It was wonderful to have a community gathered to celebrate the Palm Sunday liturgy Saturday at 5 PM. So much has changed since our last public celebration of Palm Sunday in St. Gabriel’s two years ago. It’s a constant reminder to me that all this is in God’s hands. Last June, when Bishop Faubert met with a group of parishioners from St. Gabriel’s and St. Charles, he indicated that the status quo was no longer viable and that our community would need to discover how we would move forward together living the Gospel and celebrating the sacraments. The solution in these past months has been to rely on the hospitality of St. Charles Parish for our celebrations. Soon we will have information on the physical status of our church and rectory and only then can we make a proper discernment for the future.
For this Holy Week, we pray in a special way for God’s presence. The schedule of our liturgies celebrated in St. Charles is below. I hope many of you can join us:
Wednesday, 7 PM Stations of the Cross (in French) with priests available for the sacrament of reconciliation
Thursday 7 PM Liturgy of the Lord’s Supper (bilingual)Friday 2 PM Liturgy of Good Friday (English)
Saturday 7 PM Easter Vigil (bilingual)
Sunday 9:30 AM Easter Sunday Mass (English)
Also, beginning with Easter Sunday and going forward, the Sunday mass in English will be celebrated at 9:30 AM. (There will no longer be a Saturday 5 PM liturgy).
There is no longer a need to phone and reserve a place, as the government has lifted the restrictions on numbers.
May you all have a blessed Holy Week and Easter.
Fr. Timothy