News - April 2022 RSS Feed

No Noon Mass on Wednesday the 27th and Thursday the 28th. Friday Fr. Gaudreau will cover noon Mass. While Monsignor is away, Fr. Gaudreau, Fr. Giroux, and Msgr. McDermott will celebrate Mass in his absence, from April 30 through May 9.

On Sunday, April 24, 2022, the Knights of Columbus will hold an Exemplification of Charity, Unity and Fraternity ceremony for those joining the Knighthood. At this ceremony, four candidates will become members of the Knights of Columbus. This ceremony explains what the Knights of Columbus are all about. We will begin with the 10:00 AM Sunday Mass celebrated by the Most Reverend Christopher J. Coyne. After Mass, we invite everyone to stay for the Exemplification ceremony. The ceremony will last about 30-minutes. After the ceremony, we invite you to lite refreshments in the Parish Hall where we will join and continue on with the Parish Coffee Hour.

Cathedral parishioners are invited to voice their opinions next Saturday, April 23 at a listening session ahead of the Church’s worldwide October 2023 Synod in Rome. The listening session will take place from 10:00 – 11:00 AM in the chapel. The meeting will follow the Saturday morning Mass, moved to 9:00 AM with a special intention for the Synod. There will be no 8:00 AM Mass; it will be celebrated at 9:00 AM, followed by the listening session downstairs. No registration for the session but you may prepare by reading the Synod section on the diocesan website and by taking the online Synod survey.

On this Easter morning, we hear only words of joy at Christ’s resurrection. From the shame and grief of denying his Savior three times, our first reading finds St. Peter proclaiming the rising of Our Lord. “This man God raised on the third day.” In response to Psalm 118, we sing, “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad!” The Psalm declares, “The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” Our Gospel from St. John describes the miraculous scene early Sunday morning: “the cloth that had covered His head rolled up, … in a separate place.” Now we look forward to weeks of celebration during the fifty-day Easter season, which ends at Pentecost.

The Easter season comprises Easter Sunday, the Easter Octave, and the weeks following through Ascension Thursday (40 days after Easter), ending at Pentecost Sunday, 50 days after Easter. During the Easter season, we hear at Mass stories of the Resurrection from the Acts of the Apostles: Mary Magdalene and the apostles at the tomb, the Lord’s appearance on the road to Emmaus, His meeting with the apostles on the shore of Lake Tiberias, and other familiar accounts. If you usually pray the Angelus, you will replace it during the Easter season with the Regina Caeli (Queen of Heaven) prayer. The Easter season offers plenty of time to celebrate the holiday, with Easter egg hunts, flowers, springtime animals such as lambs, rabbits, and baby chicks in toys and baked goods, and special treats from the Easter basket, a homemade lamb cake or Easter bread. The Easter season also is the time for making one’s Easter duty, the Church’s requirement that we receive Holy Communion during this season.

The Octave of Easter spans eight days starting on Easter Sunday and ending the Second Sunday of Easter, which is also Divine Mercy Sunday. Every day of the Octave is a Solemnity, the Church’s highest feast day. We light the tall, white, decorated Pascal candle. We sing the Gloria, hear a special Easter Alleluia verse, and may recite the Easter Sequence before the Gospel. The priest uses an Easter preface. We also repeat “Alleluia” after we say the final “Thanks be to God” at the end of Mass. The priest’s vestments are white or gold, for both the Octave and the Easter season.

The wait is over! At this long, solemn, joyful, and majestic Mass, we rekindle the light of Christ, answer the call to exult, review our salvation history, receive newly consecrated hosts, and welcome converts into the Church. The Pascal candle is marked and lit, and we spread light and joyful triumph through our church, during the dark hours of the night. The church is banked with flowers, and resounds with Easter hymns. Our priest wears white vestments. We hear the Gloria and the Alleluia. The Vigil Mass begins at the Cathedral of St. Joseph at 8:00 p.m., with Bishop Coyne celebrating and preaching. Rejoice, for the Lord has risen indeed!

Today the Church mourns and waits at the Savior’s tomb, where He lies still bearing the wounds of His Passion. The apostles gather in secret, the Blessed Mother guards her heart with joyful anticipation. All is quiet: no Mass is celebrated today until this evening; the altar and church are bare of decoration, images may be shrouded. The faithful prepare, decorating eggs, cooking for an Easter feast, choosing Easter finery. No morning Mass or morning or afternoon Confessions today at the Cathedral.

Join us for Adoration — Exposition and Benediction, Reconciliation (Confessions), silent prayer, Rosary, concluding with praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet with the Knights of Columbus. Special invitation to Catholics and individuals who have been absent from the Church and want to return to receive the Graces of His Mercy in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Jesus is there waiting for you in the confessional. St. Anthony, Burlington • 1:30 - 3:00 pm Holy Family, Essex Junction • 12 - 4 pm

No Mass is celebrated today: our services resume from the Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Supper, with Holy Communion distributed from hosts consecrated yesterday. The altar is bare, the service begins in silence. Today, we recall Our Lord’s Passion and Death. We hear the lament of Psalm 31, “Into Your Hands I Commend My Spirit,” and read the Passion Gospel according to St. John. We venerate the Holy Cross and depart in silence. The service at the Cathedral begins at 3:00 p.m., in the main church. There is no 12:05 p.m. Mass or evening Stations of the Cross.

Holy Thursday – also called Maundy Thursday, referring to the Latin word mandatum, commandment, quoted in the verse before the Gospel. We celebrate the holy priesthood, the Mass, and the institution of the Eucharist. The only Mass celebrated at our parish is the Mass of the Last Supper at 7:00 p.m. upstairs in the main church. We will collect food and money donations for our local food shelf in lieu of a regular collection. We honor and adore the Blessed Sacrament, instituted at that Passover feast by Christ Himself. The feet of twelve faithful may be washed, replicating Christ’s humble service to His apostles at the Last Supper. We hear the Gloria and bells, which then cease until the Easter Vigil. The Mass does not end but closes in silence without a final blessing. The altar is stripped. The Blessed Sacrament is transferred solemnly to an altar of repose where we may keep vigil, as Our Lord did in the garden of Gethsemane, in the first agony of His passion.

This last weekday before the Easter Triduum is also known as Spy Wednesday, when, as we hear in the Gospel, Judas Iscariot bargained for Christ’s arrest.

All are invited to this annual Mass during Holy Week. This year, the Mass consecrating, blessing and distributing the holy oils will be celebrated Tuesday, April 12 at 11:00 AM at the Cathedral of St. Joseph. Please find extra free parking along Elmwood Avenue and in the lot at the former Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. Some city garages offer two hours of free parking. A reception follows Mass.

In the Gospel at Mass, Mary of Bethany pours costly oil over Our Lord, and weeping with remorse for her sins, wipes His feet with her hair. Jesus speaks of her great love which merits great mercy. We also hear from Isaiah about the Christ figure, the suffering servant.

The only confessions available this week at the Cathedral of St. Joseph from now until Easter are on Monday before the 12:05 Mass and Wednesday after the 12:05 Mass.

Today we mark Christ’s humble but triumphant entry into Jerusalem, riding a lowly donkey, as followers spread palm branches and garments to pave His way. We may walk in procession at the start of Mass, holding blessed palms and singing a hymn, our priest vested in red. Later in the Mass, we hear the Passion Gospel of Luke . Soon after this tale, we are at the Last Supper. Then we bear Christ’s sufferings – His scourging, His judgement, His cross and crucifixion. Now we will enter Holy Week, days of contrition, hush, waiting, preparing, hoping, as the great Easter feast approaches.

Easter flower donation envelopes are available at the entrance to the Church. Please return them by Sunday, April 10th so we can include your intentions on the Easter flower Remembrance Board. Thank you!

The Diocese of Burlington is looking to hire Grounds keeping Crew members. Full-time and seasonal positions are available. We offer competitive wages. All levels of experience will be considered. Learn new skills in a positive work environment. Please contact PPeter Walsh at [email protected] or call (802) 355-7925.

St. Anthony Church, located at 305 Flynn Avenue in Burlington, will host a Divine Mercy Sunday devotion. Beginning at 1:30 PM, there will be Adoration, Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and Benediction, the Sacrament of Reconciliation with several priests available to hear individual confessions, silent prayer, and the Rosary. We will conclude by praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet with the Knights of Columbus. We encourage Catholics and individuals who have been away from the Church, especially those who want to return to the Church, to receive the graces of His Mercy in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Jesus is there waiting for you in the confessional to welcome you back. May you experience the Divine Mercy of God!