Wednesday 1 April 2009

April Diary

Palm Sunday is just a few days away, and with it Holy Week begins. It is the high point of the Church's year, celebrating the death and resurrection of Jesus, the events which are at the very heart of our faith. The Diocesan Chrism Mass (Holy Thursday, 9th April, 11:30am) is the largest annual occasion at the Cathedral, with priests and people coming from all over the Diocese to attend. All are welcome. For the days of the Triduum the main celebrations are accompanied by the singing of the Liturgy of the Hours at certain times. A full list of Holy Week times can be seen in pdf form here (or visit the Cathedral homepage here). During the Easter Octave there is sung Vespers every day. Aside from Holy Week and Easter, the 'Curious about the Eucharist?' talks begin their final series (21st April) and the Skipton Camerata are back with some more of Bach's Brandenburg Concerti (24th). The Cathedral diary can be found here.

Elsewhere on our small family of blogs, Canon Billington's look back at April in bygone years will include glimpses of Holy Week, the death of Pope John Paul II, the role of religious women in the parish, the consecration of the Sacred Heart altar and the laying of the Cathedral's foundation stone. Billington's Blog can be found here.

Meanwhile, the new Thérèse blog will give details of a parish resource pack which is being distributed at the Chrism Mass and carry news and updates about the September visit of the saint's relics. It will also look at some of the events in Thérèse's life, including her entry into the Carmel on 9th April 1888. The blog can be found here.