I hope that, as I share with you each step of Holy Week, you see that these services are nothing short of an invitation into the heart of our Christian faith.

There really is no way that we can get after the richness and depth of all the services for Holy Week, so I’ll do my best here to give you a snapshot.

Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday is the final Sunday of Lent, the beginning of Holy Week, when Christians commemorate the triumphant arrival of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem, days before he was crucified. This commemoration, with the blessing of palms, marks our own entry into Holy Week. Most parishes celebrate with a procession at their Masses, in which we commit ourselves to “walking with Christ” through his passion, death and resurrection. Participants receive palms to take home and can be displayed as a reminder of Holy Week. The palms are sacramentals, objects blessed by a priest that are meant to draw us closer to God. To properly dispose of these blessed palms, we are asked to burn or bury them.

Tuesday of Holy Week

A special Mass called the Chrism Mass is celebrated at the cathedral on this day. In the Diocese of St. Petersburg, Bishop Gregory Parkes will celebrate Chrism Mass Tuesday, April 4th, at 11am at the Cathedral of St. Jude the Apostle, located at 5815 5th Ave N, St. Petersburg, FL. Everyone is invited to attend.

At the Chrism Mass, Bishop Parkes will bless the oils that every church in the diocese will use over the next year for the sacraments of baptism and confirmation, and for the anointing of the sick. Also at that Mass, all priests renew their vows and those celebrating milestone ordination anniversaries are recognized.  

Holy Thursday

In local churches on Holy Thursday evening, we celebrate the Mass of the Lord’s Supper. Here, we remember the last meal Jesus celebrated with his disciples as he anticipated his passion and death. We have only one Mass this day at our local churches. 

At this Mass, we focus on the gift of the Eucharist. We recall when Jesus gathered with his disciples, established the Sacrament of Holy Communion and instituted the priesthood. Jesus washed the feet of his disciples at the Last Supper to demonstrate love, service, and humility. This tradition continues today with priests washing the feet of others during this Mass. After the Mass, the Blessed Sacrament is removed from the main sanctuary and taken to a place of repose for adoration. 

Good Friday

On Good Friday, we focus on the suffering and death of Jesus. We recognize that our sins come with a terrible price and that Jesus paid that price willingly out of love for us. As part of this focus, we observe Good Friday as a day of fasting and abstinence.

There is no Mass on Good Friday; we have a Service of the Passion of the Lord, often at 3 p.m., which is traditionally held to be the moment of Jesus’ last breath.

This service begins in silence, with the priest laying prostrate before the cross. It continues with readings from Scripture, a homily and prayers for God’s blessings and mercy. Next, we adore the cross with a sign of reverence: often a kiss or a touch. The key is for us to show our gratitude for the means that God used to save us.

Finally, we bring the Blessed Sacrament out from the place of repose and receive Communion. The service ends in silence.

Easter Vigil

Continuing our walk with Christ, we will have spent Friday and Saturday “in the tomb” with Jesus. With our service on Holy Saturday, we move from the tomb to the glory of the resurrection.

The Mass contains four parts: the Service of light, Liturgy of the Word, Christian Initiation and Renewal and Holy Eucharist.

The Service of Light begins outside where we bless our Easter fire and Paschal candle. The Mass begins inside in darkness to remind us of Jesus in the tomb.

The darkness in church continues as we move into the Liturgy of the Word, where we read multiple readings from the Old Testament that tell the story of salvation history through the ages. Then, the lights come on as we sing the Gloria together. The lights coming on and the Gloria being sung are the sign of our movement from the darkness of the tomb into the glory of the resurrection. We haven’t sung or said the Gloria in more than six weeks, and we rejoice at this time. Often, you can bring bells to this service and ring them as we sing. We read from the New Testament and Gospel and have a homily.

During the Easter Vigil, individuals who have been preparing to become Catholic will receive the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Eucharist at their home parishes. At the Cathedral of St. Jude the Apostle, Bishop Parkes will confer these Sacraments upon those who have stated their desire to become Catholic and have prepared according to the teachings of the Church. The candles, lit from the Easter candle, signify that Christ has enlightened the world and through Christ, the baptized are "the light of the world."

We remember our own baptism, and thank God that we are a part of the long chain of salvation history through our membership in the Church, and we rejoice with those who are joining us in the family of faith.

Easter Morning

We rejoice with great joy at Jesus’ victory over sin and death: his victory is our victory. We have hope and joy in our lives because of the wonder of Christ’s love conquering our sin and his life overcoming our death.

He is risen! He is risen indeed!

Enjoy another day in God’s presence.

Schedule of Holy Week Celebrations with Bishop Parkes at the Cathedral of St. Jude the Apostle 

(5815 5th Ave N, St. Petersburg):

Palm Sunday Mass, Sunday, April 2, 2023, 9:30 a.m., (blessed palms are distributed)

Chrism Mass,Tuesday, April 4, 2023, 11:00 a.m. (oils are blessed, over 100 priests participate)

Mass of the Lord’s Supper, Thursday, April 6, 2023, 7:00 p.m. (washing of the feet happens)

Good Friday Passion of the Lord, Friday, April 7, 2023, 3:00 p.m. (remembering when Jesus died on the cross)

Easter Vigil Mass, Saturday, April 8, 8:00 p.m. (celebrating the resurrection of Jesus)

We hope to see you at church during Holy Week. To find a local Catholic Church near you visit: ParishNearMe.org 

If you are homebound and unable to attend, you can view Holy Week Masses online: www.dosp.org/livestream, www.facebook.com/DioStPete and www.youtube.com/dioceseofstpete 

Or listen to an on-air radio broadcast on Spirit FM 90.5.