MESSAGE ON THE PALM SUNDAY OF THE PASSION OF THE LORD (YR A)
Friday 27th March 2026.
My dear people,
This week, I begin my message by re-iterating that the 3pm Celebration of the Passion of the Lord on 3 April this year will be celebrated in the CRC Hall. This decision has not been made lightly. As everyone knows, we are very blessed to have about 1,800 people coming to Mass every weekend in our parish. Since our church can sit around 600 with the chairs in the meeting rooms, celebrating this liturgy in the church means only two thirds of the regular Mass goers coming for the 3pm liturgy will not have a place to sit. Since many of the people are elderly, it is better to have about 1,300 seats available for the larger number of people who will be coming to that liturgy. The CRC Hall will make this possible. We shall see how this works this year. I am very grateful to Mr. Jamie Madigan, CRC Principal for making this possible.
This evening, we have our second Vigil of Prayers for the reparation of all the harms caused by sin. As we know, the Church has had this custom for many years and it is indeed important to pray that the damage caused by sin be repaired. This year we pray particularly in response to the appeal made by Our Lady when she appeared in 1925 in Pontevedra to Saint Lucia who had preciously witnessed the apparitions of Our Lady in Fatima. Over 2025 – 2026, there will be many such vigils to hearken to the appeal of our Lady. We will start with Mass at 8pm and those who so wish, can start the evening with Stations of the Cross at 7pm. The Blessed Sacrament will be exposed from 8:30pm until Benediction at 11:50pm. The Sacrament of Confession will be available during the time of Exposition. There will also be prayers from 8:30pm until Benediction.
In preparation for the celebration of the Resurrection, that is Easter, we will have our Lenten opportunity to celebrate the Sacrament of Confession on Wednesday 1st April from 7pm to 8:30pm. There will be seven priests available. As Easter approaches very fast, we are all making different preparations for our family celebrations. It is likewise very important to spiritually prepare for Easter by having our sins absolved before Easter.
I wish you a very blessed Holy Week. As we enter into the high point of our liturgical calendar, I pray that, as we re-live the last days of the life of Our Lord, we might appreciate anew the infinite love that he has for us. The times of the different liturgies for Holy Week and the Easter Triduum are on the noticeboard in the gathering space, in the bulletin and on our website.
Last week, I preached on a few matters relating to the celebration of the Sacrament of the Eucharist. I would like to reiterate the importance of making sure that your hand is open wide to receive the Blessed Sacrament and to consume it as soon as it is given to you. Also, a reminder that ministry does not require clapping so there is no need to clap after the last hymn at the end of Mass. Occasionally people might be invited to clap when we are celebrating someone’s milestone or at the celebration of the sacrament, but ministry does not need to be clapped. Finally, a reminder to make every effort to be in the church and seated five minutes before Mass and not to leave before the Final Blessing and Dismissal. My homily of last week is on the website should you wish to read it. It is available here. https://stcatherinecarolinesprings.org.au/2026/03/27/homily-by-fr-richard-rosse-5th-sunday-of-lent-year-a-22-march-2026/
We continue turning to our patron saint and we ask for her intercession.
St Catherine of Siena, Pray for us.
Yours sincerely in Christ,
Fr Richard Rosse PP