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The Easter Vigil took place on Holy Saturday (30 March). This is the great proclamation of the the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and of his victory over death. It's a joyous celebration of new life in the Lord. This service, following ancient traditions, begins with the blessing of a new fire and the Paschal Candle (the symbol of the risen Christ) is lit from this. The Vigil features elements of light and darkness, fire and water, to lead us to meditate on the new life we receive through the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. The central feature of the celebration is the Baptismal liturgy, where water is solemnly blessed and people are invited to renew their baptismal commitments to follow Christ. Photo Copyright: All Saints' PCC Houghton Regis
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Good Friday, the day in which the Lord Jesus Christ died on Calvary, is a day of great solemnity and deep reflection, as we gather around the Cross of Jesus. We traditionally hold two services on this day; a children celebration accompanied by crafts and refreshments in the morning, and a the Good Friday Liturgy in the afternoon. The afternoon liturgy is marked by moments of silence to facilitate our recollection before the crucified Lord, and it includes the reading of the Passion according to Saint John, the veneration of a relic of the True Cross, and the distribution of Holy Communion from the reserved Blessed Sacrament. Photo Copyright: All Saints' PCC Houghton Regis
The Solemn Mass of the Lord's Supper, the first part of the Easter Triduum, was celebrated at All Saints' on 28 March at 8:00pm and it was followed by a vigil (or watch) at the Altar of Repose. Maundy Thursday (marks the end of Lent and the beginning of the sacred "Easter Triduum”. These three days are the holiest days of the Christian year. The word Maundy comes from the Latin mandatum, meaning ‘commandment’, used in the entrance antiphon I give you a new commandment, that you love one another just as I have loved you. (John 13.34) At this Mass, the holy oils, blessed by the bishop for the sacramental life of the parish, are received by the congregation, and the Priest washes the feet of few members of the congregation to symbolise Christ’s washing of his twelve Apostles. And so, this Mass stresses the importance Jesus puts on humility and service within the Church. Also emphasised are the fundamental importance of the Eucharist and the sacrifice of Christ’s Body, which we now find present in the Blessed Sacrament. Photo Copyright: All Saints' PCC Houghton Regis
Maundy Thursday celebrations opened with the Mass of the Lord's Supper with the Key Stage 2 pupils of Thomas Whitehead Academy. The children lead the readings from Scripture and composed the prayers of intercession. At this service we recalled how Jesus washed the disciples' feet during his last supper with them, and how he left to them the gift of his own very self in the Eucharist. Photo Copyright: Thomas Whitehead Church of England Academy
Yesterday, Sunday 24 March, we celebrated Palm Sunday. The Parish Mass began in Bedford Square with the blessing of palm crosses and olive branches as we recalled the entrance of the Lord Jesus into Jerusalem. After this we processed to All Saints' signing praises to the Lord. Later in the afternoon, at 4:00pm, we concluded Palm Sunday with a service of Stations of the Cross and Benediction. About the Celebration: Palm Sunday is the first day of Holy Week and the Sunday before Easter. On this day we remember the glorious entry into Jerusalem of Jesus riding on a donkey, while a great multitude of people welcomed Him and waved Him on. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark and John tell us how the crowds took leafy branches from the trees that lined the road (traditionally identified as palm and olive trees) and waved them in the air shouting “Hosanna”, and threw their clothes and palm branches on the path in front of Him with great jubilance. Photo Copyright: All Saints' PCC Houghton Regis
The Easter Vigil, which is the greatest and most noble of all solemnities, marks the end of the emptiness and sorrow of Holy Saturday, and leads us into the celebration of Christ’s victory over Death and Hell. The word ‘Alleluia’ (meaning “God be praised”) which has been silent throughout Lent, returns. The Vigil is arranged in such a way that after the Lucernarium (the lighting of the Paschal Candle) and the singing of the Exultet (the Easter Proclamation), we meditate on the wonders the Lord God has done for his people, focusing on the theme of Renewal. After this, we are invited to renew our Baptismal commitments to the Christian life before being called to celebrate the Eucharist, the living memorial of his Death and Resurrection. Photo Copyright: All Saints' PCC Houghton Regis Good Friday's liturgy centres on Jesus’ Passion (his sufferings) and Death on the Cross for our salvation. In order for us to enter more deeply into this great mystery, the “Celebration” is marked by deep silence. The act of Veneration of the Cross, when a wooden crucifix is unveiled before the congregation, is replaced at All Saints' by veneration of a Relic of the True Cross of Jesus, usually kept at St Thomas' Church. On Good Friday and on the following day, by a most ancient tradition, the Church does not celebrate the Sacraments, except for Confession and the Anointing of the Sick. Holy Communion is distributed from the store of Blessed Sacrament reserved consecrated on Maundy Thrusday. The church remains stripped of all decoration. It continues bare and empty through the following day, which is a day without a liturgy: there can be no adequate way of recalling the being dead of the Son of God, other than silence and desolation. But within the silence there grows a sense of peace and completion, and then rising excitement as the Easter Vigil draws near. Photo Copyright: All Saints' PCC Houghton Regis The Thursday of Holy Week, called Maundy Thursday or sometime Holy Thursday, recalls the day when the Lord Jesus instituted the Holy Eucharist, the sacrament of his Body and Blood. The name Maundy Thursday derives from the Latin mandatum, meaning ‘commandment’, because of the use of John 13.34 in the Antiphon. At this Mass, the "Mass of the Lord's Supper", the Priest washes ceremonially the feet of twelve members of the congregation to remember Christ’s washing of his twelve Apostles at the Last Supper. This Mass stresses the importance Jesus puts on humility and service within the Church. Also emphasised are the fundamental importance of the Eucharist and the sacrifice of Christ’s Body, which we now find present in the Blessed Sacrament. O Bread of Heaven, beneath this veil Thou dost my very God conceal: My Jesus, dearest treasure, hail! (St Alphonsus) At the conclusion of the Mass, people are invited to continue adoring the Blessed Sacrament at the Altar of Repose, just as the disciples were invited to watch with the Lord during his agony in the garden of Gethsemane. Photo Copyright: All Saints' PCC Houghton Regis Photo-post from the Parish Mass with Blessing of Palms in Houghton Regis on 2 April 2023. Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week, and it recalls the triumphant entry of the Lord Jesus Christ into Jerusalem a few days before his blessed Passion. On Palm Sunday it is customary to bless Palm Crosses and leafy branches for people to carry in procession. Photo Copyright: All Saints' PCC Houghton Regis Every year Good Friday is marked by Liturgy of the Passion. This solemn and moving service features the reading of the Passion according to St John, the veneration of the Cross, and the distribution of Holy Communion from the reserved Sacrament taken from the Altar of Repose. In most churches the veneration of the Cross takes place with the unveiling of a wooden crucifix which is then exposed before the faithful. At All Saints’, however, we are very blessed to be custodians of a relic of the True Cross, and it is this relic that is unveiled before the congregation and held up for veneration. Photos courtesy of Mrs Rachael Plüss |
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