St Patrick’s Catholic Church, Benoni Palm Sunday 5 April 2020

My dear people

Today the Church invites us to enter Holy Week with these words from the mass

of today, Palm Sunday:

“Since the beginning of Lent, until now, we have prepared our hearts by penance

and charitable works. Today, in our homes, we join together in prayer to herald,

with the whole Church, the beginning of the celebration of our Lord’s Paschal

Mystery, that is to say, of his Passion and Resurrection. For it was to accomplish

this mystery that he entered his own city of Jerusalem. Therefore, with all faith

and devotion, let us today commemorate the Lord’s entry into the city for our

salvation, following in his footsteps in our minds and hearts, so that, being made

by his grace, partakers of the Cross, we may have a share also in his Resurrection

and in his life.”

We won’t be able to make a sacramental confession in preparation for Easter but

we can come to our Lord in prayer and having examined our conscience deeply

and sincerely, confess our sins and know that he will forgive us, given the

situation. It would be proper then to receive the Sacrament after the quarantine

is over, during the forty day feast of Easter.

Thanks to the blessing and gift of our cell phones and laptops, we will be able to

join in the Sacred Paschal Triduum of the Passion and Resurrection of Our Lord,

which is the high point of our entire Christian liturgical year. The Triduum begins

with the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday followed by the

celebration of the Passion of the Lord on Good Friday, and culminates in the

Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday Evening and closes on Easter Sunday. This begins the

great feast of Easter which lasts until Pentecost on the 31 May with the

celebration of the coming of the Holy Spirit.

May I wish you all a blessed Holy Week with your family, or if you are physically

alone, with your parish family and relatives, connected with Christians throughout

the world at this very difficult time through modern technology.

Pray for a speedy end to this pandemic. May we all support each other, here in

South Africa and the world, in our prayers and in our compassion and generosity

of spirit - especially when the quarantine ends.

May Our Lady and St. Patrick pray for us.

God bless you all.

Yours sincerely

Fr. David Evans

Parish Priest

The Parish is closed for the period of Quarantine.

You can message or phone Fr. David on the Parish mobile 060 327 2998.

Suggested Links and apps:

1) Stations of the Cross for children:

(a) “Stations of the Cross for children” on YouTube · (Victor Hoagland). This

lasts for 9:45 minutes.

(b) Colouring in pages for young people at Pinterest website: https//pin.it/ 4

M7v27T

2) Stations for everyone

There are many on YouTube. May I suggest “Stations of the Cross from CCTNtv.

Duration is marked as 14:05 minutes. (Turn the phone sideways for a full picture.)

3) Radio Veritas: Broadcasts on 576 A (radio); DSTV Audio Channel 870 and also

streams on www.radioveritas.co.za. It is also available as an app in the android

play store as “Radio Veritas South Africa (Coming soon in the Apple appstore).

4) Today, Palm Sunday read and reflect on the Passion of our Lord according to St

Matthew (chapter 26: 14 to chapter 27: 66.)

On Good Friday, read and reflect on the Passion according to St John

(chapter 18:1 to chapter 19:42.)

5) Live video streaming of Mass

(i) Palm Sunday and the Triduum: from the Jesuits in Auckland

Park.

www.jesuitinstitute.org.za/masses/ (on cell phone and laptop).

(ii) “Catholic Mass Today”: Daily mass throughout the year (from

the Loretto Chapel, Ontario, Canada.) on YouTube (about half an

hour. Cell phone and laptop.)

6) Examination of conscience:

A helpful guide is at: www.uccb.org...penance.

7) Looking to Easter:

How to make a mini Resurrection garden:

www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com

www.catholicicing.com/resurrection-garden/

We wish you all a blessed Holy Week.

Parish Finances

There is a misconception that the “Church”, the Archdiocese, funds

the parishes. The opposite is true – the parishes fund the

Archdiocese and each pays a monthly assessment to them as well as

our own expenses. We parishioners are the “Church”- so the only

money St Patrick’s gets is from YOU.

Without our weekend collections now, St. Patrick’s finds itself

increasingly in financial difficulty.

Without labouring the point, and knowing the generosity of

parishioners, and given the fact that we are all financially pressed, I

ask you, if you normally give at mass in the collection, please would

you continue to give your collection each week by making an EFT

into our account or a cash deposit at the bank. Mark as “collection

“or “gift” and pay to:

St Patrick’s Catholic Church

Standard Bank

Account Number: 021095612

I know I can count on you to be generous to God in his parish of St.

Patrick as you have always been in the past – especially since we are

all ourselves calling on God’s own generosity and help in the present

circumstances. Thank you to all who are already doing this by gift or

Dedicated Giving.

Fr. David.

Palm Sunday 2020