00 Noon

Saint Philip - 6:00pm

Parish Penitential Service
TDB

"The Light is ON for You"
Individual Confessions
TDB

Holy Thursday Mass
6:00pm Sacred Heart

Good Friday
3:00pm Stations of the Cross,
St Philip
6:00pm Veneration of the Cross,
St Philip

Holy Saturday
(No 4:00pm Mass)

Easter Vigil
8:00pm Sacred Heart

7:30am Sacred Heart
9:15am St Philip
11:00am Sacred Heart

Lent, which begins Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Thursday, is a 40-day period of spiritual renewal that helps us prepare for the celebration of the Paschal mystery of Christ—that is, his passion, death and resurrection. The three pillars of the Lenten season are prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. By spending time in prayer and in reflection on the Scriptures, through penance and through giving up (sacrificial acts) and giving to others (charitable acts), we look to experience a spiritual reawakening that brings up closer to Christ.

Lent's origins can be traced in part to a short period of fasting and prayer undergone by catechumens / elect, who are preparing for full initiation into the Church at Easter through the sacraments of baptism, confirmation and Eucharist. The season is a reminder of the great gift of baptism, both the salvation it offers, as well as the challenge that comes with it.

- See more at: http://portlanddiocese.org/content/lenten-resources#sthash.lxeju8aE.dpuf

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, a period of spiritual renewal which helps us prepare for the celebration of the Paschal mystery of Christ, his passion, death and resurrection.

The ashes we receive on our foreheads on Ash Wednesday are both a reminder of our earthly mortality and a call to repentance. The ashes are made by burning the palms that were distributed the previous year on Palm Sunday. The ashes are blessed by the priest, who then dips his thumb in them and makes the Sign of the Cross on each person’s forehead, while saying these words: “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return" (Genesis 3:19).

Ash Wednesday is a day of fasting and a day of abstinence from meat. Fasting applies to Catholics between the ages of 18 and 60 and means you should only eat one full meal and two smaller meals if needed. All Catholics age 14 and above should abstain from eating meat on the day and on all Fridays during Lent.

Ash Wednesday is not a Holy Day of Obligation, but Catholics are encouraged to attend Mass to begin their Lenten journey.

Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are obligatory days of fasting and abstinence for Catholics from age 18 until age 59. When fasting, a person is permitted to eat one full meal. Two smaller meals may also be taken, but not to equal a full meal. In addition, Fridays during Lent are obligatory days of abstinence. Abstinence from meat applies to everyone from age 14 onward.

Click here for a prayer for Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent (found on the Portland Diocese's Website).

Holy Week
 
 Holy Week includes the final week of Lent and part of the Paschal Triduum. Holy Week runs from Palm Sunday through Holy Saturday, and also includes Holy Thursday and Good Friday. Holy Week is the part of the Church Year where Jesus' final moments are commemorated.
 
 
 Palm Sunday: On Palm Sunday, we celebrate the first joy of the season, as we celebrate Our Lord's triumphant entrance into Jerusalem where he was welcomed by crowds worshiping him and laying down palm leaves before him. Traditionally Palm Sunday Mass begins with the "blessing of the palms," where the palms used in the procession that follows are blessed.
 
 Holy Thursday: Holy Thursday (also known as "Maundy Thursday") is the Thursday of Holy Week and the beginning of the Paschal Triduum.
 
 It is the day that Christ celebrated the Last Supper with His disciples. Only hours after the Last Supper, Judas would betray Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, setting the stage for Christ's Crucifixion on Good Friday.

On Holy Thursday, Catholics commemorate the institution of three pillars of the Catholic Faith: the Sacrament of Holy Communion, the priesthood, and the Mass. During the Last Supper, Christ blessed the bread and wine with the very words that Catholic priests use today to consecrate the Body and Blood of Christ during the Mass and the Divine Liturgy.

At Mass on Holy Thursday is also customary for the priest to wash the feet of twelve parishioners to symbolize Christ's washing the feet of his Apostles.
 
 Good Friday: Good Friday is the Friday of Holy Week, and commemorates the crucifixion and death of Jesus. Good Friday is a fast day in the Catholic Church, and falls within the Paschal Triduum.
 
 No Mass is celebrated on Good Friday; instead, the Church celebrates a special liturgy in which the account of the Passion according to the Gospel of John is read, a series of intercessory prayers (prayers for special intentions) are offered, and the faithful venerate the Cross by coming forward and kissing it. The Good Friday liturgy concludes with the distribution of Holy Communion.

The season of Easter is a joyous, celebratory season. It begins with celebrating Christ’s resurrection and ends by celebrating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of Jesus. Christ’s ascension into Heaven is celebrated just prior to Pentecost. The Easter season lasts through Pentecost.

While Easter marks the end of the paschal fast, the end of the celebration of Holy Week, and the end of repentance and conversion for which Lent prepared the community, it is much more a beginning. It is the beginning of a new season of grace and a time of joy and thanksgiving, for Easter is not one day or one solemnity—it is a fifty day celebration, and the fifty days from Easter Sunday to Pentecost Sunday together comprise what the General Instruction terms "the great Sunday".

In 2025, the Easter season starts with the Easter Vigil on Saturday, April 19th, and ends on Pentecost Sunday on June 8th.

Vigil ang Easter Sunday: The celebration of the Easter Vigil is the beginning of the season of Easter. The Vigil and Easter Sunday are feasts of new birth, new beginnings, salvation renewed, and humanity restored to the Lord.

Divine Mercy: The Feast of Divine Mercy, celebrated on the Octave of Easter (the Sunday after Easter Sunday), is a relatively new addition to the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar. Celebrating the Divine Mercy of Jesus Christ, as revealed by Christ Himself to Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, this feast was extended to the entire Catholic Church by Pope John Paul II on April 30, 2000, the day that he canonized Saint Faustina.

Ascension: The Feast of the Ascension, 40th day of Easter, is a Holy Day of Obligation. The Feast commemorates Christ's Ascension into Heaven from Mount Olivet 40 days after He rose from the dead.

Pentecost: Pentecost Sunday, or Whitsunday, is the 50^th day after Easter – counting both Easter and Pentecost. Pentecost commemorates the day (50 days after Jesus’ resurrection) when the apostles were gathered together and a flame rested upon the shoulders of the apostles and they began to speak in tongues (languages), by the power of the Holy Spirit.