On Ash Wednesday, 6 March we once again begin the penitential season of Lent with the imposition of ashes on our foreheads as a stark reminder of our mortality and need for on-going conversion. The Church invites us to embrace the traditional Lenten practices of prayer fasting and almsgiving to turn away from sin and selfishness and prepare our hearts for the celebration of the Paschal Mystery of Our Lord’s saving passion, death and resurrection.
Holy Week Schedule 2019
Palm Sunday 14 April
Vigil Mass, Saturday 13 April at 5:30 pm
Family Mass 9:00 am
Solemn Mass at 11:15 am with
Procession with Palms
Evening Mass 6:00 pm
Tuesday of Holy Week 16 April
Chrism Mass 11:00 am
The Sacred Triduum
Holy Thursday 18 April
Mass of the Lord’s Supper 7:00 pm
Church open for prayer before
Altar of Repose until 11 pm
Good Friday 19 April
Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion 3:00 pm
Holy Saturday 20 April
The Easter Vigil with Bishop Guglielmone 8:00 pm
Easter Sunday 21 April
Easter Mass 7:00 am
Easter Mass 9:00 am
Solemn Mass 11:30 am
Please note: there will be no 6:00 pm Mass on Easter Sunday
Confession Times during Lent
Saturdays 4:00p-5:00p (except 16 March)
Wednesdays 12:45 pm
Wednesdays 7:00 pm on the following dates:
27 March
3 April
10 April
17 April
An Examination of Conscience Booklet is also available to pick up in the Cathedral.
Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is Wednesdays of Lent (except Ash Wednesday) from 12:45-8 pm
Evening Prayer and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament is Wednesdays of Lent (except Ash Wednesday) at 7:50 pm
Lenten Observances of Fasting and Abstinence
Fast: Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days of fast.
On days of fast, one full meal is allowed. Two lesser meals, sufficient to maintain strength, may be taken according to each one’s needs, but together they should not equal another full meal. Eating between meals is not permitted, but liquids, including milk and fruit juices are allowed. Catholics who have completed their 18th year are bound by this law until the beginning of their 60th year.
Abstinence: Ash Wednesday and all Fridays of Lent are also days of abstinence. On days of abstinence, meats should not be taken at any meal. The law of abstinence binds all Catholics who have completed their 14th year.
Ash Wednesday begins the time year for the solemn observance of the great central act of history, the redemption of the human race by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The beginning of the forty days of penance is marked with the symbol of ashes which is used in today’s liturgy. The use of ashes is a survival from an ancient rite according to which converted sinners submitted themselves to canonical penance. The Alleluia and the Gloria are suppressed until Easter. “The putting on ashes symbolizes fragility and mortality, and the need to be redeemed by the mercy of God. Far from being a merely external act, the Church has retained the use of ashes to symbolize that attitude of internal penance to which all the baptized are called during Lent”. — Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy
#1 of the Seven Habits to Holiness – the Morning Offering:
Plan your Lent with this helpful worksheet:
Other helpful resources to help you have a holy Lenten Season:
Dynamic Catholic Best Lent Ever sign up to receive emails each day of Lent
National Catholic Register: These 40 Days
Our Sunday Visitor: Lenten pdf
Our Sunday Visitor: Guide to Holy Week
Holy Week Schedule 2019
