MASS & CONFESSION
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MASS & CONFESSION

Dear St. Cecilia Family,

We once again enter into this holy season of Lent. I know that I can sometimes approach Lent with a mild sense of dread.  I can think it is just a time when I will not let myself enjoy certain things for 40 days.  However, when I look deeper, I see Lent not as something distasteful, but as a great opportunity to draw closer to God.

In Lent, we make extra little sacrifices to do things for others that increase our capacity to love.  In Lent, we make sacrifices to put aside what is unimportant so that we can go deeper into the things that are  important, so that we can go deeper into our relationship with Jesus. Doing these things with our eyes fixed on Christ teaches us to love. We voluntarily surrender lesser things in our lives so that we can open ourselves to the Lord’s blessings. Sacrifices can be difficult, but because of love, sacrifices can become easy, even joyful.

Take advantage of opportunities here at St. Cecilia Cathedral to encounter Jesus and fill your heart and soul with Him: Masses, Confession, Stations of the Cross, Adoration, the deep and beautiful liturgies of Holy Week. Pray together as a family.  Fast from attachments that hinder you.  Do almsgiving in being generous of giving your time and attention to someone who needs to feel God’s love. In doing these things we arrive at Easter as a little bit better persons and more closely united to the Heart of Christ.

Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice for us in completely giving himself on the cross, showing us the greatest act of love ever known. This Lent, may we respond more deeply to that love in giving ourselves as gift, and in doing so, receive all the blessings our Lord wants to give us.

A holy and blessed Lent to you, Fr. Jeremy Hans, pastor

Ash Wednesday

On Ash Wednesday, you can get your forehead blessed with ashes at Mass or a prayer service. These ashes are a reminder that we need to repent. Catholics have been receiving ashes on Ash Wednesday since the time of St. Gregory the Great. In 1091, Pope Urban II encouraged the entire Church to use ashes on Ash Wednesday.

What are the fasting rules for Ash Wednesday? The Church requires all Catholics from ages 14-59 to fast on Ash Wednesday. As long as you are in good health, this means that you should only eat one full meal, plus two smaller meals that do not equal a full meal. Ash Wednesday is also a day where Catholics avoid eating meat.

Confession

Why go to confession? Jesus gave us the sacrament of Confession when He breathed on the Apostles saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained” (Jn 20:22-23). This authority to forgive sins has been passed on from the apostles to the priests of our own time through the sacrament of Holy Orders. Confession is the only ordinary means of forgiveness for mortal sins committed after baptism. Though other extraordinary means are possible, they are never guaranteed and should not be presumed upon. As all sacraments do, it also bestows an increase of grace.

Essential to a good confession is contrition: “turning away” from past sin with a resolve to sin no more (see Ezek 33:11; Jn 8:11). Since contrition implies a knowledge of one’s own sins, we should examine our conscience before confession. During confession, we should state our sins humbly and frankly, avoiding any details that go beyond the nature of the sin or the circumstances affecting its gravity.

 

Adoration

Most Catholics have gone to adoration to visit our Eucharistic Lord in the tabernacle. For some of us this visit is a recurring pilgrimage, part of our weekly or even daily routine. Some of us may have gone once or twice but remain uncertain about the difference between common prayer and adoration. We might wonder about the purpose and meaning of frequent adoration, and whether we should do it more often.

What exactly is happening when we receive the Eucharist during Mass or pray in front of the Eucharist in the Blessed Sacrament? Is it worth our time? Is something real taking place?

Walk With Jesus

The Stations of the Cross is one of the most simple, yet powerful, ways to prayerfully walk alongside Jesus and encounter him like never before.

There are fourteen Stations of the Cross. Each is an invitation to contemplate and experience a pivotal moment from Jesus’ sentencing to his death to his burial. They are a powerful way to step into some of the most significant moments in human history and encounter Jesus like never before. One of the most impactful times to pray the Stations of the Cross is during Holy Week, especially on Good Friday.

For over 1000 years, Catholics have been devoted to praying the Stations of the Cross. And for over 1000 years, this deep spiritual exercise has been transforming lives. Dive into this ancient and powerful meditation on the sacrifice of Jesus and it will change your life too.

Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday is the beginning of Holy Week, and commemorates the triumphant arrival of Christ in Jerusalem, days before He was crucified. In the Gospels, Jesus entered Jerusalem riding a donkey to praise of the townspeople who threw clothes, or possibly palms or small branches, in front of Him as a sign of homage.

At Palm Sunday Mass, you’ll also receive blessed palm branches. Many people keep these palm branches all year, using them as a religious decoration in their home or weaving them into a cross shape. Since palm branches are a blessed item, they should not be thrown in the trash. If you do not want to keep your branch, you can return it to the church where it will be burned for ashes the following Ash Wednesday!

Watch the 10:30 am Mass

Chrism Mass

Archbishop McGovern and the priests of the Archdiocese gather at the Cathedral to celebrate the Chrism Mass. This Mass manifests the unity of the priests with their bishop. An important moment of the Chrism Mass is that every priest within the diocese renews his priestly promise. We’re also invited to pray for all priests and their ministry.

At the Mass the bishop blesses three oils – the oil of catechumens, the oil of the infirm, and holy chrism – which will be used in the administration of the sacraments throughout year.

All  are invited to attend the Mass.

 

Watch Here

Holy Week at Cathedral

Holy Week is the most important week in Catholicism. This week of great reverence and reflection spans the final eight days of Jesus’ life—from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday.

  • Palm Sunday, Jesus triumphantly enters Jerusalem
  • Monday of Holy Week, Jesus clears out the temple with a whip
  • Tuesday of Holy Week, Jesus is anointed with oil at Bethany and preaches on the Mount of Olives
  • Spy Wednesday, Jesus is betrayed by Judas
  • Holy Thursday, Jesus celebrates the Last Supper, prays in the Garden of Gethsemane, and is arrested
  • Good Friday, Jesus is sentenced to death, scourged, beaten, crucified, and dies on the Cross
  • Holy Saturday, Jesus is buried in the tomb and descends into hell
  • Easter Sunday, Jesus rises from the dead

Holy Thursday

Eucharistic Adoration follows Mass until Midnight.

With this Mass the Church begins the sacred Easter Triduum and devotes herself to the remembrance of the Last Supper.

This Mass is, first of all, the memorial of the institution of the Eucharist, that is, of the memorial of the Lord’s Passover, by which under sacramental signs He perpetuated among us the sacrifice of the New Law.

The Mass of the Lord’s Supper is also the memorial of the institution of the priesthood, by which Christ’s mission and sacrifice are perpetuated in the world.

 

Watch Here

Good Friday

Stations of the Cross: Noon

Good Friday is the most solemn day of the Christian year. It is the day our Savior died for us. It is the day we were redeemed from our sins by the voluntary death of God Himself at the hands of man. This day of penance is observed as an obligation through abstinence and fasting.

 

Watch the 7 pm liturgy

Easter Vigil

The Easter Vigil is the greatest liturgy of the entire year in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, referred to as the “mother of all vigils” (St. Augustine). Christ is seen throughout in amazing grandeur. Important elements of the Easter Vigil are fire, beautiful music, abundant proclamation of the Word of God, blessing of baptismal  water, celebration of the sacraments of initiation, and renewing our own promises.

 

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Easter Sunday Masses

As we know from the Gospels, Jesus Christ rose from the dead on the third day following His crucifixion, which would be Sunday. His  resurrection marks the triumph of good over evil, sin and death. It is the most important day in history. It is the singular event which proves that those who trust in God and accept Christ will be raised from the dead.

Easter is not just a one-day celebration; it’s an entire season! The time of celebration begins on Easter Sunday and goes all the way through to Pentecost.

 

Watch the 10:30 am Mass
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