Message from our Pastor Timothy Manatt, S.J.
Holy Week, the Most Sacred Seven Days of the Church Year
Dear Faithful People of God,
We are on the threshold of re-living the events of the end of Jesus’s life:
Palm Sunday: the Lord’s entrance into Jerusalem, knowing full well what would happen to Him there. Holy Thursday: Jesus’s Last Supper with His apostles, the institution of the Eucharist and establishment of the priesthood for offering the sacred meal each Sunday until He comes again. Good Friday, when Jesus paid the price for our redemption. And Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday, when Jesus rose in Glory!
I would like to encourage everyone to attend most if not all of the events at the Sister Parishes, i.e., Our Lady of Guadalupe and St Patrick’s. Indeed, Holy Week is a time to be present to your own parish community and to your Jesuit priests as a concrete sign of solidarity and support for each other.
In addition, I want to make a special appeal on behalf of the “Siete Palabras”/Final words of Christ event on Good Friday evening. This is a dual language service of the Word (English and Spanish) in which mostly lay men and women, meaning, not deacons or clergy, offer a 5-minute reflection on one of the last sentences attributed to Jesus while He hung on the Cross. For instance, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me”; and, “I assure you that today you will be in paradise with me”; and, “I thirst.” The reflections by your fellow parishioners are very personal and moving. If you have never attended, it is beautiful channel of grace, one that will inspire you.
Please pray for all the deacons, priests, musicians, and directors of parish life as we begin the most active, physically and emotionally demanding, and exhilarating time of the entire year!
United in the love of Jesus Christ,
Fr. Tim
| 
